Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Habakkuk 2:1
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
1. stand upon my watch ] i.e. I will take my stand upon my place of watching (Isa 21:8; 2Ch 7:6), parallel to “and set me on a tower.” The language appears to be figurative; it is scarcely likely, though possible, that the prophet had some elevated place to which he retired to await a prophetic vision. But as a watchman looks out from his watch-tower into the distance (2Sa 18:24; 2Ki 9:17), the prophet will look out for the answer or message from Heaven (Isa 21:8; Isa 21:11).
will watch to see ] or, will look forth to see, as R.V.
shall answer when I am reproved ] what answer I shall bring to my plea. His plea or argument is the whole scope of the preceding chapter, or at least of ch. Hab 1:12-17. Comp. Job 13:6 “hear now my plea” (R.V. reasoning). Syr. reads: what answer He will give, and so many scholars. The reading gives a closer parallel to the preceding clause, but does not seem necessary; comp. Jdg 5:29 “she answered (same term as here) her own words.” Of course the answer is an inner one which the prophet shall be enabled to make to himself and his plea, hence it is called a vision ( Hab 2:2).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 4. Like a watchman the Prophet looks out for an answer from Heaven to his plea
The prophet’s plea or argument is finished. The plea is that expressed in Hab 1:12-17. And like a watchman looking forth from his watch-tower he will look out to see what answer he shall receive to it from Heaven ( Hab 2:1). He is commanded to write the answer when it is given on tablets, that all may read it easily ( Hab 2:2-3). It comes in the shape of a moral distinction; “His soul is puffed up in him; but the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.” The distinction carries in it its final verification in events, though this may not come at once ( Hab 2:4).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will stand – , i. e. I would stand now, as a servant awaiting his master,
Upon my watch – or, keep (Isa 21:8. in the same sense Jer 51:12), and set me (plant myself firmly) upon the tower (literally, fenced place, but also one straitened and narrowly hemmed in), and will watch (it is a title of the prophets , as spying by Gods enabling, things beyond human ken); I will spy out, to see a long way off, to see with the inward eye, what He will say unto me (literally, Jerome: in me); first revealing Himself in the prophets within to the inner man; then, through them. And what I shall answer when I am reproved , or, upon my complaint literally upon my reproof or arguing; which might mean, either that others argued against him, or that he had argued, pleaded in the name of others, and now listened to hear what God would answer in him (See Num 12:6, and at Zec 1:19), and so he, as taught by God should answer to his own plea. But he had so pleaded with God, repeatedly, why is this? He has given no hint, that any complained of or reproved him.
Theodotion: By an image from those who, in war and siege, have the ward of the wall distributed to them, he says, I will stand upon my watch. Cyril: It was the custom of the saints, when they wished to learn the things of God, and to receive the knowledge of things to come through His voice in their mind and heart, to raise it on high above distractions and anxieties and all worldly care, holding and keeping it unoccupied and peaceful, rising as to an eminence to look around and contemplate what the God of all knowledge should make clear to them. For He hateth the earth-bound and abject mind, and seeks hearts which can soar aloft, raised above earthly things and temporal desires. The prophet takes his stand, apart from people and the thoughts and cares of this world, on his lonely watch, as Moses on the rock, keeping himself and kept by God, and planted firm, so that nothing should move him, fenced around thought straitened in , as in a besieged camp committed to his ward, looking out from his lofty place what answer God would give as to times long distant, and what answer He should give first to himself, and to those to whom his office lay, Gods people.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Hab 2:1
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower.
Awaiting the Lords message
Nothing definite is known of this man Habakkuk. In the text we see him preparing himself for his holy task–ascending his tower, that he may see; secluding himself, that he may hear; making his bosom bare, that he may feel the message of the Unseen.
I. The secret of life is to realise the unseen. To this man the world is full of an unseen, majestic presence. The very air he breathes throbs with the pulse of God, and the silence may be broken at any time by Gods voice. So he spends life watching, listening, waiting. Is not every life noble and grand and true just in proportion as it realises this, as it seeks the Unseen? This is indeed the Gospel–that God is now reconciled to us, and that His presence broods over us in unutterable love. To realise this and enter into its blessedness is not only the secret of life, but it is the whole duty of man.
II. We ought to expect messages from the unseen. To the prophet this great Unseen One is no dumb God. The truth is, that God seems to be always seeking some heart sufficiently at leisure from itself that lie may talk with it. He found such an one in Abraham and in Moses. In the days of Eli we read there was no open vision. God was silent, for none could hear His voice; God was invisible, for earth-blinded eyes could not see Him. If we could but hear, He has much to say unto us–much about His purposes of grace toward ourselves, and about His purpose toward the world; much about the coming glory. In three ways–
1. By His Spirit through the Word.
2. By His Spirit through our conscience.
3. By His spirit through His Providence.
We need these voices from the Unseen to guide and help us in the sorrows and perplexities of our lives. If it be a miracle for the Unseen to speak with men, then that is a miracle that happens almost every hour.
III. How we should dispose ourselves to receive Gods messages.
1. We should get up, up above the heads of the crowd, up above the crush and clamour of the worldly throng, to where there is clearer air and greater peace. It is not the new play we want, nor the most fashionable church, but the new vision of His face. Wherever we can get most of that is the place for us.
2. We are next to quicken our whole being into a listening and receptive attitude.
3. Quiet is needed also; for God most often speaks in a still, small voice. (J. C. Johnston, M. A.)
The watch-tower
Almost nothing is known about the personal history of the author of the prophecy contained in this book. He himself retires into the background, as one content to be forgotten if the Word of God uttered by him receives the attention it deserves. The self-abnegation of many of those whom God employed to do a great work among His ancient people teaches a lesson that is much needed. It implies a whole-hearted consecration to Gods work and interests in the world that ought to be more aimed at than it sometimes is. It is a trial that comes to the prophets faith, and how he met it, that are brought before us in the whole passage of which our text forms a part. What was the trial of his faith? In answer to his Cry to God to interpose to put a stop to abounding wickedness in the Covenant nation, the reply is given to him that terrible judgment was about to fall upon it, and from an unexpected quarter–from Babylon. The havoc that would be made by this fierce, proud, self-sufficient world-power is made in vision to pass distinctly and clearly before him. He sees its terrible army marching through the land–a garden of Eden before it and a wilderness behind it. The scene that thus fills his minds eye, his patriotic spirit would not allow him to contemplate unmoved. He trembles for the safety of his people under this dark cloud of judgment. He seeks refuge from them in God, holding fast the conviction that a righteous God would not allow a wicked, proud nation like that of the Chaldeans to hold His people for ever in cruel bondage. Art Thou of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst Thou not look upon iniquity? Wherefore lookest Thou, then, upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? As he contemplates the Chaldean army, conscious of its own strength and making a god of it, ravaging the whole land, this conviction grew doubtful to him. It seemed sometimes to slip away from his grasp. This was the trial of his faith, and the greatness of it can only be measured by the sincerity of his religion and the strength of his patriotism. How does he meet this trial? The words of our text inform us. I will stand upon my watch-tower, and set me upon the fortress, and will watch to see what He will say in me, and what I shall answer to my plea. He resolves to lay his doubts before God, and to wait upon Him–withdrawing his attention from all earthly things–for solution. In carrying out this resolution he compares himself to one who mounts the watch-tower–attached to ancient towns and fortresses–that he may scan the surrounding district to see if any one might be approaching, whether friend or foe. Like one on the watch-tower in the eager strained outlook for some messenger, would the prophet be in relation to the expected explanation from God. When he himself tells us that on this watch-tower he was watching to see what God would say in him–for this is the proper rendering of the words–waiting for an inward voice he could recognise as Gods, the spiritual nature of the transaction is placed beyond all doubt. The revelation which came to his soul thus waiting, of which we have an account in the subsequent part of the chapter, solved his difficulties and strengthened his faith and hope. The assurance was given to him, as we learn from the 14th verse, that not only Canaan, but the whole earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
I. The mounting of this watchtower. This is an exercise to which we must be no strangers if we are to have Gods light shining on our path, Gods voice saying to us: This is the way, walk ye in it, and Gods hand laid upon us to strengthen us for every trial and conflict.
