Habakkuk 1
Habakkuk communicates his vision
from the LORD verse 1
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see
Complaint of Habakkuk over evil in the nation verse 2- 4
O LORD – How long shall I cry
and YOU will not hear even cry out to you of violence
and YOU will not save
Why do you show me iniquity – and cause me to behold grievance?
for spoiling and violence are before me
and there are that raise up strife and contention
THEREFORE the law is slacked – and judgment does never go forth
for the wicked does compass about the righteous
THEREFORE wrong judgment proceeds
LORD is rising up the Babylonians verse 5- 8
BEHOLD you among the heathen
and regard – and wonder marvelously
FOR I will work a work in your days
which you will not believe
though it be told you
FOR lo – I raise up the Chaldeans that bitter and hasty nation
which shall march through the breadth of the land
to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs
They are terrible and dreadful
their judgment and their dignity
shall proceed of themselves
their horses are swifter than the leopards
and are more fierce than the evening wolves
their horsemen shall spread themselves
their horsemen shall come from far
they shall fly as the eagle that hast to eat
Babylon imparts its power to a false god verse 9- 11
They shall come all for violence
their faces shall sup up as the east wind
and they shall gather the captivity as the sand
And they shall scoff at the kings
and the princes shall be a scorn unto them
they shall deride every stronghold
FOR they shall heap dust and take it
THEN SHALL HIS MIND CHANGE
and he shall pass over – and offend
imputing this his power unto his god
Complaint of Habakkuk regarding righteousness verse 12- 13
Are you not from everlasting
O LORD my God mine Holy One?
we shall not die
O LORD – YOU have ordained them for judgment
and – O might God
YOU have established them for correction
YOU are of purer eyes than to behold evil
and cannot look on iniquity
WHEREFORE look YOU upon them that deal treacherously
and hold YOUR tongue when the wicked devours the
man that is more righteous than he?
Babylonian army worships their nets verse 14- 17
AND make men as the fishes of the sea – as the creeping things
that have no ruler over them?
They take up all of them with the angle
they catch them in their net
and gather them in their drag
THEREFORE they rejoice and are glad
THEREFORE they sacrifice unto their net
AND burn incense unto their drag
BECAUSE by them their portion is fat
and their meat plenteous
Shall they therefore empty their net
and not spare continually to slay the nations?
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! Even cry out unto you of violence, and you will not save! (7768 “cry” [shava] means shout, to ask for aid, to implore help, or plead for relief)
DEVOTION: Have you ever come to a point in your life that you have hit the wall? You don’t seem to be able to handle even the smallest things without feeling like breaking down. Life just seems to be so hard and the LORD doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers for help.
Habakkuk was at that point in his life. He saw people around him sinning and seeming to be getting away with it while he was trying to live a righteous life and all it seemed to do is cause him more trouble.
So we find him asking the LORD for aid in his present situation. He asked the LORD how long HE was going to take to come to his aid. He thought the LORD was not listening to his request. He wanted deliverance and didn’t understand why the LORD would allow heathens to judge HIS people.
God was judging Israel for their sin. HE was using a heathen nation to correct them. Habakkuk thought this was wrong. He thought the Israelites who were sinning against God were sinning less than the heathen the who didn’t have any relationship with the LORD.
Today we are praying the same prayer regarding what is happening in the church. The courts seem to be correcting the problems that the church is guilty of regarding the breaking of HIS laws.
There are religious leaders who are living contrary to the way the LORD wants them to live. Some claim to be obeying the LORD, but in reality they are just taking advantage of God’s people.
There is violence in the church with members fighting with each other and taking their claims to the courts that are not at present honoring the LORD. Should this be done? The New Testament states that the leaders of the church should deal with problems in the church and not take their problems to those who are unsaved.
When we have difficulty with another believer should we take them to court? What if the one who claims to be a believer shows no signs of honoring the LORD?
CHALLENGE: Each situation needs to be taken to the LORD in prayer and then brought before witnesses to address the issue.
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: 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment does never go forth: for the Wicked does compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds. (6313 “slacked” [puwg] means to be or become in the state of mental numbness, especially as resulting from shock, be feeble, powerless, be paralyzed, or be weak or tired)
DEVOTION: Here we find a time period in the life of Israel where the Law of the LORD was not honored. It seems that wickedness was running the show and the people were not even considering what the LORD had commanded them to do. They were not reading or listening to the Word of God. This has happened in all generation of our world. The children of Israel were not concerned with what the LORD had to say to them.
