Habakkuk 1:1-4, Habakkuk 2:1-4, Psalm 119:137-144, Isaiah 1:10-18, Psalm 32:1-7, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Luke 19:1-10
A). WATCHING IN PRAYER.
Habakkuk 1:1-4, Habakkuk 2:1-4.
This is the oracle or “burden” which Habakkuk the prophet did “see” (Habakkuk 1:1). So, right from the top, we understand that the prophet’s patient waiting of Habakkuk 2:1 paid off.
When Habakkuk speaks of his message as a burden, it is to convey something of its weightiness. No prophet should take the word of the LORD upon his lips lightly; but neither are those who are truly called to preach able to rest unless they discharge their duty faithfully (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Habakkuk not only had the Word of God laid upon him, but he proclaimed what he saw. It is as if he was enabled to see into the mind of the LORD. What Habakkuk visualised there, he translated into word pictures to convey the LORD's message to man.
The prophet was perplexed, as are we sometimes, at the LORD's apparent silence in the face of the wickedness of mankind. Iniquity surrounded the prophet then, just as violence and vice surround us today. The prophet's cry is the cry of the righteous in every generation: “How long, LORD?” (Habakkuk 1:2; cf. Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 74:10; Psalm 94:3; Revelation 6:10).
There is such a thing as a righteous anger at wickedness and violence. This gives rise to the second question: “Why?” (Habakkuk 1:3). The prophet addressed his frustrations to the LORD (cf. 2 Peter 2:7-8). This we are permitted to do, as long as we are reverent and not disrespectful.
The idea of “violence” (Habakkuk 1:3; cf. Jeremiah 20:8) also includes violation of the law, to which the prophet points more specifically in the next verse. Justice “never goes forth;” the wicked encircle the righteous; “therefore wrong judgment proceeds” (Habakkuk 1:4). It is the law of the LORD that has been broken (cf. (Psalm 119:126; Micah 7:3).
As part of the pictorial message which the prophet intended to convey, we see him next on his prayer tower, watching for the LORD's words (Habakkuk 2:1). Prayer is a two-way transaction, and in addition to our praises and petitions, we need to learn to meditate on the things of the LORD. This includes Bible reading, certainly; but also involves reflection upon the things which the LORD is teaching us in His Word, and through the circumstances of our lives.
We know that the LORD responded in a vision because He says, “Write the vision” (Habakkuk 2:2). “Make it plain” (cf. Isaiah 30:8; Daniel 12:4; Revelation 1:19). In most translations the last clause of Habakkuk 2:2 has been inverted and should probably read something like: “so that whoever reads it will run with it as a messenger to others.” Pass it on.
The LORD exhorts the godly to patience (Habakkuk 2:3). It will come to pass (cf. 2 Peter 3:9), and then the people will know that Habakkuk has been a true prophet. ‘Wait, I say, upon the LORD’ (Psalm 27:14; cf. Isaiah 40:31; James 1:4).
Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the “puffed up” with “the just;” the “not upright” with “the righteous.” The Hebrew word order of the final clause of Habakkuk 2:4 is significant: “the just by faith shall live.” This is the whole basis of the teaching of justification by faith in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).
The end times are upon us, and Habakkuk’s words are written down for us. If we are to be saved, it is to be ‘by grace through faith’ ‘that no man may boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9). May we have the patience to wait: ‘for yet a little while He that shall come will come and will not tarry’ (Hebrews 10:37).
B). THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.
Psalm 119:137-144.
PSALM 119:137. “Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.”
“Righteous art thou, O LORD,” is a declaration of the righteousness of God. And because He is righteous, all His “judgments” are “upright,” or “just.”
Thus could Abraham say, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). Even Pharoah momentarily recognised that ‘the LORD is righteous’ (Exodus 9:27). And Ezra echoed, ‘O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous’ (Ezra 9:15).
