“God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 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.” (Habakkuk 3:3-5 ESV)
In times of difficulty, it is easy to forget all the blessings that we have received in the past. The present moment dominates our experience and can cause us to think our current suffering is how it has always been. For the nation of Judah, this was a legitimate risk. Habakkuk had received an oracle that judgment was coming by the hand of the Babylonians. The impending destruction could make him, and the nation as a whole, forget the faithfulness of the Lord that had marked his dealings with them.
As Habakkuk prays, he actively works against this way of thinking by directing his attention to a climactic event in redemptive history. His references to Teman and Mount Paran point to the giving of the law on Sinai. Though God will soon visit his people in wrath, he previously visited them in power and glory as he established the Mosaic covenant with them. Just as the Lord did not abandon the people of Moses’ day to the captivity in Egypt that they had endured for more than four centuries prior to the Exodus, neither would his present judgment render his faithfulness void.
When the Lord descended on Sinai, he did so in splendor. He did so with thunder and lightning that made the Israelites tremble. By recalling these events, Habakkuk is reminding himself that this is the same God who is now sovereignly orchestrating the circumstances that are about to take place. Could the God who thundered the law from Sinai ever forget or abandon his people? Could the God whose glory was manifested in such a powerful way lack the might to keep the promises he had given to Abraham? Certainly not. There was severe discipline coming for Judah’s sins, but that discipline would not separate God’s children from God himself.
Even before God revealed himself at Sinai, he revealed himself through the plagues in Egypt and through the subsequent exodus. Just as thunder and lightning flash forth from God’s omnipotent hand, so he rules over the pestilence and plagues of the earth. The suffering of Pharaoh and the Egyptians was not the result of an astoundingly bad string of luck, but the plagues came as the direct result of their opposition to Yahweh. Egypt, the former world superpower, could not withstand the God of Israel, nor could the current world superpower, Babylon. God redeemed his people from Egypt, and he would be faithful to redeem his people from Babylon. This reality was never far from the Jewish mind and was annually observed in the celebration of Passover. This event was intended to remind the people of what the Lord had done for them by bringing them out of slavery. Habakkuk recalls these events in order to find assurance of the Lord’s faithfulness as he providentially works through the nation of Babylon.
We may not have a physical exile in our heritage, but each of us has countless events to which we can look back to assure ourselves of the Lord’s faithfulness. We suffer much doubt simply because we do not allow God’s past providence to sufficiently inform our understanding of our present difficulties. If we ever find ourselves unsure if the Lord will be faithful, we should immediately remind ourselves of how he has been faithful in the past. God cannot change (James 1:17), and his faithfulness is not something that comes and goes but an attribute inherent to his very nature. We know that God will not be unfaithful because he cannot be unfaithful. God does not need to choose to act in faithfulness any more than he needs to choose to exist. He will send seasons of refining discipline, and, in such seasons, it is imperative to remember that he does so as our Father, not as an enemy.
It is a great mercy of God that we can reflect on redemptive history and see the threads of his faithfulness woven throughout every aspect of every story. Kingdoms rise and fall, but the Lord and his faithfulness endure forever.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
May we make a habit of considering your faithfulness, both in our own lives and throughout the history of your people. You have shown yourself trustworthy and powerful in the past, and may we rest on the same for our future.
For Christ’s sake, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for missionaries serving in North America.
- Wednesday: Pray for missionaries serving with Grace Mission Tanzania as they seek to purchase a property to increase sustainability for their evangelistic, leadership training, and church planting ministries.
- Thursday: Pray for evangelistic printing and publishing ministries in Togo.
- Friday: Pray for the local church ministry of Harmony Baptist Church in Hong Kong.
- Saturday: Pray for the guesthouse ministry of Doane Rest in the Philippines, which supports missionaries, pastors, and other church workers.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries meeting the needs of at-risk children around the world.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving the military and first responders.
