Habakkuk Chapter 2
7/29/24 10:58 AM
Solitary Man
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20240723
Hab 2:1 I will stand upon my watch (as a sentry at my post), and set me (continue at my station) upon the tower (besieged and hemmed in my tower), and will watch (peer into the distance, await) to see (consider, discern) what he will say (commune, pronounce) unto me, and what I shall answer (sboob – to turn away or to turn back, return, repent) when I am reproved (chastised, corrected).
Habakkuk has finished presenting his complaint to the Lord. He was not shy is crying out to God. Great evil will cause any one of us great distress, and we need to hear from God in order to be able to navigate these treacherous waters, and to endure while evil lingers.
Once Habakkuk was done pouring out his heart in anguish over the level of wickedness amongst his people, and then over the fact that God is using a nation even more wicked than Judah to judge them, he does the only thing that is left. And that is to wait on the Lord.
Here is where most of us fall down. We know how to cry out to God. We sure know how to complain. We are always full of questions. We even may go to him in all sincerity and honesty. But how many of us will wait for however long it takes the Lord to respond? Do not most of us give up after what we consider a reasonable amount of time?
Habakkuk conveys the idea of waiting in 3 separate phrases. He will stand as a sentry, and he will stay at his station, even though he feels hemmed in. And he will continue to peer into the distance, until God speaks. It is assumed that he will continue to do this until he hears from Yahweh. And then he has already made up his mind to shoob (repent, change course back toward righteousness), according to whatever God instructs him to do.
Why are so many of us like Saul? Samuel told him to wait seven days until he showed up, then the next command would be given him (1 Sam 13:8-14). He thought he had fulfilled the command, but the seventh day was not yet over. Don’t we far more often embrace any excuse to cut our private time with Jesus short, rather than looking for ways to extend it? Do we arbitrarily set a time limit on God to speak? What if he chooses not to answer today? Or tomorrow? Or next week? Or even next year?
Now I know there are issues that do have deadlines, but there are many things where our impatience thwarts the will of God in our lives. Major things such as changing careers, finding a spouse, moving, entering into a new ministry – how many times have we paid the price by getting ahead of God?
It is the mark of a very mature Christian who can sit still and patiently wait on the word of the Lord. That especially goes for those who have a prophetic gift. You may of been used by God to speak a word in the past. Maybe even several times. But now it’s been a while since you perceived Jesus speaking to you. Do you get anxious? Do you feel you should lay out something, because you feel your audience expects a regular message? Or can we simply rest in the will of the Lord, and let him be lord of the timing of all things?
The second great truth here is that Habakkuk had already purposed in his heart that whatever correction or instruction Yahweh was going to give, he was absolutely going to obey it. No questions about it. Notice that he fully expected God to have a reproving word for him. He knew that God doesn’t speak simply to hear himself talk. When he speaks, it is always to straighten us out, to put us on the proper deh-rek, or path of life. Too many times we think God has nothing better to do than to tell us how wonderful we are and how we’re all so perfect.
If you really believe that, then I challenge you to read all the prophets and also the words of Jesus, the greatest prophet of them all. Now tell me how many times a word was spoken to warn, rebuke, and/or correct, vs some message that did nothing but comfort and confirm.
Hab 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision (khaw-zone – dream, revelation, oracle), and make it plain (explain it) upon tables (a tablet), that (in order that) he may run (divide speedily) that readeth it (or one that publishes, preaches, proclaims it).
We do not know how long it took for God to respond. But respond he did. It is interesting that the first thing that God says is for the prophet to record the divine oracle. Write it in such a way that it is permanently preserved. Write it so that the meaning is clear. The reason may be interpreted two ways. The most common understanding of the last phrase is that anyone who reads this will be able to grasp it quickly without having to even stop for a moment to ponder. The Hebrew also allows for the option of the one doing the running is the writer of the vision, not the reader.
We see several principles being discussed here that is pertinent to the prophetic ministry. First, if you do not take the time to write down what God said, chances are you will lose the revelation in time, or you will eventually alter the words in your mind. Second, if God has given you a dream or a vision, ask him for the interpretation. Pray about it until you have it.