1. May we not regard it as laying before God the difficulties caused by his own dealings? There was a mystery in the events of Providence which the prophet felt that he could not penetrate. Was it possible that Gods chosen people–to whom pertained the adoption and the glory and the covenants–would be overwhelmed in the disasters in which he saw them plunged? Would the ungodly might of Chaldea be allowed to crush them altogether, and all the hopes bound up in their life? To the eye of sense this seemed likely, but the prophet knew that behind all events and forces there was a personal God–Jehovah the Covenant God of Israel. He knew that they were but carrying out His will, and he would not believe, even though the appearances of things pointed to it–that that will was seeking the destruction of the Covenant nation. Sense was drawing him one way, his faith was drawing him another, and the questions born of this conflict which were agitating his mind he wisely resolves to lay before God. What are Jobs wonderful speeches in his conversations with his friends, but a series of impassioned reasonings with God about His dealings with him? What, again, was Asaphs exercise under the triumphing of the wicked as recorded in a well-known Psalm, but a talking with God about HIS dealings? And do we not find the plaintive Jeremiah, when his soul was sore vexed with cruel opposition, saying, Righteous art Thou, O Lord, when I plead with Thee; yet let me talk with Thee of Thy judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? It is not a blind impersonal force that the believer sees behind the events that take place, compelling sullen submission to whatever happens? No! It is a loving Father to whom appeal may be made about the perplexing questions that may be aroused by His own dealings. Fatalism–in which things, are accepted simply because they cannot be changed–is not Christian resignation, and falls far short of the attitude in which the believing heart can find rest. Openness in our dealings with God is what He delights in, and what will lead us to the knowledge of that secret of His that is with them that fear Him. Faith will have its difficulties both with the wondrous revelation God has given to us in His Word, and with the unfolding of His purposes in the course of His Providence. The finest natures–those touched to finest issues–are very often those who feel these difficulties most keenly, and have to fight their way to the bright shining shore of certainty and rest by buffeting with many a storm. And the best way of dealing with all those difficulties is just to take them to the watch-tower and lay them before God.
2. But this dealing with God about questions that may perplex us implies the stilling of our souls before Him, that He may give us light and guidance. The prophet after pleading with God, expostulating with Him on the apparent contradiction between the Divine providence and the Divine promise, places himself before God and waits for His voice. That he may hear it all the better–may catch the slightest whisper of the Divine voice within him–he retires into himself, quiets his own spirit, and intently waits. The expressive language of the Psalmist may be used to describe his attitude, My soul is silence unto God. And this exercise, need we say, is essential to the obtaining of any deep insight into Gods will, to our receiving those discoveries of Himself as a God of grace and love, that will give us rest even under the most trying dispensations. It is by the Divine voice within us that the Divine voice without us in His written Word is clearly, distinctly understood, and is made to throw its blessed light upon Divine Providence. Without the inward revelation that comes to us by the teaching of Gods Spirit, the outward revelation given in our Bibles will remain dark and unintelligible. If we do not withdraw now and again from the bustle and noise of the world, and commune with our own hearts, the Divine voice will be lost to us. It will remain unheard, as the bell striking the hour above some busy thoroughfare is often unheard by those in the throng. It is the calm lake which mirrors the sun most perfectly, and so it is the calm soul that will catch the most of the heavenly glory that shines upon the watch tower, and reflect it on the world around. But we must not think of this calmness or silence of the soul toward God as a mere passive attitude. It requires the intensest energy of all our being to keep all our being still and waiting upon God. All our strength must be put into the task; and our soul will never be more intensely alive than when in deepest abnegation it waits hushed before God. Though it may involve an apparent contradiction, the silent soul will be one full of the spirit of prayer. The prophet had been pleading with God for light to guide him in dark days, and it is with a longing pleading soul that he mounts the watch-tower and waits for an answer. He has directed his prayer to God, and he looks up expecting an answer. There is really as much prayer in this silent submissive waiting for an answer to his cry as there was in the cry itself. The expectant look of the beggar after his request has been made has often more power to move the generous heart than the request itself. And the mounting of the watch-tower after prayer to maintain an outlook for the promised answer puts beyond all doubt that we have been sincere and earnest in the exercise, and will have power with God. The place on the watch-tower may have to be maintained for a time before the answer comes, but it is sure to come in some form or another.
4. But last of all here, this standing upon the watch-tower has been regarded by some as the prophets continuance at his work notwithstanding the difficulties that encompassed it. Not unfrequently in the Old Testament is the prophets office compared to that of a watchman. What the watchman in the tower did in the earthly sphere–keeping an outlook for the people and warning them of coming danger–the prophet was to do in the spiritual sphere. And so when the prophet here says: I will stand upon my watch-tower, he is regarded as meaning, I will not leave my post–the place in which God has put me, but will wait in the faithful discharge of every commanded duty for the solving of my doubts and the removal of my difficulties. Certainly in acting in such a way he took the very best plan of getting his way made clear. When we allow our perplexities, whatever they may be, to keep us back from work God is plainly laying to our hands, they will increase around us. Activity and steadfastness in duty will purge our spiritual atmosphere, while melancholy in active brooding will laden it with pestilential vapours. A higher attainment still is to have the soul stilled before God, and expectant even in the midst of our labour.
