Habakkuk 2

CHAPTER 2THEME: The perception of the prophetIn chapter 1 we saw the perplexity of the prophet. Now the prophet has learned that God has answers for his questions. He answered his first question, which raised a bigger question, but God has an answer for that also. My friend, if you have a question, don’t smother it in pious phraseology. I often hear people say, “Oh, I’m trusting the Lord, " when they are not trusting Him; they are questioning Him every step of the way. There is no sin in questioning the Lord. Just go to Him and tell Him that you don’t understand. This is what Habakkuk did.

Habakkuk 2:1

PRACTICE OF THE PROPHETHabakkuk says that he is going to the watchtower to wait. (When he says, “watchtower,” he doesn’t mean that he is going to read a magazine!) Prophets are compared to watchmen in several of the books of prophecy. For instance, in Ezekiel it was, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me” (Eze_3:17). The prophets were watchmen who were to prophesy to the nation, and God would hold them responsible for giving out His warning. In a walled city the watchman was the one who watched for enemies during the night; if he was faithful, the city was safe. But if he should betray the city or fail to sound the alarm when an enemy approached, the city was in deep trouble. So Habakkuk, God’s prophet, says that he is going to the watchtower to wait for a message from God. “I …will watch to see what he will say unto me.” Habakkuk is saying, “I’m going to wait patiently, because I know that God has an answer. I don’t know what it will be, but I know He has an answer and He will give that answer in due time.” “And what I shall answer when I am reproved.” The word reprove here is not the best translation of the original word: Habakkuk did not expect God to rebuke him or, to use the common colloquialism, “bawl him out” because he was questioning God’s ways. Habakkuk felt that God would give him the right answer so he would understand God’s ways. And he was willing to wait for it. God often delays. He moves slowly in all that He does. God intends to give Habakkuk an answer, but it will come in His own time. We are the ones who are in a hurry; God is not. For example, sometimes we hear Christians speak of the “soon coming of Christ.” Can you show me in the Bible where that is found? I have never found it.

Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly …” (Rev_22:7, italics mine). He didn’t say He was coming soon. It has now been over nineteen hundred years since He spoke those words, and that could hardly be called soon. He said He would return quickly, because the things that are mentioned in Revelation, which will happen just before He returns to earth, are going to happen quickly. The thing which will introduce the last seven years before Christ comes to establish His Kingdom will be the rapture of the church. When the church leaves the earth, events will move quicklylike a trip-hammer, one blow right after another.

Christ will come quickly. He will come right on schedule. We are not to look for the soon coming of Christ but the imminent coming of Christ. Neither will Christ “delay” His coming, as I hear some pious brothers say. The Lord is coming on His schedulenor mine nor yours. He will not delay. But we must remember that the Lord is long-suffering. He is patient. He is not willing that any should perish. And in Habakkuk’s day there was a company of people down yonder in Babylon whom God was going to save. That seventy-year captivity of the children of Israel was going to be a glorious time for God because He was going to reach even the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians! Habakkuk says, “I’m going to retire now to my watchtower. I don’t have the answer, but I’m going to wait for an answer from God.” And, my friend, you and I are to walk by faith and not by sight. In 2 Corinthians 5 the apostle Paul speaks of the time when our bodies will be put into the grave. The day will come when Christ will call us and raise up our bodies from the grave. In the meantime, when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord. When we leave these bodies, we are going to be at home with the Lord.

There is an interval of time between the burial of our bodies and the resurrection of our bodies. The Lord moves slowly as judged by the way we look at things. That is why Paul interposes here, “For we walk by faith, not by sight:” (2Co_5:7). Do you have questions which have not been answered? I do. But I have learned, as I did as a little boy when my dad picked me up and carried me to the storm cellar, that my Heavenly Father also has reasons for the things He does in my life.

Although I don’t always understand them now, I know that He has the answer, and someday He will give it to me. We need to trust Him.

Habakkuk 2:2

PATIENCE OF THE PROPHETGod is saying, “Write it so that those folk in the twentieth centuryespecially that fellow, McGee, who will have some questions [and I think He had you in mind also]will have an answer from Me during the days when they will be walking by faith.” “That he may run that readeth it.” We sometimes get that turned around and make it say, “That he who runs may read it.” That is not what God is saying. He says that we need to have a road map with us. We need to know where we are going. We need to know a great deal about the way so that, after we have read it, we may run. That is, the one reading it was to run to tell it forth; he was to be the messenger of God’s Word. My friend, there are many folk today who are trying to preach and trying to teach God’s Word without adequate preparation. They need to do more reading before they start running. I remember when I wanted to enter into the ministry, I thought I would skip part of my college training and bypass seminary and go immediately to a Bible school and then start preaching. I thank God for a marvelous, wonderful pastor who told me to get all the training I could get. Learn to read before you start running. Before you begin to witness, be able to give a reason for the hope that is in you.

