Glory like water
If you ever want to feel small, go to the ocean. Whether you are on a boat surrounded by water or are standing on the shore and see the never-ending waves crash on the beach, there is just something about the enormity of all that water, which comprises 71 percent of our planet.
Having lived in proximity to the ocean my entire life, I am enthralled every time I stand on the seashore. The oceans seem limitless, and that’s only at the surface where we can see. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggests that humans have explored only 5 percent of the earth’s oceans. That means 95 percent of the oceans have not been seen by human eye. How vast are the waters of earth!
In Habakkuk chapter 2, God, through the prophet, gives a scathing judgment to the nation of Babylon. God lets Babylon know that one day they will meet a bitter end. Just as they had conquered and plundered all their neighbors, they too will one day be conquered and plundered, and all the earth will witness their destruction.
In the midst of this judgment, God provides an assuring promise to His coming Kingdom in verse 14: “For the earth with be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
While Babylon will one day end up on the ash heap of history, God’s kingdom will fill the entire earth and all will know He is God. Every one of man’s kingdoms will come and go, but God’s kingdom will reign forever. Just as the waters cover the sea, so will God’s glory fill the earth.
This is not the first time God has made this proclamation. Numbers 14:21, Psalms 72:19, and Isaiah 6:3 all make reference to God’s glory filling the earth. It is a direct reminder to us of who is really in control and where human history will one day find its ending.
The disciples had the coming kingdom on their minds in Acts 1 when they asked the risen Jesus about the timing of the kingdom. Jesus did not rebuke their question. The kingdom was indeed still imminent, but not yet. Instead, Jesus gives them a responsibility to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
This Great Commission is for all of Christ’s followers. We, like the prophets of old, are tasked to make this proclamation and invite people into the kingdom of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ. What a privilege! For we have confidence and hope that one day the evil strongholds of this world, like Babylon of old, will be destroyed. All sin and unrighteousness will be judged and punished. God’s everlasting kingdom will one day be established. The whole world will know God’s glory extensively and abundantly as the waters cover the sea.
One commentator put it this way, “The jagged rocks of injustice and the slimy seaweed of sin will be covered with the smooth surface of God’s righteousness.” Are we living our lives in light of this truth? Let’s be on mission to proclaim the message about this coming kingdom and this coming king! Explore how you can be involved by searching our missions opportunities.
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