Embrace The Truth

EMBRACE THE TRUTH AND EXULT IN יהוה

Ḥaḇaqquq/Habakkuk 3

Note: יהוה = YHWH/Yahweh and יהושע = Yahushua (Proper Names of Elohim and Saviour)

Tehillim/Psalm 149:1-5 “Praise Yah! Sing to יהוה a new song, His praise in an assembly of kind ones. 2 Let Yisra’ĕl rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Tsiyon exult in their Sovereign. 3 Let them praise His Name in a dance; let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre. 4 For יהוה takes pleasure in His people; He embellishes the meek ones with deliverance. 5 Let the kind ones exult in esteem; Let them sing aloud on their beds.”

Praise – Exult – Dance and Sing Aloud to יהוה! Sing His praise in an assembly of kind ones. These are all very powerful words that illustrate the intensity in which we are to praise יהוה, our Elohim, and sadly we find that the ability to praise Him in this way can often be a tough challenge for most as they go through the daily grind of trying to make ends meet; and very quickly they often find their ability to praise our Maker fading away until praise unto Him becomes a ‘thing of the past’; and all of this while the heat of His displeasure is most certainly heating up for an Appointed Time, of which the majority are foolishly unaware of. In a message tonight called, “Embrace the Truth and exult in יהוה!” I would like us to be reminded once again that we are to do exactly that – embrace the Truth and exult in יהוה, especially in the times we are living in right now!!! And in order for us to be well equipped and reminded of our need to not neglect the constant praise we are to bring unto our Maker, Redeemer and King, I would like us to hear the prayer of the prophet Ḥaḇaqquq – please turn with me to Ḥaḇaqquq Chapter 3 (Read).

Just under a year ago I gave a message overviewing the book of Ḥaḇaqquq in which we looked briefly at each chapter and our need to be watchful and awake as we wait for His soon return, living by faith knowing that the earth will be filled with His esteem and that He is in His Hěḵal (Temple) and is in control, and that no matter what we face or experience around us today, we are to be steadfast in remaining true to His Word. Tonight I want us to dig a little deeper into this last chapter that we have just read and get greatly encouraged from some wonderful pearls of truth that are nestled and hidden in the prayer of this prophet.

First of all חֲבַקּוּק Ḥaḇaqquq – Strong’s H2265 means ‘an embrace’ and comes from the root word חָבַק Ḥaḇaq – Strong’s H2263 and means ‘embrace’ and embrace in English means ‘to take up readily or gladly, to participate, to avail oneself’ and the Hebrew word means ‘embrace, hold in one’s arms, to clasp and to show close affection’. This was a prophet who embraced the Word of Elohim – showed close affection and held on to it tightly, who took it up readily and gladly, and took full advantage of making himself available to participate in being used by Elohim, despite the very sobering vision and judgement that He saw concerning those who are going astray!

In verse 1 we see a very unfamiliar term – and that is ‘Shiḡionoth’ – Strong’s H7692, and uncertain term, yet this word has been described as a musical term and is only seen here and at the beginning of Tehillim/Psalm 7, and has been described as possibly meaning ‘a wild passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm’, which we see certainly happening in this chapter as he changes the rhythm from acknowledgement of יהוה to judgement coming and lawlessness seen and then to praise. This word is derived from the root word שָׁגָה shagah – Strong’s H7686 and means ‘to go astray, to err, to wander or stray, and to be intoxicated’ and so we see that this is a prayer of intercession for those who are going astray – for those who have been led astray and have been intoxicated with the wine of the great whore. The word prayer is תְּפִלָּה tephillah – Strong’s H8605 and comes from the word פָּלַל palal – Strong’s H6419 which means ‘to intercede, intervene, make supplication, and judgement made favourable’ and in essence carries the meaning ‘to apply to a judge for a favourable decision’.

So as we look at this prayer of appeal that has rapidly changing rhythms, let us look at some of these that are contained herein:

Verse 2 we see a wonderful declaration of a prophet who had embraced the Truth and now cries out to יהוה as He sees the desperate need for pure obedience to the Torah and worship unto יהוה to be restored. Three key elements we see here in this verse as we see words like fear/afraid; renew and remember compassion.