The mountains saw You and quaked; torrents of water swept by. The deep roared with its voice and lifted its hands on high. The mountains saw You and quaked;This phrase reflects the awe and reverence creation has for its Creator. Mountains, often seen as symbols of strength and permanence, are depicted as trembling before God. This imagery is reminiscent of other biblical events, such as Mount Sinai quaking when God gave the Law to Moses ( Exodus 19:18). It underscores God's supreme power over nature and His ability to command even the most formidable elements of the earth. The quaking of mountains can also symbolize the upheaval and transformation that occurs when God intervenes in human history. torrents of water swept by.
This part of the verse evokes the image of powerful, rushing waters, which can be seen as a metaphor for God's judgment and cleansing power. In the Bible, water often symbolizes chaos and destruction, as seen in the story of Noah's flood (Genesis 7). However, it can also represent purification and renewal, as in the waters of baptism (Matthew 3:11). The sweeping torrents may allude to God's ability to wash away sin and bring about new beginnings, as well as His control over the forces of nature. The deep roared with its voice
The "deep" refers to the primordial waters or the sea, often associated with chaos and mystery in ancient Near Eastern thought. The roaring of the deep signifies the overwhelming power and majesty of God, who commands even the most untamed aspects of creation. This imagery is echoed in Psalm 93:4, where the Lord is described as mightier than the thunder of the great waters. The deep's voice can also be seen as a testament to God's sovereignty over all creation, including the chaotic and unknown. and lifted its hands on high.
This phrase personifies the deep, suggesting a gesture of submission or praise. Lifting hands is a common biblical expression of worship and supplication (Psalm 134:2). Here, it indicates that even the most chaotic elements of creation recognize and honor God's authority. This imagery can be connected to the idea of all creation longing for redemption and restoration, as described in Romans 8:19-22. It also points to the ultimate reconciliation of all things under Christ, who has authority over heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16-20). Persons / Places / Events 1. MountainsSymbolic of stability and permanence, the mountains quaking signifies the power and majesty of God that even the most stable elements of creation respond to His presence. 2. Downpour of WatersRepresents the overwhelming and cleansing power of God, often associated with His judgment and blessing. 3. The DeepRefers to the primordial waters or the sea, which in Hebrew thought often symbolizes chaos. Its roaring and lifting of hands indicate submission and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty Over CreationThe imagery of nature responding to God reminds us of His ultimate authority over all creation. We should live in awe and reverence of His power. The Response of CreationJust as the mountains and waters respond to God, we too are called to respond to His presence in our lives with worship and obedience. God's Power in Judgment and SalvationThe roaring deep and quaking mountains can symbolize both God's judgment and His deliverance. We should trust in His power to save and His justice to prevail. Symbolism of Water in ScriptureWater often symbolizes life, cleansing, and chaos. Understanding this helps us see the multifaceted ways God interacts with His creation. Living in ReverenceRecognizing God's power should lead us to live lives that honor Him, acknowledging His presence in both the grand and mundane aspects of life. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of nature responding to God in Habakkuk 3:10 enhance your understanding of His power and majesty? 2. In what ways can you see God's sovereignty over creation in your own life, and how should this influence your daily actions? 3. Compare the response of the mountains and waters in Habakkuk 3:10 with other biblical accounts of nature responding to God. What do these accounts teach us about His character? 4. How can the symbolism of water in the Bible (as seen in Habakkuk 3:10 and other scriptures) deepen your understanding of God's role in both judgment and salvation? 5. Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed by life's challenges. How can the imagery of God's control over the chaotic waters encourage you to trust in His power and presence? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 77:16-19This passage also describes the waters and the earth responding to God's presence, emphasizing His control over creation. Exodus 15:8The parting of the Red Sea is a demonstration of God's power over the waters, similar to the imagery in Habakkuk. Nahum 1:5The mountains quaking before the Lord is a recurring theme, highlighting God's might and authority over the earth. People Habakkuk, TemanPlaces Cushan, Lebanon, Midian, Mount Paran, TemanTopics Afraid, Clouds, Deep, Downpour, Fear, Floweth, Forth, Hands, Inundation, Kept, Lifted, Lifteth, Moon, Mountains, Moved, Overflowing, Pained, Passed, Quaked, Raging, Roared, Sounding, Storm, Streaming, Swept, Tempest, Torrents, Travail, Tremble, Trembled, Uttered, Uttereth, Voice, Waters, Waves, WrithedDictionary of Bible Themes Habakkuk 3:10 4227 deep, the Library September 7. "I Will Joy in the God of My Salvation" (Hab. Iii. 18).