Habakkuk was telling the people that they were nearsighted. He wanted them to open their eyes to the truth of HIS Word and obey it. They were not to look at circumstances but look to HIM for guidance and direction.
Obedience would bring blessing if they were looking to the LORD for HIS teachings in their life.
CHALLENGE: Is our worldview one that honors the LORD or are we trying to do everything our own way and seeing the consequences of our actions like the children of Israel? Obedience bring blessing but disobedience brings judgement.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. (3581 “power” [koach] means strength, might, force, ability, property, authority, or substance.)
DEVOTION: There are strong people in the world and there are weak. When you look at individuals who play any sport you see that they are in shape. They work out on a regular basis to keep their body in shape once they have maximized their strength. Their strength is what keeps them fit of future sporting events.
The sport in the ancient world of some nations was to conquer other nations. Their armies had to be fit to conquer their enemies. They would encourage each other to be better fighters. They would even have false gods that they worshiped who they thought would give them more power to defeat any enemy.
Here we find the nation of Babylon worshiping their false god and giving him credit for their ability to defeat any enemy. They didn’t realize that when they were going to defeat Israel it was the LORD that allowed it to happen. HE was judging HIS people for their sin. They credited their false god with strength the only TRUE God was giving them to work as HIS servants.
They have a false sense of accomplishment. In the future the LORD is going to judge them. Then they will realize WHO is the ONLY TRUE God of the universe.
We need to recognize this fact if we want to understand who the LORD really is and how HE works. The Bible gives us the answer to all of our questions.
CHALLENGE: Habakkuk stated his questions and we need to go to the LORD honestly and ask HIM our questions.
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DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 Are YOU not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, YOU have ordained them for judgment; and O mighty God, YOU have established them for correction. (3198 “correction” [yakach] means to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, or to show to be right.)
DEVOTION: Habakkuk knew that the children of Israel needed to be shown what is right. They were not living right. They were in need of judgment. He knew that the LORD was going to send judgment. He knew that the LORD is holy and could not look on iniquity or sin.
However, he didn’t understand the LORD using a people who were more wicked, in his eyes, than the children of Israel. How could a holy God use unholy people to do HIS work of judgment? It did not compute in Habakkuk’s brain. It does not compute in our brains. But the LORD sometimes uses other nations or government officials to get the attention of HIS people, so that, they will begin acting right.
We can’t understand God’s ways but that is what the Bible tells us is true all the time. The Word of God informs us that the LORD will chasten those HE loves. HE loved Israel in the Old Testament. HE loves HIS church in the New Testament. Both groups are going to be chastened by HIM when they are sinning against HIS commandments.
HE also prunes HIS people to make them more fruitful. We only grow through suffering. In this world we are going to have suffering because are commanded to suffer for righteousness sake. As the LORD looks at those who are followers of HIM today, HE sees individuals who are not totally dedicated to HIS serve. HE wants us to be totally dedicated to growing in our relationship with HIM. Are we willing to suffer for righteousness sake?
Habakkuk asked questions of the LORD. The LORD doesn’t mind questions as long as we realize how GREAT a God HE is. This verse tells us that HE is an everlasting God. HE is a HOLY God. HE is SOVEREIGN. HE is the CREATOR of the universe. HE is MIGHTY. HE shows HIS love through suffering. HE showed it through the suffering HIS Son went through on the cross for us.
We have to trust HIM to do it the right way in the right time. We know that we deserve the judgment of God on our lives but for the blood of HIS son on the cross. We deserve the lake of fire but will receive a mansion in heaven. Praise HIS name.
We need to realize that sin is sin in the eyes of the LORD. There are no big sins and little sins with God. HIS holiness causes HIM to deal with both types of sins.
CHALLENGE: Never assume that your sins are too small for the LORD to correct.
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: 12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.
DEVOTION: Habakkuk realized that the children of Israel were marked for judgment because of their sins. Once you study and understand the attributes of the LORD you realize that HE is both loving and holy. HIS holiness cannot look at sin and do nothing about it. HIS love, send HIS Son to die on the cross so that we could have forgiveness of sin.
Even with the forgiveness of sin there is a time of corrections for those who still don’t understand that the LORD has a path HE wants all HIS children to follow. If they don’t follow it HIS love demands that HE correct HIS children. Those HE loves HE chastens.
