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Habakkuk 3:17-18
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND
Hebrews chapter 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith”, as it recounts the faithfulness of many throughout the Old Testament. Although Habakkuk is not specifically mentioned on the list, he would certainly qualify. The transition from a complaining prophet to a man rejoicing and bursting with faith surely must be seen as a work of God’s sovereign grace. Nothing else could explain how a person could be happy and contented in face of the tragedies Habakkuk was about to undergo. It is indeed incredible faith.

IN THE FACE OF DEVISTATION
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls”
Scarcity is not always a consequence of sin. But in this case, it was, although not Habakkuk’s sin. Our Lord too understood this reality. When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, he quoted, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). The context of quote came from Deut 8:3: “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Habakkuk was reiterating the principle that God taught the Israelites in the desert. Scarcity leads us to recognize our need for God, who seeks to speak to us, and for us to listen and obey.

YET….
This one little word might be the most important in this entire passage. What do you think that built up Habakkuk’s faith? It is not the content of the message that he received, as that wasn’t very good news. It wasn’t the promise that God would punish the Babylonians and the oppression would finally end, as that was still many years away. Nor was it based on his memory of God’s past displays of power.

While each of these were important, Habakkuk’s faith and joy were solely due to God being present with him. God spoke with him, listened to his questions, responded to him, and gave him a vision of God’s active intervention in the world. God was present and in control. And he still is.

JUBILATION IN DESOLATION
” I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
More than 100 years ago, G. Campbell Morgan preached a sermon appropriately titled: “Jubilation in Desolation.” Although it is a bit dated on worship methods, it offers some incredible insight on the two Hebrew words for rejoice (_ʽālaz_) and joyful (_g̱iyl_):

“I hope I shall produce no shock when I translate them literally. Take the first Hebrew word and express it quite literally, and this is it: I will jump for joy in the Lord. Take the second of the words and translate it with equal literalness, and this is it: I will spin round in the God of my salvation. Does that seem as though I were spoiling a great passage? I think some of these passages need spoiling in this way in these pre-eminently respectable days when congregations are shocked if a man say Amen! Exuberant joy, a bounding joy was this man's experience, and in these words we have such joy expressed. This was no cool, calculating word. I will jump for joy in Jehovah, I will spin round with delight in the God of my salvation. Do we know anything of that emotion in the midst of desolation, not when the ordinary activities of everyday life are prospering, but when it seems that there is the most calamitous failure everywhere, no blossom on the fig tree, no fruit on the vine, the labor of the olive failing, the flock gone from the field and the herd from the stall?“

In the same sermon he said “I should hardly know how to express that in the language of London, but you businessmen know. Perhaps we might employ a modern word, bankruptcy. Everything gone, yet will I jump for joy in the Lord, I will spin round with gladness in my God. I believe that one thing the Church most sadly lacks today is exuberant, buoyant joy in the Lord God.”

APPLICATION
The book of Habakkuk points us to this fact: When we become Christians, we are not protected from the hardships of this world. There is no guarantee that we will be immune from suffering or from God’s discipline, from the oppression of enemies, or from the pains and dangers of living in this broken world. But we know that the Lord will not let go of his people, nor has he abandoned his world. He is in control and his purposes will be fulfilled.