"I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. iii. 18). The secret of joy is not to wait until you feel happy, but to rise, by an act of faith, out of the depression which is dragging you down, and begin to praise God as an act of choice. This is the meaning of such passages as these: "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice"; "I do rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice." "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." In all these cases there is an evident struggle with sadness and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Spiritual Revival, the Want of the Church
NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1856 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 44, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "O Lord, revive thy work."--Habakkuk 3:2. All true religion is the work of God: it is pre-eminently so. If he should select out of his …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 44: 1898 What a Revival of Religion Is
Text.--O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.--Hab. iii. 2. IT is supposed that the prophet Habakkuk was contemporary with Jeremiah, and that this prophecy was uttered in anticipation of the Babylonish captivity. Looking at the judgments which were speedily to come upon his nation, the soul of the prophet was wrought up to an agony, and he cries out in his distress, "O Lord, revive thy work." As if he had said, "O Lord, grant …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion The Highway
"The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places."--Hab. iii. 19. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 It is a wondrous and a lofty road Wherein the faithful soul must tread, And by the seeing there the blind are led, The senses by the soul acquaint with God. On that high path the soul is free, She knows no care nor ill, For all God wills desireth she, And blessed is His will. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series) The Believer's Sure Trust. --Hab. Iii. 17, 18
The Believer's sure Trust.--Hab. iii. 17, 18. Though the fig-tree's blossom fail, And the vines should bring no fruit; Though the olive, smit with hail, Cast its foliage round the root; Though the fields should yield no meat, And the herds forsake the stall, In the folds no flocks should bleat At the shepherd's well-known call:-- Yet will I in God rejoice, In Jehovah I will trust, And extol, with heart and voice, His salvation from the dust; He can raise my fallen head, He can all my sickness cure; …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Father and the Son. ...
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. Under this heading we began by considering Justin's remarkable words, in which he declares that "we worship and adore the Father, and the Son who came from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels that attend Him and are made like unto Him, and the prophetic Spirit." Hardly less remarkable, though in a very different way, is the following passage from the Demonstration (c. 10); and it has a special interest from the …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Life of Jerome.
The figures in parentheses, when not otherwise indicated, refer to the pages in this volume. For a full account of the Life, the translator must refer to an article (Hieronymus) written by him in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography. A shorter statement may suffice here, since the chief sources of information are contained in this volume, and to these reference will be continually made. Childhood and Youth. A.D. 345. Jerome was born at Stridon, near Aquileia, but in Pannonia, a place …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome The Coming Revival
"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. lxxxv. 6. "O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years."--HAB. iii. 2. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. cxxxviii. 7. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. lvii. 15. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He will revive us."--HOS. vi. 1, 2. The Coming …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession A Prayer when one Begins to be Sick.
O most righteous Judge, yet in Jesus Christ my gracious Father! I, wretched sinner, do here return unto thee, though driven with pain and sickness, like the prodigal child with want and hunger. I acknowledge that this sickness and pain comes not by blind chance or fortune, but by thy divine providence and special appointment. It is the stroke of thy heavy hand, which my sins have justly deserved; and the things that I feared are now fallen upon me (Job iii. 25.) Yet do I well perceive that in wrath …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety How to Make Use of Christ as the Life when the Soul is Dead as to Duty.
Sometimes the believer will be under such a distemper, as that he will be as unfit and unable for discharging of any commanded duty, as dead men, or one in a swoon, is to work or go a journey. And it were good to know how Christ should be made use of as the Life, to the end the diseased soul may be delivered from this. For this cause we shall consider those four things: 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider whence it cometh, or what are the causes or occasions …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him" …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory Habakkuk
The precise interpretation of the book of Habakkuk presents unusual difficulties; but, brief and difficult as it is, it is clear that Habakkuk was a great prophet, of earnest, candid soul, and he has left us one of the noblest and most penetrating words in the history of religion, ii. 4b. The prophecy may be placed about the year 600 B.C. The Assyrian empire had fallen, and by the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Babylonian supremacy was practically established over Western Asia. Josiah's reformation, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Habakkuk 3:10 NIVHabakkuk 3:10 NLTHabakkuk 3:10 ESVHabakkuk 3:10 NASBHabakkuk 3:10 KJV
Habakkuk 3:10 Commentaries
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