Habakkuk 2:3

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak.” There is no better way to explain this than to quote a note on this verse in The New Scofield Reference Bible (p. 954): To the watching prophet comes the response of the vision (vv. Hab_2:2-20). Three elements are to be distinguished: (1) The moral judgment of the LORD upon the evil practiced by Israel (vv. Hab_2:5-13, Hab_2:15-19). (2) The future purpose of God that “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (v. Hab_2:14). That this revelation awaits the return of the Lord in glory is shown (a) by the parallel passage in Isa_11:9-12; and (b) by the quotation of v.

Hab_2:3 in Heb_10:37-38, where the “it” of the vision becomes “he” and refers to the return of the Lord. It is then, after the vision is fulfilled, that “the knowledge of the glory,” etc. shall fill the earth. But (3) meantime, “the just shall live by his faith.” This great evangelical word is applied to Jews and Gentiles in Rom_1:17; to the Gentiles in Gal_3:11-14; and to the Hebrews especially in Heb_10:38. This opening of life to faith alone, makes possible not only the salvation of the Gentiles, but also makes possible a believing remnant in Israel while the nation, as such, is in blindness and unbelief (see Rom_11:1 and Rom_11:5, notes), with neither priesthood nor temple, and consequently unable to keep the ordinances of the law. Such is the LORD! In disciplinary government His ancient Israel is cast out of the land and judicially blinded (2Co_3:12-15), but in covenanted mercy the individual Jew may resort to the simple faith of Abraham (Gen_15:6; Rom_4:1-5) and be saved.

This, however, does not set aside the Palestinian and Davidic Covenants (see Deu_30:3 and 2Sa_7:16, notes), for “the earth shall be filled,” etc. (v. Hab_2:14), and the LORD will again be in His Temple (v. Hab_2:20). Cp. Rom_11:25-27. My friend, you can depend on the fact that someday God will give us the answers to all of our questions. That is going to be a great day! I am not interested in heaven’s golden streets, but I am very interested in learning the answers to a great many questions that puzzle mankind in our day. In the meantime, we are to walk by faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

PAGEANT FOR THE PROPHETThis brings us to one of the most important verses in the Scriptures. It is the key to the little Book of Habakkuk. And, actually, it gives the key to the three great doctrinal epistles in the New Testament that quote this verse: Rom_1:17; Gal_3:11; and Heb_10:38. “The just shall live by his faith.” There have been many ways of attempting to sidestep the tremendous impact of this verse. Some have attempted to interpret “faith” as faithfulness or right dealingthe just shall live by his faithfulness. However, this verse gives us the two ways which are opened up to mankind. Notice that the verse mentions two groups of individuals which are in the world: (1) the lifted-up or puffed-up souls; and (2) the just man who is living by his faith. In other words, you could call them the lost and the saved, those who have trusted God and those who have not believed God. Or you can call them the saints and the ain’tsthat makes a sharp division also. You remember that verse Hab_2:1 told us that Habakkuk has gone to his watchtower to wait for the answer of God. It will be God’s great message which will explain His dealings with individuals and with nations. So here in verse Hab_2:4 we have a great principle that God has laid down. Actually, it is an axiom of the Bible. You will remember that when you studied geometry, you accepted certain axioms which were self-evident and you didn’t have to prove. For example, a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. And there are certain statements in the Scriptures which are great axioms. This is one of them: “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him.” “His soul which is lifted up is not upright in him” describes a group of people who are proud. Either they are attempting to work out their own salvation, or they are just living for today with the philosophy of “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” They have no real goal in life. “His soul …is not upright in him.” He is wrong. He is going down the wrong pathway. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Pro_14:12). You know, I am sure, many folk in this group of humanity. They have a lifted-up or puffed-up soul. They are lifted up with pride.