I’ve noticed that different people receive understanding in different ways. A couple of years ago God began to give me dreams that were of him, for the first time in my life. In each case I found that as soon as I finished writing them down and began to write an interpretation, the entire interpretation was given to me in one sitting. I have listened to another who has been given regular dreams over the course of the last 4 years, and he prays for many hours for the interpretation, and also shares it with some trusted friends, who also pray and analyze them. Only then does he go public with the dream and its meaning. God gives each of us differing gifts, and they often operate in slightly different ways. He also gives us a measure of faith (Rom 12:6) in regards to certain gifts. Let us be faithful in using our gifts, and not be too concerned about how God is using someone else in the body, as this is not a contest.
Now we know that a lot of prophecy in the bible is not exactly made plain. At least at the time it was written. Yet how often does a verse become clear, once the fulfillment comes to pass and God reveals it to us. In this specific case, Habakkuk is to write down precisely what God says, in order that not only himself, but all his listeners, may be able to speedily rightly divide the word, to profit withal.
Hab 2:3 For the vision (khaw-zone) is yet for an appointed time (moadin – a fixed time or season), but at the end (extremity, utmost) it shall speak, and not lie (be in vain): though it tarry (delays), wait for it (adhere to it); because it will surely come (bo bo – bring forth bring forth), it will not tarry (loiter, procrastinate, defer).
The fundamental rule of prophecy is that it is prophecy! That is, it is a revelation of something that has not yet come to pass. It may be next day, or may be next century. How many times we discard prophecy, simply because we’re not the generation to see it’s fulfillment. Today, that is one thing that we don’t have to worry about anymore, as prophecy is certainly being fulfilled before our very eyes.
Certain prophets are far seeing. Here Habakkuk is most likely prophesying around 650 BC, which would be about 65 years before the total destruction of Judah by Babylon comes to pass. I am sure many read it in the intervening years, and paid little attention to it, especially when Assyria was still the dominant superpower, at least until 612. i wonder how many of us, after the fall of communism in 1989, thought we would ever still be alive to see the one superpower left, America, fall so completely and so catastrophically in 2020 onwards, in such a short period of time from when they appeared utterly invincible. Remember how we almost all disregarded another far seeing prophet in David Wilkerson, who in 1973 saw New York on fire, and other severe judgments on America. How after 911 he was about the only prophet to proclaim that event as God’s judgment, and how he was mocked, ridiculed, and completely rejected by the rest of the charismatic churches.
Other prophets prophesy closer to the events themselves, like Jeremiah. Ezekiel also spoke to events in his generation, though he is probably more known for his later prophecies of the dry bones, Gog and Magog, and the Millennial temple.
I think the verse has a two fold fulfillment. Certainly the initial fulfillment occurred in 586 BC, then the defeat of Babylon itself in 539 by the Persians. But though the vision is yet for an appointed time, at the end it shall speak. I believe this means that a second fulfillment regarding the judgment on the end time Babylonian system will occur in the final generation.
God also reminds us that unlike false prophecies, and every other earthly voice, his words never lie.
He then completes the thought by reminding us that yes, God’s word often does seem to take a long time to come to pass, but we are to patiently wait for it nonetheless. From god’s point of view, the fulfillment is a sure thing and from heaven’s perspective, it did not delay one second longer than it was supposed to. With god, there is no loitering or procrastination.
Hab 2:4 Behold, his soul (nephesh) which is lifted up (swelled up, elated) is not upright in him: but the just (tsad-deek – lawful righteous man) shall live by his faith (em-oo-naw – his firmness, moral fidelity, faithfulness).
We now stop to consider the most famous verse in this book, and arguably the most famous verse in the entire old testament (at least for the Protestants)! The just shall live by faith. Martin Luther’s anthem. The foundation stone of the Reformation. We could spend much time speaking of that momentous event in church history, but I wish to stick to the context of the original text, and the applicability to our generation today.
Whose soul is spoken of here? Most commentators believe that God now begins to speak of the wicked Chaldeans, as the rest of the chapter’s main theme is the judgment of Chaldea (Babylon).
