Elder Saw Lip Hean
24-09-2017
Background
1.
Habakkuk
– one who clings
2.
Contemporary
of Jeremiah
3.
Reign
of Jehoiakim (609 BC – 598 BC)
4.
Political
Levy Pharaoh Neco
5.
Vacillating
between 2 Superpowers
6.
Huge
building projects – higher taxes
7.
Worship
of fertility gods
8.
Corruption
& perversion of justice
9.
Persecution
& execution of prophets & those who spoke out
10.
Compared
to his father Josiah
Habakkuk 1New International Version (NIV)
1 The
prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and
be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that
you would not believe,
even
if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
that
ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to
seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they
are a law to themselves
and
promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than
leopards,
fiercer
than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their
horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and
gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
and
scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by
building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the
wind and go on—
guilty
people, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?
My
God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, Lord, have
appointed them to execute judgment;
you,
my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you
cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow
up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish
in the sea,
like
the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of
them up with hooks,
he
catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and
burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and
enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying
nations without mercy?
Habakkuk 2New International Version (NIV)
2 I will stand at my watch
and
station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and
what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Romans 13:1New International Version (NIV)
Submission to Governing Authorities
13 Let everyone be subject to the
governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has
established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Amos 9:7New International Version (NIV)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the
same to me as the Cushites?”
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the
Philistines from Caphtor
and
the Arameans from Kir?
Man seeks
happiness;
God seeks
holiness.
Psalm 37New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 37
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who
are evil
or
be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon
wither,
like
green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell
in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and
he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust
in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous
reward shine like the dawn,
your
vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and
wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when
they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn
from wrath;
do
not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be
destroyed,
but
those who hope in the Lord will
inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will
be no more;
though
you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and
enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the
righteous
and
gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for
he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and
bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to
slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their
own hearts,
and
their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the
righteous have
than
the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be
broken,
but
the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days
under the Lord’s care,
and
their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not
wither;
in
days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though
the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they
will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but
the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but
those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of
the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not
fall,
for
the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet
I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or
their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend
freely;
their
children will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then
you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and
will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely
destroyed;
the
offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and
dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter
wisdom,
and
their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their
hearts;
their
feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the
righteous,
intent
on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or
let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
and
keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when
the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless
man
flourishing like
a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no
more;
though
I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the
blameless, observe the upright;
a
future awaits those who seek peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there
will be no future[e] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous
comes from the Lord;
he
is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he
delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because
they take refuge in him.
Fret not!
Stop worrying. Trust in God and do good. Commit your ways to the Lord. Be
still. Don’t be anxious. Don’t be angry. Don’t respond in anger. And do the
things that God tells you to do.
The basis
of Psalm 37:
Do not be
fretful because there are certain principles that will come into place. The
wicked will not be here tomorrow. But the Word of God is eternal.
You are
disappointed with God. Therefore you are challenging God. You want to wait and
see. We have in this manner with God and with His people and His church. We are
defiant towards God.
Habakkuk 2New International Version (NIV)
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and
make it plain on tablets
so
that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an
appointed time;
it
speaks of the end
and
will not prove false.
Though it
linger, wait for it;
it will
certainly come
and
will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his
desires are not upright—
but
the righteous
person will live by his faithfulness—
5 indeed, wine betrays him;
he is
arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and
like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and
takes captive all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them
taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and
makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly
arise?
Will
they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then
you will become their prey.
8 Because you have plundered many
nations,
the
peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood;
you
have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 “Woe to him who builds his house
by unjust gain,
setting
his nest on high
to escape
the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of
many peoples,
shaming your
own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry
out,
and
the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and
establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that
the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,
that
the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with
the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as
the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to
his neighbors,
pouring
it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so
that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with
shame instead of glory.
Now
it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed[e]!
The cup from the Lord’s right
hand is coming around to you,
and
disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to
Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and
your destruction of animals will terrify you.
For you have shed human blood;
you
have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value is an
idol carved by a craftsman?
Or
an image that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he
makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come
to life!’
Or
to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’
Can it give guidance?
It
is covered with gold and silver;
there
is no breath in it.”
20 The Lord is in his holy temple;
let
all the earth be silent before him.
Our
calling is to preach the gospel.
Psalm 91New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the
shelter of the Most High
will
rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my
God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from
the fowler’s snare
and
from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and
under his wings you will find refuge;
his
faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of
night,
nor
the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the
darkness,
nor
the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten
thousand at your right hand,
but
it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and
see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and
you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no
disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his
angels concerning you
to guard
you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their
hands,
so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the
cobra;
you
will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says
the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I
will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will
answer him;
I
will be with him in trouble,
I
will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy
him
and
show him my salvation.”
God is
saying, “I will not let you fall. The righteous person will live by his
faithfulness.
“Revelation
awaits an appointed time.” (Habakkuk 2:3)
God has a
timing for everything. But you go and do what I called you to do.
“The
righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” (Habakkuk 2:4)
Our
calling is to preach the gospel.
1 Peter 1:5New International Version (NIV)
5 who through faith are shielded by
God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time.
God’s
guarantee is black and white.
Through
faith, you are protected by God’s power.
If you
exercise faith, you are protected by God’s power.
Despite
the circumstances, we continue to do the work of God.
Habakkuk 3New International Version (NIV)
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your
deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in
our time make them known;
in
wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
the
Holy One from Mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens
and
his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays
flashed from his hand,
where
his power was hidden.
5 Plague went before him;
pestilence
followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he
looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
and
the age-old hills collapsed—
but
he marches on forever.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in
distress,
the
dwellings of Midian in anguish.
8 Were you angry with the
rivers, Lord?
Was
your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when
you rode your horses
and
your chariots to victory?
9 You uncovered your bow,
you
called for many arrows.
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the
deep roared
and
lifted its waves on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still in
the heavens
at
the glint of your flying arrows,
at
the lightning of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the
earth
and
in anger you threshed the nations.
13 You came out to
deliver your people,
to
save your anointed one.
You
crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you
stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his
head
when
his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
the
wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your
horses,
churning
the great waters.
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my
lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and
my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to
come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and
there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and
the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and
no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I
will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he
makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he
enables me to tread on the heights.
For the director of music. On my
stringed instruments.
When you
are full of (filled with) the Holy Spirit and living a life of faith, when you
delight in the Lord, God will give you the desires of your heart. You will fret
not. You will triumph and rejoice forevermore.
God
promises us that we will not fall. He will strengthen your feet to scale the
heights of faith.
