WHO?

WHO?
Habakkuk 2:18-3:11

False Idols VIDEO

Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk 2. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 811 or 827.

In our study of Habakkuk, the prophet has asked some questions: WHEN are you , God, going to bring judgment on your people’s sins? WHY, God, are you going to use a people more wicked than us to bring that judgment? WHAT are we supposed to do while we wait for justice? And this morning, I believe this question can be asked for our consideration: WHO is worthy of our worship?

Habakkuk 2:18-19 – “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! 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.”

What good, what profit is an idol? It is a graven image, carved out of wood or hewn from stone. OR what profit is an image? It is a metal that is melted and formed into a shape of a god. The answer is obvious. It is rhetorical. The answer to the question: How profitable is it to worship an idol or an image? Is: NONE; ZERO; ZILCH; NADA; NOTHING. There is no profit to it. Why not? Because they are not living – there is no real life there.

I would like to introduce you to my friend: Oscar the organ. Oscar and I are special friends. He is a little large these days, so it difficult for him to go everywhere with me. If I could, I would be with him all the time. He listens to me. He gives me good advice. He plays soothing music. In fact, I have come to think of Oscar as my most important relationship in life. He is the only one I listen to, really. I think about him all the time. I want to please him. If anything ever happened to him, I don’t know what I would do.

If someone truly talked about an object in that way, what would you think about him? What would you think about me? You would think I was crazy. To talk about a lifeless object as though it were real – it’s cute in children, but adults who do it are seen as insane. This is idol worship – to act as though an object is a person, who can hear, see and communicate. Those involved in idol worship structure their lives around something made of wood or metal. It seems unbelievable; and yet it is exactly what was happening in Hababkkuk’s day. It still happens today.

Question: WHO does not deserve our worship?
According to these verses, there is no profit, no value in worshipping other gods because:
· Man-made idol worship will only bring false teaching
It is called a “teacher of lies” because in making an idol and worshiping it acted as though there was life there and a reason to worship the idol; when in fact there is no reason – it is deceptive to think that they could help you. “Woe to him”, it says (condemnation, judgment) who makes something with his own hands and then worships it. Can this wooden object really teach you something? It may have gold or silver on its outside and look great and valuable; but it has no breath – no life.

· Man-made idols cannot respond
Verse 19 says “woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach?” Can this idol speak? Can it respond? NO!

In I Kings 18, we have an account of the prophet Elijah, who had challenged the followers of the god Baal to see who the true God was. The prophets of Baal had been calling out to their god for hours, but there was no response. Elijah the prophet mocked their god and false worship:

I Kings 18:26,27 – “And they…called upon the name of Baal form morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and no one answered…And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

The fact was in Elijah’s day and in Habakkuk’s day and in our day, man-made idols cannot respond – never have, never will. There is no life there. But, it doesn’t stop people from worshiping them. Here is another fact:

· Man-made idols are worshiped by the Creator rather than the other way around

The thing that is made is worshiped; whereas it should be that the thing that is made worships its creator. Doesn’t that make sense? But, idol worship doesn’t make sense. And, in fact, all of man’s sinful pursuit of fleshly desires comes down to worshiping the creation rather than the creator, doesn’t it?

Romans 1:24,25 – “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Hideyoshi, a Japanese warlord who ruled over Japan in the late 1500s, commissioned a colossal statue of Buddha for a shrine in Kyoto. It took 50,000 men five years to build, but the work had scarcely been completed when the earthquake of 1596 brought the roof of the shrine crashing down and wrecked the statue. In a rage Hideyoshi shot an arrow at the fallen colossus. “I put you here at great expense,” he shouted, “and you can’t even look after your own temple.”

An idol cannot respond. Next,the prophet gives the incredible contrast between the lifeless idols of worship and the only one who deserves our worship. The prophet Jeremiah, a contemporary of Habakkuk, said:

Jeremiah 10:3-5 – “…A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” And then, here is the declaration of Jeremiah, and of Habakkuk, and of every believer who gives God their worship:

Jeremiah 10:6 – “There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.”

In contrast to the gods they worshiped, the true God, the LORD, was living. As Habakkuk stated back in chapter one, this God was self-existent, eternal and holy.

