The Minor Prophets, Messengers for Today: Habakkuk

The Minor Prophets, Messengers for Today:  Habakkuk

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Habakkuk lived in a world much like our own.  Violence, encouraged by injustice, permeated all facets of society.  In a vision from the Lord, the prophet learned that God was going to allow the even more violent and more unjust Chaldeans to bring judgment on His people.  Habakkuk cried out, “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? (Habakkuk 1:13 NKJV) 

The Lord comforted Habakkuk by assuring him that God was allowing the Chaldeans to come against Judah for His own purposes and would, in the future, punish the Chaldeans for what they had done.  The Lord directed Habakkuk and all believers to "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4 NKJV).

 

Today Chaldea lies in Iraq near its border with Iran.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever more.  If the current world situation in that area and spilling over globally is part of the judgment of God, it is for the purposes of bringing God’s people, both Jews and Christian, into a deeper relationship with Him through our Savior Jesus Christ.  It is also true that God will not allow any who come against His people to go unpunished.  

Without a doubt, God is using worldly circumstances for His own purposes.  In faith, we must walk closely with the Lord and wait for His timing. Faith requires that we trust God even when we feel He is not responding to our prayers. He said to Habakkuk, “For 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 (Habakkuk 2:3 NKJV).

We must stop our murmuring and complaining. As with both Job and Habakkuk, it is not necessary for us to question God.  “The LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him" (Habakkuk 2:20 NKJV). A deeper relationship with the Lord is founded in our faith that God is Who He says He is and that He always has our best in mind.

In the end, Habakkuk submitted to the Lord and worshipped Him.  Even when he didn’t understand God’s plans and purposes, he understood the goodness of his Lord.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV)

^“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-- 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.”

Let us look beyond our circumstances and joy in the God of our salvation. The vision is for an appointed time. Our deliverance is assured. Because of that, we can sing with King David:

Psalm 3:1-8 (NKJV)
¹  A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.

LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.
²  Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah
³  But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
⁴  I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
⁵  I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
⁶  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around.
⁷  Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
⁸  Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

Events of Pentecost

Events of Pentecost

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV) 

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”

The Hebrew word for the celebration is“Shavuot” meaning “weeks”.    Pentecost is a Greek word meaning “50 days.”  Pentecost is counted from the day of Passover.  Let us remember that Shavuot/Pentecost is a picture of what is to come and what has already come.  The most important thing is that the feast is one of the Lord’s appointed times and teaches us about Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah.

Leviticus 23:15-16 (NKJV):  “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath (the Passover), from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.” The offering was brought on the second day of Shavuot.

According to the rabbinical tradition, the Lord gave the 10 Commandments to Moses on the Feast of Shavuot.  When we carefully count the days from the Exodus on Passover, it is a logical conclusion.  Part of the Orthodox Jewish celebration of the feast is the reading of the 10 Commandments.  On Shavuot, the Jews remember the events of Mt. Sinai that directed their worship, sanctification and anticipation of the coming Messiah who would deliver them from the slavery of sin just as God had delivered them from the slavery of Egypt.

Pentecost/Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover, the day when the Lord suffered the agony of the cross for our redemption.  Three days after Passover is the Feast of Fruit Fruits.  The fruits of the barley harvest were then offered to the Lord.  Jesus rose from grave on the Feast of Fruit Fruits as the First Fruits of those who will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:20). 

Pentecost commemorates the first fruits of the wheat harvest. In bringing the first fruits to the Lord, the people were declaring that God is their provision, the source of their strength and that they will be good stewards of the harvest which He has provided.

Fifty days after the crucifixion of our Lord, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)  

The 120 believers gathered in that day became the first fruits of those who are indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  They became the first fruits of the Church triumphant in the overcoming power of our indwelling Holy Spirit.  Pentecost declares that God is the Christian’s provision, the source of our strength and the harvest of souls belongs to Him.

Fifty is a significant number in the Bible.  It is the number of Jubilee.  It is the number of restoration and redemption.  Every fiftieth year was to be a year of Jubilee when debts were forgiven, when the slaves were set free, when lands were returned to their original tribes, when the mercies of God were celebrated.

