Sunday AM - November 30th, 2025- Singing A Taunt Song

Devotional

Day 1: Live by faith, not by pride or sight.

When questions about God's timing and justice press in, you are invited to live by faith rather than by what you see or by prideful self-reliance; this truth — "the just shall live by his faith" — calls you to trust God's promises about salvation and about final justice, to believe that what God has said will come to pass even when circumstances tempt you to take matters into your own hands. [51:58]

Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV)
Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Reflection: Identify one decision today where you tend to rely on your sight or your own effort; before you act, stop and pray a short, specific sentence of trust (“Lord, I will trust You about ___”), then take one concrete faith-step (make one call, wait, give, forgive, or obey) and record what happened.

Day 2: Rejoice in the Lord amid loss and uncertainty.

Even if the fig tree fails and provision dries up, choose to rejoice in the Lord and find strength in Him; Habakkuk’s declaration models resolved joy and dependence so that faith becomes the stance by which you face scarcity, loss, and fear — trusting that God remains your strength and that He lifts your feet to the high places. [55:22]

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Reflection: Name one current loss or worry (financial, relational, health); today write it on a card, speak Habakkuk’s “yet I will rejoice in the Lord” aloud over it, and do one visible act of trust (sing, thank someone, give of your time, or rest) before the day ends.

Day 3: Bring honest questions to God, like Mary did.

It is proper to bring sincere, clarifying questions to God when confused — questions that seek understanding rather than challenge God's willingness or power — because God welcomes "Mary-style" seeking that says, “I hear You, I just need clarity,” and will answer in ways that deepen faith instead of punishing honest longing for explanation. [25:17]

Habakkuk 1:2 (ESV)
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you, "Violence!" and you will not save?

Reflection: Take one honest “how long” or “why” question you’ve been holding back; write it down and pray it to God today asking for clarity (not accusation); then choose one simple step of faithful obedience you will do this week while you wait for His answer.

Day 4: God uses both good and bad to accomplish His purposes.

God can and does use nations, leaders, and circumstances —both the righteous and the wicked— to accomplish His sovereign purposes, so even when judgment seems to come by surprising or painful means, trust that God is not an unconcerned spectator and that He will finally deal justly with all parties. [34:44]

Habakkuk 1:6 (ESV)
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

Reflection: Identify one situation of injustice you find troubling right now; tell God about it in a one-sentence prayer, then commit to one faithful response this week (pray daily for the situation, encourage someone harmed, or volunteer an hour with a local ministry) and take that step.

Day 5: Ask for understanding, not to challenge God's ability.

When puzzled about God's ways, frame your questions humbly like Mary’s — seeking explanation and clarification — rather than like Zachariah’s challenge to God’s ability; such humble questions open the heart to receive God’s answer and strengthen trust rather than provoke judgment. [31:37]

Luke 1:34 (ESV)
And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

Reflection: Pick one doctrine, promise, or situation about which you feel confused; today, pray a humble, specific question seeking understanding, then choose one small, immediate act of trust (forgive, serve, give, or rest) that demonstrates belief in God’s goodness as you wait for clarity.

Sermon Summary

I invited us to open Habakkuk and learn how to sing a taunt song in the face of evil—how to live now in the assurance of a victory God has already secured. Habakkuk gives us permission to bring our hard questions to God. The prophet doesn’t preach to the people; he dialogues with the Lord about violence, corruption, and delayed justice. That’s our world too. But we must learn the difference between a Mary-question and a Zechariah-question: God welcomes honest confusion that seeks understanding, but resists cynicism that doubts His character or power.

Habakkuk asks, “Why aren’t You doing something?” God answers, “I am. I will use the Babylonians to judge Judah—and then I will judge Babylon.” That means God is free to employ even wicked instruments to accomplish righteous purposes. He owes us an explanation, but He gives us something better: a promise we can trust. In Habakkuk 2, God hands His people a five-stanza taunt song—five “woes” that mock greed, false security, violent success, shameful exploitation, and lifeless idols. It’s a victory anthem written before the victory is visible.

The ache comes in the waiting. God’s “soon” for Judah was 12–15 years; Babylon’s judgment was about 60 years later. Delay does not mean denial. Habakkuk is called to live by faith: “The righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4). That verse lit the Reformation and still lights our path. It’s about saving faith—trusting Christ’s finished work alone—and daily faith—trusting God’s justice when the headlines and our homes don’t yet reflect it. So we sing now what we will one day see: God will fill the earth with His glory, silence idols, right every wrong, and put the enemy away for good.

Habakkuk ends where faith always leads: “Though the fig tree should not blossom…yet I will rejoice in the Lord” (3:17–19). Joy before fruit. Trust before sight. Strength before change. That’s how we live in a parade while we still walk through a battlefield—taunting the darkness with worship, because Jesus has already won.