Habakkuk 1:12 – “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?..”

Habukkuk 2:20 - “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Instead of yelling Wake up! To the lifeless gods, in this case, people are told: SHHHH! Be quiet. You don’t have to wake Him up. He’s not sleeping and, in fact, He is the holy God, who deserves your awe and reverence. Keep silence means to say hush or be still.

Unlike the dead gods, this one and only true God does hear our prayers, He does know exactly what is happening, and He will act as the sovereign God, in His time and in His way.

The message for Habakkuk, the people of Judah and for us: God is in control. Yes, He chose the wicked Chaldeans to bring judgment on you, His people; but He will not completely abandon you; and you can trust Him to bring true justice to the Chaldeans eventually and to deliver His people when the time is right.

SO WHAT? One of the lessons the people needed to learn, and we need to hear:
· Do not place anything ahead of God

Commentator Craigie notes: “Idolatry is essentially the worship of that which we make, rather than of our Maker. And that which we make may be found in possessions, a home, a career, an ambition, a family, or a multitude of other people or things. We worship them when they become the focal point of our lives, that for which we live. And as the goal and centre of human existence, they are as foolish as any wooden idol or metal image. But what we can perceive so clearly in the words of a prophet from centuries long passed, we cannot always see so clearly in our immediate life and existence. As we reflect on Habakkuk’s words, we should reflect also on the nature and direction of our own lives.”

Introduction to chapter 3:
God had answered Habakkuk’s second complaint, namely that God would use the more wicked Chaldeans to judge His people, without any seeming end or justice for their immoral and unjust acts. God’s answer was that the Chaldeans, in God’s timing and way, will be dealt with. He is the sovereign God who has everything under control, including the day of judgment for the Chaldeans (Babylonians).

We now have Habakkuk’s response, in chapter 3; and it is a response of praise. It seems he has given up his complaints – good move! And now, his prophecy ends with the focus on who God is and the praise that He alone deserves. And this is where all of us must eventually come; even after struggling with God through some difficult issues of life, even questioning Him along the way. But, eventually, we come to understand, to see God for who He is, and it turns into praise.

Habakkuk 3:1 – “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.”

This prayer of Habakkuk is a poem, a hymn, a song of praise. In verses 3,9,13, you see the word Selah, very common in the Psalms, and most likely a sign that this prayer, poem of Habakkuk’s was to be used in public worship. The term “Shigionoth” is somewhat obscure, and there are various suggestions for interpretation. The one I think makes the most sense in context is this: It is some type of musical notation that had significance for their worship in the temple. A form of this term only appears one other time (Psalm 7) and there is no other biblical information that tells us it was anything but a musical help to those using it in worship in those days.

Habakkuk 3:2 – “O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.”

The Question is: Who is the One we are to worship?

· The God who keeps His promises

Habakkuk uses the term LORD, Jehovah, YAHWEH, this was the covenant keeping God of Israel. In the last chapter and complaint, Habakkuk had heard the report of the mighty Chaldeans, all of their destruction, and it brought great fear to the heart of this prophet and God’s people. Now, in this song of praise, Habakkuk says: I have heard the report of you, God, the One who keeps all promises. And although that is a great thing; it is also a terrifying thing! You are going to use the cruel Chaldeans to defeat, take captive and punish your people, and, eventually, you are going to wipe out the Chaldeans – I am afraid. This prophet was frustrated and confused, and now he admits fear as he considers God’s judgment. But, there is no doubt that this God is real – He is no idol made by hands.

Habakkuk has now heard the report of what God would do to Judah and the Chaldeans and he is responding to God’s character through these events that just didn’t make any sense to the prophet. But, he concentrates on who God is and what He is asking God to do, in response to His own character. WHO is the One we are to worship?
· The God who acts

Habakkuk prayed: “in the midst of these years, revive your works, in our day and in our times, do your work in us”. Unlike the dead idols, this God, the true God, responds in real action because He is truly alive.

WHO is the One we are to worship?