Human fathers are supposed to chasten their children that are disobedient to their rules. Each household has to have rules that help children understand their responsibility to the rest of the family members. Parents are supposed to give a good example to their children regarding proper care of belongings. They are to set a good example on the use of money. They are to see a good example for the watching of television and other media sources in their homes. They are to set good example of how to establish friendships. There needs to be guidelines for the opposite sex. There has to be a regular time of service to the LORD in the local church. All these help children grow up with a sense of what is expected of them. If the parents set a bad example it will hinder their children from living good godly lives in the presence of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The LORD continues to this day correcting HIS children. HE still loves those who love HIM.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Habakkuk prays regarding length of evil verse 2- 4
Habakkuk questions God use of heathen verse 12- 17
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law verse 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 12
Hear verse 2
Save verse 2
I will work a work in our days which you
will not believe verse 5
I will raise up the Chaldeans verse 6
O LORD my God verse 12
Holy One verse 12
Ordained for judgment the Chaldeans verse 12
HE established Chaldeans for correction verse 12
Purer eyes verse 13
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Everlasting verse 12
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 12
Mighty God verse 12
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Heathen verse 5
Chaldeans verse 6- 11
Bitter and hasty nation
Shall march through the breadth of
the land to possess the dwelling
places that are not their
They are terrible and dreadful: their
judgment and their dignity shall
proceed of themselves
Their horses are swifter than the leopards
And are more fierce than the
Evening wolves
Their horsemen shall spread themselves
Shall fly as the eagle that hast to
Eat
They come for violence
Their faces shall fly as the eagle that
Hast to eat
They scoff at the kings and the princes
They deride every storng hold
Ordained for judgment verse 12
Established them for correction verse 12
Sacrifice to their net verse 16
Burn incense to their drag verse 16
Nations verse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Violence verse 2, 3, 9
Iniquity verse 3 13
Spoiling verse 3
Strife verse 3
Contention verse 3
Law is slacked verse 4
Wicked verse 4, 13
Wrong judgment verse 4
Heathen verse 5
Marvellously sin verse 5
False god of Babylon verse 11
Evil verse 13
Deal treacherously verse 13
Sacrifice to net verse 16
Burn incense to their drag verse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Burden verse 1
Prophet verse 1
See verse 1
Hear verse 2
Save verse 2
Grievance verse 3
Righteous verse 4, 13
Tell the work of LORD verse 5
Correction verse 12
Purer eyes verse 13
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Prophet Habakkuk – burden of verse 1
Question: How long shall I cry?
Shown iniquity
Grievance
Soiling and violence are before him
Wicked does compass the righteous
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
1:11 Though ordained of God to carry out his purpose (1:6, 12), the Babylonians worshiped only might and the strength of their hands. They bowed to no man and listened to no god. Thus the person coming under the sway of the army had little hope. This bitter and hasty army swept the earth like the wind and hurried on to plunder other nations.104 “Such people acknowledge no accountability, seek no repentance, and offer no reparations, while violating the most fundamental order of created life.
The emphatic position of this statement about the godlessness of the Babylonians beckons the reader to expect more. This cannot be the entire answer of God to the prophet’s lament. Surely God will deal with the godless. (Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, pp. 308–309). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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11 The onrushing cavalry (vv.8–9) was checked by the siege warfare, in which it would not have participated (v.10; cf. Yadin, Art of Warfare, p. 297). As the fortified cities fell and resistance crumbled, the cavalry’s pent-up energy was released and its progress resumed.