However, some believe the subject is those unbelieving Jews who are in rebellion to Torah. I believe this can apply to anyone where the shoe fits. Anyone who is walking in some sort of pride has a defective soul. This is contrast to the faithful, law abiding man. And by that I mean keeping the commandments of God, not man. The word of faith movement has done such incalculable damage to the theology and the thinking of the church. We have made faith into some sort of magic substance. Something that if you have enough of, and of the right kind, it is like the philosopher’s stone, able to turn lead into gold, or make anything your heart desires to come true.
In contrast, the word of God speaks of faith as an essential positive character element that every believer must have. It has to do with being steadfast, morally pure, and consistent. If you really are following Jesus, your priority will be to obey him. In heresies such as the word of faith philosophy, the primary evidence of faith is how you speak. You continually are claiming whatever promise, yanked out of context, that suits your fancy. You never express doubt that what you want is not yours. Generally speaking, you talk and act in a manner that makes yourself about as un-Christlike as you could possibly be. You end up with that defective soul that is lifted up within you, making you not upright, but prideful and arrogant.
Paul loves this verse. He quotes it in Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, and Heb 10:38. No other old testament verse is quoted 3 times like this in the new. Obviously Paul found a wide applicability of the spiritual concept being taught here, far beyond the original context. Faith means that you steadfastly, permanently continue to believe in staying on the path that God has laid out for us in his holy word. No argument could ever persuade you that being a Christian is the wrong path. Nothing in heaven or earth could ever get you to change your mind.
May God grant us this kind of faith, and may it be ever increasing in our day to day lives.
Hab 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth (deals deceitfully) by wine, he is a proud (haughty, arrogant) man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth (broadens) his desire (nephesh – soul) as hell (sheol – hades), and is as death (as ruined), and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations (goy), and heapeth (collectgs, gathers) unto him all people (am – nations):
if it wasn’t for the last part of the verse that seems to clearly indicate that we are now speaking of the Babylonians, we could apply this verse to any wicked man. What are the main characteristics of the wicked? They are slaves to their appetites. They are known first and foremost for their pride and arrogance, thinking that they are something when they are not. They are not responsible, abandoning any duties and obligations that they may have in their own house. Their souls are always being enlarged with ungodly desires to have more and more. Their insatiable appetite is compared to hell itself, which the bible says enlargeth itself as the wicked multiply seemingly without end (Is 5:14). Because they give in totally to their lusts, they end up as never being able to satisfy themselves. Sin has that paradoxical aspect to it, in that the more you imbibe in it, the less satisfaction you receive. They try to make everyone else just like them.
Regarding the current context, the behavior of Babylon is just like that individual wicked man. They keep conquering and conquering, and are never satisfied. They cannot stop until every last people group is under their thumb.
We now wonder why God is going to spend an entire chapter here recounting the behaviors and characteristics of this ungodly nation. He certainly is not like most of our modern preachers, who think it noble and wise to only emphasize the positive.
I believe there is a very sound and crucial reason for this. As new Babylon has risen in this the last generation, we of the west have been living so long in this insulated bubble of relative peace and freedom that God knew we would have great difficulty grasping and accepting just how wicked our world really is. Now that God has dropped the hedge of protection in our lands, we are experiencing the wicked reality of men that all mankind has been generally living under in all generations before. If we take the time to really study and meditate on these next verses, we will be given an understanding of exactly how the wicked think, and do what they do. If we have the courage to examine this, then we won’t be deceived, or devastated, when the next horror is unleashed. Our unbelief that such evil exists in our midst will be removed, and we will have a much better chance to dealing with it in a useful manner.
Hab 2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable (proverb, simile) against him, and a taunting (scoffing) proverb (puzzle, conundrum, dark saying) against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth (burdens) himself with thick clay (pawned goods, or something pledged)!
Who are ‘all these’? The nations and people of verse 5 that Babylon has conquered. They will speak in riddles, in dark sayings, maybe due to fear of reprisal while Babylon rules.
In the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown bible commentary, it states that this parable, or dark saying consists of the text of the remainder of the chapter. It consists of 5 stanzas, each stanza beginning with a ‘woe’ (v6, 9, 12, 15, 19).
The first woe, found in this verse, charges Babylon with reckless theft. A plaintive cry of ‘how long’ escapes from the lips of the speaker. This is the universal cry of the righteous when under the thumb of the wicked.