As they meander along their way, picking daisies as they go, they move as on a slow-moving river and will finally arrive at the sea of destruction. That is their end. The Scriptures seldom enlarge upon the fate of the lost, but our Lord Jesus followed them through when He told of the rich man and Lazarus (see Luke 16). When Lazarus died, he was carried to paradise; when the rich man died, he went to hades. He went, as it was said of Judas, to his own place. If you go through life like this, your end will be the same. “The just shall live by his faith” describes the second group of the human family. They are flowing down the river of life toward the city of God and toward full knowledge”…then shall I know even as also I am known" (1Co_13:12, italics mine). Between the moment of salvation and the then, the saved ones will walk by faith. We may not have the answers to our questions now, but God will give them to us when we arrive in His presence. Now because Hab_2:4 is quoted in the New Testament and is actually the key to the Epistles of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, let’s look at these quotations more carefully. In the Epistle to the Romans, the emphasis is upon justification by faith for salvation. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Rom_1:16-17, italics mine). The point here is that “the just,” the one who has been justified by faith, shall also live by faith. And that is the great message of the Epistle to the Romans. In the Epistle to the Galatians, the quotation is this: “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal_3:11, italics mine). The emphasis is a little different here, for we find in Gal_2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” While in Romans the emphasis was on justification by faith for salvation, in Galatians the emphasis is not only on faith that saves, but on a faith by which you live throughout life. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the quotation from Hab_2:4 is this: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Heb_10:38). Here the emphasis is upon the word live"the just shall live by faith." And in the following chapter, we read of men and women who lived by faiththe emphasis is upon living.When Habakkuk looked into the future, he asked, ‘Why, God?" Now from our vantage point, we can look back into history and see the answer to Habakkuk’s question. God sent His own people into captivity because it served the purpose of chastisement for their sins. And now we see His greater purpose: it enabled Him to bring the Savior into the worldin the fullness of time. Again I want to draw your attention to Paul’s great sermon at Antioch of Pisidia: “But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you” (Act_13:37-41). Therefore, Paul shuts them in to only one way to Godfaith. The message is: “…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1Co_15:3-4). And what are we to do? We are to accept Him as our Savior. We are to trust Him and walk by faithnot by law. I am disturbed when I see so many folk today who are attempting to put believers back under the Ten Commandments or under some little legal system that they have worked out, such as rules and regulations for the familyfor the husband and for the wife and for the child. Oh, my friend, if you have been saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, love Him. Loving Him will work out your problems.

Loving Him will enable you to walk in the Spirit; and walking in the Spirit, you will be filled with the Spirit, and you will have joy in your heart. You will be a better husband or a better wife or a better child. You will be a better employee or a better employer. Wherever you are, you will be a better person if you walk by faith, and one of these days you will walk right into His presence and be with Him throughout eternity. Habakkuk was a man of faith. He said, “I’ll go to my watchtower and wait for God’s answer. I am trusting the One who does have the answer.” You see, “…without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb_11:6). And the “just shall live by his faith.” My friend, today God is asking you to come to Him, and the only way you can come to Him is by faith. The man of faith receives life by faith, he walks by faith, and he moves into eternity by faithnot by his own ability but on the strength and the ability of Another. Let me repeat that Hab_2:4 gives the two ways which are opened up to mankind. Our Lord Jesus put it like this: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat_7:13-14). The broad way is actually like a funnel. It is very wide at the place where you enter, but it narrows down so that the follower ends up in only one placedestruction. That is the story of the unbelieving sinner. It is like going down a canyon. I have experienced this when I have been hunting out here in the West. You can start out in the desert in a very wide, open spot. Soon you enter into a canyon; and, as you go deeper and deeper into the canyon, the floor of the canyon gets narrower and narrower. That is the picture here. The entrance is wide, but the end narrows down to destruction. The straight gate, or the narrow gate, is also an entrance into a funnel. In this case, the gate or entrance is very narrow. Jesus Christ said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Joh_14:6). That entrance is narrowed down to one person. He is the way. He doesn’t just show us the way; He is the way. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1Jn_5:12).

You either have Christ, or you don’t have Him. You either trust Him, or you don’t trust Him. Your salvation has nothing in the world to do with going through a ceremony or making pledges or going forward in a meeting or in joining a church. Your salvation is dependent upon your relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the reason it is a narrow gate. God has given to the world just this one way.