In an abrupt shift, the final words of v.11 entirely undermine the dramatic account of the Babylonians, developed at length at vv.5–11a. “Sweep past” they may, but the final verdict was already in, though the perplexed prophet might indeed have been forgiven for wondering how it would make any difference. “Guilty men” (lit., “and [so] he is guilty”) is followed immediately by the reason for the guilt: “his strength is his god.” As in the verses above, the Babylonian horde is personified in the singular forms; and ruthless arrogance is rightly epitomized as a form of self-deification. Such people acknowledge no accountability, seek no repentance, and offer no reparations, while violating the most fundamental order of created life. For such the verdict of “guilty” can mean only the sentence of radical destruction (cf. 2:6–20; 3:13–16). (Armerding, C. E. (1986). Habakkuk. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, pp. 503–504). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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1:11. The first part of this verse is difficult to translate. The KJV has, “Then shall his mind (rûaḥ, ‘spirit’ or ‘wind’) change, and he shall pass over.” That is, the Babylonians changed their minds and went beyond all restraint to their own destruction. However, it is unlikely that rûaḥ is the subject; the verb “change” can better be translated in its normal sense “to pass through.” The NIV has a more likely rendering, Then they sweep past like the wind (cf. “desert wind,” v. 9). Their major offense was clearly recorded. They considered their own strength as their god. They treated their might as their master. For them, “might was right” became “might was divine.” It is little wonder that God declared them guilty for such sacrilege. (Blue, J. R. (1985). Habakkuk. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1510). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The Lord then used a number of pictures from nature to describe the Babylonians and how they treated people. Their horses had the speed of leopards and the ferocity of wolves, and their troops swooped down on their prey like vultures. Their army swept across the desert like the wind and gathered and deported prisoners the way a man digs sand and ships it to a foreign land.
Could anything stop them? Certainly God could stop them, but He was the one who was enlisting their aid! Nothing human could hinder their progress. The Babylonians had no respect for authority, whether kings or generals. (One of their practices was to put captured kings in cages and exhibit them, like animals.) They laughed at gates and walls as they built their siege ramps and captured fortified cities. They worshiped the god of power and depended wholly on their own strength.
Habakkuk learned that God was not indifferent to the sins of the people of Judah. The Lord was planning to chasten Judah by allowing the Babylonians to invade the land and take them into exile. This wasn’t the answer Habakkuk was expecting. He was hoping God would send a revival to His people (see 3:2), judge the evil leaders, and establish righteousness in the land. Then the nation would escape punishment and the people and cities would be spared.
However, God had warned His people time and time again, but they wouldn’t listen. Prophet after prophet had declared the Word (2 Chron. 36:14–21), only to be rejected, and He had sent natural calamities like droughts and plagues, and various military defeats, but the people wouldn’t listen. Instead of repenting, the people hardened their hearts even more and turned for help to the gods of the nations around them. They had tried God’s long-suffering long enough and it was time for God to act. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be amazed (pp. 111–112). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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1:11 strength is their god. Though the Chaldeans were God’s instruments of judgment, their self-sufficiency and self-adulation planted the seeds for their own destruction (described in 2:2–20), as they stood guilty of idolatry and blasphemy before the sovereign Lord. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Hab 1:11). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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There is grave danger, in the present disordered condition of Christendom, that one who is able to see things in the light of the word of God may be similarly affected. Some there are who, quite conscious of the lapsed state of the Church, and aware of the unholy influences at work, can yet be supremely indifferent to it all; manifesting thereby their lack of real heart for what so intimately concerns the glory of God and the welfare of His saints. Others, whose eyes have been anointed and whose consciences have been exercised by the Holy Spirit, are in danger of being unduly oppressed and disheartened by the rising power of the mystery of iniquity. Quick to see dishonor done to Christ and departure from the truth on the right hand and on the left, they are oppressed in spirit by the seemingly irremediable and distressing conditions prevailing.
Needless to say, both are wrong. Indifferent, no truly exercised soul could or should be. But disheartened none need be; for all has been long since foreseen and provided for. It was so with Israel: it is so with the Church. No failure on the part of man can avail to thwart the purposes of God.
In regard to Judah, the greatest danger was from the spirit of strife and contention prevailing among the people, giving rise to spoiling and violence. As a result, the law was ignored, and judgment miscarried. The wicked were in high places, and perverted statutes proceeded from them.
It was surely enough to bow the soul before God, not as one competent to pass sentence upon others, but as one who was a part of that which had so grievously failed. This is where Habakkuk is found. He was one of them that sighed and cried for the abominations done in what had once been the holy city.