Key Takeaways

1. Ask Mary-questions, not Zechariah-questions. God welcomes humble questions that seek to understand His ways, but He resists unbelief that questions His willingness or ability. Curiosity bows; cynicism accuses. Bring your confusion, not your contempt, and expect God to clarify in His time. [31:37]
2. God wields even wicked instruments. The Lord can use righteous and unrighteous people, leaders, and nations to advance His purposes without compromising His holiness. His sovereignty isn’t a puzzle to solve; it’s a pillow to rest on. He will also hold every instrument accountable in perfect justice. [37:44]
3. Learn to sing the taunt song now. God gave Judah a future victory song to sing before the victory appeared, because His promise was as solid as fulfillment. Worship is how faith refuses to be discipled by delay. Sing over greed, exploitation, and idolatry: the “woes” will win, because God has spoken. [48:53]
4. The righteous live by faith alone. Habakkuk 2:4 grounds both our salvation and our daily endurance. We are made right with God by trusting Christ’s finished work—not our works—and we keep walking by trusting God’s character when results lag behind promises. Faith hears, believes, and keeps moving. [51:58]
5. Joy before circumstances change. Habakkuk rejoices while fields are empty and flocks are gone, because God Himself is his strength. Christian joy is not denial; it is defiance against despair, rooted in who God is, not what we see. Sometimes the surest worship is sung in the meantime. [55:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[25:17] - Habakkuk’s place among the prophets
[28:43] - Why our answers go wrong
[31:37] - Mary vs. Zechariah: how to question God
[34:44] - Our modern questions about justice
[37:44] - God uses nations and remains just
[40:54] - What is a biblical taunt song?
[44:05] - Woes against greed, false security, violence
[47:03] - Woes against exploitation and idolatry
[48:53] - Singing before fulfillment arrives
[51:58] - “The just shall live by faith”
[55:22] - Trusting God’s justice and promises
[58:25] - Final victory: goodbye to the dragon
[61:42] - Invitation and response: live in victory

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
Habakkuk 2

1 I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
2 And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end — it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
5 Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest in his injustice.
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol and is like death, and cannot be satisfied;
he gathers to himself all the nations and collects as his own all the peoples.
6 Shall not all these take up a taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him,
and say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his — how long? — and to him who loads himself with pledges!
7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be booty for them.
8 Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
because of human blood and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of calamity!
10 You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples toil for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink — you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, that you may look on their nakedness!
16 You are filled with shame instead of glory. You drink shame through your glory.
The cup of the LORD’s right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, and the destruction of the beasts will terrify you,
because of the blood of men and the violence of the land, of the city and all who dwell in it.
18 What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he makes speechless idols!
19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach?
Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Observation questions (3–4)

Read Habakkuk 2:2–3. What does the prophet mean by “write the vision… so he may run who reads it,” and how does the timing language (“if it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come”) shape the message?
Look at the five “woes” in Habakkuk 2:6–19. What specific sins or behaviors does each woe condemn (identify the core charge in each stanza)? [40:54]
Habakkuk 2:4 states, “the righteous shall live by his faith.” How is that phrase presented in the chapter’s context — as doctrine about salvation, endurance, or both? [51:58]
The preacher described Habakkuk’s conversation with God as a “Mary-question” rather than a “Zechariah-question.” What distinguishes the two kinds of questions from each other in the sermon’s example? [31:37]

Interpretation questions (3–4)

How should one understand God’s statement that he will raise up the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to punish Judah, given that those instruments are themselves violent and corrupt? What tension does this create about God’s sovereignty and justice? [37:44]
The taunt song pronounces judgment over greed, false security, violent success, exploitation, and idolatry. What common theological or moral thread links these five woes together in Habakkuk’s argument? [44:05]
Habakkuk is told to “write the vision” while the fulfillment is delayed. What does the act of writing and singing this taunt song before fulfillment communicate about the role of proclamation and worship during waiting? [48:53]
In what ways does Habakkuk 2:4 function as both a statement about justification (saving faith) and about daily endurance (living by faith)? How did the preacher connect this to the broader Christian story? [51:58]

Application questions (5–7)

