Habakkuk 2

This is reality!

Habakkuk 2

Habakkuk 2:1

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. (use)

Isaiah 21:8

Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights." (use)

1 Chronicles 16:11

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! (use)

We can start by praying for them {refugees}, confident that the God who reigns sovereign over all people has ordained prayer as a means by which we can participate with him in the accomplishment of his purposes in the world.

Platt, D., 2017. Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-christian Age. pg. 223
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Habakkuk 1:5

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. (use)

On the one hand, Habakkuk announced the Babylonians' rise to prominence as if it would be a surprise (1:5-6). … On the other hand, the prophecy seems to assume the Babylonians had already built a reputation as an imperialistic power (see 1:6-11, 15-17; 2:5-17). … Perhaps the best way to resolve the problem is to understand the book as a collection of messages from different periods in the prophet's career.

Chisholm, R.B. Jr., 2002. Handbook on the Prophets. pg.443
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Habakkuk 2:2

And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it." (use)

God speaks in the language you know best— not through your ears, but through your circumstances

Chambers, O., 2017. My Utmost for His Highest.
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God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

Lewis, C.S., 1940. Problem of Pain. Collins, London.
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Psalm 14:2

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (use)

The Bible speaks with one voice. It sets forth one plan of salvation, makes one diagnosis of the problem of the human condition, presents one history of redemption, and offers one Savior.

Lawson, S., 2018. The Moment of Truth: Its Reality.
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Hebrews 1:1–2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (use)

The existence of the Bible means that God speaks. It is our responsibility to study the Bible, to understand its spectacular unfolding of God's plan, to revel in the unfolding story of God's redemption, to apply the Scripture’s worldview to our lives, and to obey its imperatives.

Mohler, A., 2023. The existence of the Bible.
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Isaiah 30:8

And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. (use)

Revelation 1:19

Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. (use)

Daniel 12:4

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (use)

Habakkuk 2:4

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (use)

The Prophet also puts the verb in the future tense, in order to show the perpetuity of this life: for the unbelieving glory in a shadowy life; but the Lord will at last discover their folly, and they themselves shall really know that they have been deceived. But as God never disappoints the hope of his people, the Prophet promises here a perpetual life to the faithful.

Calvin, J., 1555. Commentary.
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Genesis 15:6

And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (use)

Psalm 32:2

Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (use)

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (use)

Habakkuk 2:3

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (use)

...such live by faith upon a promising God, and so live comfortably: or by the faith of Christ, promised to come in the preceding verse Habakkuk 2:3 ; by that faith, of which he is the object, author, and finisher: just men live not upon their faith, but by it on Christ, as crucified for them, as the bread of life, and as the Lord their righteousness; and so have joy and peace in believing.

Gills, J., 1748. Exposition of the Bible Commentary.
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Habakkuk 1:10

At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. (use)

Habakkuk 1:11

Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!” (use)

Till men have faith in Christ, their best services are but glorious sins.

Brooks, T., 1824. The select works of Thomas Brooks.
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There is a plan of God designed for your salvation. It is not an afterthought or an attempt to correct a mistake. Rather, from all eternity, God determined that He would redeem for Himself a people, and that which He determined to do was, in fact, accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ, His atonement on the cross. [ch. 9]

Sproul, R.C., 2007. The Truth of the Cross.
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Romans 1:17

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (use)

Hebrews 10:38

but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (use)

Galatians 3:11

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." (use)

In Romans 1:17, the emphasis is on "righteous." Paul's concern in Romans was with the righteousness of God and how people can obtain it. In Hebrews 10:38, the emphasis is on "live." The writer to the Hebrews stressed the importance of living by faith as a way of life, and not turning back to Judaism and living by the Mosaic Law. And in Galatians 3:11, the emphasis is on "faith." Paul contrasted salvation by works and salvation by faith in Galatians. Thus, we can see that this statement is packed with meaning. In fact, many Bible students believe that this verse expresses the central theme of the entire Bible. It has been called the John 3:16 of the Old Testament.

Constable, T., 2022. Expository Notes.
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Philippians 1:21

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (use)

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (use)

It was the honour of God, as a God of impartial justice and irresistible power; for by the ruin of the Chaldean monarchy (which all the world could not but take notice of) the earth was filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Habakkuk
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Isaiah 11:9

They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (use)

Jeremiah 31:34

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (use)

Psalm 72:19

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! (use)

Numbers 14:21

But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, (use)

The bible does not tell us how sin entered the universe, but we are told how it entered our world and that it originated before it made its presence felt here. It is a characteristic of Scripture revelation that while it does not tell us everything we would like to know, it tells us all we need to know to enable us to meet the exigencies of life and to live victoriously over sin and circumstances.

Sanders, J.O., 1962. On to maturity. pg. 49
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2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (use)

VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all: yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.

Westminster Divines,. 1646. The Westminster Confession of Faith.
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Habakkuk 2:20

But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. (use)

Habakkuk 2:15

Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! (use)

Ephesians 5:18

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, (use)

Mark 9:42

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (use)

Romans 14:15

For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. (use)

Habakkuk 2:18

What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! (use)

Habakkuk 2:19

Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. (use)

And now having declared the nothingness of all which is not God, the power of man or his gods, he answers again his own question, by summoning all before the presence of the majesty of God.

Barnes, A., 1884. Albert Barnes Notes on the Whole Bible.
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1 Samuel 12:21

And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. (use)

Micah 1:2

Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. (use)

STATEMENT NO. 30 Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth. All participants in 2018 Finding: 60% agree vs. 30% disagree

LifeWay Research, Ligonier Ministries, 2018. The State of Theology.
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Deuteronomy 32:31

For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves. (use)

Psalm 11:4

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. (use)

He is in his holy temple in heaven, the residence of his glory, where we have access to him in the way, not which we have invented, but which he himself has instituted.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Habakkuk
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Psalm 115:3

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (use)

The cross stands high above the opinions of men and to that cross all opinions must come at last for judgment.

Tozer, A.W., 2005. The Radical Cross.
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Zechariah 2:13

Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (use)

My confidence in the future rests in my confidence in the God who controls history.

Sproul, R.C., 2019. Does Prayer Change Things?
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John 14:10

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. (use)

Fear not, I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by My name; thou art Mine.

Bonar, A., 2016. Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne.
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1 Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, (use)

Revelation 20:11

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. (use)

Topics and Themes

Key Verse

Habakkuk 2:4

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (use)

Idols

Isaiah 44:9-20

Jeremiah 10:1-16

Acts 17