Okay, we are in chapter 3 of Habakkuk, looking at the final chapter. We looked at last week, chapter 3, verse 1. where it's introduced again just like the book was introduced as a prophecy or an oracle of Habakkuk. This is now introduced as a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, and then it's given a name, a genre of music, Sionneth. whatever that would mean, if it's a tempo, if it's a style of music. It appears to be some kind of lament, some crying out for help, anticipating God. So it may be a song of mourning or blues of some sort, if we'd put a word on it. Then verse 2, we looked at it last week. Lord, and do notice, because this is going to be interesting tonight in chapter 3, verse 3, The word Lord is Yahweh. He addresses Him as Yahweh. I have heard of your fame in the NIV I'm reading. I stand in awe of your deeds. And again, as we talked about it last week concerning the way it should be written possibly as it's in the English Standard Version. I've heard you report. He says, I have heard, heard, your report, and that would be, that's God's response to Habakkuk's question, and I have seen your works or heard about your works. And then it says, I stand in awe in the NIV. The word is actually fear. I fear. I heard, I received what you said, your report, I've heard about the works you're about to do, and it causes me fear or trembling." And then he says this, three things, renew them in our day in the NIV, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy." So, he's heard the report and the works that the Lord is going to do, which includes destroying Jerusalem and Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. He says it very clearly, the Babylonians are coming and he fears. And then he says, in time referring to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem until the ultimate arrival of the coming of the Lord, which is what this rest of this chapter is about, is the coming of the Lord, the arrival of the Lord. We talk about the second coming of the Lord. That's what Habakkuk is referring to. In this time period, and in the NIV it says, in our time, but it's referring to a time period, and he asks for three things. One would be live. Help us live. Help us come back to life. Renew us as a nation. Don't forget the covenant, but bring life. And then the next thing is, make them known. Or would be, reveal. Reveal this plan, this report, this work that you're doing. Bring us alive and reveal to us what you're doing. Give us something to put faith in. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. And so reveal this Word so we can have faith and trust You for life. And then the last thing, in wrath, remember mercy." Because this is a time of wrath. When He comes, it's going to be a time of wrath. First, it's going to be a time of judgment on the people of God, on Jerusalem, and then ultimately on the nations. And during that time, remember mercy. And so that is, as it says, a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, and then gives a type of prayer, and the music gets to be sung with. Then he says, I've heard your report and the works you're planning on doing. Causes me to fear. During this time that you're doing your works that you've reported, bring life, renew us, Reveal your plan. Let us keep knowing what you're doing. And remember mercy so that we can survive until your coming." And that is chapter 3, verse 1, the introduction. Chapter 3, verse 2, this part. And now we begin chapter 3, verse 3, which is basically, and I'm going to read again through this, probably using the English standard that's on your notes. This is the coming of the Lord. And what it's going to use is going to use historical occurrences, particularly God coming from Sinai, but it's not exactly Mount Sinai. It's not exactly the Exodus, although there's going to be allusions to it. The idea being, what God did at the Exodus of His appearing and leading His people, it was a theophany. It was, in a sense, a day of the Lord. He brought wrath on the Egyptians and deliverance for His people. That will be repeated throughout history at different times in a smaller scale. But ultimately, it's going to be at the end, you're going to have the Great Coming or the Second Coming of the Lord and what is taking place historically, kind of gives you a prelude of what it's going to be like when he comes. And so although there's going to be historical references in here, that you go back and go, ah, this is talking about the days of Deborah. This is talking about the days of Moses and Mount Sinai. This is talking about whatever. It's like those are just the way it appeared. But it's going to be, it's the Lord, if it's Mount Sinai, if it's during the days of the judges, if it's Him coming into the temple in Solomon's day, if it's Him coming in judgment on Jerusalem, or if it's Him coming back at Armageddon or whenever you want to place it there. It's the same Lord and He's still coming into history. You're going to have the same results. So I'm going to read now, and you can follow along on the notes if you want to. I've got just the first chapter 3, verse 3 is on the front page. And then the rest of it's on the page 2 and 3. So I want you to hear it in context, and then we'll break down and look at chapter 3, verse 3. It says, God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. And then it says, Selah. And I think, we're not, no one's real sure what sila means, but it's definitely a musical term. It was giving directions on what is supposed to happen at that point of the prayer or that point of the song. One suggestion that I like is that the music would continue, but the worshipers would stop singing. and they'd reflect on what you've just said. What did you just say? It'd be a time of reflection, of meditation on what was said. It could be the music gets louder, the music gets softer. Maybe the worshipers all bow down in worship. It might be... It means something. It's used in the book of Psalms. It's used here. It's used three times in this chapter. But nonetheless, it's interesting to note where it says it. It just simply states, God came from Timon and the Holy One from Mount Paran, Selah. Now at that point, this musical thing happened. The music got really loud. The singers stopped singing. Everybody started dancing in a circle. I mean, something happened at that point. and then they go back to the song. So, if you go