Ultimately, it is the Apostle Paul who declares the ‘gospel of Christ’ to be ‘the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth’ FOR ‘therein is the righteousness of God revealed’ (Romans 1:16-17).
PSALM 119:138. “Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous, and very faithful.”
If God is righteous, and His judgments are upright/just, then He has also “commanded” His “testimonies”/statutes in righteousness. The terms of His covenant are “very faithful”/ trustworthy/ steadfast. God conveys Himself in His written word.
PSALM 119:139. “My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.”
The world is hostile to Christianity. The Psalmist is like Lot in Sodom, ‘vexing his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds’ (2 Peter 2:8). This is how Christians often feel in this troubled world: our souls are tormented within us because of the unrighteousness and unbelief which surrounds us.
PSALM 119:140. “Thy word is very pure; therefore thy servant loveth it.”
The Psalmist has thoroughly tested God’s righteous “word,” and found it “pure.” He “loves” it.
PSALM 119:141. “I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.”
The Psalmist may be “despised,” and made to feel “small” – but he is determined to live by God’s “precepts.”
The world may think us ‘old-fashioned,’ but there God’s people make their stand, they can do no other.
PSALM 119:142. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”
The righteousness of God is a ‘righteousness which is righteous for ever’ (R.S.V.). Therefore it follows that God’s “law” is “the truth.” Thus Jesus could say in His great high priestly prayer, ‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth’ (John 17:17).
PSALM 119:143. “Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.”
The Apostle Paul could testify, ‘We are troubled on every side, but not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed’ (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
When we have a relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we are strengthened by the veracity of His word.
PSALM 119:144. “The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding and I shall live.”
God’s word will outlive all our troubles. This puts things into perspective.
‘For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18).
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
“Give me understanding,” says the Psalmist, “that I may live.”
Give us “understanding” when we read the Bible, that we may live.
Jesus says, ‘Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me’ (John 5:39).
The life that we receive is ‘eternal life,’ just as surely as God’s “righteousness” is an “everlasting righteousness” (Psalm 119:142), and “the righteousness of (His) testimonies is everlasting” (Psalm 119:144).
C). COME LET US REASON TOGETHER.
Isaiah 1:10-18.
Isaiah addresses his congregation as “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah,” and begins to reason with them (Isaiah 1:10). It is all quite shocking: how dare he expose our comfortable, upright congregation to such strong language? After all, we all think we know what Sodom and Gomorrah stand for…
But let us stop right there. What is it about Sodom and Gomorrah that God condemned in the first instant? Even before the angels arrived with the announcement of the judgment and were treated so vilely (Genesis 19:4-7), the Bible says, ‘the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly’ (Genesis 13:13). The LORD’s own indictment against them is this: ‘Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me’ (Ezekiel 16:49-50). And He accuses His people of being like them: ‘They commit adultery and walk in lies: they strengthen the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness’ (Jeremiah 23:14).
In effect, Isaiah calls his congregation to Repentance: “Hear the word of the LORD;” “give ear unto the law of our God” (Isaiah 1:10)! What is interesting is that this could apply to any congregation, in any time. We could be so satisfied with our religiosity that we fail to realise that it does not impress the LORD at all. God-given ordinances can so easily be reduced to mere formality: to the point that the LORD rejects them (Isaiah 1:11-15).
After all, obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6). Man is more interested in outward things, but only the LORD looks on the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7). “Bring no more vain oblations,” says the LORD, “it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting” (Isaiah 1:13).
Again comes the call to Repentance. It is in terms of washing yourself; of making yourself clean; of putting away the evil of your doings; of ceasing to do evil; of learning to do well; of seeking justice; of relieving the oppressed; doing right by the orphans; pleading for widows (Isaiah 1:16-17).
Yet if we have learned anything at all it is that, outside of Christ, we can do none of these things. Even our best efforts fall far short of the mark. The law has been constantly demanding these things of us, but who can ever pass the Grade in God’s school?
