".....Keep Silence Before Him"

In Habakkuk 2:20, God’s prophet wrote, “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (KJV). In this passage, the prophet is teaching respect for the authority of the God of Heaven. The Lord being in His holy temple is a reference to His authority and the place of that authority.

In essence, the prophet is saying that the Lord has spoken, our input is not necessary, and we should remain silent and do as He has told us, for He knows what is best (cf. Deuteronomy 6:24-25; 1 John 5:2-3). Describing the worship of idols in Habakkuk 2:19, the prophet gives us a strong warning, “Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it” (ESV). Many of the Jews had given themselves over to the worship of idols. They were not keeping silent before God, but were adding their own input and worshipping according to their own desires and lusts (cf. Zephaniah 1:4-7; Isaiah 13:3; Jeremiah 25:9).

Today, many in the religious world reject the authority of God, and thus refuse to remain silent. John warned of such in 2 John 9 when he said, “Whosoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.” People today want to “speak” where God has laid down law. They want to add their own opinions, thoughts and ideas, and in so doing, they show a lack of reverence by their lack of silence in His holy presence.

We know that man has virtually no authority in matters of religion because Christ said, “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Regarding our Lord’s authority, Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Those who would go beyond what is written and not keep silent before God’s throne of authority are like the Jews who practiced idolatry in Habakkuk’s day. By making themselves subject to man-made rules, they are listening to something which disregards the edicts of the Creator. Isaiah wrote of such people, “Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?” (Isaiah 29:16).

Because God made us (John 1:1-3), only He has the right to make the rules for our lives, and especially our worship of Him. Paul said, “For in Him we move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He holds absolute power and authority over man. We are merely created beings whose purpose is to give God glory (Isaiah 43:7) by the doing of His will (Matthew 7:21).

Keeping silence before Him means that we do not interject our own opinions, wants and desires. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “The greatest act of faith is when a man decides that he is not God.” We must let God have His authority and be subject to it in all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). Let us "keep silence before God" and let Him have His rule and authority over our lives.

Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

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