· The God of mercy

The prophet asks that while God is bringing His wrath to bear, that He also bring along His characteristic of mercy. That is what was needed most. Judah deserved to be wiped out, but the prayer is based on God’s mercy and Habakkuk wanted to God to act according to it. When He asks God to “remember” His mercy, He is asking Him to give it – act on it.

SO WHAT? Ask for God to act according to His character.

This is a prayer; and it reminds us of some important aspects of our prayer lives. Talking to God is what prayer simply is, and one aspect of that is to recognize who God is and to ask Him to respond according to who He is. Eventually, our prayers need to stop being all about us and start focusing on God, who He is and what He has done. In this prayer, there is adoration as well as asking God to do His work in a powerful way.

Perhaps you have followed the story recently of the Ohio policeman, Bobby Cutts Jr.? A news story read this way a couple weeks ago: A former Canton police officer convicted of killing his pregnant lover and their unborn child took the stand Monday to appeal for his life before a jury that must decide whether to recommend the death sentence.
Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, cried on the stand, as he did when he testified during his trial, and said he couldn't forgive himself for what happened to Jessie Davis and her nearly full-term fetus.
He begged jurors to have mercy and give him life in prison instead of sentencing him to die.
“Ladies and gentleman of the jury, I’m asking you to spare my life,” Cutts said.
This is what mercy is. You are asking God not to give you what you deserve. And because God is merciful, we can ask Him to act according to that characteristic. When we talk to God, as Habakkuk did, we can are encouraged to ask God to act based on His character. We move on, and in verses 3-7, we ask:
WHO is the One we are to worship?
· The God who appears in power and glory

Habakkuk 3:3 – “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”

[like a thunderstorm]

Habakkuk talks about God coming from Teman and the mountain Paran to remember His appearance on Mount Sinai, which is included in that district, south of Judah. God had appeared in His holiness, and He made Himself known. Like a thunderstorm that lights up the entire sky, so God came down to appear to man. The earth being full of his praise is not referring to the actual response of the people back then. They responded in fear and criticism and idolatry. But, the earth, created by God, responded in reverent praise at God’s appearance.

Habakkuk 3:4 – “His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.”

[like a sunrise]

Walvoord and Zuck describe it this way: “The heavens are first tinted with early rays of the hidden sun, then the earth is illuminated as the ball of fire appears over the horizon, and finally everything is flooded with brilliant, glorious light. Just as rays of light streak across the morning sky, so rays flashed from God’s hand.”

When Moses came down from meeting with God on Mount Sinai, he was described like this:

Exodus 34:29,30 – “…Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel…were afraid to come near him.”

“It is easy to forget that the light and warmth which showers the earth with blessing comes from a ball of fire that could consume the globe in a moment. So God’s power is hidden in His glory. His revelation is restrained lest it consume its beholders.”

Habakkuk 3:5 – “Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels.”

[bringing destruction]

This is all a part of the report that Habakkuk has heard about concerning God, His power and glory. This is the One and only true God, who brought disease upon His own people when they disobeyed, refusing to worship Him correctly. This is the God who brought the 10 plagues down on Egypt, when they would not allow God’s people to go worship Him.

SO WHAT? Worship Him through obedience

I believe this was a part of Habakkuk’s prophecy. Judah, God’s own people had stopped worshipping Him through disobedience. The Chaldeans worshipped other gods, who were dead, and they eventually would be judged. God’s people needed to remember that God will harshly judge those who do not worship Him.

So, a practical application, not only for the hearts of Judah for their future captivity; but for us today. Listen to the stories of God’s judgment on those who refuse to worship Him, and don’t allow your heart to grow cold. Worship is not about just singing or saying we believe in God. It is about how we live our lives.

Habakkuk 3:6 – “He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.”

[shaking the earth]

Listen to the description of when God came down to Mount Sinai, to give the law to His people:

Exodus 19:16-19 – “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.”

This was how God would come. In His power and glory, the mountains shake and crumble. God, who existed before the mountains were made, the God who made the mountains, and the God who will destroy the mountains, shows His power and glory in His appearance.

Habakkuk 3:7 – “I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.”