It is at this point that the Gospel appears, in all its glory. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD (Isaiah 1:18). All our do-it-yourself religion is doomed to failure. It is not our work that counts, but the work of Christ: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean,’ says the Psalmist: ‘wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalms 51:7). There is a fountain opened on Calvary’s hill, for sin and for uncleanness (cf. Zechariah 13:1). It is there that our robes are ‘washed white in the blood of the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:14).
In other words, we are encouraged to cast ourselves, wholly and entirely, upon God’s mercy.
D). YOU FORGAVE ME.
Psalm 32:1-7.
The beatitudes of Psalm 32:1-2 remind us of Psalm 1:1-2, which describes the righteous man and proclaims him blessed. Yet, since the fall of Adam, no mere man has been born with original righteousness. The second Psalm leads us to the place where we can find this righteousness: in Jesus Christ (Psalm 2:12).
Psalm 119:1 speaks of the blessedness of the undefiled. Who are undefiled but those whom God has declared righteous in Jesus Christ? We cannot begin to walk this way without Him: but when we are clothed with Christ, God looks upon us and sees not our sins, but the very righteousness of Christ.
Before we can enter into the blessings which follow forgiveness (Psalm 32:1-2), we must first admit our sin (“not keep silence” Psalm 32:3), and acknowledge our responsibility before God (Psalm 32:5).
The testimony of King David (the author of this Psalm) is that unrepentant silence was detrimental both to his physical and mental health, and to his spiritual well-being (Psalm 32:3-4). So David confessed his transgression (overstepping the mark), owned up to his iniquity (distorting of the truth), and acknowledged his sin (violation of God’s will).
The result was immediate: “you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5; cf. 2 Samuel 12:13). When the Prodigal Son determined to return to his Father, with pleas for forgiveness and offers of penance: he found that the Father, in His love, was already running out to receive him (Luke 15:18-20). All at once David’s transgression was forgiven, his sin was covered, and his iniquity was no longer counted against him (Psalm 32:1-2).
The Apostle Paul tells us that this ledger was balanced with the crediting of righteousness on account of faith (Romans 4:5-8). Furthermore, David’s spirit was purged of guile: the kind of cunning deceit which seeks to cover one’s own sins and hide them from God (Psalm 32:2). Now David’s hiding place was in God Himself (Psalm 32:7; cf. Psalm 130:4).
Repentance does not just belong to the beginning of our Christian walk, but is an ongoing activity in our lives. Both Scripture and experience remind us that we need to be vigilant (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12). Faith and repentance are twin graces, and they both need exercise.
So even though we now may reckon ourselves as ‘godly’ or ‘undefiled’ in God’s sight, yet we still need to ‘seek the LORD while He may be found’ (Isaiah 55:6). We might spare ourselves some of the pain spoken of by David if we do (Psalm 32:6).
When we take refuge in Christ we find we are not alone: He surrounds us with others, whose cheerful songs of deliverance we share (Psalm 32:7).
E). AN INCREASING FAITH AND A GROWING LOVE.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.
INTRODUCTION (2 Thessalonians 1-2).
1. Pauline Authorship (2 Thessalonians 1:1).
2. In/ from/ according to “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:12).
3. Greeting:
“Grace and peace” (2 Thessalonians 1:2).
I. OBLIGATION (2 Thessalonians 1:3) -
to give thanks to God, and return the glory to Him (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:2). Congratulations and compliments to men are here wrapped up in the praise of God: in contrast to the discouragement of silence, or the flattery of accrediting men with the honour due to God.
II. SPIRITUAL MATURITY evidenced by:
1. Increasing Faith (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
A well-grounded faith “grows” organically, as might a tree by the riverside (Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8).