The woe is also said to be because Babylon burdens himself with ‘thick clay’. The Hebrew word, is ab-teet, and is found only here in the entire bible. All commentators say this refers to gold and silver, being dug out of the ground of clay. Strong’s concordance gives no such hint, so I do not know why all the old commentaries seem to think this is correct. If it is true, it makes sense in the fact that it continues the thought of the utter rapacious greed of the wicked, and that the wicked do covet earthly riches above all other things, besides the lust for power.
If we go with the various alternate meanings of pawned goods, or something pledged, this could be a hint of all the lying promises the wicked make as they go about destroying all in their path.
As I have noted above, let us see these verses as applying not only to historical Babylon, but to the modern Babylonian new world order, and especially to the individual wicked man in general. Are they not all consumed with greed? Do they not make outrageous promises, and seemingly take delight in breaking them? Do we not have to at times talk in code because of the censorship that they have unleashed upon us?
Hab 2:7 Shall they not rise up suddenly (in a wink, unexpectedly) that shall bite (sting as a serpent, or oppress with interest upon a loan) thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties (plunder, spoil) unto them?
The ‘they’ are still referring to those nations that Babylon has so cruelly overrun. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Babylon will be no more. This has initially fulfilled in 539 BC, when the Persians took the city of Babylon in one night (Dan 5:30-31). It will be fulfilled once again at the time of the end (Rev 18:10). Even as a deadly serpent stings with deadly venom, or when a burdensome loan with exceedingly heavy interest suddenly becomes due, so the judgment on Babylon shall be swift and severe. As they spoiled the nations, so they in turn shall be a spoil unto their enemies.
Hab 2:8 Because thou hast spoiled (plundered) many nations (goy), all the remnant (who is left) of the people (am – tribes, nations) shall spoil (plunder) thee; because of men’s (adam) blood, and for the violence (unjust gain, cruelty) of the land (eh-rets – the earth), of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
In God’s mishpat, the punishment always fits the crime. As Babylon plundered, so shall they be plundered. As they spilled innocent blood, so their blood shall be spilled. Note also they are indicted for destroying the eh-rets, the earth itself, as well as the habitations of mankind.
What we see as a consistent pattern is that God does not need to raise up a mighty physical force to deal with those whose time of destruction has come. He will take the remnant of those left, and use them, in their time and season, to wipe out Babylon. I also like to see in this passage a hint of God’s holy remnant in these end times, fighting tooth and nail in their prayer closet, eventually being given the victory over the beast and it’s evil system (even if it’s by martyrdom for many). God never needs many, but he does need the totally committed.
Hab 2:9 Woe to him that coveteth (be given over to) an evil (rah – calamity, harmful, wicked) covetousness (dishonest gain, lucre, profit) to his house, that he may set (put) his nest (dwelling) on high (in a haughty place), that he may be delivered (snatched away, preserved) from the power (hand) of evil (rah)!
If this does not sound like the obscenely rich of today, who are the architects of our ruin, I don’t know what does. God pronounces his second woe on the type of individual who gives himself over to wickedness via insane greed for his own pleasure only. He then uses it not to benefit anyone else, but to then build elaborate bug out shelters, underground perhaps, or in the far reaches of the earth, with the intent of escaping the massive destruction that he himself has unleashed! Are not all the rich building their underground bunkers, their remote private islands, in order to try and escape the consequences of the plagues, the destruction of nations, the wars and the famines that they themselves have orchestrated?
God has one word to say to them.
Woe.
Hab 2:10 Thou hast consulted (counselled, purposed, determined) shame (bo-sheth – the feeling and the condition, such as when engaging in idolatry) to thy house by cutting off (destroying) many people, and hast sinned (khaw-taw – miss the mark) against thy soul (nephesh).
Here is the depopulation scheme in a nutshell. Recently I heard that familiar statistic that communism in the last century murdered 100 million people. And now we are allowing communism to be implemented worldwide. And this plan revolves around depopulation. This person then stated that instead of being horrified by that number, recognize that the actual purpose of communism is to depopulate. Only when all undesirables are gone, can they bring in their version of utopia. Talk to any hard line communist, and if they are honest, the murder of 100 million to them represents a ‘good start’ on the road to total depopulation and getting rid of the wrong kind of people.
