Habakkuk 1:6-8
6For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
"When God releases the evening wolves"... I have heard this phrase in my spirit many times through the years, since the first time I ever heard it used in a sermon. Wolves typically conjure up fearful images in our minds. They are vicious and they appear when day has given way to night. They do not hold back and their destruction is sure and swift.
God was speaking through Habakkuk in this passage and He was announcing the coming of the Chaldeans, whom He would release upon the Israelites because they had mingled pagan worship with the worship of Jehovah. When a nation turns from the Lord, there are repercussions. For Israel, it was a chastisement which would come from a nation whose army was "more fierce than the evening wolves". We as Americans sometimes think that we are insulated from the judgments of God...that somehow because of our Christian heritage, we are immune to chastisement. Others think that because we are strong militarily we cannot be moved. But if the Lord of Hosts so chooses, He is able to raise up the weakest and smallest of nations and use that nation as His rod of divine judgment.
Each year I wonder, "How long before He releases the evening wolves"? The destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001 was just a foretaste of what can happen when a nation forgets God.
Who will they be? Will they be an army of muslims, determined to implement Sharia law in our land? Will they be Chinese forces? Will they come as an EMP disruption caused by an Iranian nuclear warhead? Even more sobering, will they be our own forces...enforcing martial law on an unprepared American public? Will it be the final muzzling of the Church in America, which has compromised with the world just as Israel did in the time of Habakkuk? Though I do not know the answer to these questions, I do know that the God of the new Covenant is the same God who spoke through Habakkuk, and He deals with nations today even as He did then.
But when God releases the evening wolves, He always has a remnant. A faithful remnant settled this nation and today there is a faithful remnant as well. I am excited about the remnant that I see responding to God at Faith Harvest. There are those who are seeing the urgency of the hour and answering the call to be used by the Lord...not to build ministries to themselves, but to Glorify Christ and seek to draw others to Him.
God leaves a remnant for a number of reasons.
First of all, to preserve. Evening wolves may bring destruction, but believers are salt and light and as long as God has a remnant there will not be total annihilation.
Secondly, to stand watch. Someone has to watch and proclaim for the sake of the weaker brethren. Someone has to protect the flock of God and speak truth in the midst of falling darkness.
Thirdly, God has a remnant so that there will be a prophetic voice. Even in the worst of the coming Great Tribulation, God has His two witnesses who stand in the streets of the great city and proclaim the everlasting Gospel. We are the witnesses today.
Lastly, God has a remnant who will display His power. In the midst of falling darkness, God will raise up fire-filled men and women who will not compromise with the spirit of the age.
I believe the time is coming when the righteous remnant will stand in power and proclaim the faithfulness and greatness of God. There will be no more room left for compromise or riding the fence. You will be on one side or the other. Now is the time to make preparation. When the wolves are racing towards us, it will be too late to prepare.
Is the sky now red in the evening or red at dawn? Jesus said that we should know and be able to read the signs.
What will you do when God releases the evening wolves?
