“Yet I Will Rejoice” - Habakkuk 2:1-5; 3:17-19 – (October 5, 2014) Habakkuk 2:1-5 1. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. 5. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. - - - - - - - Habakkuk 3:17-19 17. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. - - - - - - - LESSON AIMS: Learning Fact: To teach that God is sovereign and uses circumstances to accomplish His purposes. Biblical Principle: To show that God strengthens and encourages His people during troublesome times. Daily Application: To help remind God’s people that we should rejoice in the Lord despite sufferings and hardships. - - - - - - - INTRODUCTION: “Silent Nights” Still living with mom and dad three years after graduating from college. Did not get that raise—again. Chronic pain persists. Expenses still exceeding income. Rejected by another potential employer. Reconciliation with an estranged relative seems impossible. The rich seem to keep getting richer, and the poor seem to keep getting poorer. Where is the light load and abundant life that Jesus promised? Most people feel that way at one time or another. For some, it happens only periodically. For others, it feels like the very rhythm of their lives. We who follow Jesus know that we have eternal life. But how should we process our earthly woes in the meantime? What might God say were He to speak directly to us during times of frustration and doubt? Though God may seem silent during our darkest nights, we realize when we open the Bible that He is not. God speaks to us through prophets such as Habakkuk. Habakkuk stared doubt in the face, questioned God, and received answers. In the current lesson, we sample a slice of that conversation and discuss its abiding relevance. - - - - - - LESSON BACKGROUND: Habakkuk probably ministered in the final decade of the seventh century B.C., although some date his prophetic ministry to as early as 630 B.C. Those closing decades of the seventh century B.C. saw God’s people under stress. The northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. as God’s judgment on His people’s idolatry, social injustice, and unholy political alliances came to fruition. The people of the southern kingdom of Judah did not learn from that “visual aid,” and the same sinful patterns became their norm. In Habakkuk 1:2-4, the prophet cries out about the violence, injustice, and wide-scale abandonment of God’s laws that resulted in the trampling of Israelites by the wicked. The prophet pleaded as one who had been crying out to God for a long time without receiving an answer. In Habakkuk 1:5-11, God answered. Not only was He aware of the sins of His people, He planned to use the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to level the southern kingdom of Judah just as the Assyrians had done to the northern kingdom of Israel. Habakkuk was not comforted by that answer. He complained that the Babylonians were far more treacherous than the Israelites, and that they were known for trampling the righteous. How could a holy God use such a wicked people as His instrument of correction? As our text opens, we find Habakkuk awaiting an answer to that question. - - - - - - POINT TO PONDER: As hard as it might have been for Habakkuk to accept at first, sometimes the Lord allowed even the innocent to suffer as He punished evildoers for their transgressions. Whether one is considering wicked attitudes, actions, or aims, this evil results from the absence of the moral perfection that God originally intended to exist in the world. Ultimately, only God knows why He has allowed evil to exist in the world. It nevertheless remains true that the Lord might use evil to bring home to us the distressing fact of our mortality, to warn us of greater evils, to bring about a greater good, or to help defeat wickedness. The last two reasons are especially evident in the cross of Christ. Despite the tragedy of Jesus’ suffering on the cross, His atoning sacrifice resulted in a greater good (namely, the salvation of the lost) and the defeat of evil (for instance, sin and death). - - - - - - - What Do You Think? * When was an occasion that 20/20 hindsight demonstrated God’s timetable to be superior to yours? What did this experience teach you? What Do You Think? * How has God confirmed His presence and strength for you during hardships when others might have questioned both? What Do You Think? * What spiritual help can your church provide to those facing physical hardship? * What will be your part in this? - - - - - - Questions: “God’s Response to Habakkuk:” Habakkuk 2:1-5 1. What was the Prophet Habakkuk’s complaint concerning God’s impending judgment and how does he react as he awaits God’s response? (Habakkuk 2:1) 2. What did God instruct Habakkuk to do with the message that He reveals? (Habakkuk 2:2) 3. When would the “vision” of God’s judgment take place? (Habakkuk 2:3) 4. If the Lord used the Babylonians to accomplish His purpose, why did He punish them afterward? (Habakkuk 2:4-5) - - - - - - “Habakkuk’s Response to God:” Habakkuk 3:17-19 5. How did Habakkuk receive God’s message? (Habakkuk 3:17) 6. What was the prophet’s attitude toward this reality of hardship? (Habakkuk 3:18-19)
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 03:23:03 +0000
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