◄ Habakkuk 3:3 ►
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
Study Bible
God came from Teman
The phrase "God came from Teman" introduces a theophany, a visible manifestation of God. "Teman" refers to a region in Edom, south of Israel, known for its wisdom and might (Jeremiah 49:7). The Hebrew root for "came" (בּוֹא, bo) suggests an arrival or a significant intervention. This imagery evokes the Exodus narrative, where God intervenes powerfully on behalf of His people. Historically, Teman was a place associated with divine revelation and judgment, emphasizing God's sovereignty over all nations.

and the Holy One from Mount Paran
"Mount Paran" is another geographical location, often associated with the Sinai Peninsula. The "Holy One" underscores God's purity and separateness from creation. The Hebrew word for "holy" (קָדוֹשׁ, qadosh) implies being set apart, highlighting God's transcendence and moral perfection. This phrase connects to Deuteronomy 33:2, where God is depicted as coming from Sinai, Paran, and Seir, reinforcing the theme of divine intervention and covenantal faithfulness.

Selah
"Selah" is a term used frequently in the Psalms, and its exact meaning is debated. It may indicate a pause for reflection or a musical interlude. In this context, it invites the reader to pause and contemplate the majesty and power of God as He reveals Himself in history. This pause emphasizes the gravity of God's presence and the awe it inspires.

His glory covered the heavens
The phrase "His glory covered the heavens" speaks to the overwhelming and all-encompassing nature of God's presence. "Glory" (כָּבוֹד, kavod) in Hebrew conveys weightiness and honor, suggesting that God's presence is both majestic and authoritative. This imagery recalls the divine glory that filled the tabernacle and temple, symbolizing God's dwelling among His people. It also points to the eschatological hope of God's glory filling the earth.

and His praise filled the earth
"His praise filled the earth" indicates the universal recognition and worship of God. The Hebrew root for "praise" (תְּהִלָּה, tehillah) implies a song of admiration and thanksgiving. This phrase anticipates a time when all creation acknowledges God's sovereignty and goodness. It reflects the prophetic vision of a restored creation where God's name is exalted among all nations, fulfilling the Abrahamic promise of blessing to all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).

Persons / Places / Events
1. God
The central figure in this verse, representing divine intervention and presence.

2. Teman
A region in Edom, often associated with wisdom and might. It signifies a place from which God’s presence is manifested.

3. The Holy One
A title for God, emphasizing His purity and separateness from creation.

4. Mount Paran
A mountainous region in the Sinai Peninsula, associated with God’s revelation and majesty.

5. Selah
A term used in the Psalms and Habakkuk, possibly indicating a pause for reflection or musical interlude.
Teaching Points
God’s Majestic Presence
Recognize that God’s presence is not confined to one place but is revealed throughout creation. Reflect on how God’s majesty is evident in your life and surroundings.

Historical Revelation
Understand that God has revealed Himself in specific historical contexts, such as at Mount Sinai. Consider how God has revealed Himself in your personal history and the history of the church.

Pause and Reflect (Selah)
Take time to pause and reflect on God’s glory and majesty. Incorporate moments of reflection in your daily routine to appreciate God’s work in your life.

Praise as a Response
Let the knowledge of God’s glory and presence lead you to a life of praise. Consider how you can express praise in both personal and communal settings.

God’s Glory in Creation
Observe the natural world as a testament to God’s glory. Engage in activities that help you appreciate and steward God’s creation.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of God coming from Teman and Mount Paran enhance your understanding of His majesty and power?

2. In what ways can you incorporate moments of "Selah" into your daily life to reflect on God’s presence and glory?

3. How does recognizing God’s historical revelations in the Bible encourage you in your current faith journey?

4. What are some practical ways you can express praise to God in your everyday life?

5. How can observing God’s glory in creation inspire you to be a better steward of the environment?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 33:2
This verse speaks of the Lord coming from Sinai, similar to the imagery of God coming from Teman and Mount Paran, highlighting His majestic revelation to His people.

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God, connecting to the idea of His glory covering the heavens in Habakkuk 3:3.

Isaiah 6:3
The earth is full of His glory, paralleling the praise filling the earth in Habakkuk 3:3.
Sermons
God Poetically Portrayed and Practically RememberedHomilistHabakkuk 3:3-15
God Poetically Portrayed and Practically RememberedD. Thomas Habakkuk 3:3-15
God in HistoryS.D. Hillman Habakkuk 3:3-18
People
Habakkuk, Teman
Places
Cushan, Lebanon, Midian, Mount Paran, Teman
Topics
Covered, Covereth, Covers, Filled, Full, Glory, Heavens, Holy, Majesty, Mount, Paran, Pause, Praise, Selah, Splendor, Teman
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Habakkuk 3:3

     1193   glory, revelation of
     4203   earth, the
     8666   praise, manner and methods

Habakkuk 3:3-4

     1045   God, glory of
     4918   dawn

Habakkuk 3:3-6

     1090   God, majesty of
     4254   mountains

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

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