II. What is enjoyed in this watch-tower. The prophets experience was one so rich and blessed that a glimpse of it may well stir us up to follow his example:
1. He heard the Divine voice for which he listened. Then Jehovah answered me and said. He became aware of a Divine presence within his soul, and conscious of a Divine voice speaking to his heart. His waiting and looking up met with a rich reward. Though this experience cannot now come in the same form to the trustful waiting soul, yet, in its inner essence, it may and does come. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit within believers as their tether is a blessed reality. They who submit themselves to His guidance will be led by Him into all truth, will not only gain a deep insight into Gods will, but will see its bearing upon events in Providence. It was a very simple truth that was now divinely spoken to the prophet: Behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith. The man or the race of men that are lifted up with vain self-confidence shall experience no tranquillity, but they who abide firm in their allegiance to God and make Him their trust shall he maintained by His mighty gracious power. The simplest truths, that may in some of their aspects have long been familiar to us, are often used in the teaching of the Spirit to lift the soul above the mists that obscure its vision. It will be the declaration of truths thus divinely spoken to our hearts that will be accompanied with greatest power.
2. Again, let us notice that this experience brought him a new sense of the Divine presence with His people. The song with which the sad prophecy ends, recorded in the third chapter, expresses this sense of the Divine nearness to His people. The land that had witnessed such marked manifestations of His presence and power, the memory of which was fondly cherished by the pious, had not been forsaken by Him. What had been done when God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran, would again be done for the overthrow of the proud oppressor, and for the deliverance of the humble fearers of His name. The eternal order lay behind the confusion caused by the wicked, and would in due time assert itself, for the God of this order was behind all.
3. So the prophet finds his labours for the land and people he loved sustained by a restful hope. Dark days may come in which the fig-tree shall not blossom, and there shall be no fruit in the vine, and the field shall yield no meat, but when their purifying work is accomplished brighter times shall dawn. His labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Neither will ours if done in the right spirit. (R. Morton.)
Watchfulness
I. The duty of watchfulness.
1. This duty arises from various causes which affect us in our outward circumstances, as well as in our minds and hearts. They are our enemies or our friends; such as build up the character of man for good, and lift it heavenwards, or mar it and force it downwards to destruction. The ever-present, active, and all-pervading causes of good and evil, acting upon mans moral and spiritual nature, provide a powerful reason for this duty. For while a man is thus taught his dependence upon God for strength, and is shewn his own weakness in the battle of life, he is at the same time taught to use every precaution against his fees, to guard every avenue of his heart against their influence, and to be vigilant and watchful in all his daily undertakings.
2. But watchfulness as a moral duty may be considered as a recognition of Gods laws and government. The man who waits, like Habakkuk, for the Almighty, will see the hand of God everywhere. He recognises God as the watchful Father, noting every tear and hearing every sigh that inspires the watchful heart with hope, and that sheds a bright ray of comfort through the gloom.
II. Faith founded upon the revelations of God is an argument against all mistrust and doubt of His power and goodness.
1. The answer which God gave to the prayers of Habakkuk was the authority by which he met every quibble of his opponents, and by which he confronted his enmity.
2. A true faith acts on the revelation of God in the life history of Christ, and on the souls immortality. In the life of Christ, weighted with suffering the most intense, we find a solution to our own troubles, as well as their sanction. Then let us stand upon our watch. (W. Horwood.)
On the watch-tower
There is no remedy, when such trials as those mentioned by the prophet in the first chapter meet us, except we learn to raise up our minds above the world. For if we contend with Satan, according to our own view of things, he will a hundred times overwhelm us, and we can never be able to resist him. Let us therefore know that here is shown to us the right way of fighting with him: when our minds are agitated with unbelief, when doubts respecting Gods providence creep in, when things are so confused in this world as to involve us in darkness, so that no light appears, we must bid adieu to our own reason; for all our thoughts are nothing worth when we seek, according to our own reason, to form a judgment. Until then the faithful ascend to their tower, and stand in their citadel, of which the prophet here speaks, their temptations will drive them here and there, and sink them as it were in a bottomless gulf. But that we may more fully understand the meaning, we must know that there is here an implied contrast between the tower and the citadel, which the prophet mentions, and a station on earth. As long, then, as we judge according to our own perceptions we walk on the earth; and while we do so, many clouds arise, and Satan scatters ashes in our eyes, and wholly darkens our judgment, and thus it happens that we lie down altogether confounded. It is hence wholly necessary that we should tread our reason under foot, and come nigh to God Himself. We have said that the tower is the recess of the mind, but how can we ascend to it? Even by following the Word of the Lord. For we creep on the earth; nay, we find that our flesh ever draws us downward,–except when the truth from above becomes to us, as it were, wings, or a ladder, or a vehicle, we cannot rise up one foot, but, on the contrary, we shall seek refuges on the earth rather than ascend into heaven. But let the Word of God became our ladder, or our vehicle, or our wings, and, however difficult the ascent may be, we shall yet be able to fly upward, provided Gods Word be allowed to have its own authority. We hence see how unsuitable is the view of those interpreters who think that the tower and the citadel is the Word of God; for it is by Gods Word that we are raised up to this citadel, that is, to the safeguard of hope, where we may remain safe and secure while looking down from this eminence on those things which disturb us and darken all our senses as long as we lie on the earth. This is one thing. Then the repetition is not without its use; for the prophet says, On my tower will I stand, on the citadel will I set myself. He does not repeat in other words the same thing because it is obscure, but in order to remind the faithful that, though they are inclined to sloth, they must yet strive to extricate themselves. And we soon find how slothful we become, except each of us stirs up himself. For when any perplexity takes hold on our minds we soon succumb to despair. This, then, is the reason why the prophet, after having spoken of the tower, again mentions the citadel. (John Calvin.)
Watching for God
1. It is our safest way, in times of temptation and perplexity, not to lie down under discouragement, but to recollect ourselves, and fix our eyes on God, who only can clear our minds and quiet our spirits; therefore the prophet, after his deep plunge in temptation, sets himself to look to God, and get somewhat to answer upon his arguing, or reproof and expostulation, that so his mind may be settled.
2. It is by the Word that the Lord cleareth darkness, and would have His people answer their temptations and silence their reasonings.
3. Meditation, earnest prayer, withdrawing of our minds off from things visible, and elevating them towards God, are the means in the use whereof God revealeth Himself, and His mind from His Word, to His people in dark times.
4. Faithful ministers ought to acquit themselves like watchmen in a city or army, to be awake when others sleep, to be watching with God, and over the people, seeking after faithful instructions which they may communicate, seeking to be filled from heaven with light and life, that they may pour it out upon the people; and all this especially in hard times.
5. Albeit the Lords people may have their own debates and faintings betwixt God and them, yet it is their part to smother these as much as they can, and to bring up a good report of God and His way to others. (George Hutcheson.)
