The Wonder of Habakkuk 1:12- Prayers For Mercy

This is the Truth Network. Bible Wonders of Habakkuk. How rich is the Lamed verse today in the first chapter of Habakkuk. And again, the 12th letter in the Hebrew alphabet is the letter Lamed. And oh my goodness, if you doubt what I've been telling you that these verses line up with the concepts that these are, I would challenge you to go look at the Lamed section of the 119 Psalm and then compare it to this verse. As the beginning line of it in English says, Art thou not from everlasting? Well, the first verse in the Lamed section of the 119 Psalm says, Forever, O Lord, thy word is established in the heaven. But then look at all the verses in the Lamed section compared to this. And I think you'll be more than amazed at how this fits with now we have a change of characters. In other words, God has been the one speaking and now Habakkuk based on what he has seen happen here is what his burden is now is going to put his request to God.

And it starts right here. Art thou not from everlasting? O Lord, my God, mine holy one, we shall not die. O Lord, thou has to ordain them for judgment. And Almighty God, thou has established them for correction.

So it's, it's, it's really, really amazing thing. And I can't help but wonder, um, and I really think Habakkuk was praying for the remnant. And I, and I really think that when you look at, uh, Jeremiah 5 18, it really, it's like, you're seeing what Habakkuk is praying for right there because in Jeremiah 5 18, it says, nevertheless, in those days, I will make a full end.

I will not make a full end of you, a remnant, right? That whole idea of the remnant is there in Jeremiah 5 18. And this is what I think is what I believe. And so did obviously Matthew Henry and a Rashi believe that this is what Habakkuk is praying that not just that, you know, that we will not, and essentially his church, Israel itself, the real church will not, this will not be an end to it, but that this is brought about by correction. And then the other thing that I think about is it's, it's almost like when David is in the yud section of the 119 Psalm, he starts talking about, you know, I know that thy judgment is right and in faithfulness, thou has afflicted me. But then he says, let I pray thee thy merciful kindness be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant and let thy tender mercies come into me that we may live and the light in thy law.

In other words, Lord, I know that we're fixing it a bad spanking, but I need a hug and, and, you know, be as merciful as you can possibly be. And no doubt, you know, this is, um, what the prophet has done is doing. And it's interesting how Rashi points out how the prophet is, is using very careful words here to make sure that he doesn't offend God, but that he just, you know, is, is putting back, you know, things that he believes that God is for and the way that God is, in other words, this idea of from everlasting and that God's church will be everlasting with him. And, and, and obviously this is clearly, you know, what has taken place. I mean, it's just, you know, kind of the fruit of this particular verse is we, we're actually living it, that the church lives on till this day.

And obviously we can expect, you know, this same kind of thing. When we see the walls collapsing around us, we think, Oh, wow. Well, this is a wonderful time to break out the 119 Psalm and the Lometh section and think about, you know, the verses in the Lometh section, you know, again, uh, forever, Oh Lord, thy word is established in the heavens. And then it says thy faithfulness is unto all generations. Thou established the earth and it abideth, right?

These continue this day because of thine ordinances and go on in the Lometh section, it right through the end of it. And you'll see how much it applies to this particular verse, which again shows what pleases God. In my opinion is faith. In other words, we know that what he's doing is right. And in, for our good, in spite of the fact that it looks really, really, really hard, it looks really bad for the home team. However, this is what God is, is doing for our benefit. I know that thy judgments are right. And in faithfulness, thou has afflicted us. And this is exactly, you know, what, um, this understanding when it came to me, actually, as I was studying and studying 119 Psalm, it's so, so instrumental in my faith. Like right now, there are several things that I just do not understand.

Like Habakkuk did not understand how this was going to happen and all that, that, that, that he saw in his own generation, he didn't understand how this would be God doing right. Well, there's things like that in my life, but it, I, I, I love the idea. I do. I love the idea that is my faith that's being proved here, right? That I know that I've faithfulness, you know, I know that these things are happening in my own. Like I have the situation, this person that's in my life that continually, continually hurts my wife. And, um, and I sit by and I watch it and I pray and I do what I can to protect her.

But because it's one of her close family members, it's very, very difficult to watch. And, and, and there's only so much I can do. And God kind of has me right where he wants me is in this place of communion, right? Because it's fascinating to me that in order for you to have communion, it requires blood, right?

Um, Jesus is blood, but if we're to follow in his footsteps, right, we take up our cross and it causes us to bleed, to die to ourselves, that we can, we can in our own way be in communion with him. And so as I was thinking about that today, and I was thinking about actually the Song of Solomon, how it said thy navel lacketh not liquor mixed wine. And so that, that place of belly button is a place of communion.

Okay. You were communing with your mother and certainly we commune with God. And then God was talking about that the belly button lacketh not wine.

Well, where does that wine come from? It comes from self sacrifice and there's times where we have to die to ourselves, right. In order to meet his commandments, however that works. And, and, and those opportunities are his judgment, right?

His way of correcting us and, and those opportunities. So as I look at that situation with my wife, right, I know that I am to protect her as best I can, but ultimately it's God that is going to provide the real protection. And, and it's my job to be there by her side and to do my part and certainly to pray. And so maybe in your life, you've got something like that that you just can't seem to overcome. And God is using that, you know, let we pray thee thy merciful kindness be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant. I love that verse. I think about it a lot and I pray that it helps you to, to think about these things as I'm sure Habakkuk was definitely struggling with a burden that he saw. Thanks for listening.