HABAKKUK
“…GOD “ALWAYS” KEEPS A REMNANT…” part 1
“…God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.…” (Genesis 45:7 NIV). “…God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.…” (Genesis 45:7 NLT).
“…And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…” (Genesis 45:5 NIV).
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God’s remnant people, during Habakkuk’s time, were those who were left keeping the faith, “standing in righteous,” obeying the commandments, and staying set apart for God’s purpose from the rest of the nation of Judeans.
In life, remnants are few in pieces and are not valuable, because they are considered scraps. However, remnants, in God’s sight, are VERY valuable. God’s remnants are HIS faithful servants who STAY in the WAY of righteousness for God’s purposes.
They are those who KNOW they are righteous, because when they accepted Jesus Christ, his righteousness was GIFTED to them when they became NEW CREATIONS. “…God’s …gift of righteousness….. through this one man, Jesus Christ...” (Romans 5:10-16 NLT).
In addition, God’s remnants GIVE witness to Jesus, God’s PLAN of SALVATION, so that others will accept him, as Savior, just as they have. “…LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE before men, that they may see your good works…” (Matthew 5:16 KJV.
Finally, God’s remnant are the ONES left over from his covenant people AFTER they go through a calamity.
Habakkuk’s was concerned about the evil and wicked Judeans as well as the Chaldeans, but what of God’s remnant?
God’s JUDGEMENT is HIS RESPONSE to the WRONGS, SINS, and INJUSTICES of the wicked and unrepentant. Abraham had a similar concern as Habakkuk, and he questioned God’s justice too.
“...Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?” God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them...” (Genesis 18:23-32 MSG).
God’s JUSTICE “always” expresses and demonstrates MERCY toward his righteous ones. “...So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account...” (Genesis 18:23-32 NASB). “...God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them...” (Genesis 18:23-32 MSG).
Abraham had a conversation with God, the Holy Spirit, about Sodom and Gomorrah. He doesn’t talk about the wicked, but he asks God, who deals JUSTLY, would he destroy the righteous along with the wicked. It is the righteous, who are God’s people and it is the righteous who Abraham pleads for. “… Abraham approached and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?...” (Genesis 18:23-32 NASB).
Abraham, being a righteous man himself, boldly pleads for God’s JUSTICE toward the righteous living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “...Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad?...” (Genesis 18:23-32 MSG).
Abraham, respectfully, makes inquiries about the JUSTICE of God by starting with fifty righteous and continues until he reduces it to ten righteous in an effort to KNOW God’s standard and depth of MERCY toward his people. “… ABRAHAM APPROACHED and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”…” So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account….” ...Then [ABRAHAM] said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And [GOD]… said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten...” (Genesis 18:23-32 NASB).
God, the Holy Spirit, is patient and kind, during his conversation with Abraham and answers every question.
Abraham is humbled that God would take the time to allow for the questions of a mere mortal. “...And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only dust and ashes...” (Genesis 18:27 NASB). “...Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master?...” (Genesis 18:27 MSG).
It is the privilege of sons and daughters of God to come BOLDLY to God, the Holy Spirit’s throne of GRACE and FIND MERCY to HELP in a time of need. “...Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of GRACE, that we may obtain mercy, and find GRACE to help in time of need…” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV).
Abraham FULLY exercised his privileges, and he was called A FRIEND of God, the Holy Spirit. “...the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God...” (James 2:23). “...Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?” (James 2:23 MSG).
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was SEEN as God’s WRATH, PUNISHMENT, JUDGEMENT, but it was really an ACT of his JUSTICE that was unfamiliar to his “covenant unity” people who were more accustomed to the MERCY and GRACE side of God’s JUSTICE.
Abraham was NOT unaware of God’s WRATH as an act of JUSTICE, because he’d witnessed it upon neighboring, wicked nations and understood it as his righteous judgement. “...Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation (incitement) of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from My sight, because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke (incite) Me to anger—they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline...” (Jeremiah 32:31-33 NASB).
“... For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...” (Romans 1:18 NASB).
“...But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself..” (Romans 2:5 NASB).
God’s righteous people were COVERED by his MERCY and PROTECTED by his GRACE, which SAVED and DELIVERED them from being destroyed along with the wicked. “...God is ...a very present help in trouble...” (Psalms 46:1 KJV). “…[God is]…Your rock and Your fortress, your deliverer, Your GOD, Your rock, in whom [you can] … take refuge…" (Psalms 18:3 NASB).
What is NOTEWORTHY, is that Abraham, a son and friend of God, could GO BOLDLY to HIM, the Father and Holy Spirit and remind him of his promised MERCY upon the RIGHTEOUS. “...Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of GRACE, that we may obtain mercy…” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV). “…The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy…” (Psalms 103:8 KJV). “…For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him…” (Psalms 103:11 KJV). “…But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children…” (Psalms 103:17 KJV).
