←Habakkuk 2→BSB

In This Chapter 1 place 18 terms

Places

    Key Terms

    Woe (Future Suffering) 5 Be Disgraced 4 Glory (Presence of God) 3 Steadiness (Quality) 2 Proverb 2 Greatness 2 Be Straight Upright Straightness Straight Faithfulness (Truth) Faithful Faithfulness (Trust) Glory (Splendor) Praise (Glorify) Praise (Respect) Trust Idol

    The LORD Answers Again

    1I will stand at my guard postand station myself on the ramparts.I will watch to see what He will say to me,and how I should answer when corrected.
    ⓘ God responds to Habakkuk’s second complaint (1:12–2:1) without...

    God responds to Habakkuk’s second complaint (1:12–2:1) without explaining why he chose to use the Babylonians. Rather, he assures Habakkuk that all violence and injustice will be punished.
    ⓘ Habakkuk’s mission was to make it clear to...

    Habakkuk’s mission was to make it clear to people that even if God’s justice seems slow in coming, it will come.

    2Then the LORD answered me:

    “Write down this visionand clearly inscribe it on tablets,so that a herald may run with it.3For the vision awaits an appointed time;it testifies of the end and does not lie.Though it lingers, wait for it,since it will surely come and will not delay.†4Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright —†but the righteous will live by faith —†5and wealth† indeed betrays him.He is an arrogant man never at rest.He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,and like Death, he is never satisfied.He gathers all the nations to himselfand collects all the peoples as his own.

    Woe to the Chaldeans

    ⓘ Five taunt songs (2:6–8, 9–11, 12–14, 15–17, 18–20)...

    Five taunt songs (2:6–8, 9–11, 12–14, 15–17, 18–20) portray God’s future judgment of the Babylonians (and others who, like the Babylonians, indulge in violence and injustice). God allows them to seal their own doom. Those who suffer will be able to repeat these taunts when the wicked come to judgment (see 1:14–17). Each taunt contains a pronouncement of sorrow, a judgment, and the reason for God’s judgment.
    ⓘ In the first of Habakkuk’s taunt songs, he...
    • In the first of Habakkuk’s taunt songs, he condemns the Babylonians for despoiling the nations.
    • thieves . . . extortion: The imagery compares the Babylonians to creditors whose oppressive measures cause their debtors to rise up against them. Greed can easily mar an individual’s or nation’s spiritual fiber (Luke 12:15; Eph 5:3).
    6Will not all of these take up a taunt against him,speaking with mockery and derision:
    ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not hisand makes himself rich with many loans!How long will this go on?’7Will not your creditors suddenly ariseand those who disturb you awaken?Then you will become their prey.8Because you have plundered many nations,the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against manand your violence against the land, the city,and all their dwellers.
    ⓘ In the second taunt song, the Babylonians are...

    In the second taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their dishonest dealings. Since the Babylonians obtained the means to build big houses through deceit and dishonesty, they forfeited their lives.
    9Woe to him who builds his houseby unjust gain,to place his nest on highand escape the hand of disaster!10You have plotted shame for your houseby cutting off many peoplesand forfeiting your life.†11For the stones will cry out from the wall,and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.
    ⓘ In the third taunt song, the Babylonians are...
    • In the third taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for the murder and corruption of human life and society that brought wealth to build their cities. God would make their apparent gain prove to be a total loss.
    • earth will be filled: The antithesis of violence and ill-gotten wealth is the awareness of the glory of the Lord, which God promises to make as pervasive as water in the ocean (Isa 11:9).
    12Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshedand establishes a town by iniquity!13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hoststhat the labor of the people only feeds the fire,and the nations weary themselves in vain?14For the earth will be filledwith the knowledge of the glory of the LORDas the waters cover the sea.
    ⓘ In the fourth taunt song, the Babylonians are...

    In the fourth taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their disgraceful acts against people, animals, and the environment. They are like a man who seems to be hospitable, but after getting his neighbors drunk, strips them of everything. However, the Babylonians will be disgraced after drinking from the cup of the Lord’s judgment (see Jer 25:15–17; cp. John 18:11).
    15Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk,in order to gaze at their nakedness!16You will be filled with shame instead of glory.You too must drinkand expose your uncircumcision!†The cup in the LORD’s right handwill come around to you,and utter disgrace will cover your glory.17For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you,and the destruction of animals will terrify you,because of your bloodshed against menand your violence against the land, the city,and all their dwellers.
    ⓘ In the fifth taunt song, the Babylonians are...

    In the fifth taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their devotion to idolatry. Whether idols are carved or cast by the hand of man, they can neither save nor teach their worshipers (Isa 42:17). Only the Lord truly deserves our worship (Hab 2:20; Exod 20:2–6; cp. Eccl 5:1–2).
    18What use is an idol,that a craftsman should carve it—or an image,a teacher of lies?For its maker trusts in his own creation;he makes idols that cannot speak.19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’Can it give guidance?Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,yet there is no breath in it at all.”
    20But the LORD is in His holy temple;let all the earth be silent before Him.