with what I'm suggesting, and others have suggested, is that the singing stops and you just think about what, you know, God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. This is God coming into history. He's coming back into our land. Ok. His splendor covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise. And then we're on page two, if you're following the English Standard Version in the notes. "...his brightness was like the light, rays flashed from his hand, and there he veiled his power." Now you can, if you want to, consider this is just talking about Mount Sinai. uh... i think there's references i think you saw it there it's whenever the lord is intervening on a day of the lord this is a fiat this is what it looks like and how back it is not just looking back knowing that god came on mount sinai the whole book is actually about him coming after this time period when he comes to judge the nations. So, although he's making reference to the past, we know this is all about Habakkuk is waiting, longing for this day. It has, in a sense, not happened yet in this case. His brightness was like the light, rays flashed from his hand, and there he veiled his power. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels. 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. I saw the tents of cushion in affliction. The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 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, you stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows." Selah. So that would be a point right there. The question, what are you doing? The earth is responding. You see, He enters into the earth and the earth begins to shake. Mountains begin to disappear. Water is in turmoil. Tsunamis take effect. It's like, whoa, are you angry with nature? Are you angry with the mountains? And then it makes a statement kind of clarifying, wait, he's reaching for his bow and he's calling for many arrows. Sela. Ah, I mean, if that would be the case, it's like, oh, he's not. This is just the reaction of his presence. He's here to take care of business. He's got weapons, weapons you're not going to use against the river or against the mountains. He's coming against the nations. You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed. The raging waters swept on. The deep gave forth its voice. It lifted its hands on high." Now, even as you look at those, I don't want to spend too much time talking about this. I'm just reading through it. But you see, that could even go back to the creation account, when the Lord entered into creation and began to form what He had already established. The sun, the moon, stood still in their place. Now that took place with Joshua, but at the same time that would be a common occurrence if the Lord is actually going to intervene in history. And that's what you see in the book of Revelation when the Lord appears, the sun disappears, the moon turns like goatskin. It's like He's in the atmosphere. That's why I'm getting more and more confident that the sixth seal is actually the Lord entering into the atmosphere because these are the things that take place. It affects the climate. It affects the gravity. It affects the continental plates. 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. You marched through the earth in fury. You threshed the nations in anger. You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck." And that is the day of the Lord, right there. Bringing salvation to his people and crushing his enemy. He's bringing deliverance from those who have been oppressed by the world that are his people. And he's bringing judgment or vengeance on those who brought about that vengeance. That's what a day of the Lord is, if it's on coming into Egypt, if it's coming in the day of Sennacherib, if it's coming in the days of Deborah, if it's when the Lord returns at the Second Coming. Again, I don't think this is a particular moment in time, but Habakkuk is looking back at all of the times the Lord has appeared in history and intervened, anticipating the great occurring of the Second Coming, as far as is revealed to him. a verse chapter three verse thirteen you went out for the salvation of your people force the salvation of your anointed you crushed the head of the house of the wicked laying him bare from fight a neck there it is again ceiling thinking about if you get it with this what you doing is the music continues to play think about this this is the day we're longing for were those that are in rebellion towards god are judged and removed and those that have been waiting for the lord are delivered you pierced his own You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret." So again, that would be the Hamas, the social oppression, and now the leader's own arrows are being used against his own troops. You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters. I hear and my body trembles, my lips quiver at the sound, rottenness enters into my bones, my legs tremble beneath me, yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us." Again, chapter 3, verse 16 is kind of talking about not only is the Lord coming to judge the nations, before He comes to judge the nations, this occurrence is going to happen to Jerusalem. The Lord is going to come and judge Jerusalem, and then someday in the future He's going to come and judge the nations and restore Israel. And so in chapter 3, verse 16, Habakkuk is saying, I hear and my body trembles because he understands that this is not just, you know, the deliverance in the end. There's some history that's got to be taking place and there's going to be judgment on his own people. My lips quiver at the sound, rottenness enters my bones, my legs tremble beneath me, meaning I'm concerned with what's going to take place, yet he's come to grips with this. In this book he's come to grips with the fact that the Lord is going to bring the Babylonians in to do his work. but he's going to quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon the people who invade us. Babylon is coming, but he says, I'll quietly wait. I know it's going to take place. There's nothing to do. We're just going to wait. Eventually, Babylon is going to fall to the Persians. And then, of course, he would maybe anticipate when Babylon falls, that's the end. But as we know, then Persia comes, and then the Romans come, and then it continues, and here we are today. you know, 