Habakkuk 2
BBCHabakkuk 2:1
IV. GOD’S ANSWER IS THAT THE JUST PEOPLE OF JUDAH WILL SURVIVE, BUT THE UNJUST CHALDEANS WILL BE DESTROYED (Chap. 2) A. Habakkuk Awaits God’s Answer (2:1)Habakkuk retired to his watchtower to see how the Lord would answer him. He wanted to get alone in order to gain God’s perspective. This is a most important principle for believers today as well. Whether we call it our “quiet time,” “devotions,” or by some other term, daily communion with God is crucial for every Christian.
Habakkuk 2:2
B. Instructions to Record the Answer and Await Its Fulfillment (2:2, 3)2:2 The LORD commanded the prophet: “Write the vision” (His answer to Habakkuk’s question) so that the one who read it might run with the news (of the downfall of Babylon and the restoration of Judah). 2:3 A. J. Pollock says that this verse refers to the hope of the JewChrist’s coming to earth to subdue His enemies, take out of His kingdom all things that offend, and set up His glorious reign, making Israel the head of the nations because He will be at the head of the Jewish nation. When verse 3 is quoted in Heb_10:37, the “it” (i.e., the vision) becomes “He” (i.e., the Lord), who will surely come and will not tarry. The NT context refers to the hope of the Christianthe Rapture of the church.
Habakkuk 2:4
C. The Just Shall Live by Faith, and the Unjust Chaldeans Will Die (2:4)Because the soul of the king of Babylon was lifted up with pride, he would die, but the godly remnant of Israel would live by . . . faith. Verse 4c is quoted three times in the NT. The three parts of the versethe justshall liveby faith, go well with the emphases of the three contexts where they appear: Rom_1:17 emphasizes “the just”; Gal_3:11 emphasizes “faith”; Heb_10:38 emphasizes “shall live.” The literal rendering in Habakkuk’s context, is “By his faith the just shall live.” It could also be paraphrased “the justified-by-faith-one shall live.”
Habakkuk 2:5
D. Catalog of the Chaldean’s Sins (2:5-19)1. Endless Appetite for Conquest (2:5-8)2:5 Wine drinking was a national sin of Babylon, and, no doubt, of Nebuchadnezzar. Keil writes that this addiction “is attested by ancient writers . . ., and it is well known from Dan. v. that Babylon was conquered while Belshazzar and the great men of his kingdom were feasting at a riotous banquet.” In addition, the latter had an insatiable thirst for conquest. 2:6-8 Verse 6 begins a taunt song, containing five woes against Babylon. The first woe is against lust for empire, or aggression. The many nations which Nebuchadnezzar had conquered would taunt him for his ill-gotten gain, and would oppress and plunder Babylon as he had done to them.
Habakkuk 2:9
- Greed and Pride (2:9-11)A second woe is pronounced on Nebuchadnezzar for his covetousness and pride. He tried to make his dynasty safe from the reach of disaster, but his dishonest gain and cruelty would cry out against him.
Habakkuk 2:12
- Enrichment through Bloodshed (2:12-14)The third woe against the king was for his lust for magnificence and his bloodshedding tactics. The cities of Babylon, built by slave labor, would merely end up feeding the insatiable fire, and the earth would acknowledge Jehovah as the true God. But a day is coming when the one true God will be globally acknowledged. This glorious time is predicted in a deservedly famous poetic comparison: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (2:14).
Habakkuk 2:15
- Corruption of Neighbors (2:15-17)The fourth woe is against Nebuchadnezzar for taking a savage delight in corrupting other nations, for shamelessness, and for his destruction of Jerusalem and Judah. In short, Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of promoting two main ingredients of modern television, movies, and “literature"shameless sexual lifestyles (including forms of perversion) and inordinate violence.
Habakkuk 2:18
- Idolatry (2:18, 19)The fifth and final woe condemns the king for the idolatry of Babylon in vividly sarcastic lines. What good is a gold or silver-plated idol when there is no breath in it at all?
Habakkuk 2:20
E. Silence Enjoined Before the Storm of God’s Judgment (2:20)A beautiful musical setting of this verse is used in some churches to subdue the congregation to quiet contemplation of the sermon. Unfortunately, while the words fit, the context of the text is that the LORD is about to demonstrate His power in judgment. For that reason all the earth should keep silence before Him.