On noting the providences of God
The observer of grace should be studious to discern the workings of Divine providence, and to consider their purposes in the counsels of the Most High. We inquire into the importance of observing the various ways in which the Almighty is pleased to address us, and of determining how far we have hitherto regarded them, and turned them to our individual improvement. In reply to the complaints of His servant, the Almighty shows that mercy would not be long extended; that the Chaldeans would soon inflict summary vengeance on the Jews. To these declarations of the Divine displeasure the prophet rejoins by stating the conviction of his own safety, and of the protection which would be extended to the rest of Gods people. He had hoped that God would have been satisfied with gentler corrections, and not have employed an idolatrous nation to punish His chosen people. But he resolves to wait patiently, in quietness and in confidence, for the answer of God, that he may know what statement he was to publish. Every Christian is as a man standing on the watch, as one who will have to give account; who watches to see what God will say to him. The will of God is declared both in His Word and in His works. The great end to be effected by watchfulness is, that we may know our actual state, and be ready at any time for aught that may befall us. It is that we may not be surprised, that we may not be taken at unawares. What do you propose to answer when you are called to appear before an all-seeing God? He has not only spoken to us in national judgments and mercies, He has said a word privately to each one of us as individual. (Richard Harvey, M. A.)
Mans moral mission in the world
Wherefore are we in this world? We are not here by choice, nor by chance. Mans moral mission–
I. Consists in receiving communications from the eternal mind. This will appear–
1. From mans nature as a spiritual being.
(1) Man has a native instinct for it.
(2) A native capacity for it.
(3) A native necessity for it.
2. From mans condition as a fallen being. As a sinner, man has a deeper and a more special need than angels can have. Communications from God are of infinite moment to man.
3. From the purposes of Christs mediation. Christ came to bring men to God. His Cross is the meeting-place between man and his Maker.
4. From the special manifestations of God for the purpose. These we have in the Bible.
5. From the general teaching of the Bible. In the Book men are called to audience with God.
II. How are divine communications to be received I Two things are necessary–
1. That we resort to the right scene. The prophet to his tower.
2. That we resort to the right scene in the right spirit.
III. Mans moral mission consists in imparting communications from the eternal mind. That we have to impart as well as to receive is evident–
1. From the tendency of Divine thoughts to express themselves. Ideas of a religious kind always struggle for utterance.
2. From the universal adaptation of Divine thoughts.
3. From the spiritual dependence of man upon man.
4. From the general teaching of the Bible.
IV. Mans moral mission consists in the practical realisation of communications from the eternal mind. In the Divine purpose there is a period fixed for the realisation of every Divine promise. However distant it may seem, our duty is to wait in earnest practical faith for it. Learn who it is that fulfils his moral missions in the world. The man who practically carries out Gods revelation in the spirit and habits of his life. Notice–
(1) The reasonableness of religion.
(2) The grandeur of a religious life.
(3) The function of Christianity.
What is the special design of the Gospel? To qualify man to fulfil his mission on earth. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER II
The prophet, waiting for a return to his expostulation, is
answered by God that the time for the destruction of the Jewish
polity by the Chaldeans is not only fixed in the Divine
counsel, but is awfully near; and he is therefore commanded to
write down the vision relative to this appalling subject in the
most legible characters, and in the plainest language, that all
who read it with attention (those just persons who exercise an
unwavering faith in the declaration of God respecting the
violent irruption of the merciless Babylonians) may flee from
the impending vengeance, 1-4.
The fall of the Chaldeans, and of their ambitious monarch is
then predicted, 5-10;
and, by a strong and bold personification, the very stone and
wood of those magnificent buildings, which the Babylonish king
had raised by oppression and bloodshed, pronounce his wo, and
in responsive taunts upbraid him, 11, 12.
The prophet then beautifully sets forth the absolute impotence
of every effort, however well conducted, which is not in
concert with the Divine counsel: for though the wicked rage,
and threaten the utter extermination of the people of God; yet
when the SET time to favour Zion is come, the destroyers of
God’s heritage shall themselves be destroyed, and “the earth
shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the
waters cover the sea,” 13, 14.
See Ps 102:13-16.
For the cup of idolatry which Babylon has given to many
nations, she will receive of the Lord’s hand the cup of fury by
the insurrection of mighty enemies (the Medes and Persians)
rushing like wild beasts to destroy her, 15.
In the midst of this distress the prophet very opportunely asks
in what the Babylonians had profited by their idols, exposes
the absurdity of trusting in them, and calls upon the whole
world to stand in awe of the everlasting Jehovah, 16-19.
NOTES ON CHAP. II
Verse 1. I will stand upon my watch] The prophets are always represented as watchmen, watching constantly for the comfort, safety, and welfare of the people; and watching also to receive information from the Lord: for the prophetic influence was not always with them, but was granted only at particular times, according to the will of God. When, in doubtful cases, they wished to know what God was about to do with the country, they retired from society and gave themselves to meditation and prayer, waiting thus upon God to hear what he would say IN them.
What he will say unto me] bi, IN me – in my understanding and heart.
And what I shall answer when I am reproved.] What I shall say to God in behalf of the people; and what the Lord shall command me to say to the people. Some translate, “And what he will answer for my conviction.” Or, “what shall be answered to my pleading.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will stand: the first chapter ended with that difficult and perplexed question, why God suffers the wicked So long to prosper in their oppressions of the righteous? This chapter represents the prophet waiting and musing, studying with himself what account he might give to himself, and waiting what account God would give him of it. He will stand in a posture of meditating, observing, and waiting.
Upon my watch: possibly the prophet may have respect to the manner of the Jews, who in their solemn prayers and waiting on God had their stations and watches (as Buxtorf observeth in verbo 😉 in their synagogues, or at Jerusalem. But I rather think the prophet resolveth to be like one that is to be a watchman, as prophets are, Eze 3:17, for the people of God. Or passively, in my watch, i.e. where my adversaries, like besieging enemies, observe and watch me. It contains his diligent and persevering expectation and observing.
And set me; fixedly and with resolution not to leave my station, as the Hebrew implieth; it is the same thing more emphatically expressed than in the word stand.
Upon the tower; either watch-tower, or besieged tower, or within a circle, out of which I will not stir till I receive an answer.
And will watch, most attentively observe, to see what he, the Lord, Hab 1:12, will say unto me, or signify unto me; waiting for mine own satisfaction, and for the information of others.
And what I shall answer: there are many that are perplexed at the intricacy of providence, and some inquire to be instructed; some propose doubts and fears; and others do quarrel and perversely wrangle with God and his prophets; and how I may answer these from the word of God is that I wait for, saith our prophet.
