Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1653
September 8, 2024
Habakkuk 3.17-19 Click here for audio worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“Joy in the Lord”
17Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places.
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Tough Times
Habakkuk is an interesting shift from the previous prophets. Habakkuk does not have an indictment to proclaim to the nations, as we see in other prophetic books. Habakkuk is a lament prayer against the evils of Israel rather than an indictment. Habakkuk wants God to do something about the evil he sees, but he is not given a word to proclaim to Israel about judgment, no warning to Israel. Instead, it is a prayerful conversation between Habakkuk and God. Chapters 1-2 show the complaint of Habakkuk and God's response. So, for example, in 1.2-4 the prophet expresses his anguish over God’s lack of response to the situation. “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?” It’s like Habakkuk is calling out to God, “Don’t You see whats going on? Do something!” Habakkuk calls out to God to do something about the violence and injustice in Israel. God responds in 1.5-11 with His plan to bring justice upon Israel using Babylon, also a corrupt nation, but nonetheless, used by God for His purposes. This is not what Habakkuk wants to hear so he complains again and God responds again telling Habakkuk to write down a vision for the future.
I think we want to pray this way sometimes. “God, don’t You see what’s going on in the world? Do something!” Maybe we express it differently, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” We see the lament Psalms in the Bible and here we have Habakkuk’s laments and it points to the fact that life is going to have hardships. Violence and injustice is still part of our broken world. Jesus told us that we would be hated because people hate Jesus. I think one of the ways we can pray and have permission to pray, is through lament or a word we use more often, complaint. Lament is appropriate in tough times.
There is another aspect of lament prayers in the Bible and that is the turning point in many of them. The one praying will often come to a turning point, a realization or a remembrance of what God has done in the past and what God has promised for the future. Certainly we have the greatest turning point in the death and resurrection of Jesus. While we might complain about the circumstances of our times, yet we know that the victory is already won in Jesus. We know the end of the story. We know the Revelation that is to come. We know that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Lament may come for a moment, but there is more reason to praise and give thanks.
Psalm 30.5 reminds us, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
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Yet
That turning point, that pivot, comes in Habakkuk in the “yet” of verse 18. The tough times are all through verse 17, 17Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
Then comes the pivotal point, the turning point, yet...
18yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places.
It is important to notice these very small words, sometimes just three letters, the pivot of “yet”. Sometimes is it B-U-T, as in the wonderful “but God” -- Ephesians 2.1-5, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Beautiful pivots that turn the laments into blessings and praise. Wonderful shifts that invert the narrative from bad to great.
So Habakkuk had that kind of experience that recognizes the “yet” of God. Despite what may happen or what has happened, I rejoice in God. There may be famine, the animals might die out, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. He can do that, and we can do that, because God is our salvation and God is our strength. God is the pivot point for all our trials and tribulations. God is our counter narrative to the troubles of life and of the false narratives of the world. We cannot get a good candidate for President on either side, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. We cannot get peace in the middle east, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. The doctor has not been able to fix my health problem, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. The world wants to end the truth of God’s Word, yet I will rejoice in the Lord and in His Word. Do we trust in the “yet”? Is the other side of “yet” still directing our lives? Yes, we are in good company when we express our complaints to God. He can take it! But we cannot live there forever, because of the “yet”.
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Joy in the Lord
By the end of the book, Habakkuk comes to the conclusion that even if things are hard and troubling, He will rejoice in God. He will rejoice in God's ways and God's justice and God's salvation. We may have reason to lament the violence and injustice in the world today, but we also know that God will one day put an end to evil and His people will be safe in the presence of God. Therefore, we also take joy in the God of our salvation.
Ultimately we know the salvation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. He is our salvation and therefore we rejoice. This is how Habakkuk points us to Jesus – by rejoicing in the God of our salvation. We see this in places like Romans 1.16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Listen and look for the same themes from Habakkuk in 1 Peter.
1 Peter 1.3-9, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Habakkuk suffers through tough times. So do Christians, 1 Peter 1.6b, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…
Habakkuk rejoices in God’s salvation. 1 Peter 1.6a, In this you rejoice! The “this” is God causing us to be born again (1.3). “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Peter might have had a copy of Habakkuk on his desk! 18yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
We have many reasons to lament and complain, and we will do so! But, let us do so with a pivot. Let us do so with the “yet”. That is what it means to live by faith. That is what it means to live like Paul who was content in all things (Philippians 4.11). That statement of contentment is in the same chapter of rejoicing, Philippians 4.4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
Tough times, followed by a “yet”, will always lead to joy. That is a characteristic of the gospel of God. Amen.
