2. Willard Lewis Hudson March 23, 1936 – July 1, 2020

3. Rainbow Forest 2020 Theme “Declaring God’s Glory ”

4. Psalm 96:2-4 & 8 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

5. Rainbow Forest Mission Statement Connecting the Disconnected to Christ, Community and the Call Our Purpose Our Purpose To glorify God in everything we say and do

6. Connecting Through the Word Nahum & Habakkuk Climbing Out Of The Valley of Despair

7. Habakkuk 2:1-4 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.

8. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

9. Nahum 1:1-2 1 The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. 2 God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;

10. Understanding Nahum 770 B.C. - Jonah preached to Nineveh 722 B.C. – Assyria destroyed the Northern Kingdom, Israel 701 B.C. – Assyria attack the Southern Kingdom, Judah (King Hezekiah)

11. Understanding Nahum 663 – 612 B.C. – Nahum prophesied the destruction of Nineveh by the Medes and Babylonians 612 B.C. – Nineveh is destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians

12. Nahum 1 God Is Jealous: Nineveh Will Fall Nahum 1:15 Behold, on the mountains The feet of him who brings good tidings, Who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, Perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; He is utterly cut off.

13. Nahum 2 God Is Judge: Nineveh's Fall Is Great Nahum 2:13 "Behold, I am against you," says the LORD of hosts, "I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more."

14. Nahum 3 God Is Just: Nineveh Deserves to Fall Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs.

15. Nahum 3:19 Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?

16. Nahum emphasizes the same truth that was declared by the Prophet Amos: God punishes cruel nations that follow inhumane policies and brutal practices (Amos 1-2). Whether it's practicing genocide, exploiting the poor, supporting slavery, or failing to provide people with the necessities of life, the sins of national leaders are known by God and He eventually judges.

17. Habakkuk 640-615 B.C. Habakkuk was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah, during the reigns of Josiah (640-609 B.C.) and Jehoiakim (609-598). Assyria was off the scene; Babylon ("the Chaldeans") was in power.

18. Jeremiah had announced that Babylon would invade Judah, destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and send the nation into exile. This happened in 606-586 B.C.

19. Habakkuk’s name means "to embrace" or "to wrestle," and in his book, he does both. He wrestles with God concerning the problem of how a holy God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to chasten the people of Judah, and then by faith, he embraces God and clings to His promises. Habakkuk also wrestles with the spiritual decline of the nation and why God wasn't doing something about it.

20. Have you ever looked out upon this world with its injustice and violence, and asked the question: "Why doesn't God do something?" It looks like the wicked are prospering and the righteous are suffering. Godly people pray, but it seems as though their prayers do no good. This is the problem faced and solved in Habakkuk.

21. Habakkuk the prophet faces his doubts and finds certainty in his faith. Habakkuk 1 The Prophet Wondering "Why is God silent and inactive?" (vv. 1-4)

22. Habakkuk 1:1-2 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save.

23. Habakkuk looked out across the world of that day and saw violence (1:2-3, 9; 2:8, 17), injustice, spoiling, strife, and contention. The law was not enforced; there was no legal protection for innocent people who were sentenced as guilty. The courts were manipulated by selfish lawyers and cruel officials

24. The whole nation was suffering because of the evils of the government. Yet God seemed to be doing nothing about it. Along with these internal problems was the threat of the Babylonian empire as it swept across the political landscape.

25. God gave the prophet an answer in vv. 5-11. Habakkuk 1:5 "Look among the nations and watch– Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

26. How true it is that God is working in our world and we fail to realize it (Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:17). Paul quotes 1:5 in Acts 13:41 Applying it to the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles.

27. "How can God use such a sinful nation for a holy cause?" (vv. 12-17) Habakkuk 1:12-13 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction.