Nor does Jehovah ignore His servant’s cry; but He answers him, telling of the chastisement He had prepared for the instruction of His disobedient and rebellous people. “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously, for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you” (ver. 5). This is the verse quoted by Paul at Antioch of Pisidia, when warning the Jews of the danger to which they were exposed if they neglected the gospel of Christ (Acts 13:40, 41). There, the work so wondrous, in which none would believe though it be told them, was the work of grace wrought out on Calvary’s cross. In the Lord’s reply to Habakkuk’s entreaty, it was His strange work of judgment. Though it seem to be unbelievable, He was raising up the Chaldeans—“that bitter and hasty nation”—to “march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that were not theirs.” Terrible and dreadful, carrying out what they thought were but the purposes of their own hearts, they should come up with their vast and irresistible armies against Jerusalem, like the eagle hastening to its prey! They should be permitted to override all the power and dignity of Judah; as a result of which they would be lifted up in pride, imputing their power unto their false gods. In such manner Jehovah was about to deal with His wayward people (vers. 6–11). (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (pp. 278–280). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 11. Then shall his mind change, &c.] The mind of the king of Babylon; not that, when he had taken Jerusalem, he altered his purpose, and laid aside his designs of attacking other nations, and returned to his own country; where he became guilty of gross idolatry, in setting up the golden image in the plain of Dora, which he required all his subjects to worship, and to which he ascribed all his victories; for, five years after this, Josephus says, he led his army into Cœlesyria, and conquered the Moabites and Ammonites, and entered Egypt, and slew the reigning king of it: but rather the disposition of his mind changed for the worse upon his success in subduing kings and princes, and their kingdoms; for though his mind was never good, but always proud, haughty, and ambitious, insolent, cruel, and tyrannical; yet, being flushed with his conquests, he grew more and more so: and he shall pass overx, or transgress, all bounds of modesty and sobriety, of humanity and goodness: and offend, imputing this his power unto his god; this particularly will be the sin he will be guilty of, he will ascribe all his achievements to his idol Bel; or rather to himself, to his own prowess and valour, his wisdom and skill in military affairs; for so it will bear to be rendered, making this his own power to be his god; and perhaps the golden image Nebuchadnezzar set up to be worshipped was for himself; see Dan. 4:30. The Targum is, “therefore, because of the lifting up of his spirit, his kingdom was removed from him; and he committed an offence, in that he multiplied glory to his idol;” and some interpret the whole of this of the miserable condition Nebuchadnezzar was brought into, being a prophecy of it: then shall his mind change; his heart from man’s to a beast’s, Dan. 4:16: and he shall pass over; from all society and conversation with men, and have his dwelling with beasts, ver. 31, 32: and offend, or rather be punished, and become desolate and miserable, for his pride, and idolatry, and other sins: this his power is his god; spoken ironically; see what his power is now, being changed into a beast, which he reckoned his god, or gloried in as what he had from his god: but I rather think the whole is a continuation of his success, particularly in the land of Judea; and to be rendered, then shall he pass through, as the wind, and shall pass over; and he shall bear the punishment of his sin, whose power is his god; that is, the king of Babylon and his army, the Chaldeans, should pass through all nations and kingdoms that were between them and Judea, like a strong wind or whirlwind, to which they are compared, Jer. 4:13 and carry all before them, none being able to resist and oppose them; and should pass over rivers that lay in their way, and the boundaries of Judea, and spread themselves over the whole country; and then that country, and the inhabitants of it, should be punished for their sins, particularly for their confidence in themselves; in their wealth and riches; in their fortresses and strong towers; in their own works of righteousness; all which they made idols of, and trusted not in their God, as they ought to have done. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 615). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
Daniel 2
Nebuchadnezzar requires the wise men to tell him his dream and its interpretation.
INSIGHT
One of our responsibilities as children of God is to give God credit for who He is and what He does. It is a careless Christian who stands under the showers of God’s blessings without recognizing them. It is an irresponsible Christian who recognizes God’s blessings and does not give God the credit. Daniel recognizes God’s work and tells the king that it is God who “reveals deep and secret things” (v. 22). And through this, God is glorified. We must always be alert to the blessings of God in our lives, express our gratitude to Him, and give Him public credit. (Quiet Walk)
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THE HOLINESS OF GOD
Be ye holy; for I am holy.1 Peter 1:16
God’s moral attributes are, in a sense, communicable. Something corresponding to them is to be found in men and women. What are these? Well, first we must mention the holiness of God. What is holiness? I think we almost inevitably tend to deal with it in negative terms, and we define it as meaning that God is entirely separate from and apart from sin. Holiness primarily means separation–separation from evil.
But, of course, holiness is also something positive. It is absolute purity. The Bible teaches us everywhere that God is holy, and a part of the manifestation of this holiness is His hatred of sin and His separation from sin, from the sinner and from all that is evil.