2. Growing Love (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
As Paul had earlier prayed and exhorted, their love was indeed ‘increasing and abounding towards one another’ (1 Thessalonians 3:12); and their ‘brotherly love’ was ‘increasing more and more’ (1 Thessalonians 4:10). The words speak of their love “overflowing” (like a flood), “each to all and all to each” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
III. BOASTING (2 Thessalonians 1:4) -
of their steadfastness and faith in the face of persecution and affliction. However, setting them up as an example lays a greater responsibility on their shoulders (Luke 12:48). The Thessalonians were being persecuted because they were Christians (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
IV. A PRAYER (2 Thessalonians 1:11) -
for them to be “counted worthy” of the life and destiny which God already has in store for them (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:5). It is only God’s grace that makes us worthy. It is only God’s power that makes it possible.
V. GLORIFICATION (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
That glorification of Jesus which is completed at the end (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:10), is already being fulfilled by degrees in His people in the here and now as we grow in Him (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
Thereby Jesus is glorified in us, and we in Him (cf. John 17:10). To the glory of God’s grace (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
F). A CAMEL THAT PASSED THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE.
Luke 19:1-10.
We recently read Jesus’ parable of a rich man who was only interested in hoarding his wealth, had no present compassion for the poor, and was living as if there was no God (Luke 12:16-21). God’s verdict on this man was that he was a ‘fool’ (cf. Jeremiah 17:11). Jesus used the parable to warn us to beware of covetousness – a sin which the Apostle Paul later equates with idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
A certain ruler, perhaps recognizing that money is not everything, asked Jesus what he must ‘do’ to inherit eternal life. The young man had a remarkably high view of his own heart, but knew that something was missing in his life. However, when Jesus suggested that he should sell all that he had and give to the poor, the man went away sad, ‘because he was very rich’ (Luke 18:18-23).
The disciples were amazed when Jesus followed this incident with the suggestion that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ‘Who then can be saved?’ they wondered. Jesus was not, of course, denying the possibility, for ‘the things that are impossible with man are possible with God’ (Luke 18:24-27).
One such possibility arises in the passage before us (Luke 19:1-10). Jesus was passing through Jericho (Luke 19:1), the Good Shepherd seeking His lost sheep (cf. Luke 15:4). A man named Zacchaeus, who had amassed a fortune off the backs of his fellow-countrymen in his office as a chief tax-collector for the occupying Romans, desired to see Jesus (Luke 19:2-3).
Now, being a small man, Zacchaeus could not see because of the crowds (Luke 19:3). They were no doubt hostile to the collaborator, and were not about to give way, so he ran on ahead of them and climbed a tree (Luke 19:4). The tree spoken of here, the sycamine - or ‘mulberry-fig’ - has low branches, making it easy for the wee man to skim up and hide in the foliage.
In the literary centre of this little narrative, Jesus discovered Zacchaeus hiding up in his tree and, in front of the whole crowd, ‘called him by name’ (cf. Isaiah 43:1). Not only this, but Jesus invited Himself into the tax-collector’s home that very day (Luke 19:5). It is not that Zacchaeus invited Jesus into his heart, but that Jesus invited Himself into the man’s heart and home – and Zacchaeus hastened down the tree, out of his hiding place, and received Him joyfully (Luke 19:6).
The hostility of the crowd thereby shifted away from Zacchaeus onto Jesus (Luke 19:7). In response to this costly love, Zacchaeus immediately made a gesture of charity towards the poor (Luke 19:8). Furthermore, his confession was followed by a practical demonstration of his change of heart, as he pledged more than the law required in restitution for any past false dealings (cf. Leviticus 6:4-5).
Now Jesus gave his final word on the matter. “Today,” He said, “salvation has come to this house, for he too is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9). The man who may have thought he had forfeited his right to such a distinction, is received back, like the Prodigal (Luke 15:21-24), into the Father’s house and family.
In this reading we see the dawn of salvation in the household of a hitherto crooked tax-collector. The Son of Man came, says Jesus, “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). This is salvation in the sense of being saved from sin.