28. Habakkuk 1:12-13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?

29. There is nothing wrong with a believer wrestling with the problems of life and seeking to solve them. Sometimes it seems as though God does not care; it appears that He has forsaken His own and is helping the heathen. How many millions of believers have been martyred for their faith. Can we honestly worship, trust, and serve a God whose ways are so seemingly contradictory?

30. Habakkuk 2 The Prophet Watching and Waiting Instead of becoming an atheist or agnostic, Habakkuk went to his watchtower to pray, meditate, and wait on the Lord. He knew that God heard his complaint and that He would send an answer soon.

31. Habakkuk 2:1-4 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.

32. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

33. God did answer. "I have a plan and a schedule," God said. "It will all work out in due time, so don't become impatient." Then God gave to Habakkuk three very wonderful assurances to encourage and strengthen him during those difficult days.

34. "The just shall live by faith" Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

35. This is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible. It forms the text for three New Testament books: Romans (1:17—emphasis is on the just) Galatians (3:11—emphasis is on shall live) Hebrews (10:38—emphasis is on by faith)

36. Verse 4 describes two kinds of people: "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Those who are "puffed up" because they trust in themselves. Those who are saved and humble because they trust in the Lord.

37. "The earth shall be filled with God's glory" Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

38. Look at the five "Woes" in this chapter, and you will see the sins that God hates: greedy and violent covetousness (vv. 5-11) greedy and violent covetousness (vv. 5-11) murder for gain (v. 12) murder for gain (v. 12) drunkenness (vv. 15-16) drunkenness (vv. 15-16) idolatry (v. 19) idolatry (v. 19)

39. These are the very sins that are polluting nations today. And God hates these sins today just as much as He did back in Habakkuk's day. But the promise still stands that God's glory shall one day fill this earth, for Jesus Christ shall return, put down all sin, and establish His righteous kingdom.

40. "The Lord is in His holy temple“ Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him."

41. God is still on the throne (Isa. 6). We have no need to complain or doubt, for He is ruling and overruling in the affairs of nations. Habakkuk thought that God was uninterested in the problems of life, but he discovered that God was very much concerned, and that He was working out His own plan in His own time.

42. Habakkuk 3 The Prophet Worshiping Habakkuk is a changed man! Instead of complaining, he is praising the Lord. God turns sighing into singing if we (like Habakkuk) take time to wait before Him in prayer and listen to His Word.

43. Habakkuk Prays Habakkuk 3:1-2 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth. O LORD, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.

44. Habakkuk Ponders (vv. 3-16) Habakkuk 3:3 God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise.

45. Habakkuk 3:6 He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting. Habakkuk reviews the history of Israel and the wonderful works of the Lord. Habakkuk knew that God had worked in the past, and therefore he could trust Him to work in the present and future.

46. Habakkuk Praises (vv. 17-19) Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--

47. Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

48. These verses represent one of the greatest confessions of faith found in the Bible. "Though everything around me fail—the fields, the vineyards, the flocks, the herds— yet will I rejoice in the Lord." This is the OT version of Phil. 4:11-13.

49. Habakkuk knew that he had no strength of his own, but that God could give him the strength he would need to go through the trials that lay ahead. "He will make me like a deer— I will jump over the mountains."

50. How much more this ought to mean to us. Habakkuk looked through the fog and mist and wondered at God's program, but in Christ we know God's plans for this age (Eph. 1:8-10, and chap. 3). We have the entire Bible to study, and Habakkuk did not have this. We have the record of life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, as well as the promise of His coming again.

51. If any people ought to walk by faith and rejoice in the Lord, it is the Christian church today. Yet too often we doubt, complain, run ahead of God, and even criticize what God is doing.

52. Habakkuk shows us how to deal with life's problems: (1) Admit them honestly (2) Talk to God about them (3) Wait quietly before God in prayer and meditation on the Word meditation on the Word (4) When God speaks, listen and obey.

53. Never run away from the difficulties of life, because God wants to use those difficulties to strengthen your faith. "Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light." The just shall live by faith!