Let me give you certain outstanding examples and illustrations of the Bible’s teaching on this. God has revealed His holiness by granting visions of Himself to certain people. There is the great case of Moses, in Exodus 33 and in other places, where God appeared, as it were, to Moses, and Moses was overwhelmed by the sense of His holiness. The same thing happened to Job, to Isaiah, and to Ezekiel. Anyone who has ever come anywhere near to God has always been impressed by His absolute holiness.
The Bible teaches this in certain terms that it uses; it refers to God as “the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25), and we have God’s injunction, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16), which is a specific, explicit statement of God’s holiness.
I suppose if you were to be asked to say where the Bible teaches the holiness of God most powerfully of all, you have to go to Calvary. God is so holy, so utterly holy, that nothing but that awful death could make it possible for Him to forgive us. The cross is the supreme and the sublimest declaration and revelation of the holiness of God.
A Thought to Ponder: The cross is the supreme and the sublimest declaration and revelation of the holiness of God. (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 69-71. by
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Order of Melchizedek
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
The importance of this intriguing verse is indicated both by the fact that it is the central verse of a great Messianic psalm (quoted at least 12 times in the New Testament) and also because this one verse constitutes one of the main themes of chapters 5–7 of Hebrews, where it is quoted no fewer than five times (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21), and where Melchizedek himself is mentioned nine times. It refers to the fascinating personage glimpsed briefly in Genesis 14:18-20. Melchizedek (meaning “King of Righteousness”) is said to have been “King of Salem” (or “Peace”), but there is no record, either in secular history or elsewhere in the Bible, that there ever was such a city or earthly king. He was also called the “priest of the most high God” (Hebrews 7:1), and he suddenly appeared, then disappeared as suddenly as he had come.
Commentators mostly have assumed that Melchizedek was the chieftain of a small settlement of which we have no record, but this hardly does justice to the exalted descriptions of him in Scripture. He was obviously greater than Abraham (Hebrews 7:4), as well as Aaron, the founder of the Levitical priesthood. Furthermore, he was “without father, without mother, . . . having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3). Such language is hardly appropriate merely because no genealogy is recorded.
If one takes the Bible literally, such statements could be true only of God Himself, appearing briefly in the pre-incarnate state of the Second Person, as King of all peace and righteousness. Now this same divine Person, “because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (Hebrews 7:24-25).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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“There’s no friction in our church,” the pastor prouldly announces, while the more discerning saints say to themselves. “Yes, no friction because there’s no motion.” Few places are as quiet as a cemetery. (p. 95)
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From the cowardice that shrinks form new truth,
From the laziness that is content with half-truths,
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
O God of truth, deliver us! (p. 96)
(10 Power Principles for CHRISTIAN SERVICE by Warren W. & David W. Wiersbe)
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Taking GOD Seriously by D. Stuart Briscoe
Habakkuk is a lovely illustration of a man living in the midst of tumultuous circumstances. (p. 117)
The interesting thing about Habakkuk’s doubt, however, is that it is freely expressed – but notice to whom he expresses it. Our world is full of people who are full of doubts about God, theology, and morality, but they never express those doubts to God. They form societies. They get gripe groups together or they pull out of the situation where they may possibly fond some answers and isolate themselves in their bitterness. The important thing to notice about Habakkuk is this: While he is a man who has doubts and dares to express them, he doesn’t make the mistake of ruling God out of the picture. That is the worst mistake one can make. (119)
God is saying “I’m going to work out something good from what is intrinsically bad. I’m going to punish my people by using a people who are even worse than they. I have decided it. It is irrevocable. (p 120)
As far as God is concerned HE chooses to act as HE will, and this is the crux of the Book of Habakkuk. God has been warning HIS people Judah that judgment is coming. They have not heeded the warnings. They have had a roller-coaster experience of good kings, bad kings – and then good kings again. They have seen revival when they have done things properly – and then they have promptly turned away and gone back to their old ways. They have seen the dreaded Assyrians decimate Israel and Samaria. They have themselves been overthrown by the Egyptians. Egypt had attempted to take over from the south. Under Josiah, Judah decided to try to cut off the Egyptians. The two nations met at Megiddo on the plains of Armageddon – and there Judah was soundly defeated. And the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians. All this happened during Habakkuk’s time. (p. 121)