When I am reproved; when called to give an account of the mysteriousness of providence; when either to satisfy doubters, or to silence quarrellers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. stand upon . . . watchthatis, watch-post. The prophets often compare themselves, awaiting therevelations of Jehovah with earnest patience, to watchmen on aneminence watching with intent eye all that comes within their view(Isa 21:8; Isa 21:11;Jer 6:17; Eze 3:17;Eze 33:2; Eze 33:3;compare Psa 5:3; Psa 85:8).The “watch-post” is the withdrawal of the whole soul fromearthly, and fixing it on heavenly, things. The accumulation ofsynonyms, “stand upon . . . watch . . . set me upon . . . tower. . . watch to see” implies persevering fixity of attention.
what he will say unto meinanswer to my complaints (Hab 1:13).Literally, “in me,” God speaking, not to the prophet’soutward ear, but inwardly. When we have prayed to God, we mustobserve what answers God gives by His word, His Spirit, and Hisprovidences.
what I shall answer when I amreprovedwhat answer I am to make to the reproof which Ianticipate from God on account of the liberty of my expostulationwith Him. MAURERtranslates, “What I am to answer in respect to my complaintagainst Jehovah” (Hab1:12-17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will stand upon my watch,…. These are the words of the prophet: so the Targum introduces them,
“the prophet said;”
and this he said in character as a watchman, as all the prophets were: as a watchman takes the proper place he watches in and looks out, especially in time of danger and distress, if he can spy anyone bringing tidings, that he may receive it, and notify it to the people that have appointed him a watchman; so the prophet retired from the world, and gave himself up to meditation and prayer, and put himself in a waiting posture; looking up to the Lord, and expecting an answer to his expostulations with him, concerning the success of the enemies of God’s people, and the calamities that were like to come upon them, that he might report it to them; see Isa 21:8:
and set me upon the tower; a place of eminence, from which he could behold an object at a distance: it signifies a strait place, in which he was as one besieged; and may be an emblem of the straits and difficulties he was in, which he wanted to be extricated out of: the thoughts of his heart troubled him; he had a great many objections that rose up in his mind against the providences that were like to attend his people; he was beset with the temptations of Satan, and surrounded with objectors to what he had delivered, concerning the Chaldeans being raised up by God to the destruction of the Jewish nation; and, amidst these difficulties, he sets himself to reading the word of God, and meditation on it, to pray to God for instruction and information in this matter; as Asaph, in a like case, went into the sanctuary of the Lord, where he got satisfaction, Ps 73:2 as well as it may be expressive of the confidence he had in God, in his covenant and promises, which were as a fortress and strong tower to him; in short, he kept his place, he was found in the way of his duty, in the performance of his office, and was humbly and patiently waiting on God, to know more of his mind and will, and acquaint the people with it.
And will watch to see what he will say unto me; or “in me” n; that is, what the Lord would say unto him, either outwardly by an audible voice; or inwardly by impressing things upon his mind; or in a vision by the Spirit of prophecy, as Kimchi; so David, “the Spirit of the Lord spoke by me”, or “in me”, 2Sa 23:2 he was determined to wait patiently for an answer, and to continue in the present posture, and constantly attend to every motion and dictate of the Spirit of God, and take particular notice of what should be suggested to him:
and what I shall answer when I am reproved; either by the Lord, for using so much freedom and boldness in expostulations and reasonings with him, who is under no obligation to give an account of his matters unto the children of men; or by others, how he should be able to satisfy his own mind, and remove the scruples, doubts, and objections, that arose there against the providence of God, in prospering the wicked, and afflicting the righteous, and repel the temptation he was under to quarrel with God, and arraign his proceedings; and how he should answer the objections that his people made, both against his prophecies, and the providence of God, for which they reproved him; or, however, he expected they would. The Targum is,
“and what will be returned to my request.”
n “in me”, Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Tarnovius, Van Till, Burkius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hab 2:1-3 form the introduction to the word of God, which the prophet receives in reply to his cry of lamentation addressed to the Lord in Hab 1:12-17. Hab 2:1. “I will stand upon my watchtower, and station myself upon the fortress, and will watch to see what He will say in me, and what I answer to my complaint. Hab 2:2. Then Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run who reads it. Hab 2:3. For the vision is yet fore the appointed end, and strives after the end, and does not lie: if it tarry, wait for it; for it will come, it does not fail.” Hab 2:1 contains the prophet’s conversation with himself. After he has poured out his trouble at the judgment announced, in a lamentation to the Lord (Hab 1:12-17), he encourages himself – after a pause, which we have to imagine after Hab 1:17 – to wait for the answer from God. He resolves to place himself upon his observatory, and look out for the revelation which the Lord will give to his questions. Mishmereth , a place of waiting or observing; matsor , a fortress, i.e., a watch-tower or spying-tower. Standing upon the watch, and stationing himself upon the fortification, are not to be understood as something external, as Hitzig supposes, implying that the prophet went up to a steep and lofty place, or to an actual tower, that he might be far away from the noise and bustle of men, and there turn his eyes towards heaven, and direct his collected mind towards God, to look out for a revelation. For nothing is known of any such custom as this, since the cases mentioned in Exo 33:21 and 1Ki 19:11, as extraordinary preparations for God to reveal Himself, are of a totally different kind from this; and the fact that Balaam the soothsayer went up to the top of a bare height, to look out for a revelation from God (Num 23:3), furnishes not proof that the true prophets of Jehovah did the same, but is rather a heathenish feature, which shows that it was because Balaam did not rejoice in the possession of a firm prophetic word, that he looked out for revelations from God in significant phenomena of nature (see at Num 23:3-4). The words of our verse are to be taken figuratively, or internally, like the appointment of the watchman in Isa 21:6. The figure is taken from the custom of ascending high places for the purpose of looking into the distance (2Ki 9:17; 2Sa 18:24), and simply expresses the spiritual preparation of the prophet’s soul for hearing the word of God within, i.e., the collecting of his mind by quietly entering into himself, and meditating upon the word and testimonies of God. Cyril and Calvin bring out the first idea. Thus the latter observes, that “the watch-tower is the recesses of the mind, where we withdraw ourselves from the world;” and then adds by way of explanation, “The prophet, under the name of the watch-tower, implies that he extricates himself as it were from the thoughts of the flesh, because there would be no end or measure, if he wished to judge according to his own perception;” whilst others find in it nothing more than firm continuance in reliance upon the word of God.
(Note: Theodoret very appropriately compares the words of Asaph in Psa 73:16., “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me, until I entered into the sanctuaries of God, and gave heed to their end;” and observes, “And there, says the prophet, will I remain as appointed, and not leave my post, but, standing upon such a rock as that upon which God placed great Moses, watch with a prophet’s eyes for the solution of the things that I seek.”)