2,600 years later still waiting for this to take place. Okay, so let's go back to chapter 3, verse 3, and look at the notes. The first thing, that chapter 3, verse 3 is broken into two parts because, at least I'm breaking it into two parts, a statement is made, God came from Teman, and those are all important, and then Holy One from Mount Paran. And so, first of all, the word God, which just is plain interesting to look at. I've got it drawn in a square in the Hebrew transliteration, translation. God is called, here is the word Eloah, E-L-O-A-H. It's an ancient form of the name for God or a word for God. It's used 41 times in the book of Job, which is, I think, the first book written down, the first recorded book. taking into account that, again, Genesis was written by Moses, but he probably used portions of things already recorded. Documents recorded possibly even by Adam, definitely written by Noah, probably some things written by Enoch, and then things kept record by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. It even says this is the account of Jacob. And those would be the things written down in their family records that Moses then edited into the book of Genesis. So those would have the most ancient documents, but they were all compiled in the wilderness. The book of Job maybe predates, as an actual literary work, the actual recording and combining of the book of Genesis, if you understand that. And that would make sense because in the book of Job, this word for God is used 41 times and only 16 other times in the rest of the Old Testament, including right here. So it's an ancient form. It's an early form of the name, or just a word for God. when God speaks, when Habakkuk speaks to God in chapter 3, verse 8, and you can see probably in your own text, I know in my NIV Bible, there's a break right there. What he's doing is chapter 3, verses 3 through 7, he's describing what he sees, and then in verse 8, he addresses God and says, were you angry with the rivers, O Lord? And there again, that is all capitalized. That is Yahweh. and so he begins chapter 3 verse 2 saying Yahweh I've heard of your fame or I've heard of your report and then in verse 8 he says are you were you angry with the rivers Yahweh so between calling him Yahweh he addresses him as this ancient form of God which is used. We'll point out also at the end of chapter 3 when he's closing the book down you've got chapter 3, verse 19, where it says, the Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of the deer. That word, Sovereign Lord, is Adonai Yahweh. And so Sovereign would be Adonai. It's a word for Lord or Master. And so right there at the end of the end of the book he is in a sense Rightfully, so not surprising to us, but is submitting totally to this vision He's calling him Sovereign Lord or Adonai Yahweh Meaning he is coming to this recognition that okay. I'd like he says I'm gonna wait for your deliverance Which is ultimately what we all have to do It's not like we live by faith. Paul talks about hope that is seen as no hope at all. No matter how much God blesses us, no matter how much we know or trust God, it's going to come to a place where we're going to just have to just trust God that the unknown, the unseen, is going to be taken care of by Him. And especially in Habakkuk today, where God is giving him some very, very bad news. In Habakkuk, you see him struggling with it. At the end, he addresses Him, Adonai Yahweh, or Lord Master Yahweh. So, it goes from Yahweh to this ancient form of God, here in this starting verse, and then ends up submitting to Him. The next word, God came from team in this is again they got a written down here this is what this chapter is about the the lord coming i mean it just it just in just read this god came from team in it just slips in there but the whole book is about when are you going to intervene at me starts off the starts a book off how long are you gonna watch this i mean my go back to my culture is violent there it's it's wicked a use gonna watch this do you have anything plan are you gonna come and do something about it God says, yes I am. I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do, but you won't believe it. i'm gonna come through the babylonians what that's not an answer when are you gonna come i'm gonna bring the babylonians are gonna do my work no no no no that that's no that's not what we're talking we're talking about you coming in and fixing our society you becoming a and rewarding the righteous in getting rid of these people i'm gonna but you have to wait because right now i'm gonna bring i'm gonna come to the babylonians and they're gonna do my work When they get done, I'm going to bring someone else to judge them. And so God, in a sense, is saying, I'm not really going to show up. I'm just going to bring someone in to do my work. So this right here, when it says, God came from temen, He's now looking forward to the day where God is actually going. He doesn't say God came from the north through Nebuchadnezzar. That's what God is saying. Habakkuk now is looking for when God is going to ultimately come and end this cycle of empire, overthrowing empire, of just kind of God controlling history through the empires. And so that's an important word. God, this ancient form of the word God, came. And He's arriving. And He arrives by coming from Teman. Now, Tim and I have a little map there. If I can erase this right here. This is going to be very rough. There's the Dead Sea. This is the land of Edom, right here. During the water, this is the Gulf of Aquaba, right here, coming out of the Dead Sea. This is the Sinai Peninsula. This is the Gulf of Aquaba, right here. The Red Sea up in here, going down. This is a valley that runs through here. No water runs there. Eventually, in the book of Ezekiel, water from the Mediterranean Sea and from Jerusalem is going to go both ways from Jerusalem. This is going to fill up water in the Dead Sea and it will run through this down into the Gulf of Quabba so that you'll have a seaport from the Mediterranean Sea through Jerusalem to the Dead Sea down to the Gulf of Quabba. So this is low. Teman is over here. a city of Edom. Over here is the desert of Paran. And now it's going to talk in the next phase to a verse, part of this verse, it's going to talk about Mount Paran. Now, Mount Paran is only mentioned twice in the Bible. We're going to read it in Deuteronomy and it