The issue is what you will do with Jesus Christ who died on the Cross and rose again. That is why Jesus said, “…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat_7:14). This gate is also like a funnel. You enter in at the narrow gateChrist is the way. But as you enter, it doesn’t narrow down even more. No, it widens out. Jesus said, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Joh_10:10). Oh, the freedom and liberty He gives to those who are His own! Let me give an example. Alcohol addiction and drug addition can look like a broad road of liberty, but they end in the narrow canyon of destruction. My dad used to say, “I can drink, or I can let it alone.” He died when I was fourteen. He was a heavy drinker, but he was never an alcoholic. When I was a boy, I would talk to him about his heavy drinking and ask why he didn’t give it up. He would say, “Son, I can give it up any time I want to.” Do you know what his problem was? He didn’t want to. Had he lived longer, I am confident the day would have come when he would have found himself in a very narrow canyon with only one alternative, and that would be to take another drink. Now the Christian who went in the narrow gate by trusting Christ as his Savior never gets to the place where it narrows down. He really is living. If you really want to live, come to Christ.

Habakkuk 2:5

PARABLE TO THE PROPHETNow how about the other crowdthose whose soul “is not upright in him”? The following “woes” are directed to them and refer primarily to the plundering Babylonians who would conquer Judah. These “woes” are just about as systematic and orderly as anything you will find in Scripture. They are presented in five stanzas of three verses each. “Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine.” He is talking about the Babylonians. At that moment Babylon was not the great nation that it became later at the time of Daniel. The first charge is that they transgressed by wine and were proud. “Neither keepeth at home"they longed to go forth and conquer. “But gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people.” They were inflamed with an ambition for conquest. They were never satisfied but kept attacking nation after nation, gathering spoil and captives. Babylon became the first great world power. They wanted to rule the world. That has been the ambition of a great many nations of the world. I am afraid that after World War II the United States got that insane notion also.

We stuck our nose into the affairs of other countries when we should have kept our nose at home where it belonged. This has been the fallacy of the nations of the world, and it was the fallacy of Babylon. They were lifted up with pride and felt they were capable of ruling the world. Notice that God mentions their sin of drunkenness. This issue comes up several times in the writings of the prophets: in Amos, Joel, Nahum, and now Habakkuk. Nahum makes it clear that drunkenness brought down the kingdom of Assyria. Amos tells us that it was drunkenness that caused God to send the northern kingdom into captivity. Now Habakkuk says that it is drunkenness that will cause God to destroy Babylon. In other words, drunkenness works out its own destruction. Drunkenness characterized Babylon. Read Daniel 5, which tells of Belshazzar’s great feast. That was the night that Babylon fell. Why? They were drunk! It was a night of revelry and drunkenness. They felt perfectly safe and secure in their fortified city. Drunkenness brought down Rome also. On our tour to Bible lands, I have taken groups of people to a place many of them had never heard of. It is Ostia, about fifteen miles from Rome, down by the Tiber River on the seacoast. The ruins at Ostia reveal that there the Romans gave themselves over to revelry and drunkennessthose were the things that brought them there. It was the playground of the Romans. And drunkenness will destroy our own nation. As I travel across this country, I stay in many of the hotels, motels, and inns where conventions are in progress. As I have observed them, they are times of great revelry and drinking. Recently in Dallas, Texas, there were two conventions going on at one time while we were there. On the way to the service in the evening, we would pass two big rooms where cocktail parties were in progress. Now these were the conventions of two reputable companies in this country, but that was the way they carried on their business. How long will a nation last that has millions of alcoholics? Here in the little Book of Habakkuk, God says that drunkenness has led to pride and has made you like “hell” or sheolyou want to gobble up everything. The Book of Proverbs puts it this way: “The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave …” (Pro_30:15-16). The grave is sheol, and it is first on the list. Habakkuk uses the same expression, “who enlargeth his desire as hell [sheol]“continuing to expand their borders, moving out, never, never satisfied. Now God spells out the five woes upon Babylon.

Habakkuk 2:6

The first woe is a taunting proverb against Babylon because they were seizing by force that which was not theirs. “Shall not all these take up a parable against him.” The “all these” probably refers to the nations that have been victims of Babylon’s aggression. “To him that ladeth himself with thick clay!” A better translation is “and maketh himself rich with loans,” which makes more sense. It is one thing to buy property and pay for it, but it is another thing to take it by force. God is pronouncing a woe against this nation for wanting more and taking that which does not belong to them. You see, God has planned that man by the sweat of his brow is going to make his living. And, my friend, if you are not earning your living by the sweat of your brow, somebody else is doing it for you. Babylon wanted somebody else to do the work, and then they by force would take it away. That is the first woeGod is going to judge Babylon for that, and He is just and righteous for doing it.