Tsippah , to spy or watch, to wait for the answer from God. “This watching was lively and assiduous diligence on the part of the prophet, in carefully observing everything that took place in the spirit of his mind, and presented itself either to be seen or heard” (Burk). , to speak in me, not merely to or with me; since the speaking of God to the prophets was an internal speaking, and not one that was perceptible from without. What I shall answer to my complaint ( al tokhacht ), namely, first of all to myself and then to the rest. Tokhachath , lit., correction, contradiction. Habakkuk refers to the complaint which he raised against God in Hab 1:13-17, namely, that He let the wicked go on unpunished. He will wait for an answer from God to this complaint, to quiet his own heart, which is dissatisfied with the divine administration. Thus he draws a sharp distinction between his own speaking and the speaking of the Spirit of God within him. Jehovah gives the answer in what follows, first of all (Hab 2:2, Hab 2:3) commanding him to write the vision ( chazon , the revelation from God to be received by inward intuition) upon tables, so clearly, that men may be able to read it in running, i.e., quite easily.
as in Deu 27:8; see at Deu 1:5. The article attached to does not point to the tables set up in the market-places for public notices to be written upon (Ewald), but simply means, make it clear on the tables on which thou shalt write it, referring to the noun implied in (write), though not expressed (Delitzsch). may be explained from in Jer 36:13. The question is a disputed one, whether this command is to be understood literally or merely figuratively, “simply denoting the great importance of the prophecy, and the consequent necessity for it to be made accessible to the whole nation” (Hengstenberg, Dissertation, vol. i. p. 460). The passages quoted in support of the literal view, i.e., of the actual writing of the prophecy which follows upon tables, viz., Isa 8:1; Isa 30:8, and Jer 30:2, are not decisive. In Jer 30:2 the prophet is commanded to write all the words of the Lord in a book ( sepher ); and so again in Isa 30:8, if is synonymous with . But in Isa 8:1 there are only two significant words, which the prophet is to write upon a large table after having taken witnesses. It does not follow from either of these passages, that luchoth , tables, say wooden tables, had been already bound together into books among the Hebrews, so that we could be warranted in identifying the writing plainly upon tables with writing in a book. We therefore prefer the figurative view, just as in the case of the command issued to Daniel, to shut up his prophecy and seal it (Dan 12:4), inasmuch as the literal interpretation of the command, especially of the last words, would require that the table should be set up or hung out in some public place, and this cannot for a moment be thought of. The words simply express the thought, that the prophecy is to be laid to heart by all the people on account of its great importance, and that not merely in the present, but in the future also. This no doubt involved the obligation on the part of the prophet to take care, by committing it to writing, that it did not fall into oblivion. The reason for the writing is given in Hab 2:3. The prophecy is , for the appointed time; i.e., it relates to the period fixed by God for its realization, which was then still ( ) far off. denotes direction towards a certain point either of place or time. The vision had a direction towards a point, which, when looked at from the present, was still in the future. This goal was the end ( towards which it hastened, i.e., the “last time” ( , Dan 8:19; and , Dan 8:17; Dan 11:35), the Messianic times, in which the judgment would fall upon the power of the world. , it pants for the end, inhiat fini, i.e., it strives to reach the end, to which it refers. “True prophecy is inspired, as it were, by an impulse to fulfil itself” (Hitzig). is not an adjective, as in Psa 27:12, but the third pers. imperf. hiphil of puach ; and the contracted form ( for ), without a voluntative meaning, is the same as we frequently meet with in the loftier style of composition. , “and does not deceive,” i.e., will assuredly take place. If it (the vision) tarry, i.e., be not fulfilled immediately, wait for it, for it will surely take place (the inf. abs. to add force, and applying to the fulfilment of the prophecy, as in 1Sa 9:6 and Jer 28:9), will not fail; , to remain behind, not to arrive (Jdg 5:28; 2Sa 20:5).
(Note: The lxx have rendered , , which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 10:37) has still further defined by adding the article, and, connecting it with of Isa 26:20 (lxx), has taken it as Messianic, and applied to the speedy coming of the Messiah to judgment; not, however, according to the exact meaning of the words, but according to the fundamental idea of the prophetic announcement. For the vision, the certain fulfilment of which is proclaimed by Habakkuk, predicts the judgment upon the power of the world, which the Messiah will bring to completion.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Waiting upon God; The People Directed. | B. C. 600. |
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Here, I. The prophet humbly gives his attendance upon God (v. 1): “I will stand upon my watch, as a sentinel on the walls of a besieged city, or on the borders of an invaded country, that is very solicitous to gain intelligence. I will look up, will look round, will look within, and watch to see what he will say unto me, will listen attentively to the words of his mouth and carefully observe the steps of his providence, that I may not lose the least hint of instruction or direction. I will watch to see what he will say in me” (so it may be read), “what the Spirit of prophecy in me will dictate to me, by way of answer to my complaints.” Even in a ordinary way, God not only speaks to us by his word, but speaks in us by our own consciences, whispering to us, This is the way, walk in it; and we must attend to the voice of God in both. The prophet’s standing upon his tower, or high place, intimates his prudence, in making use of the helps and means he had within his reach to know the mind of God, and to be instructed concerning it. Those that expect to hear from God must withdraw from the world, and get above it, must raise their attention, fix their thought, study the scriptures, consult experiences and the experienced, continue instant in prayer, and thus set themselves upon the tower. His standing upon his watch intimates his patience, his constancy and resolution; he will wait the time, and weather the point, as a watchman does, but he will have an answer; he will know what God will say to him, not only for his own satisfaction, but to enable him as a prophet to give satisfaction to others, and answer their exceptions, when he is reproved or argued with. Herein the prophet is an example to us. 1. When we are tossed and perplexed with doubts concerning the methods of Providence, are tempted to think that it is fate, or fortune, and not a wise God, that governs the world, or that the church is abandoned, and God’s covenant with his people cancelled and laid aside, then we must take pains to furnish ourselves with considerations proper to clear this matter; we must stand upon our watch against the temptation, that it may not get ground upon us, must set ourselves upon the tower, to see if we can discover that which will silence the temptation and solve the objected difficulties, must do as the psalmist, consider the days of old and make a diligent search (Ps. lxxvii. 6), must go into the sanctuary of God, and there labour to understand the end of these things (Ps. lxxiii. 17); we must not give way to our doubts, but struggle to make the best of our way out of them. 2. When we have been at prayer, pouring out our complaints and requests before God, we must carefully observe what answers God gives by his word, his Spirit, and his providences, to our humble representations; when David says, I will direct my prayer unto thee, as an arrow to the mark, he adds, I will look up, will look after my prayer, as a man does after the arrow he has shot, Ps. v. 3. We must hear what God the Lord will speak, Ps. lxxxv. 8. 3. When we go to read and hear the word of God, and so to consult the lively oracles, we must set ourselves to observe what God will thereby say unto us, to suit our case, what word of conviction, caution, counsel, and comfort, he will bring to our souls, that we may receive it, and submit to the power of it, and may consider what we shall answer, what returns we shall make to the word of God, when we are reproved by it. 4. When we are attacked by such as quarrel with God and his providence as the prophet here seems to have been–beset, besieged, as in a tower, by hosts of objectors–we should consider how to answer them, fetch our instructions from God, hear what he says to us for our satisfaction, and have that ready to say to others, when we are reproved, to satisfy them, as a reason of the hope that is in us (1 Pet. iii. 15), and beg of God a mouth and wisdom, and that it may be given us in that same hour what we shall speak.