appears to be a reference to Mount Sinai, like a figure of Mount Sinai, which is located traditionally down here on the Sinai Peninsula. So what we have is God coming from Paran up through Edom on His way to Jerusalem. And this, again, is just an interesting journey, because right away, because of Deuteronomy, you think, oh, they're talking about the Exodus journey, but where Mount Sinai, then he went up through Edom, crossed over, and came in through Jericho. But it's not exactly that journey. And again, I want to look at Isaiah 63, and some other places here. There's a lot of activity, especially in the end times, even the 144,000 Jews we talked about last night, going down into this area. Daniel says to go to Edom, Moab, and Ammon, which is in this area, Saudi Arabia. Daniel says go there because this is the place that the Antichrist or the Little Horn won't be able to conquer. Jesus says when you see Jerusalem surrounded, flee to the mountains in that day that the abomination of desolation, excuse me, when the abomination of desolation is set up halfway through the Tribulation or the Seventh Week, He tells them to go down here. And so even We read that about the battle in Revelation between the sign of the woman, apparently Israel, and another great sign, the great dragon, red dragon. There was war in heaven and the woman was given a place to hide in the desert, in the wilderness, for 1,260 days. And the dragon pursued her but couldn't get there. and sent a large river amount of water to try and wipe her out. And the earth swallowed up the water. And so that is taking place right in here, including the Lord coming from Edom, Basra, at the end. So this is just kind of interesting that all these things pertain and you have an overlap there, including Mount Sinai, you know, and the Exodus, but also end time events and prophecies from Daniel, Jesus and Revelation, John, all talking about this place. So nonetheless, Teman is a city right here in Mount Paran, and I've got that written down there. And what is taking place here when it says, God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran, you've got him tracing this Mount Sinai up through Teman and going to Israel. Another thing that is mentioned here, the second thing in the second line, God came from Teman, then it says, and the Holy One. Now he uses the word Holy One. probably intentionally. It's the same thing. It's God. The ancient form of the word God. Now He calls Him the Holy One. And this pertains particularly to Judah. Because God is coming to His own people as the Holy One from Mount Paran to Timah. Back in the Exodus, God brought His people on this journey to bring Him into the land. We talk about in Revelation, God's going to come from this land somehow. Isaiah 63, the 144,000. He's going to come from this land for deliverance. But on this particular case, in Habakkuk's day, the Holy One is coming, but He's coming to judge Judah. And so that's why the chapter ends with Habakkuk saying in v. 16, I heard and I was shaking because this coming of the Lord, before He comes to judge the nations that we're all waiting for, He's going to come to judge Judah, and Habakkuk realizes that, that he's gonna live through this. And so he's seeing the Lord coming here, although it's gonna manifest with the coming of Nebuchadnezzar. Peter gets that verse, maybe gets the idea from this verse and other places, where he says, judgment begins with the house of God. Peter writes that in the New Testament, that judgment is gonna begin with the house of God. And before we get to the tribulation, before we get to the 70th week and the Lord bringing deliverance, there's going to be the persecution, the judgment, the revealing of the church itself. And Peter's telling his own readers, he says, judgment is coming, but first God is going to judge his own house. And that's what we see here. Before God judges the nations eschatologically, He's going to judge Jerusalem. He's going to move and judge Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, before he judges Nebuchadnezzar, he's going to use Nebuchadnezzar to judge his own people, to clean up his own house, and then he'll judge the nations. And so that's a principle that Peter picks up on right here. And so the idea here that says the Holy One came from Mount Paran is back in the days of Moses, the Holy One brought His people into the land. Now the Holy One is coming up to judge His people who are living in the land, which again sets the stage for Him being able to say in verse 16, I'm terrified. I'm literally afraid of what's going to happen. Now I'll make this statement here. This is a sincere statement that again you need to think about. Because we know that verse in Isaiah, we've referenced it before. Do not call conspiracy everything these people call conspiracy. It is the Lord you are to fear. And we need to be aware, I need to be aware, and I talk to myself about this. I don't talk to myself, but in my head I think, you know, because we can easily divide, and I've referenced this before, I don't want to say something that's boring to you, but yet I think this is pertinent and you've got to deal with it. This may be one of the most important messages for the church, for the Christian to think about right now, today. is which side are you on? You've got the left, you've got the right, you've got what we'd say the liberals, you've got the conservatives. And I would definitely say the conservative values are in line with God's reality. So there's nothing wrong with lining up with that side. Family values, morality, civility, law and order, those things are established by God. And so you definitely, you know, politically be involved with that. But at the same time, you could very easily reject one side and move in to support another side, and now you find yourself involved in this, let's say, the right or the conservative side, which again I think has some solid values, and in this internal battle on earth, in the nation, in the kingdom. of America. And what we may see taking place, just like Habakkuk sees right here, he even identifies. He identifies that there are righteous people. That's who he's speaking for as a prophet. He's speaking for the righteous who are asking God, what are you going to do about the corruption in our society? And God's answer is not, listen, this is what this book is talking about. Habakkuk wanted to say, when