Sermon Cloud

Hab 3-

Sarah-welcome

• Bob- Silence- meditation on attributes of God

What do you know about God- what can you tell about Him from the creation you see around you?  What are the attributes you know of God- Finish the sentence- He is… which of those attributes gives you the most comfort? Which gives you the most pause? Today is Father’s day… What did your father teach you about God- whether through positive action (showing you what God is like) or negative inaction?

Alright- for those who have been here the past couple of weeks- what have we seen so far in Habakkuk- what’s been the basic theme/message of the book?

Let’s read the first 2 verses together:

VS 1-2

What do you think of those verses? What stands out? What do they do to you?

Habakkuk’s response to God begins and ends with… worship- responding to God, in this case, in song- recounting who God is and what God has done. Praising Him.

I want us to spend some time reflecting: what has God done? What are some of the actions, attributes, and characteristics of God that amaze you and fill you with awe?

And now… let’s worship- if you are new here…

• Break- songs

“In your anger, remember mercy”

Why was God going to judge Israel at this time?

To really understand why they were about to experience 70 years of exile- 70 years when they’d be dominated by another military political power who would take them all away to Babylon, and keep them in servitude there, you need to understand the concept of Jubilee. Someone who knows- help us out- this is kind of an obscure Old Testament concept: What was the Jubilee that God told them to observe?

Lev 25 is where God lays it out- Lev 25:1-5

God intended that every 7 years the people of Israel allow the earth to rest. And this is still wisdom today- smart farmers rotate fields and allow them to lay fallow every few years and recharge. God told them- it’s not your land- it’s mine. I made it. And here’s how I want you to take care of it. Every 7 years, let it have a year off.  And there was more: Lev 25:8-10

He goes on in the rest of the chapter to tell them- the Jubilee means that the land that was sold would go back to it’s original owners- so really, any land sales were leases until the next Jubilee, and they were supposed to adjust the price accordingly- God wanted to protect families and keep them from losing everything because of hard times or debt. So, the land would return to it’s original owners. And if someone did go into debt, lease away all their land and was still unable to repay everything they owed? They would sell themselves into slavery- and the Jubilee was the time when all those who had sold themselves were supposed to be released.  The prisoners, those enslaved, would go free. And there are some very interesting lines in this chapter that show up in the book of Habakkuk- VS 14- You must not take advantage of each other

VS -35-36- If one of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and cannot support himself, do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense.

And finally, in Lev 26, God warns them again about idol worship, and He promises- if you do these things, I will bless you. But if you fail to do them, I will punish you. He says, I will do these things, and if you fail to listen, I will do these, things (and He lists them) and if you still fail to listen, I will do these things…

And after listing all these consequences off, He says

Lev 26:40-45

And so this is the stage for Habakkuk. It’s been 490 years since God gave them these commands. And as far as we know, they observed the Jubilee a grand total of ZERO times. They refused to cancel debts, give the land a rest, let slaves go free- they were worshiping idols and taking advantage of each other… exactly what God had warned them not to do. And so He sent them into 70 years of captivity.

Why 70 years? Vs 43- God was getting back the years the people refused to give Him and allowing the land to rest.

So Habakkuk knows all this, he knows why this is all going to happen, and he asks God- in your judgment, please remember mercy. He said in verse 2- “help us again as in years gone by”… when did God help Israel previous to this? What’s the most famous episode?

Yes- the exodus- for those who might not know, let’s recount the story. How did God’s people end up in Egypt? And then what happened? And then what?

Habakkuk is thinking about what God has said- “For their sakes I will remember my ancient covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of all the nations that I might be their God” and he begins reflecting on and singing about that event. Let’s read this together:

VS 3-5

Habakkuk remembers when and how God brought them out of Egypt- how He saved them and destroyed the people that were trying to destroy them.

What does verse 5 mean? Yeah- that’s how God brought them- the plagues on the Egyptians.

VS 6-8

When did God strike the rivers? (The Nile) And when did He part the sea? (The Red Sea)

VS 9-11

A bit of poetic language here-

VS 12-15

And it was finally in the sea that Pharaoh and the whole Egyptian army met their end as God buried them under the waves…

VS 16

The message of Habakkuk is: we reap what we sow. The nation of Israel forgot God- they forgot the Jubilee and the ways they were supposed to remember the poor and care for the earth and worship God… so- someone else who cared even less about those things took them into captivity. And those people, the Babylonians, themselves faced the consequences of their actions…

Here’s what Habakkuk says: Spend your life taking advantage of others? Wait. Prey on others economically or emotionally or sexually? Wait. God is a God of justice and all of that gets called to account. He makes this statement- The wealth of the nations will turn to ashes- they work so hard, but all in vain, For the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.

So… don’t waste your life on having a job and building anything, because it’s all going away, all going to blow away like dust in the wind anyway, right?

No- the point isn’t, “Don’t build anything with your life”- the point is “Be careful- build the right things.”

All we have desired in life, all we have worked for and sacrificed for and prayed for and suffered for will come to fruition: Our hopes, dreams, labors and loves will be realized, if they are all centered around the one sure bet in all of history: the earth filled with an awareness of the glory of the God.

If our lives are given to the pursuit of our greed and selfishness we will reap what we sow. If our lives are given to the pursuit of a world shaped like the kingdom of heaven and filled with an awareness of the glory of God, we will reap what we sow.

So- if you are a lawyer, pursue justice with your life- that’s kingdom shaped and oriented toward the glory of God. If you are a doctor, pursue holistic healing of people’s entire being- give people health, not just medicine. If you work at Starbucks, make the best mochas you can and love the people around you because that’s why God put you there- to show people what Jesus looks like, what an awareness of the glory of God does when it begins to reshape someone’s life.

If you feel like your job counts for nothing, and you are wondering why and for how long, take heart- what you are doing in that place will reap results, if what you are doing in the way you work and live reflects the glory and the character of God. -

So- where does Habakkuk end up?

VS 17-19

What is Habakkuk saying/doing here?

When has this been true in your life? When have you found some comfort or some joy in your relationship with God despite some hard circumstances?

Habakkuk has rooted firmly in his mind the good character of God, and the glory that will fill the earth when God sets things right again, by calling evil to account and putting things back together that we in our sin and selfishness have broken. And so he can say: Even if I don’t see it now, I know where all this is going. And so I will rest, I will have joy in the God of my salvation.

Song to sum it up: Maybe Blessed Be The Name of the Lord?

Communion next week (who will bring?): BOX, Blessing