Lessons from Habakkuk

I am part of a home small group Bible study and our study this week is taken from the book of Habakkuk (click here to hear it pronounced). I thought I would post some lessons that I learned from this study, which is chapter 17 in the book Right Thinking In A World Gone Wrong: A Biblical Response to Today's Most Controversial Issues by John MacArthur.

Habakkuk 1:1-4 – Habakkuk basically asks God, “Why aren’t you doing anything about Judah’s sinfulness?”

Habakkuk 1:5-11 – God’s answer was basically, “I am doing something. I am sending the Babylonians (modern region of Iraq) to conquer and enslave Judah.” Habakkuk was shocked by God’s response and asked a second question.

Habakkuk 1:12-17 – Habakkuk’s second question was “How can you allow these unclean, uncircumcised, ungodly people conquer and enslave Your chosen people, the Kingdom of priests?” At first he was upset that God was not doing anything about the sin, and then he was upset that God was being overly drastic in His punishment.

Habakkuk 2:1-20 – God’s answered Habakkuk by assuring him that He was going to punish the Babylonians also. He then offered Habakkuk two passages of comfort: Habakkuk 2:4 (the righteous will live by faith) and 2:20 (God will still reign in His holy temple).

In tough times when it seems the godly suffer and the ungodly prosper, what theological foundation does Habakkuk teach us? Salvation is by faith and God is on His throne. Habakkuk’s entire attitude was changed by God’s answer.

Right Responses to Trials - Chapter 3 of Habakkuk

  1. Habakkuk 3:1 – start with prayer. Instead of demanding answers from God or trying to tell God how He should do things, Habakkuk now recognizes God’s sovereignty. Prayer takes our focus off of our circumstances and puts our eyes on God. Prayer may not change your circumstance, but it will change your perspective.
  2. Habakkuk 3:2, 16 – surrender and submit to God’s authority. If we realize that God is omniscient, we will be willing to be instruments for His use. And, while it is not always comfortable or easy, trials do help us mature in our faith. Read James 1:2-3.
  3. Habakkuk 3:3-15 – Remember God’s greatness. Sometimes we need to go back and visit those milestones in our lives. These milestones will allow us to remember what God has done for us and how He brought us out of previous circumstances.
  4. Habakkuk 3:17-18 – Reaffirm your faith in God and make storm preparations. Habakkuk knew that Judah was in for some difficult times and that this was exactly what had been prophesied. Yet he resolved to exalt and rejoice in the Lord regardless. Just as you would prepare for a hurricane or blizzard, Habakkuk teaches us that we must prepare ourselves for the coming trials so that in the midst of the trials we do not doubt and lose faith.
  5. Habakkuk 3:19 – Rest in the strength of the Lord. If we take the time to follow through with the previous four responses, then this one is the payment for handling our trials correctly.
Listen to this song: “The Strength of the Lord”

Comments

Betty said…
Great Bible study. Made me think.
11:31 AM
Anonymous said…
Nice brief and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.
10:57 PM
Anonymous said…
Sorry for my bad english. Thank you so much for your good post. Your post helped me in my college assignment, If you can provide me more details please email me.
1:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dirty Feet

Image
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) I have never been very comfortable in shoes. It really doesn’t matter whether they have great arch support, ultra extreme amounts of cushioning, or how much they cost. The first thing I do when I arrive home is take off my shoes and stretch my once imprisoned feet by bending them at the arches and wiggling my toes. I then remove my socks and begin to feel my feet relax as the fresh air washes over my tingling, sometimes sweaty, toes. Pretty picture, I know. It must be the right thing to do. A billion Chinese could not be wrong. My mother could not be wrong. After all, she was the one who always told me to, “Take off your dirty shoes before you come in here. I just finished mopping this floor and I don’t want mud tracked all over my clean house.” It became a normal ritual around our house to put the dozen or so shoes away before company was expected. My mother didn’t want dirty f...
Read more

Pampered and Pacified

Author J.M. Barrie created the character that never wanted to grow up. Peter Pan, also the title of his famous book, did not want to become an adult and be forced to deal with all of the stress and struggles that came with the transformation. So Peter found his way to Neverland where, along with his lost boys, he could remain a carefree child forever. But those who know the story also know that carefree was not all that it promised for villainous Captain Hook constantly lurked around the corners, and then there was that tantalizing Wendy who stole Peter’s heart before he even knew what hit him. Millions of Americans have seemed to follow in the footsteps of Peter Pan. We have become a nation that no longer values the virtues of adulthood: especially responsibility, strong work ethic, self-dependence, selflessness, and community awareness. You don’t have far to look in our American society before you see lost boys, and girls, running around everywhere. Grown men and women who want ...
Read more

Ephesians 5 - Our Life of Love

Image
When I have learned to love God more than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” C.S. Lewis In a Nutshell Paul encourages Christians to be imitators of God and to walk in love. Don’t fall into a life of sin, but rather stand against sin and try to expose it. Use your time wisely as you follow God’s will. Let the Holy Spirit direct and influence your behaviors. As you do this, husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and wives should respect and submit to their husbands. The Power of Example In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of the time he wanted to convince the citizens of Philadelphia to light the streets at night as a protection against crime and as a convenience for evening activities. Failing to convince them by his words, he decided to show his neighbors how compelling a single light could be. He bought an attractive lantern, polished the glass, and placed in on a long bracket that extended from the f...
Read more