are you going to come deliver the conservatives? When are you going to come deliver the Republican Party so we can get back to our Constitution and wholesome living? And God says, not so fast to Habakkuk. He says, I'm bringing in Nebuchadnezzar. I'm bringing in the Babylonians. Or I'm bringing in the Chinese. I'm bringing in Islam. I'm bringing in... It's like, what? You're not coming to... No. I'm coming to destroy the entire nation. Isaiah found himself in the same place. It's like, don't call conspiracy everything these people are... That's a conspiracy. I mentioned this before. Somewhere, But I saw a, you know how, again, this is dangerous territory. There's a group in the conservative thing, the election was stolen by the Democrats, and everything was rigged, and they're still working on that. And I've got opinions, I've got my own personal feelings. That's what we're talking about. but that's the the the left is saying that that's a conspiracy i saw bill maher died a little video clip of bill maher where he's on he's on and he does he he's interesting to watch you know he's he's fairly well-balanced in certain cases uh... at least he's willing to look at some things but in this particular case he was going through list by list of all the things that trump is doing to set up the next elections so that he's getting people in positions of power and so that when the republicans win this next election it's going to be stolen by trump and the republicans and there's nothing the democrats will do about it so when that when there is a the twenty the midterms come or in twenty twenty four comes and republicans sweep through it if they sweep through it Bill Maher says, it's already set up. There's not a thing you can do as a Democrat to win the next elections because it's rigged. It's like, what? That's Bill Maher telling the Democrats, you're getting ripped off at the booths, at the polling stations. Well, wait, wait, wait, that's what the Republicans are saying. So both sides are accusing each other of conspiracy. Now, God tells, now again, I'm making an application. God tells Isaiah, do not call conspiracy everything these people call conspiracy. It is the Lord your God you are to fear. And so we need to be careful that we don't find ourselves voting or or supporting something at a very base, very low level, forgetting about the Lord Almighty and the Holy One. Again, I'm not saying you shouldn't be involved, but just because you get a Let's Go Brandon t-shirt doesn't mean, yeah, you know, Jesus is, you know, on our side, got a cross and a Let's Go Brandon t-shirt and you're doing the work of the ministry. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. It's like, or Dave Chappelle, if you saw Dave Chappelle, I watched that. I'm not encouraging that behavior. But I had to watch it to see what it was all about. I don't want to say anything more. He said some things that were solid, were true, but a lot of corrupt things also. But you can see a good Christian running to join the football stadiums in their chants, you know, of the Biden chant, and rushing in saying, hey, you've got to watch the Chappelle video. It's really wholesome and American in value. It's like, no, it's not. It's just not totally left. It's not totally corrupt. It's talking about some very normal things. but yet at the same time it's like it's far from being christian it's far from the holiness of god just like chanting you know let's go brandon or the alternative it's like that's a good that you know what we're gonna sing that in church on sunday is like what what what what what what what have you come to and so there's this level is very base level that have back to himself was finding himself the book begins when are you going to come and deliver these people and god says I'm not. The whole land is going to be overrun by the Babylonians. And Habakkuk realizes, there's no help coming. My point. It is possible, especially when you look at this date right here again. These are historical dates or close to them. But this is being written around 606-608 BC, 20 years before Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians. If I've got the four generation cycle, it's my own diagram, my own chart, my own time scale. So it's not, you know, prophecy. But the last generation, the fourth generation ends in 2040. We are 20 years, or 19, 18 and a half years from that time. We're in the same place Habakkuk was before Jerusalem burned. We may be, you know, in a similar position. My point being this. God is not coming, possibly, I don't have a word from God, but it is possible God is not coming to save America. God is not coming to support the Constitution. Instead, God is coming to destroy and overthrow our society, and you're not going to see the Lord coming from Mount Paran through Timan up to Jerusalem to deliver you he's coming up like this the Holy One is coming to destroy your society are you ready now that's true for you we don't know I don't know I'm not a prophet but it was true for a back that's why he sees this and he says this is not gonna be good this is gonna get ugly real quick and he says right here in verse 60 in the NIV I heard and my heart pounded my lips quivered at the sound decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled Yet I wait will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us and I'm going to wait for Eventually the second coming and we may be in that position where you're not going to see deliverance in your society you're just going to see the thing just decline further and further and further into chaos and your only hope is going to be the Lord Almighty the sovereign Lord the sovereign Yahweh Adonai Yahweh and And it's like, well, that's not very positive. If that's true for us, I don't know. But you say, well, that makes me mad. That makes me feel sad. That scares me. Well, then it may not even be true. But that is what Habakkuk was looking at. Habakkuk was looking at the corrupt Hamas side, which was the social violence oppressing the righteous. And the righteous were crying out, what are we going to do? And God says, I have a plan. I'm going to destroy the entire city and send you all into captivity with the hand of the Babylonians. It's like, That's not a plan. I mean, that's not going to preach well. No one's going to come to church to hear that message. Well, I just wrote a song about it right here. We can sing this song