Habakkuk 2:7

“And thou shalt be for booties unto them?” is the principle that whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. God is saying, “You take it away from somebody, then somebody else will take it away from you.” The fact is that when Media-Persia became a great nation, they took Babylon. By night the River Euphrates, which flowed through the city of Babylon, was cut off and the water diverted into other channels, leaving a dry riverbed through the city. And Gobryas, the Median general, marched his army along that riverbed into the city and took it by surprise.

Habakkuk 2:8

Man is bloodthirsty, and man is coveteous. The second woe is for their covetousness and their self-aggrandizement

Habakkuk 2:9

Covetousness was a sin of Babylon along with drunkenness. Their covetousness was an evil kind of coveting. They wanted that which did not belong to them. God tells us we are not to covet our neighbor’s property or our neighbor’s wife or our neighbor’s wealth. “That he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!” This is likening Babylon to an eagle who feels that his nest is absolutely impregnable. “Thou hast consulted shame to thy house …and hast sinned against thy soul.” Babylon brought the judgment of God itself by its covetousness and bloodshed. Even the stones would cry out against them. Contrast this to the time in the life of the Lord Jesus when the religious rulers tried to silence the crowd who were singing hosannas to Him. He said, “…I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luk_19:40). The third woe has to do with murder and pillage, slaughter and violence

Habakkuk 2:12

This was the method of destruction that built Babylon. They became rich by warfare. My friend, if you stand back and look at the history of mankind, you come to the conclusion that he must be insane the way that he has lived on this earth. And, actually, he is insaneinsane with a sinful nature so that he can’t even direct his path. He thinks he is right in what he does. People have never waged war without thinking they were doing the right thing. We see here God’s condemnation of Babylon, but it can be stretched out and brought up to date and fitted like a glove on any modern nation you choose.

Habakkuk 2:13

This verse could be translated: “Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples shall labor only for fire, and the nations shall weary themselves for nothing?” Think of the futile efforts that have been made by the great nations of the past. Instead of building up, they have spent more time in tearing down. Look at Greece, for instance, and their marvelous, wonderful pieces of architecture, the statues, the art, and literature; but actually, the Greeks spent more time in destruction. If you follow the march of Alexander the Great as he crossed over into Asia, you will notice that he did nothing in the world but destroy one city after another, one great civilization after another. That was the thing that marked him out. And that is the thing that marked out Babylon, the nation about which Habakkuk is prophesying.

Habakkuk 2:14

This is the far-off goal toward which God is moving. This will be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth (see Isa_11:9).

Habakkuk 2:15

This is actually a little different from the drunkenness mentioned in verse Hab_2:5. There God says, “He transgresseth by wine.” Here He says, “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makes him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” The tragic thing is that liquor is something that leads to gross immorality. It leads to the breaking down of morals. It leads men to commit sins they otherwise probably would not commitdishonesty and many other sins. Drunkenness is an alarming problem in many of our large corporations today. I have talked with a man here in Southern California who holds a very responsible position in a large corporation and with another man who is connected with one of the big banks in our state. They both tell me that their corporations have employed certain officials whose business it is to watch for any of their men who are beginning to drink too much. They have many ways of discerning this. They will talk to his wife and have him followed at night if certain things begin to show in his workif he is late to work or perhaps doesn’t even show up for work. Because some of these men are brilliant men, good men, the company officials will go to them, confront them with their drinking problem, and offer to help them to give it up.

But notice how crazy this is: on one hand, these companies have cocktail parties where their men get drunk, and on the other hand, they have a process for drying them out! That is sort of like running a hospital where you bring in healthy people, give them disease germs, and then treat them for the disease they get! Man becomes sort of a guinea pig in this crazy world in which we live today. So many illogical things are being done even by large corporations. This is the condemnation that is here brought against Babylon. God says to them, “You are making drunkards. Not only are you drinking yourselves, but you are also making drunkards of others.” Again may I refer to an authority, a man and his wife who are working with young people who are caught up in the drug culture. They tell me that many of these young people have come out of homes where cocktails are served. If Mama and Papa are going to have cocktails and live their lives, why can’t Junior have his drugs? I would like to have a good answer for that because Junior has asked that question of me. I don’t have an answer for him because I think Mama and Papa are responsible for his going into this drug culture. I believe that behind the problem of drugs has been drunkenness. Drunkenness is the thing that has brought this to pass in our nation today. I know that these things are not being said today, and I know that it does not make me very popular to say them. But I don’t think Habakkuk was too popular himselfcertainly not down in Babylon when this word percolated down there. But they found out that God condemns drunkenness and that God condemns making drunkards of others. Notice that drunkenness leads to gross immorality