We must come to realize that murder and depopulation is actually the point of communism. It is not for fairness or equitable redistribution of wealth. The purpose of communism is mass murder and genocide.
Christians are always the first people group to be eliminated. Examine every communist uprising in the past, and you will find out that this is so.
This verse tells us this very truth. The globalists of today have purposed to their everlasting eternal shame to engage in worldwide genocide. This permanently scars their souls, making them eternally cursed and ineligible for salvation. Remember that the bible teaches of this profound difference between the wicked and the lost. The lost are ignorant, the wicked have already made their final choice, and nothing will stop them until they are totally destroyed.
Hab 2:11 For the stone shall cry (shriek) out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
A wonderful poetical statement that reminds us of Jesus words, when he said that if you stifle my disciples as they praise God, the rocks themselves would cry out (Luk 19:40).
In this instance, the rocks are shrieking, and the beams in the house are answering. What are they shrieking about? The next verse tells us.
Hab 2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth (erects) a city by iniquity (eh-vel – perverseness, unrighteousness)!
The buildings themselves cry out Babylon’s doom for using the mortar of shedding innocent blood, and the nails of perversity in building their empire. What materials is the deep state using to build their Babylonian tower of lies? Murder, deception, poisoning, hatred, and most of all, fear. This is not the way to build a life, a household, a city, a nation, or a civilization. It cannot stand.
Hab 2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD (Yehovah) of hosts (battle company) that the people shall labour (toil to exhaustion) in the very fire, and the people (leh-ome – community, nation) shall weary themselves (faint) for very vanity (reek – emptiness, to no purpose)?
Once again we are brought to the stark realization that God is ultimately in charge of all, both good and evil. Our modern theology has attempted mightily to erase this foundational truth from the church. Since all we want to talk about is the god of love, then verses such as this must never be mentioned. It reminds one of the orthodox Jews, who refuse to study Isaiah chapter 53, as they cannot explain why that chapter points so precisely to the life and death of Jesus.
We think in terms of satan energizing and controlling the globalists. And for sure, that is a fact. Yet if not for the plans and purposes of Yahweh, satan would have no power or authority to do anything. What satan thinks he is in complete charge of, God is really the master designer, weaving a tapestry of events that flow and work together in order to perform and fulfill his divine will.
This truth is troubling to so many believers. Here we see that Habakkuk (speaking as Yahweh’s mouthpiece) proclaiming that all that insane, murderous toil that Nebuchadnezzar compels his subjects to undertake for his aggrandizement and glory, is really occurring for God’s ultimate purposes, and not his. All the nation is slaving away to the very end of their strength, and yet God says it is all for nothing. It is for no purpose. Yet God says that this purposeless labor is really inspired by him. I suppose that this is one of those places where we must join Paul in proclaiming:
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
The next verse hints at the result of this seemingly senseless purpose of God. Just because we may not understand the reason for some thing, even a very evil thing, does not mean that God is clueless, or performing something on a whim, to no purpose. This is part and parcel of embracing the crucified life. The time is upon us when life is becoming more and more irrational and senseless. Have we crucified our own wisdom and need to understand? Or will we insist that God owes us an explanation for everything that we see?
Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Perhaps the reason that God incites the Babylonians to build insane monuments to themselves, and spend countless lives in expanding their kingdom through cruel conquest, is to then show all of mankind how utterly vain, empty, and worthless such projects really are. When God’s glory finally comes in all its fulness, especially during the Millennial reign of Christ, then Babylon will be forever exposed for what it’s truly worth – absolutely nothing.
In the same way, can anything that we do in our own strength, inspired by our own desires, have any lasting value? Even the greatest efforts of men, such as amazing art, or massive feats of engineering, sending a man to the moon, or building unbelievably fast quantum computers, is really nothing but reek – vanity, and to no purpose.
Jesus is coming soon. In that day we will witness with our own eyes and understand with our own souls, just how preeminent and all encompassing is God’s glory. It will be gazing at, and being immersed in, perfection itself.
Hab 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour (companion, fellow, friend) drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also (in order), that thou mayest look (regard with pleasure) on their nakedness!