We feel we have the right to an answer to every question, a solution for every problem, and health for every sickness. (p. 123)
One big problem is that we want to get his thinking in line with ours. What Habakkuk is saying is this: “I’m going to take all the time necessary to get my thinking in line with God’s.” (p. 124)
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TOZERSPEAKS (Volume Two) by A. W. Tozer
On the other hand, thank God, the Bible plainly says that Jesus Christ came to bring an end of self – not to educate it or tolerate it or polish it! No one can ever say that Jesus Christ came to tell us how to cultivate our natural ego and pride. Jesus never taught that we could learn to get along with the big, proud I in our lives by giving it a love for Bach and Beethoven and DaVinci. (p. 300-1)
In the Christian life, that is what baptism is supposed to mean, but sad to say, baptism is nothing but a quick dip to the average person because that one does not know what baptism represents. He does not know that baptism genuinely out to be an outward and visible testimony of a spiritual and inward transformation that has taken place; a symbol declaring that the old selfish and perverse human nature is repudiated in humility, and put away, crucified, declared dead! (p, 301-2)
Either the Lord Jesus Christ came to bring an end of self and reveal a new life in spiritual victory, or He came to patch and repair the old self – He certainly did not come to do both! (p. 302)
He loves you too well and too much to let you continue to strut and boast and cultivate your egotism and feed your I. (p. 307)
Should we edit that prayer [LORD’S Prayer] so that it becomes a confrontation: “My kingdom go, Lord; let Thy kingdom come!” (p. 310)
Now, brethren, in confession, my I assure you that a Christian clergyman cannot follow any other route to spiritual victory and daily blessing than that which is prescribed so plainly in the Word of God. It is one thing for a minister to choose a powerful text, expound it and preach from it – it is quite something else for the minister to honestly and genuinely live forth the meaning of the Word from day to day. A clergyman is a man – and often he has a proud little kingdom of his own, a kingdom of position and often of pride and sometimes with power. Clergymen must wrestle with the spiritual implications of the crucified life just like everyone else, and to be thoroughgoing men of God and spiritual examples to the flock of God, they must die daily to the allurements of their own little kingdoms of position and prestige. (p. 310)
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OLD TESTAMENT WORDS for Today by Warren W. Wiersbe
I understand that our telephones contain materials form at least twenty-two different nations. (p. 64)
The Lord also has a hand in the leaders of the nations. “He removes kings and raises up kings” (Dan. 2:21). “The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4: 32). “God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another” (Ps. 75: 7). This doesn’t mean that God is to blame for the foolish and selfish things leaders have done, for each one of us is accountable to God for our own decisions. God can even use unconverted government leaders to fulfill HIS will. He used the Gentile nations to chasten HIS people Israel and a Roman emperor to make sure Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. (p. 65)
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Why it’s hard to love JESUS by Joseph M. Stowell
That’s the major lesson from Luke’s story. It doesn’t matter if we think that we love Him. What matters is whether or not Christ feels loved by us. (p.19)
As a result, all our good works and all our service to Him are not obligations, but rather opportunities for us to express our love and gratitude for all the greatness of His grace toward us. (p. 21)
When we obey all the rules and perform dutifully for the world to see, pride creeps in and takes hold. (p. 21)
True Christianity is always about the One who has loved us and given Himself for us. When we drift from this motivation and begin to be good because we are Christians, we elevate self above the Savior. When that happens, the door swings open to arrogance and self-righteousness. (p. 22)
…four traps of Pharisaism ….
1. The better we become, the more impressed we are with ourselves.
2. The better we become, the greater distance we place between ourselves and those we consider not as good.
Regardless of how we try to cover ourselves, most of us feel that we really are better than those who “live in sin.” But we are not better – not at all. We are forgiven but not better. That sort of high-minded thinking leads us to become sanctimonious, judgmental, uncompassionate, and disinterred in the welfare of unbelievers.
3. The better we feel we are becoming the more godless we may be. The Pharisees become so fond of being good that they kept inventing new traditions and codes to obey. In the process they became stricter than God. (p. 24)
The Pharisees’ good intentions led them astray. They took the laws of God and added extra rules for good measure. These were called “fence laws.”
There were fence laws aobut Sabbath, about purity, and about anything that had to do with righteous living. That’s why Jesus was such a menace to the Pharisees. He insisted on tearing down those carefully constructed fences. (p. 25)
4. The better we become, the more we feel God is impressed. (p. 26) The Pharisees believed that sinners should be condemened. They had no sense of the grace, mercy, and love of God for all mankind. (p. 27)
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