Habakkuk 2:16

Drunkenness leads to gross immorality. It leads to divorce. It leads to the breaking up of homes. It leads to a life of sin. I have come to the place in my own life that I have lost respect for men in government. These fellows talk so big about honesty, and they talk so big and brave about helping the poor, while it is a well-known fact that many of them are actually alcoholics who drink like fish. May I ask you, how can we have respect for government when this sort of thing is all out in the open? Yet they ask us to respect them, to look up to them, and to give them our support. It makes me bow my head in shame to see what is happening in this great land of ours. My friend, Habakkuk spelled it out here years ago. God says, “The reason I will bring Babylon down is because of these sins.”

Habakkuk 2:17

Violence is another of the fruits which comes from drunkenness. You see, all kinds of immoralities spring from drunkenness. The drug culture, the gross immorality, the prevalence of divorceall of these sins that are abroad in our land todayhave come out of drunkenness. The fifth woe is God’s condemnation of the greatest sin of all

Habakkuk 2:18

Actually, drunkenness is not the greatest sin. The greatest sin is idolatry, false religion, turning to an idol instead of turning to God. This is the worst sin of all. In the Book of Judges a great principle of government is presented, a principle which is also stated very clearly in the prophecy of Isaiah. All of the subsequent prophets simply bear out and apply this principle which has already been stated. The principle is this: There are three steps in the downfall of a nation. First of all, there is religious apostasy. The second step is moral awfulness. And the third step is political anarchy. These are the three steps by which nations pass off the stage of human history. That has always been the way it has moved. You see, the primary problem never was political anarchy. The primary problem never was moral awfulness. As bad as these are, the root problem goes back to religious or spiritual apostasy, a turning away from the living and true God. This is the thing which has happened to my nation today, and I am not the only one who is saying this, by any means. A prominent professor of history has made the statement that the American dream is vanishing in the midst of terrifying realities and visible signs of decadence in our contemporary society. Clinton Rossiter, at one time a professor of American history at Cornell University, said that in our youth we had a profound sense of national purpose that we lost over the years of our rise to glory. James Reston of the New York Times (and I don’t think anybody has ever called him a conservative) has said that in public they talk about how optimistic and wonderful the future is, but that the private conversations of thoughtful men in Washington are quite different. It is his opinion that for the first time since World War II, one begins to hear of doubts that mortal man is capable of solving or even controlling the political, social, and economic problems that life has placed before him. This is the picture and this is the story of the downfall of nations, and it alarms me. This great principle, which this man Habakkuk has again restated in the Word of God, was fulfilled in the nation of Babylon. The downfall of a nation begins in idolatry; it begins in turning away from the living and true God. We would like to think that idolatry has gone out of style, that no one today in this country is bowing down to an idol. That, of course, is not true. Many a man today is worshiping the almighty dollar. Many a man worships sex. Many a man worships pleasure.

Many a woman has given her virtue in order to become a famous star or in order to be promoted. May I say to you, anything that you give yourself to, anything that takes all your time or energy, anything that takes all of you is what you worship. That, my friend, is your god, that is your idol, and that is what God condemns. God says that He is a jealous God. God says, “I made you. I created you.

I have redeemed you. And I want you.” When a man turns his back on God, he is doing the worst thing any man can possibly do.

Habakkuk 2:20

Personally, I believe this looks to the future when the Lord Jesus Christ will come to the earth. When He is in His temple down here, the whole earth will be silent before Him. All of the noise, all of the clamor, all of the protest, all of the confusion will disappear at that time. But it is also true that it applies to today. The reason we are having all these difficulties and problems down here is that, although He is yonder in heaven, although the Lord is in His temple, man does not bow before Him and recognize Him. It would be a wonderful thing if we could just have a week of silence.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone in Washington, D.C., would keep his mouth shut for a week? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of us preachers on radio would keep our mouths shut? Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if everyone who is doing so much talking would just keep quiet and wait before almighty God? “The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” But the second psalm opens with a question markWhy? Just like Habakkuk’s questions, the psalmist asks, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psa_2:1). Why all the clamor? Why all the protest? Because they are far from God. The nations have forgotten that God today is in His heaven. Browning was wrong when he said that God is in His heaven and all’s right with the world. God is in His heaven, but all is wrong with the world because man is not rightly related to God. Our problem today is a problem of man’s relationship to God. My friend, there is only one alternative, there is only one way out: “The just shall live by his faith” (v. Hab_2:4).