“….call upon me …and pray unto me and I will [LISTEN] unto you…” (Jeremiah 29:12-13 KJV). “...I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you....” (Hosea 14:5-9 NASB).
Thus, let’s read the conversation again: “...Abraham approached and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? . So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.” ...And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ...And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”...And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”...And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”...And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten...” (Genesis 18:23-32 NASB).
God who is a God of JUSTICE told Abraham he would SPARE the WHOLE COUNTRY in an ACT of MERCY toward his righteous ones. “...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy....” (Titus 3:5 NIV).
Placing the righteous in cities and nations of the WORLD is also a demonstration of God’s JUSTICE. Because of his righteous people, his destruction of those cities and nations are DELAYED, which actually gives the wicked and unrepentant a CHANCE to GET RIGHT with God, the Holy Spirit.
Sodom and Gomorrah were DESTROYED because there was NO righteous in it! NOT EVEN TEN RIGHTEOUS. “...And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave...” (Genesis 18:20 NASB). “...And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's (righteous) sake...” (Genesis 18:32-33 KJV). “...we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”...” (Genesis 19:1 -29 NASB).
“...Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law and your sons and daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; ...So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be joking. When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he hesitated. So the men grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the surrounding area; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” “...Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground ...Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and behold, he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived...” (Genesis 19:1 -29 NASB).
WHO ARE the RIGHTEOUS? “...God’s wonderful ...gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ...” (Romans 5:17 NLT). “... [Jesus made]... it possible for many to be counted righteous…” (Isaiah 53:11 NLT). “...[God’s people are]....the righteousness of God…” “in” Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
RIGHTEOUSNESS is a FREE GIFT which comes from God, the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ to NEW CREATIONS. “...God’s wonderful ...gift of righteousness, ...through ...Jesus Christ...” (Romans 5:17 NLT). “…God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son (Jesus) “INTO” [Y]OUR HEARTS…” (Galatians 4:6 NASB). “…GOD IS SPIRIT…” (John 4:24 KJV). “…The Spirit of God dwell[s] in [his people, which “IS” the gift of righteousness)…” (Romans 8:9 KJV).
“…But he(she) that is joined unto the Lord is ONE (righteous) SPIRIT….” (1 Corinthians 6:17). “...renew a right (righteous) spirit within me....” (Psalms 51 KJV). “...Therefore if any man (woman) be in Christ, he (she) is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new...” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).
“… [He sent the] …one … who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5 NLT). “...God, who hath reconciled [his people]... to himself by Jesus Christ...” (2 Corinthians 5:18 KJV). . “...God’s wonderful ...gift of righteousness, ...through ...Jesus Christ...” (Romans 5:17 NLT).
“...And you were [lost and spiritually] ... dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive (righteous) together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...” (Ephesians 2:1-5 NASB).
As is has been in ALL of biblical history God’s REMNANT people are a SMALL group of his covenant people who SURVIVE trials and tribulations upon earth.
Those who endure to the end of those trials and tribulations, keep his commandments, and have a salvation testimony are promised to be bought BACK home to HEAVEN through Jesus Christ and enjoy eternal life.
God’s remnant people are set apart and willingly choose to REMAIN set apart for God’s holy purpose THROUGH their journey upon earth.
The Chaldeans were USED as agents of correction. When his WAYWARD people witnessed their destruction, they would turn back to God and rely on the covenant relationship with him again.
God does NOT want his people to perish. God always does what is necessary to SAVE his righteous remnant.
Noah and his family were SAVED. Lot and his family were SAVED. Elijah and a small remnant were SAVED. “…Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality….” (Romans 9:27-28 NIV).
“… Jesus opened a new and life-giving way ... into the Most Holy Place (ETERNAL LIFE)…” (Hebrews 10:19-20 NLT). “Jesus saith…I am the way…” (John 14:6 KJV). “…"This is the way; WALK in it…" Isaiah 30:21 NIV). “…THE WAY is narrow that LEADS TO LIFE, and there are FEW who find it…” (Matthew 7:13-14 NASB).
In Habakkuk’s day as it is in the 21st century there WAS a GREAT falling away from God and blatant rejection of his word.
The “falling away” is also called REBELLION, or APOSTASY, or ABANDONMENT of God, the Holy Spirit and his TRUTH. “…the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV). “…You have fallen away from God’s GRACE…” (Galatians 2:21 NLT).
“…in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. …these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was… evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. …” (2 Timothy 3 KJV).
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS REMNANT ARE TOLD, IN THIS SAME CHAPTER: “….continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works…”(2 Timothy 3 KJV).