The fourth woe now speaks of leading others into sin. And sin of a very shameful, perverse nature. All the groomers in the schools come to mind, including the wicked teachers that are encouraging our children to become sexual perverts, and that it is good to engage in vile, abominable behaviors.
Lacking any form of self control, they are not content with simply wallowing in the mire. They cannot sleep unless they have pulled all the innocent into the slop alongside them. They pretend to be your companion and close friend. Yet they bring sin into your life, and keep pushing you until you become depraved and steeped in enslaving bondage just like them. This is where the wicked get their most pleasure. In watching the innocent being corrupted. While we may continue to say that Babylon is being described, this fourth woe especially seems to be most applicable to the individual.
We need to be on guard for anyone in our life that is trying to make us go against our conscience. I don’t care how lonely you are, or how fearful you are tempted to get if that person departs, for the sake of your eternal soul, flee all those who would drag you down to hell with them!
Hab 2:16 Thou art filled (satiated) with shame (disgrace, by implication the pudenda) for glory (honor): drink (imbibe) thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered (strip that piece of skin off, or count yourself uncircumcised): the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned (surround) unto thee, and shameful spewing (intense disgrace) shall be on thy glory (shall be your honor).
This verse is a great teaching opportunity.
Ever notice how polite we’ve become? That somehow genuine Christianity in the Laodicean west is equivalent to who has the best manners, and who is able to offend the least? We are silent when it comes to denouncing the poison death jab, or the homosexual destruction of the moral fabric of our society, but boy oh boy, just accidentally mention the word dung or some such other, and you will have a host of indignant believers on your back, wanting to make sure if you are really saved, or if you need a devil cast out!
Let’s take a close look at the word of God here. Note that this verse is as much God’s word as John 3:16. And it is God speaking, not just some sinner man, whom the bible accurately recorded. What is Yehovah saying here?
In speaking about Babylon, and by extension, any wicked man, Yehovah says they are so filled with shame, that they are satiated with it. It gives the idea of ground being so full of rain, that they can’t absorb another drop, and flooding will be the natural result.
The shame that Yahweh speaks of has the connotation of pudenda associated with it. For the more pure amongst us, pudenda refers to the exterior female genital organs. In all cultures in all times, it was considered the height of shame to expose one’s sexual organs. For a female, that was doubly so. There was not words to describe how shameful that act would be. One would never be able to recover from something like that. Only in a totally depraved culture like Canaan of old, or the west of the 21st century, where sodomites set the moral agenda in the land, has the stigma of this been removed.
This is how God describes the wicked, typified by the people of Babylon at this time. Their shame was so great, it was like all of them decided to intentionally expose their female genitalia to the entire world.
God then goes and mocks them. In language that is reminiscent of Romans chapter one, where God turns the sexually depraved over to their sin, he urges them to drink, and drink to such an extent that the men will expose their genitalia and pull back the foreskins of their penis, proudly exposing themselves for all the world to see.
Have we had enough graphic language yet? Too bad, as God is not quite finished.
God’s right hand of judgment is said to of been turned to, and surrounded, them. And what will God make them do? He will make them drink and drink until they start vomiting out of control. Their shameful spewing will be regarded as their badge of honor. They were so filled with disgusting behavior, that the judgment of God will bring them to a disgusting end. That will be their honor, or what they will be remembered for.
I dare to exegete this passage in this fashion to try and shake you out of your silly religious stupor and wake you up to this final, winner take all cosmic war that we are in the final stages of. The other side is so dark, so filthy, so vile, that there is nothing that they won’t do in order to snatch every soul that they possibly can down to an everlasting hell before they are destroyed themselves. Babylon has taken on all the characteristics of satan himself, and you better be ready for the filth and horror that is to come.
Yehweh is not shy in using the strongest language possible in order to get our attention. Is God crude just for the sake of being crude? Hardly. He knows how dull of hearing we often are, and he will use every lawful means possible to get our attention.