Pentecost is the eternal celebration of the finished work of the Cross.  Pentecost is the acknowledgment that in the power of the Holy Spirit, believers in Jesus Christ, are forgiven, set free from the power of sin and death and returned to a relationship with the heavenly Father who has created us.  Pentecost is about empowering, redemption and restoration through Jesus Christ who is our Jubilee.

The Minor Prophets Messengers for Today: Nahum

Nahum Prophet of God’s Consolation

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

 

Nahum is the seventh of the Minor Prophets.  His name means consolation.  The focus of his prophecy is God’s judgment against wickedness and His consolation for the righteous.

Even though, during the ministry of Jonah, the powerful Assyrian city of Nineveh repented and was spared, in later years, the people returned to their wickedness and were destined to face the judgment of God.  In His mercy, God ordained Nahum to speak to the people of Nineveh and give them another opportunity to repent. 

 

The juxtaposition of judgment and mercy is seen in the first chapter of Nahum.  In dealing with wickedness, ^“The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet” Nahum 1:3 (NKJV).

 

However, God is merciful to the righteous. “The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.  But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies” Nahum 1:7-8 (NKJV).

Nahum’s prophecy was fulfilled when the Babylonian Empire captured Nineveh in 612 B.C.

As the wickedness of worldly philosophies, decisions and behaviors seemly surrounds us, we are caught in a whirlwind of fear of the judgment of God. It is true that if those who continue in their desire to annihilate Christianity and righteousness continue in their path of destruction, they will face the judgment of God.  Much of the judgment will be the natural consequences of choices they have made.  When we exchange freedom for license, immorality, addictions, confusion and desolation of the soul arise.  When we destroy the preborn, we destroy much of our future.  We also destroy much of the present because we no longer value human life.  All lives matter.

God’s judgment may also be seen in our weather patterns and climatic turmoil. Nahum 1:4-5 (NKJV): “He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.”  Our world is plagued with droughts, tornados, volcanic eruptions in greater number than in the past. 

God’s judgment is, likewise, evident in the revealing of evil practices that have been hidden in the past. Nahum 3:4-7 (NKJV): ^“Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. "Behold, I am against you," says the LORD of hosts; "I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame. I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle. It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?' Where shall I seek comforters for you?"

The corruptions that have recently been exposed are like an iceberg.  Only about 20 percent is seen above the surface. More revelations will be coming forth.  Jesus said, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17 (NKJV).  Our prayer must be for all the hidden corruption to be revealed.  The more truth we know, the more truth we can deal with and the more freedom we will walk in.

The wickedness of ancient Nineveh is symbolic of the wickedness in the world throughout history.  It is certainly symbolic of the wickedness in the world today.  Nineveh means handsome or agreeable.  The world system tends to follow those things and people that appeal to the eye, those things that are handsome.  Likewise, worldly people, those who have not been transformed by the renewing of their minds, seek after that which agrees with their sinful nature.  A Nineveh mindset is an "if it looks good and agrees with worldly thoughts, do it" mindset.

Remember the thoughts of the woman as recorded in Genesis 3: 6. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

God is in the process of judging that wickedness.  Yet, lest we shrink in fear, we must remember that God is merciful to the righteous. Nahum 1:15 (NKJV) ^“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.”

While “Judah” in the above passage refers to the Southern Kingdom of Israel, the word “Judah” also means praise.  In that definition is a powerful strategy for overcoming in the midst of our national and world situations.  We are to praise the Lord for Who He is and for what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do. 

At the birth our Lord, the heavenly host proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14 (NKJV).  In Jesus Christ, we can experience peace even in the midst of turmoil.  We must open our hearts to the empowering of the Holy Spirit to stand for what we believe, to continue to practice those beliefs and to reach out to others with the love of the Lord.  The wickedness of worldly practices will not destroy us.  Jesus has established His Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against us. (Matthew 16:18).

We must be the feet on the mountains that bring good tidings.  We must be the ones to proclaim peace in Jesus Christ.  We must be the ones who stand unashamedly for truth.  In doing so, we will prevail in the times of judgment. 

"How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him
Who brings good news, good news;
Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness:
Our God reigns, our God reigns!"

—Leonard E. Smith