II. God graciously gives him the meeting; for he will not disappoint the believing expectations of his people that wait to hear what he will say unto them, but will speak peace, will answer them with good words and comfortable words, Zech. i. 13. The prophet had complained of the prevalence of the Chaldeans, which God had given him a prospect of; now, to pacify him concerning it, he here gives him a further prospect of their fall and ruin, as Isaiah, before this, when he had foretold the captivity in Babylon, foretold also the destruction of Babylon. Now, this great and important event being made known to him by a vision, care is taken to publish the vision, and transmit it to the generations to come, who should see the accomplishment of it.
1. The prophet must write the vision, v. 2. Thus, when St. John had a vision of the New Jerusalem, he was ordered to write, Rev. xxi. 5. He must write it, that he might imprint it on his own mind, and make it more clear to himself, but especially that it might be notified to those in distant places and transmitted to those in future ages. What is handed down by tradition is easily mistaken and liable to corruption; but what is written is reduced to a certainty, and preserved safe and pure. We have reason to bless God for written visions, that God has written to us the great things of his prophets as well as of his law. He must write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, must write it legibly, in large characters, so that he who runs may read it, that those who will not allow themselves leisure to read it deliberately may not avoid a cursory view of it. Probably, the prophets were wont to write some of the most remarkable of their predictions in tables, and to hang them up in the temple, Isa. viii. 1. Now the prophet is told to write this very plain. Note, Those who are employed in preaching the word of God should study plainness as much as may be, so as to make themselves intelligible to the meanest capacities. The things of our everlasting peace, which God has written to us, are made plain, they are all plain to him that understands (Prov. viii. 9), and they are published with authority; God himself has prefixed his imprimatur to them; he has said, Make them plain.
2. The people must wait for the accomplishment of the vision (v. 3): “The vision is yet for an appointed time to come. You shall now be told of your deliverance by the breaking of the Chaldeans’ power, and that the time of it is fixed in the counsel and decree of God. There is an appointed time, but it is not near; it is yet to be deferred a great while;” and that comes in here as a reason why it must be written, that it may be reviewed afterwards and the event compared with it. Note, God has an appointed time for his appointed work, and will be sure to do the work when the time comes; it is not for us to anticipate his appointments, but to wait his time. And it is a great encouragement to wait with patience, that, though the promised favour be deferred long, it will come at last, and be an abundant recompence to us for our waiting: At the end it shall speak and not lie. We shall not be disappointed of it, for it will come at the time appointed; nor shall we be disappointed in it, for it will fully answer our believing expectations. The promise may seem silent a great while, but at the end it shall speak; and therefore, though it tarry longer than we expected, yet we must continue waiting for it, being assured it will come, and willing to tarry until it does come. The day that God has set for the deliverance of his people, and the destruction of his and their enemies, is a day, (1.) That will surely come at last; it is never adjourned sine die–without fixing another day, but it will without fail come at the fixed time and the fittest time. (2.) It will not tarry, for God is not slack, as some count slackness (2 Pet. iii. 9); though it tarry past our time, yet it does not tarry past God’s time, which is always the best time.
3. This vision, the accomplishment of which is so long waited for, will be such an exercise of faith and patience as will try and discover men what they are, v. 4. (1.) There are some who will proudly disdain this vision, whose hearts are so lifted up that they scorn to take notice of it; if God will work for them immediately, they will thank him, but they will not give him credit; their hearts are lifted up towards vanity, and, since God puts them off, they will shift for themselves and not be beholden to him; they think their own hands sufficient for them, and God’s promise is to them an insignificant thing. That man’s soul that is thus lifted up is not upright in him; it is not right with God, is not as it should be. Those that either distrust or despise God’s all-sufficiency will not walk uprightly with him, Gen. xvii. 1. But, (2.) Those who are truly good, and whose hearts are upright with God, will value the promise, and venture their all upon it; and, in confidence of the truth of it, will keep close to God and duty in the most difficult trying times, and will then live comfortably in communion with God, dependence on him, and expectation of him. The just shall live by faith; during the captivity good people shall support themselves, and live comfortably, by faith in these precious promises, while the performance of them is deferred. The just shall live by his faith, by that faith which he acts upon the word of God. This is quoted in the New Testament (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), for the proof of the great doctrine of justification by faith only and of the influence which the grace of faith has upon the Christian life. Those that are made just by faith shall live, shall be happy here and for ever; while they are here, they live by it; when they come to heaven faith shall be swallowed up in vision.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
HABAKKUK – CHAPTER 2
Verse 1:
Verse 1 concludes Habakkuk’s lament and complaint against God’s permitting the Gentile Chaldeans, more wicked then Israel, His chosen people, to persecute them so cruelly, and for so long a time. He resolves to watch or observe, to sit by and wait in patience, as from an high tower, for a further revelation from God, or chiding from God, for his extended complaint; Because he could not understand the holiness and justice of God, in the extended persecution of His people, Isa 21:8; Isa 21:11; Jer 6:17; Eze 3:17; Psa 85:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
We have seen in the first chapter Hab 1:2 that the Prophet said in the name of all the faithful. It was indeed a hard struggle, when all things were in a perplexed state and no outlet appeared. The faithful might have thought that all things happened by chance, that there was no divine providence; and even the Prophet uttered complaints of this kind. He now begins to recover himself from his perplexities; and he ever speaks in the person of the godly, or of the whole Church. For what is done by some interpreters, who confine what is said to the prophetic office, I do not approve; and it may be easy from the contempt to learn, that the Prophet does not speak according to his private feeling, but that he represents the feelings of all the godly. So then we ought to collect this verse with the complaints, which we have before noticed; for the Prophet, finding himself sinking, and as it were overwhelmed in the deepest abyss, raises himself up above the judgement and reason of men, and comes nearer to God, that he might see from on high the things which take place on earth, and not judge according to the understanding of his own flesh, but by the light of the Holy Spirit. For the tower of which he speaks is patience arising from hope. If indeed we would struggle perseveringly to the last, and at length obtain the victory over all trials and conflicts, we must rise above the world.
Some understand by tower and citadel the Word of God: and this may in some measure be allowed, though not in every respect suitable. If we more fully weigh the reason for the metaphor, we shall be at no loss to know that the tower is the recess of the mind, where we withdraw ourselves from the world; for we find how disposed we are all to entertain distrust. When, therefore, we follow our own inclination, various temptations immediately lay hold on us; nor can we even for a moment exercise hope in God: and many things are also suggested to us, which take away and deprive us of all confidence: we become also involved in variety of thoughts, for when Satan finds men wandering in their imaginations and blending many things together, he so entangles them that they cannot by any means come nigh to God. If then we would cherish faith in our hearts, we must rise above all these difficulties and hindrances. And the Prophet by tower means this, that he extricated himself from the thoughts of the flesh; for there would have been no end nor termination to his doubts, had he tried to form a judgement according to his own understanding; I will stand, he says, on my tower, (24) I and I will set myself on the citadel. In short, the sentence carries this meaning—that the Prophet renounced the judgement of men, and broke through all those snares by which Satan entangles us and prevents us to rise above the earth.