The preacher urged us to bring Mary-questions (honest confusion seeking understanding) rather than Zechariah-questions (cynical doubts about God’s willingness or power). Thinking of a current struggle, which form does your question take? How would you reframe it as a Mary-question this week? [31:37]
Identify one way you personally rely on “wealth” or “security” (career, savings, reputation, relationships) for safety more than you rely on God. Which stanza of the taunt song speaks most directly to that reliance, and what is one concrete step you can take this month to practice trusting God instead? (e.g., a financial plan change, an accountability conversation, a generosity decision). [44:05]
Habakkuk was told to “write the vision” and could have sung the taunt song for decades before it was fulfilled. What is one “victory song” (a truth about God’s future justice or Jesus’ finished work) you need to start singing now despite not seeing it yet? How will you remind yourself of that truth daily this week? [48:53]
The sermon said God can use wicked instruments for his purposes but will hold them accountable. Is there someone or some system that currently frustrates you because it seems to reward wrongdoing? How can you entrust that complaint to God practically (specific prayer, reframing, action) rather than letting it harden into cynicism? [37:44]
Habakkuk ends by rejoicing “though the fig tree should not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” When have you been tempted to wait for circumstances to change before you worship? Name a concrete practice (song, short prayer, gratitude list, Scripture memory) you will use this week to choose joy “before fruit.” [55:22]
The preacher emphasized both the final defeat of the dragon and the present call to live in the parade while walking the battlefield. What is one specific, observable behavior in your daily life (angry words, withdrawal, hopeless scrolling, a sinful coping habit) that betrays defeat rather than parade-minded victory? What is one small corrective action you will take in the next 48 hours? [58:25]
The taunt song confronts exploitation and shame (e.g., “you make your neighbors drink… that you may look on their nakedness”). Is there a relationship in your life where you have used someone for advantage or allowed their dignity to be compromised? What practical step will you take this week to restore or protect that person’s dignity (apology, different behavior, advocacy)? [47:03]

Sermon Clips

God is far from being an unconcerned spectator in earth’s affairs. We can always be certain that if our hearts are stirred over the presence of sin and ungodliness, God is all the more deeply concerned. And so he is learning a lesson that is important for all of us to learn and I’ve kind of gone ahead and written it out for you: God uses the good and the bad in men to accomplish his purposes. God is God and he can do it any way he wants to and he doesn’t have to gain our approval in order to do it. [00:38:15] (30 seconds) #GodUsesAllForGood

God uses good people, God uses for his divine, divine purposes wicked people and wicked nations and wicked leaders. He can do that. He is sovereign and he doesn’t have to get you to check it off for it to be okay. Now it’s a tough lesson but it’s true nonetheless. [00:38:45] (21 seconds) #SovereignOverAll

Are you going to believe me in this? Are you going to trust me in this? Are you going to believe what I’m telling you? Are you going to stay upset? Are you going to sit back and rest knowing that I’m a sovereign God who has all this in control? And the idea of faith is presented primarily—look at Habakkuk chapter 2 and in verse 4: behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. [00:50:07] (22 seconds) #TrustGodsSovereignty

This is one of the core verses in all of Scripture. It is quoted by Paul in Romans, it is quoted by Paul in Galatians, it is quoted by the writer of Hebrews. It is discussed in relation to our salvation of believing God, putting faith in God that what he says about how to be saved, how to be redeemed for eternity is based upon the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Are you going to believe God about that? [00:50:31] (29 seconds) #FaithInTheFinishedWork

``Martin Luther wrote, before those words broke upon my mind, I hated God and was angry with him because not content with frightening us sinners by the law and by the miseries of life, he still further increased our torture by the gospel. But when by the Spirit of God I understood those words, the just shall live by faith, the just shall live by faith, then I felt born again like a new man. I entered through the open doors into the very paradise of God. [00:54:33] (32 seconds) #BornAgainByFaith

The person who’s right with God does not walk by sight. The person who’s right with God does not walk by works. They live by faith that what God has said will come to pass. Now this phrase is used in Scripture to refer both to saving faith when we put our faith in Christ for salvation. It is also used to refer to living by faith and trusting God daily. [00:55:05] (32 seconds) #LiveByFaithNotSight

In Habakkuk’s case, it’s more of the latter. It’s more of Habakkuk believing that God would do what he said he would do when it comes to justice in the world. Let me ask you, do you believe what God has promised you about you putting your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary and that secures your eternal destiny as having a home in heaven with him and your loved ones who know Christ for all eternity? [00:55:37] (33 seconds) #FaithSecuresEternity

If you also believe that what God says is true, that his promises are true, and that he is a God of justice when it comes to that particular point of truth and what he has said about correcting everything and making all things right and wiping away every tear, taking away every hurt and taking everything that has been bad and wrong in this world and making it right and making it right, and that he is capable and he has stated and that he will do that in his way and in his time, but it will be completely just and completely right. [00:56:13] (35 seconds) #GodWillMakeAllThingsRight

There on Habakkuk’s part was great faith. He heard God, he asked the questions like Mary did, he was confused, and God gave him an answer, and Habakkuk took it all in, believed every word of it. You say, well, how do you know that? Because when you go to chapter three, he declares it in one of the most beautiful, most powerful expressions of faith that you’ll find in all the word of God. [00:56:55] (31 seconds) #FaithLikeHabakkuk

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herds in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the deers; he makes me tread on my high places. [00:57:27] (26 seconds) #JoyInTheStorm

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Sunday AM - November 30th, 2025- Singing A Taunt Song

Devotional

Day 1: Live by faith, not by pride or sight.

Day 2: Rejoice in the Lord amid loss and uncertainty.

Day 3: Bring honest questions to God, like Mary did.

Day 4: God uses both good and bad to accomplish His purposes.

Day 5: Ask for understanding, not to challenge God's ability.

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Sunday AM - November 30th, 2025- Singing A Taunt Song

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