The Wonder of Habakkuk 3:5 - Playing With Matches

This is the Truth Network. Bible Wonders of Habakkuk. Hey, hey, hey, it's the hey verse or the fifth verse of the third chapter of Habakkuk. And as you would see in the 119th Psalm, the letter hey has everything to do with God's expression and judgment in a lot of cases. And certainly we see that in this verse in so many different ways, and it really brings out the hey in some beautiful ways.

And again, it looks really scary, but in its own way, it's absolutely beautiful. So chapter three, verse five, Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. So it's wonderful to see to me that when it says before him, that is pretty much an expression of what he's doing, because it's like in front of his face, he is sending forth this pestilence, which is certainly an expression. And interestingly, very, very, very interesting to me, as I studied this word pestilence, it's the bar, which is literally a word.

I mean, the word used to bar those same letters would describe the word that David used time and time again in the 119th Psalm. So this expression of God's word is in fact, this pestilence in this case, he's speaking this pestilence. And of course, those of us living in this generation understand all too well, how a pestilence would go in front of the Lord.

It's a pretty scary thing. And it fits together nicely with a burning coal went forth at his feet. Well, you know, that's interesting.

Some people rendered that as a fever. I don't know that I would go there, but it's a beautiful thing for me to study that idea of these burning coals every time you find those in Scripture. It's something to pay attention to. And you may remember, as we studied the Song of Solomon, you know, a few months ago, that when it said jealousy is as cruel as the grave, the coals of which are a vehement flame, that's the same words right here.

Okay. And so clearly you're speaking of a very, very jealous God. And of course, we saw the wrath, you know, in the first verse of this section in this, in this chapter.

But again, another place that you will find this word that I think speaks to it in volumes is in Deuteronomy 32, which is in Deuteronomy 32, which Deuteronomy 32 is the Song of Moses, which describes all the beautiful things God did for Israel. But then you might remember it says that Jezrin waxed fat. And believe me, as you wax fat, you're storing up a bunch of energy. And that, that, that idea of fatness is literally oil for the fire. And so as I was thinking about this, it's like you have played with gasoline and matches right here.

Okay. You're storing up all this gasoline and there is going to be a fire. And when you look at what's happening here in Deuteronomy 32, or in this particular passage, you know, we've been talking about that. What, what Habakkuk is telling us is there's a larger story going on here.

God is going to come forth and he is going to redeem his people. So this looks like a pretty scary thing when you understand, like we do what COVID is, what a pestilence is, what burning coals. And those are interestingly in some places are translated arrows or Job said as the sparks fly, you know, as troubles were manned sparks fly up from a fire at same word. So, you know, when you think about bullets firing, you know, those are very much along the lines of what this is.

And so, wow. I mean, you can see that this is judgment all over this, which sounds horrible unless you happen to be in a concentration cap and Nazi Germany, when the Russians came in and believe me, you know, they were pestilence gumming and, and then coals of fire, you know, all sorts of stuff to set them free. In other words, God is a very jealous God. And at some point in time, he does raise up to save his people, as you will see in Deuteronomy 32, it is sometimes that his people, you know, have waxed fat and they have become the enemy, so to speak, you know, that the enemy of God and God says what he'll do. And if you read Deuteronomy 32, which I really think is a wonderful exercise in studying this particular verse, it's just read what happens in Deuteronomy 32, because I'm certain that A. Habakkuk was very, very, very familiar with this verses. And, but also in the syntax that he used in this prayer, he's, he's praying the word of God, but I think also it has to do with the burden that he saw as he knew that these kinds of tribulations were going to happen to his own people.

But I think they're going to happen throughout time. And of course, if you read Deuteronomy 32, and you don't see our own country in the fact that it talks about Sodom and Gomorrah and some other things that, that, that, that people have embraced and, oh my goodness, you are playing with fire and, and it's going to blow up because God will, will make things right. I mean, that's just kind of what he does.

He gives everybody as much chance as he possibly can. But when you look at the heart of Deuteronomy 32, and you look at what he's, what he's clearly saying, it's right back to what the whole book of Habakkuk is from my perspective. He said, this generation has no faith.

And therein lies the problem, right? They don't believe in the Bible. They don't believe that Jesus died for their sins. They don't believe all the things. And, and they're not living in faith because the righteous will live by faith. And so whether all these things are going on, the pestilence and the fiery arrows and all that, if we have faith, right, we know, we know that God is going to avenge this stuff. And just like the saints in the book of revelation, you know, that they know that God is going, they may be there at the altar, right?

That they've been slain, but they know, like William Wallace said so beautifully in his speech, you know, yes, they may take our lives, but they can never take our freedom, right? Our freedom to serve God, to love God. And once we do that, we truly live whether or not, you know, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

And in so many ways as we live by faith, you know, here's this opportunity for this, right? So I was thinking about, you know, how in my own life, I've certainly violated these things at times and build up fat or fuel for the fire. And I, and I was thinking about how, when we were running the dealership at Westside Chrysler Dodge Jeep, that I owned for 10 years, that one of the things that we did where we were storing up fat for the fire, oh, and boy, when it exploded, we didn't realize how much we were playing with matches, but we kept on piling up debt after debt because Chrysler had made some promises to me, honestly, that they had not kept. And so what I thought was going to be a financial situation just did not turn out to be the financial situation. And so I had to keep getting more and more capital. And I, in order to do that, I had to go further and further in debt. And every time I piled up all this debt, I was five, you know, essentially piling up fuel for the fire, because it was, it was, you know, something that God will avenge. And it actually, again, was horrible to go through that fire because when it exploded, it was ugly.

And it still is ugly doing standards. And we're still paying those bills to some extent to this day, my wife and I are, but it's a beautiful thing that God used it to set my heart free. I mean, had this particular explosion not happened of all the fuel that I had set up for the fire, then I wouldn't have, you know, came to work for truth broadcasting.

I would certainly not have this podcast. I wouldn't have met my brothers and the band of brothers and understood all that God has been teaching me over the last, you know, 18 years that, you know, are a result of what happened in that big flame. And so, you know, it's kind of a neat thing as you get to the point of that seventh anointing of Isaiah 11, where it says a delight in the fear of the Lord. In other words, there comes a point where, you know, the idea of pestilence and fire and all that stuff, I really know that, you know, just like it says in the 119th Psalm, I do love, love, love, love this verse where it says, let I pray thee thy merciful kindness be from my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant. It comes, that verse comes right after I know Lord that thy judgments are right and in faithfulness thou has afflicted me.

Then it says, you know, give me a hug. Let I pray thee thy merciful kindness be from my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant. In other words, oh yeah, we're going to be afflicted.

I mean, when we get fat and we wax fat, oh yeah, yeah. He is not going to let that stand because he loves us too much. He wants us to live by faith. In other words, when we live by faith, we're not going to go into debt because we trust that he is going to provide, right? Well, what it is we truly need. Um, and so many things like this that, that, that again, uh, we don't want to be that person that waxes up clay or that lateth up clay that we talked about in the second verse when it comes to debt, or maybe there's other things you're piling up in your life that are going to be, it's gonna, you're playing with gas and matches, okay?

Because oil in its own way is gas and there will be a fire. And I know I don't want to sound harsh, but by the same token, I know how wonderful it is when he, when, because when he afflicts you, it will be completely in love because he just wants everything gone that isn't of him and it will burn up. I'm just saying, so thanks for listening and wow. What a, what an amazing expression God has for us here in the hey verse of the third chapter of Habakkuk.