in church. It's like God is coming to bring judgment upon us right before he brings judgment on the nations. Let's all sing the song, Selah. Let's all sing this song. I'm not even sure if they ever sang this song in the temple. They would have heard that one time. Because this is during the days of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was preaching the same thing. He got kicked out of the temple. Then Habakkuk comes up and says, hey, I got a great song about God's judgment, and it includes us getting judged. Can we sing this this week? It's like, absolutely not. Get out of the temple. We don't know if he sang this or not. Okay, back to this. You guys want to say something? Does that make sense? I mean, you don't need to raise your hand. I'm not going to have you take a vote. But it is important, I think, and I've been thinking about that, that the church may be failing. once again in addressing social issues during a time of social collapse when there are no answers for the social issues. Meaning God is not going to provide an answer. He's just going to keep getting this entangled up. Your only hope is to get above it. Well, that's where this is. Get above this. See the big picture. Doesn't mean you don't get involved, but you're going to have to see the big picture and do what he says right here. It says at the end of the book, verse 17, "...though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails, and all the delivery ships are still out not getting docked, and gas prices are through the roof, though there are no sheep in the pen, and no cattle in the stalls, Hy-Vee's shelves are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I'll be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength." That's Adonai Yahweh, is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to go on the heights. Instead of being down here in some political argument, in some worldly, but you can't, nothing's going to get solved here. He's going to take and be able to elevate you. I mean, we're not talking about you know, just dismissing the situation and just living in a state of denial. But you're going to have to find confidence in something else than the economy, the market, your career, your job, your safety. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar is coming to Habakkuk City and is going to start taking people captive. And if you don't cooperate, you're going to just get slaughtered. And it's like, where's your hope? Your hope can't be in all these things that we're going to vote on in the midterm elections. We're going to get out and vote. It's like, yeah, I'm not saying you shouldn't, but if we are under judgment, that's not going to make a difference. And Habakkuk struggled with that the whole time. And that's why this last chapter is so important, because he's coming to grips with the fact that That's the way it's going to be. And he's got the job of coming out and telling the people that people have been asking him to go to God and ask him some questions. He did, and he got some answers. Like, it's not the answer you wanted to hear. He's not coming like you think. He's coming through the Babylonians, and he's going to destroy us. It's like, we're righteous. Well, prepare yourself. Prepare yourself. All right, here we go. Back to the notes, please. We're on page one. Just identify where those places are. On page 2.5, God being identified as the Holy One is crucial concerning He is the first coming in judgment. I mentioned that. Selah, I explained Selah. I want to go to Deuteronomy 33. This is where Deuteronomy 33, this is where this reference most likely comes from. Deuteronomy 33, The Lord is coming from Perrin is coming from Timan, and this is the only other place Perrin is mentioned Mount Perrin is there's the desert of Perrin right here but Mount Perrin is the opposite of Teman in a high place over here, some mountain range over here. Or it may be further south down to here. It's down towards Mount Sinai. It may be the place where these 144,000 are going to go flee to. We're going south down to here in the book of Revelation. It may be where Elijah went down into that area. when he fled and the Lord appeared to him and said, get back, go back where you came from and get somebody else to do your job because you failed. Deuteronomy 33, I'll begin in verse 1. Chapter 33 of Deuteronomy. This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, pronounced on the Israelites before his death. This is the new generation that's going to be going into the Promised Land. Moses sings basically a song, sings all the doctrines, the character of God, all the stories into a long song so the people can remember this account. It says, he said, And this would probably be a song and it begins with a theophany on Mount Sinai. The Lord, Yahweh, came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir. Seir would be Edom or Teman. He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones, would be angels, from the south, from his mountain slopes. Surely it is you who love the people. All the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction. The law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. He was king over Jeshurun. Jeshurun is a reference to Israel. It means the upright one. Yahweh was king over the upright one. When the leaders of the people assembled along with the tribes of Israel. And that goes on and talks more about the tribes. But that is where this is coming from. Moses is recording that God came from Mount Sinai. may be also using Mount Paran as a reference to Mount Sinai. Those are your two references to Mount Paran. But it's where the Lord came down, gave the law, and then proceeded up through the land of Edom. Point 8 on page 2. Splendor or glory refers to the kingly authority where it says, after having said Sila, It says, His splendor covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise. Interesting there is the heavens. First it talks about the heavens and then it talks about the earth. Now remember, that word Sela may divide this verse. He came from Keman and came from Mount Paran, the Holy One. And then it says, in the heavens And the word there, it says covered, is the word covered or filled, covered or filled. It can refer to hiding something or concealing it or totally just filling it up. That's what you see on point nine. Full or covered means to extend over a surface, to permeate or to conceal. Chapter 2, verse 14 of Habakkuk has said the same thing. I've got it written there. