INTRODUCTION:

1. Last week we started our new series in the book of Habakkuk.
2. I gave two similar outlines for the book of Habakkuk.

1. THE PERPLEXED PROPHET WHO BROUGHT HIS PROBLEM TO THE LORD (Chapter 1)
2. THE WAITING PROPHET WHO RECEIVED THE ANSWER FROM THE LORD (Chapter 2)
3. THE REJOICING PROPHET WHO WAS STRENGTHENED IN THE LORD (Chapter 3)

Another outline:

1. HABAKKUK IS WONDERING (Chapter 1).
2. HABAKKUK IS WAITING (Chapter 2).
3. HABAKKUK IS WORSHIPPING (Chapter 3).

3. After we pray, we must wait to hear from God.  We know God will definitely answer.

• “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you” (Jer. 29:12).
• “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer. 33:3).
• “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me” (Psalm 86:7).
• “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Ps. 27:14).
• “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him” (PS. 37:7).
• “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Ps. 62:5).
• “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that He have mercy upon us. (Ps. 123:2).
• “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope” (Ps. 130:5).
• “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa. 40:31).
• “The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him” (Lam. 3:25).
• “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me…” (Hab. 2:1, 3).

I. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WAIT UPON THE LORD?

1. Andrew Murray wrote a good book entitled, Waiting on God.  He wrote, “We are waiting on a God who never could disappoint His people…We ought to make up our minds to this, that nothing was ever so sure, as that waiting on God will bring us untold and unexpected blessing.”
2. The prophet Habakkuk went to his watchtower to wait for God (2:1).  This was probably a place he went to pray.
3. In the OT, prophets are often compared to watchmen (cf. Isa. 21:8, 11; Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 3:17; 33:2, 3).
4. In the NT, pastors are God’s watchmen (cf. Hebrews 13:17).
5. We never know how long we will have to wait.  In Jeremiah 42:7, we are told, “And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.”
6. In Daniel 10:3, we are told Daniel was waiting “three whole weeks.”  Then the angel told Daniel, “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words” (Dan. 10:12).
7. Oftentimes we must wait much longer than that.  But we must not be anxious.  We must learn how to wait on God, and we must trust God.

II. WE MUST EXPECT AN ANSWER FROM GOD

1. Habakkuk said he would “watch to see” what God would say to him (2:1).  We can expect to hear from God as we read the Bible.
2. Sometimes God impresses something upon our hearts in an  unmistakable manner.
3. Sometimes God answers our prayers by providentially ordering our circumstances.  “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Ps. 37:23).
4. Habakkuk expected God to answer him, and God did answer him (2:2).
5. Habakkuk was instructed to “write the vision” (i.e., God’s answer) plainly “upon tables (tablets)” (2:2).  This was a common method of communication in Bible times.
6. This vision was of such importance that it was to be committed to writing.  It was meant for us too.
7. It was to be made so legible - with large letters - “that he may run that readeth it” (2:2).
8. The message was good news - God was going to deliver Judah from the Chaldeans.

III. THE VISION IS FOR AN APPOINTED TIME (2:3).

1. “Appointed time” (2:3) indicates that although the prophecy will not have an immediate fulfillment, it will have a certain one.
2. God has an “appointed time” for the accomplishment of His purpose.  The fulfillment of His prophecies, promises, and visions will surely come to pass according to His perfect schedule.
3. Regarding the “appointed time” (2:3), Charles Feinberg wrote, “Delay is only in the heart of man; God is working the details according to His own plan.  Patience was needed.  The purpose of God cannot be hastened nor can it be delayed. It comes to fulfillment at the appointed time.”
4. The “end” (2:3) spoken of here is the realization of the prophecy in history.  The immediate application relates to God’s judgment on the Chaldeans, but it has a wider application - the second coming of Christ.
5. In Habakkuk’s day, Babylon would be destroyed, but like all OT prophets, Habakkuk looked beyond his day to the second coming of Christ.
6. When Christ returns, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT” (Rev. 17:5) will be destroyed.  Babylon was an existing manifestation of the satanic world system.
7. In Hebrews 10:37, the Holy Spirit applies this prophecy to the second coming of Christ.   “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

CONCLUSION:

1. Habakkuk 2:4 is one of the most important Scriptures in the Bible - “but the just shall live by his faith.”
2. It is quoted three times in the NT - Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38.