[Bringing fear to His opponents]

Cushan and Midian were nations that were on the either side of the Red Sea. When God demonstrated His power and glory by bringing the plagues on Egypt and His people out of bondage, those who oppose God would hear about it. When God then did an incredible miracle and parted the waters of the Red Sea, for millions of His people to walk across on dry land, the opponents of God would hear about it.

And when they heard about God’s great glory and power, they trembled – they were afraid – they were terrified. If the mountains crumble before God, how well are the canvas tents of the enemies of God going to hold up? Here is how Moses described the nations who heard about what God had done:

Exodus 15:14-16 – “The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.”

Let me ask you something: If we were to take you right now, fly you over to Iran, drop you by yourself in the middle of the capital city and give you an American flag to wave, would you be afraid? I would imagine that you would be terrified, just as I would. If you were to face a nation that thought you hated them and opposed them. If you were to fly the American flag in their face, and they had all the power. How would you feel?
Habakkuk the prophet says that because of the incredible power of God, displayed in Israel’s history, the opposing nations were terrified. This is the God who would take care of His people, and at any moment, could wipe out a nation that opposed Him. People don’t seem to have that fear today. But, this is a description of the God we are to worship.

In verses 3-7, the One we are to worship is The God who appears in power and glory. Let’s conclude with verse 8-11:

WHO is the One we are to worship?
· The God who controls nature

Habakkuk 3:8 – “Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?”

[the waters]

The questions here have to do with the motivation for God’s appearance in power and glory. Was He angry at nature itself? The implied answer is: NO. However, God controls nature in such a way, that He uses the water, in this case, to make His point.

He struck the Nile river so it turned to blood. He struck the Red Sea so that it parted and then came back in destruction over the Egyptians. He struck the Jordan River and dried it up in part. He would do the same to that nation. He is pictured as a victorious warrior riding in on His horse, bringing deliverance (salvation) to His people. This is in stark contrast to the Chaldeans, the Babylonian horses of military might, which would be stopped with Babylon’s fall in 539 B.C.

Habakkuk 3:9 – “You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers.”

God is seen as the warrior getting ready to bring destruction on his enemies. God promises to bring judgment on them and will use the waters of nature to do it.
There is a parallel between what is happening here and the words of Moses, describing what God will do:

Deuteronomy 32:22-24,42 – “For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it…devours the earth…and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. And I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them; they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence…I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh – with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the…heads of the enemy.”

Habakkuk 3:10 – “The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.”

[the mountains]

Have you ever writhed in great pain? Have you seen anyone writhing in pain? They are in such great pain, turning and twisting, and praying for it to go away. The mountains are given a real-life personality here, describing them writhing in pain as they saw God coming in judgment. The waters were testifying that God had moved them harshly. The waters under the earth spoke out about God’s power. And the waters lifted their hands. Nature is given personality to describe God’s power over them in proclaiming His sovereignty and judgment.

Habakkuk 3:11 – “The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.”

[the sun and moon]

As God is pictured coming in judgment, the sun and moon are said to have stood still, being over powered by the light of His presence, as He brought destruction to His enemies. This certainly takes the reader back to the story told in Joshua 10 – the day the sun and moon stood still. The nation of Israel needed more daylight, in order to defeat their enemies. Listen to what God did:

Joshua 10:12,13 – “At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.”

The sun and moon stand and watch God bring judgment. It was in this same context, one verse earlier, that demonstrates God’s wrath to which the sun and moon are witnesses:

Joshua 10:11 – “And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.”

God often controlled the forces of nature to bring His judgment.

You know you’ve got trouble when…

· you wake up face down on the pavement
· you call 911 and they put you on hold
· you see a 60 Minutes news team waiting in your office
· your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles
· you turn on the news and they are showing emergency routes out of the city
· your twin forgets your birthday

You know you’ve got trouble when…
· You forget about the character of God and live your own life (like the nation of Judah did)
· You put other things ahead of God and oppose His ways (like the Chaldeans did)

SO WHAT?
Praise God for who He is

That is really what Habakkuk is doing here. After all of his complaining and confusion, he begins to concentrate on God’s character. Concentrating on the character of God will bring all of the confusing circumstances of life into the right perspective. It doesn’t mean that you will fully understand them; but it does mean that can understand who is in control; whom you trust; and whom you will worship with your life.