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, of the Lord, as the waters cover the earth. So the heavens are covered and then with His glory And then the next thing that takes place is on the earth, and the earth is filled with His praise. Now the word praise here, I don't know if you want to think about the earth as everybody's praising God, as much as His glory has covered the heavens, He's manifested on the earth, and now because of His works, the earth itself, wherever you look, you just see, even though you may not be singing and people are worshiping, is the earth is filled with the praise of God. Even the rocks cry out for sight, meaning it's there. His glory covers the heavens and then He comes to the earth and the whole earth is filled with His praise. That is what is being said in those verses there at the beginning of Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 3. I want to go to Isaiah 63 just because I mentioned this and then we're gonna close or quit with this. Close sounds like a church service. Whenever I used to say stuff like that, I used to have in one church, I had a piano player. I'd say something like that, and then they'd come up and start playing, tinkling on the keys. And then I'd get all sentimental and talk softly and do something spiritual. But chapter 63, this is also interesting. We've mentioned this several times. This is going to come up again on Monday nights when we talk about the Lord returning. Isaiah 63, verse 1, So here's the Dead Sea again. Basra is right here. It's the capital of Edom. It's the same location. Teman is in the area. It's right here. And somehow, now, who is this coming from Basra? And he's coming this way. He's coming towards Jerusalem. So this is yet future. This has not happened. Who is this coming from Edom, from Basra, with his garments stained crimson? That means his garments are red. When you read through the rest of this chapter 3, and we will in chapter 3, verse 7, it talks about the tents of Cushon, the land of Midian, it talks about the nations, that the arrows are being taken out. It may be correlating, I don't know for sure, but this is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, after He's returned in 63.1, chapter 63 of Isaiah, it's talking about He's coming with glory. Now you go back to Isaiah 53, and you know what's in Isaiah 53, right? Go back to Isaiah 53, and this is just important. Chapter 53, verse 1, Isaiah writes, Who has believed our message? To whom has the armor of the Lord been revealed? Then in verse 2, He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, this is a reference to the Messiah being born, and like a root out of dry ground, here it is, He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him. That word majesty is the word hadar, it means glory. He had no glory. Talking about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53, verse 1 and 2. Verse 3, He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows. He goes on, talks about Him, He was, you know, pierced for our transgressions. It's all there. The point I want to point out was that verse says he had no beauty or majesty. He looked just like a normal man, but he was the Son of God. Now, that's the first coming. That's born in the manger, grew up, crucified on a cross. Now you go to Isaiah 63. Who is this coming from Edom, from Basra, with his garments stained crimson? Then the next part, who is this robed in splendor? Exactly the same word. It's the word Hadar. Who is this robed in glory? In Isaiah 53, talking about the suffering servant, it says, He had no glory. You could not see His glory. Isaiah 63, the same portion. Now, He's coming forth striding in glory, victorious in battle, striding forward in the greatness of His strength. And then he answers, the writer Isaiah says, who is this? Who is this coming from Basra filled with the glory of God? And he says, it is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. This may be that second coming or the coming that Habakkuk was looking for. In one case he's coming up here, he's going to judge Israel, but he's also going to come again sometime to judge the nations. He's already come from Mount Sinai with Moses. Now this is Isaiah 63. He's coming from Edom, striding forth. And then they ask him, like he's being interviewed, why are your garments red like those of one treading the winepress? I have, now again, if it's Isaiah 53, why are your garments red like blood? Because I died on the cross for the sins of the world. But we're not in Isaiah 53, we're in Isaiah 63. His glory is showing. He's striding forth in power and strength. Why are your garments red like those of one treading a winepress? Chapter 63, verse 3. I have, notice past tense, I have trotted the winepress alone. From the nations, no one was with me. Now that's important for what I just got done saying. From the nations, no one was with me. There wasn't a left or a right party. There wasn't a liberal or a conservative. None of the politicians were with me. There was not a nation on my side. He called everything conspiracy, but I am the one you are to fear as holy. Because when I come back in judgment, I'm not going to come back as a Republican. I'm not going to come back as a leftist. I'm not going to come back as a progressive or a conservative. I'm coming back as the Holy One. So he says right here, I have trotted the winepress alone. Now, when we get in on Monday nights, we're heading towards the next week. We're talking about the harvesting of the earth, the harvesting of the grain, the harvesting of the winepress. In Revelation, it talks about there's an angel that swings the sickle to harvest the grain, but then the Son of Man, or the Son of God, Jesus, is going to trample the winepress. It's this verse again. I have trotted the winepress alone from the nations no one was with me. He is coming from Basra, having judged the nations. Now how this takes place, where's Armageddon? Armageddon is up in the Jezreel Valley. You're going to have, there's going to be a war in like Zechariah 14, fighting a war for Jerusalem in Zechariah 14. The Lord is going to be there with the Jews fighting with Him. But here's something. No one fought with him on this. He came back as the judge of the nations. I'm just reading this. I've trotted the winepress alone with the nations. No one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trotted them down in my wrath. So this is the wrath of the Lamb is coming to the nations. Habakkuk is seeing this also. Again, he sees the Lord coming, the Holy One coming to judge Jerusalem in his day with the Babylonians, but he also knows there's going to be another coming that he's waiting for. He's not waiting for this coming in 586. He's fearing that one. and anticipating the greater coming of when he comes to judge the nations. So he's looking at several events here and looking historically back at some to detail them. