Habakkuk 3:3—If God is everywhere, then how could He “come from Teman”?

Problem: This verse seems to contradict God’s omnipresence. If God is everywhere (Ps. 139:7–10; Jer. 23:23), then how could He be localized in the city of Teman from which He was to come to judge His enemy?

Solution: This is not a reference to God in His omnipresence, but to a special manifestation of God, such as a theophany. Just as God came down in a special display of His glory to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Deut. 33:2), or as the angel of the Lord to Manoah (Jud. 13), even so here He came from Teman.

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.