Daily Encouragement

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

This photo was taken near New Holland, PA, demonstrating beauty and function on an old-order Mennonite farm with the Canna Lilies planted in front of large hay bales and field corn. The crop that was planted in the foreground had already been harvested.

"Gleanings From Habakkuk"

(Part 1)

"Living By Faith"

Message summary: The just continue to live by faith, during the good times but also during the judgment period!

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"But the just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:17).

My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!

For the last several months we have been studying the Minor Prophets in our ABF class (Sunday School). I am part of the teaching team along with several other men who take turns. The study has been challenging since the Minor Prophets are among the harder to understand books in the Bible.

The last two weeks have been a study of Habakkuk taught by Gordy, a businessman who is also a careful and diligent student of Scripture. Today we begin what we project will be four lessons on Habakkuk based on gleanings, a word meaning, "extracting information" (among other definitions).

Have you found yourself earnestly seeking God about a weighty matter over an extended period of time and yet He remains silent. Early in our ministry when we still had "special music" Brooksyne sang a song that starts with these words, “Often you wonder why...” Whether it relates to our own personal story or it relates to the state of our nation or the world we certainly do have questions, some which will not be answered on this side. We think Habakkuk could have sung "Often I wonder why"!

The book opens with a bold question from Habakkuk, who bluntly asks the Lord, “How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save” (Habakkuk 1:2). Do you find yourself asking God questions like this? We sure do! When God did answer, it wasn’t the answer Habakkuk expected or longed for and frankly it’s often that way for us as well.

Some historical background: Judah had recently experienced the exhilaration of the glorious days of Josiah, marked by freedom, prosperity, and a great religious revival. But so soon they lapsed again into unfaithfulness. The Assyrians, once the scourge of the Middle East, were phasing out as a world power. In their place, however, stood the Babylonians, (whom Habakkuk calls the Chaldeans, named for the region from which their rulers came). The Babylonian armies were led by the ambitious Nebuchadnezzar, who was soon to succeed his father as king.

Habakkuk asked God questions and God answered. God revealed that He was at work sending the Chaldeans as the instrument of His judgment (1:5-11). The prophet shrank from such an idea and posed another question which essentially asked: “Lord, why would you use someone even more sinful than us to bring us punishment?” (1:12-17).

When the answer was not forthcoming immediately, he took his stand in the watchtower to wait for it. It was worth the wait. The Lord answered him, “but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). God contrasts the proud and ungodly whose lives are not upright with the righteous who place their faith in Him who in the end will emerge victorious.

Judah had a long “recurring cycle of sin, sorrow, supplication, salvation, and then sin again. The continuous repetition of this cycle obviously weakened the people’s love for God and respect for His authority.”* But the godly remnant would emerge victorious as the wicked would undergo punishment. Those who remain faithful to God will always be victorious in the end (if not in this life, certainly in the life hereafter)! It was in the midst of his deep affliction that Job proclaimed, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth” (Job 19:25).

A key text in the book is "But the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Some 650 years later this phrase was taken by Paul as a central element in his theology (Romans 1:17 & Galatians 3:11). Some 1,500 years after that this passage came alive for an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther, setting off the Protestant Reformation, one of history’s greatest and most significant religious upheavals. Thus a so-called “Minor” prophet had a major influence on those who followed him!

This is a key text in establishing the doctrine of “Justification by faith”. In this text Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk who served God by providing comfort and hope during one of the darkest periods of Judah’s history, a time during which she suffered the deserved punishment for her sins. But Habakkuk was writing to the remnant; those who remained faithful to God. How reassuring it is to know that there will always be a remnant from every generation.

Today we are all enriched and indebted to Habakkuk, a relatively obscure but faithful man who served God over 2,600 years ago. Are you living by faith today? Is your hope and confidence anchored in the Lord? The equation has not changed. Actually the equation was fundamentally clear to Adam and Eve but willfully broken in the garden. It was also very clearly understood by Abraham in Genesis 15:6: "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness." The just continue to live by faith, during the good times but also during the judgment period!

While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread, be Thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we know that without a fresh manifestation of Your Holy Spirit power in our lives, our faith will not prevail in the midst of the evil that abounds in our day. Just as Habakkuk pleaded for You to manifest Yourself to Him, we also pray for renewal in our spirit so that we remain a part of the faithful remnant fully committed to You. We choose to rejoice in the Lord our God who enables us to hold tightly to our godly faith in the midst of enemy invasion. We pray for deliverance and sustaining power so that we emerge victorious during the battle even as Job declared, “Though God slay me yet I’ll trust Him”. Amen.

* Myrna Alexander “With Him in Life’s Struggles”

On Sunday Gordy shared this quote so needed today: “For who does not know history’s first law to be that an author must not dare to tell anything but the truth? And its second that he must be bold to tell the whole truth? That there must be no suggestion of partiality anywhere in his writings? Nor of malice?” - Cicero (Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher – 1st century BC)

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"My Faith Looks Up To Thee" Click to watch on YouTube Steve Green

"Tears Are A Language" Click to watch on YouTube Booth Brothers This is the song popular when we were in college in the 70's that Brooksyne sang as a "special":

Often you wonder lwhy tears come into your eyes
And burdens seem to be much more than you can stand
But God is standing near, He sees your falling tears
Tears are a language God understands

This song was written by Gordon Jensen (so we have two "Gordy's" today that we feature - the teacher and songwriter). Gordon accepted Christ at six years of age and expressed His love for Christ through his music in such songs as "I Should Have Been Crucified" "Redemption Draweth Nigh", "As Close as the Mention of His Name", and many other soul stirring classic songs over the years.

"Living By Faith" Click to watch on YouTube Homecoming Singers An old song from our early years. What a great message!

When I recalled this old song in preparation for today's message I considered a recent Babylon Bee satire piece: ‘This Is An Oldie, But A Goodie’ Says Worship Leader About Song From 2021 This is far too true!

Pronunciation of Habakkuk: Unless an audio recording can be discovered from 600 BC we will have to wait for heaven to know with certainty just how to pronounce Habakkuk! However you first heard it you probably think is the right way.

Ester was born in Guatemala and the Spanish pronunciation is Estair. About 15 years ago we were in Boston at Boston Children's Hospital and met a Jewish rabbi's wife who, upon hearing the way we said Ester's name, informed us that's also the Hebrew pronunciation. Who knew! So actually Estair is probably how the Bible name, Esther, was originally pronounced. However if I were to pronounce it that way when teaching people from the book of Esther listeners would think I was practically Biblically illiterate!

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