I am sure a lot of the newer translations reflect this ultra prissiness and femininity in our culture, and the true meaning of the Hebrew has been diluted. Let us take a sample of a few other verses, just to show how un-squeamish our heavenly Father really is:
1Ki 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
2Ki 6:25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
2Ki 9:37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
2Ki 18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
Mal 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
If you are still reading this, I congratulate you. You are not as wussified as I thought. Pat yourself on the back, and let’s complete this chapter.
Hab 2:17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover (clothe) thee, and the spoil (shode – desolation, wasting) of beasts (be-hay-maw), which made them afraid (or prostrated them), because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
This is a difficult verse in the Hebrew. Some think the violence of Lebanon refers to the wanton destruction of Lebanon’s forests by Babylon. Others foresee the destruction of the temple, which was built with the cedars of Lebanon.
In any case, God is still speaking to Babylon. That utterly shameful nation so richly and colorfully described in the previous verse, where God speaks about their nakedness, he now says their real clothing is violence and bloodshed. How would you like to be known as such a murderer, that God says that when he looks at you, he sees you clothed with innocent blood? It covers you from head to toe. You also weren’t content with killing men, you had to kill be-hay-maw, or the most fearsome beasts, which actually made them prostrate in fear. Kind of reminds you of the intentional slaughter of our farm animals for no reason, other than to destroy our food supply, and the fact that they hate all of God’s creation.
Not only are they violent toward man and beast, but to the very ground itself. Think of the poisoning of the planet via chemtrails.
You can look at this verse in two ways. One, as a continuation of God’s description of Babylon’s character. Or two, as a description of the retribution that will soon come Babylon’s way. I see both views as applicable.
Hab 2:18 What profiteth (benefit) the graven image (idol) that the maker (potter) thereof hath graven (carved) it; the molten image (poured covering), and a teacher of lies (an object of vanity and falsehoods), that the maker of his work (imagination) trusteth (puts confidence) therein, to make dumb idols (speechless good for nothings)?
The prophet now strips Babylon of any hope in thinking that their dumb idols have any power to save. Do we think that any man is coming to our rescue? That our technology will save us? What about the greatest idol of all time – our cell phones, or personal internet devices? Has there ever been a created thing that has received more attention and veneration than these infernal devices of the abyss? And most still defend them! How many countless hours has these things robbed us of? How many more hours of your precious life will you give to that abominable idol in your hand? When will we stop making excuses for ourselves, simply because 99% of our congregations are addicted to them? If 99% of your congregation were known pedophiles, would that now become ok as well? Wait, I shouldn’t speak so soon, as who knows what depths the Laodicean church will yet sink to, given just a little more time to do so?
Hab 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over (overlaid) with gold and silver, and there is no breath (ruach) at all in the midst of it (in the center, in its bowels).
God now gives the final of 5 woes. Kind of reminds us of AI (artificial intelligence), doesn’t it? Instead of fashioning an idol from wood or stone, and commanding it to speak, we fashion a device from circuits and chips and electricity, and expect it to attain a far greater wisdom on its own than man ever possessed. We expect that it will become our teacher. All our wealth has been poured into this creation of this transhumanist agenda. Yet we have no way of imparting true life into it. The breath (ruach) of life can only come from God himself.
Hab 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy (kodesh) temple: let all the earth keep silence before him (before his face).
What an appropriate way to end this chapter! We began with Habakkuk completing his dual complaint, and choosing to wait upon the Lord, to see how he would answer. God responds not in the way we expect. First he tells Habakkuk to write everything down, so that the words are never lost. He then briefly touches on how the godly man must live in total moral fidelity to his maker. Then he goes on to give a detailed description of what Judah’s future oppressors are really like, and the fate that eventually will catch up to them. He leads us in a somewhat poetic description of the nature of evil, portrayed in the leadership and nation of Babylon. He uses several colorful metaphors, and even some that many would find offensive to sheltered ears. However evil this nation is, their eventual doom is assured, and God mocks the very things that they rely upon for strength and salvation.
In contrast to all this awful negative rhetoric that may leave some of us on the verse of depression, the chapter ends on an abrupt turn. Hear ye this. Yehovah is in the house. Let every man, woman, and child shut off their cell phones (and don’t turn them on again), and learn to be silent before him.
Then, and only then, may we hear the true voice of wisdom, trying to get our attention all this time, telling us which way we should go, and what path we should take.
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