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath. Their blood spattered my garments and stained all my clothing. I mean, that's a great verse, but the more progressive we get as a society, and the more progressive the church becomes, the more unacceptable that kind of behavior is by our Messiah. You can't be splattering the nation's blood on your garments and then singing about it. Yeah, there's going to have to be a little more kindness from God if we're going to have this kind of interaction because we have progressed beyond this barbaric behavior. Isn't that amazing how things are going to deteriorate? For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and that's the day of the Lord, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled, but no one gave support. So my own arm worked salvation for me. My own wrath sustained me. This arm of salvation is not the salvation that was worked on the cross. This is the salvation of the day of the Lord. Two things take place on the day of the Lord. There is salvation for the believers and there is judgment for the wicked. And you see it right here. My own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I continued to trample the nations until everyone was defeated, and my own arm worked salvation until all my people were delivered." This is the ultimate day of deliverance. Now again, it's possible because of Isaiah 53, so that otherwise, listen, if there was no Isaiah 53, all of us would be trampled. I mean, that's the message. This is not a message of good people get delivered and the wicked people get destroyed. Those that have come to Christ for salvation are going to be delivered, salvation, redemption, that means purchasing back, it's mentioned right here, and those that have rejected the Son are going to be crushed. So this is not us versus them as much as us running to Christ away from any of the earthly groupings. I trampled the nations in my anger, in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground. i will tell of the kindness of the lord it says and that word kindness is the seed it means the covenant love meaning this is he was doing this because of a covenant love it it it the n i d translates it i will in chapter sixty three verse seven i will tell of the kindness of the lord and you look at this is like kindness uh... we we talk about the character counts in school and kindness is one of them and and this kind of behavior is not on the character counts list So this is not what we'd say kindness. Well, that's because the word kindness is not our word kindness. It is in the translation. It's hasid. It's covenant love. I have a covenant, an agreement, binding agreement with these people. I will do this. Those that have come to me, I will deliver those that have rejected me, I will destroy." This is him fulfilling his covenant. It's covenant love. It's what a marriage is. A marriage is, you can say, I love my wife, but a marriage, and you should, but a marriage is chassid. It's covenant love. It's not, oh, I'm emotionally connected to this person. It is, I have entered into a covenant. I will protect and take care of this person. You know, the whole line, in sickness and in health, whatever, and they're mad at me or not mad at me. I am in a covenant. God is in a covenant. He doesn't, in this case, emotionally have emotional connections to you, although that would be part of His relationship with believers. He is doing this because He has entered into a covenant with them. If they're good or if they're bad, if they're indifferent, He has got a covenant with them and He's going to, like Israel, He's going to restore Israel. That's part of His covenant love. This would include His work on the cross. The cross, Jesus said it, this is the blood of the new covenant. And it's a great way of presenting salvation. Do you want to enter into a covenant with God through Jesus Christ? He has sealed it with His blood. You just have to accept it. And now you're in the covenant. You have an eternal covenant. And He will come back and show you this kindness. But it's not kindness. It's covenant love, covenant faithfulness. It says, I'll read this last part, verse seven, I will tell of the kindness of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised. He's going to be praised for his faithfulness to the covenant. According to all that Yahweh has done for us, yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion, there's compassion, and many kinds. See, there's compassion that's out of the heart, that's getting closer to emotion. according to His compassion and many kindnesses." And that word, kindnesses, again, is hasid, out of His compassion and His covenant love. I mean, I'm obligated to do this, but also I want to do this. So that's that right there. And that's just interesting. I like that verse right there. And we've got to look at it more on Monday nights. But that is interesting. It's coming out of the same area. that Habakkuk sees him coming. And as we get through the rest of this Habakkuk, this chapter, I think you're going to see more and more of a reference to the second coming. and which would include the restoration of Israel. A lot of these things are tying together. I'll pray and then we'll be done. Father, we do thank you for the chance to look into these things. We do ask that we would make wise decisions at this time in history that we would consider you, the Holy One, the one we are to fear. That we would make wise decisions in our life as far as supporting the right side and standing up for righteousness and goodness. But Father, not to get caught up in the battles and the skirmishes of this world. But Father, to continue to proclaim your goodness and your covenant in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Thank you for your time.