He then adds, I will watch to see what he may say to me, that is, I will be there vigilant; for by watching he means vigilance and waiting, as though he had said, “Though no hope should soon appear, I shall not despond; nor shall I forsake my station; but I shall remain constantly in that tower, to which I wish now to ascend: I will watch then to see what he may say to me. ” The reference is evidently to God; for the opinion of those is not probable, who apply this “saying” to the ministers of Satan. For the Prophet says first, ‘I will see what he may say to me,’ and then he adds, ‘and what I shall answer.’ They who explain the words ‘what he may say,’ as referring to the wicked who might oppose him for the purpose of shaking his faith, overlook the words of the Prophet, for he speaks here in the singular number; and as there is no name expressed, the Prophet no doubt meant God. But were the words capable of admitting this explanation, yet the very drift of the argument shows, that the passage has the meaning which I have attached to it. For how could the faithful answer the calumnies by which their faith was assailed, when the profane opprobriously mocked and derided them—how could they satisfactorily disprove such blasphemies, did they not first attend to what God might say to them? For we cannot confute the devil and his ministers, except we be instructed by the word of God. We hence see that the Prophet observes the best order in what he states, when he says in the first place, ‘I will see what God may say to me;’ and in the second place, ‘I shall then be taught to answer to my chiding;’ (25) that is, “If the wicked deride my faith, I shall be able boldly to confute them; for the Lord will suggest to me such things as may enable me to give a full answer.” We now perceive the simple and real meaning of this verse. It remains for us to accommodate the doctrine to our own use.
It must be first observed, that there is no remedy, when such trials as those mentioned by the Prophet in the first chapter Hab 1:4 meet us, except we learn to raise up our minds above the world. For if we contend with Satan, according to our own view of things, he will a hundred times overwhelm us, and we can never be able to resist him. Let us therefore know, that here is shown to us the right way of fighting with him, when our minds are agitated with unbelief, when doubts respecting God’s providence creep in, when things are so confused in this world as to involve us in darkness, so that no light appears: we must bid adieu to our own reason; for all our thoughts are nothing worth, when we seek, according to our own reason, to form a judgement. Until then the faithful ascend to their tower and stand in their citadel, of which the Prophet here speaks, their temptations will drive them here and there, and sink them as it were in a bottomless gulf. But that we may more fully understand the meaning, we must know, that there is here an implied contrast between the tower and the citadel, which the Prophet mentions, and a station on earth. As long then as we judge according to our own perceptions, we walk on the earth; and while we do so, many clouds arise, and Satan scatters ashes in our eyes, and wholly darkens our judgement, and thus it happens, that we lie down altogether confounded. It is hence wholly necessary, as we have before said, that we should tread our reason under foot, and come nigh to God himself.
We have said, that the tower is the recess of the mind; but how can we ascend to it? even by following the word of the Lord. For we creep on the earth; nay, we find that our flesh ever draws us downward: except then the truth from above becomes to us as it were wings, or a ladder, or a vehicle, we cannot rise up one foot; but, on the contrary, we shall seek refuges on the earth rather than ascend into heaven. But let the word of God become our ladder, or our vehicle, or our wings, and, however difficult the ascent may be, we shall yet be able to fly upward, provided God’s word be allowed to have its own authority. We hence see how unsuitable is the view of those interpreters, who think that the tower and the citadel is the word of God; for it is by God’s word, as I have already said, that we are raised up to this citadel, that is, to the safeguard of hope; where we may remain safe and secure while looking down from this eminence on those things which disturb us and darken all our senses as long as we lie on the earth. This is one thing.
Then the repetition is not without its use; for the Prophet says, On my tower will I stand, on the citadel will I set myself. He does not repeat in other words the same thing, because it is obscure; but in order to remind the faithful, that though they are inclined to sloth, they must yet strive to extricate themselves. And we soon find how slothful we become, except each of us stirs up himself. For when any perplexity takes hold on our minds, we soon succumb to despair. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet, after having spoken of the tower, again mentions the citadel.
But when he says, I will watch to see, he refers to perseverance; for it is not enough to open our eyes once, and by one look to observe what happens to us; but it is necessary to continue our attention. This constant attention is, then, what the Prophet means by watching; for we are not so clear-sighted as immediately to comprehend what is useful to be known. And then, though we may once see what is necessary, yet a new temptation can obliterate that view. It thus happens, that all our observations become evanescent, except we continue to watch, that is, except we persevere in our attention, so that we may ever return to God, whenever the devil raises new storms, and whenever he darkens the heavens with clouds to prevent us to see God. We hence see how emphatical is what the Prophet says here, I will watch to see. The Prophet evidently compares the faithful to watchmen, who, though they hear nothing, yet do not sleep; and if they hear any noise once or twice, they do not immediately sound an alarm, but wait and attend. As, then, they who keep watch ought to remain quiet, that they may not disturb others, and that they may duly perform their office; so it behaves the faithful to be also tranquil and quiet, and wait patiently for God during times of perplexity and confusion.
Let us now inquire what is the purpose of this watching: I will watch to see, he says, what he may say to me. There seems to be an impropriety in the expression; for we do not properly see what is said. But the Prophet connects together here two metaphors. To speak strictly correct, he ought to have said, “I will continue attentive to hear what he may say;” but he says, I will watch to see what he may say. The metaphor is found correctly used in Psa 85:8,
“
I will hear what God may say; for he will speak peace to his people.”
There also it is a metaphor, for the Prophet speaks not of natural hearing: “I will hear what God may speak,” what does that hearing mean? It means this, “I will quietly wait until God shows his favor, which is now hid; for he will speak peace to his people;” that is, the Lord will never forget his own Church. But the Prophet, as I have said, joins together here two metaphors; for to speak, or to say, means no other thing than that God testifies to our hearts, that though the reason for his purpose does not immediately appear to us, yet all things are wisely ruled, and that nothing is better than to submit to his will. But when he says, “I will see, and I will watch what he may say,” the metaphor seems incongruous, and yet there appears a reason for it; for the Prophet intended to remind us, that we ought to employ all our senses for this end,—to be wholly attentive to God’s word. For though one may be resolved to hear God, we yet find that many temptations immediately distract us. It is not then enough to become teachable, and to apply our ears to hear his voice, except also our eyes be connected with them, so that we may be altogether attentive.
We hence see the object of the Prophet; for he meant to express the greatest attention, as though he had said, that the faithful would ever wander in their thoughts, except they carefully concentrated both their eyes and their ears, and all their senses, on God, and continually restrained themselves, lest vagrant speculations or imaginations should lead them astray. And further, the Prophet teaches us, that we ought to have such reverence for God’s word as to deem it sufficient for us to hear his voice. Let this, then, be our understanding, to obey God speaking to us, and reverently to embrace his word, so that he may deliver us from all troubles, and also keep our minds in peace and tranquillity.
God’s speaking, then, is opposed to all the obstreperous clamours of Satan, which he never ceases to sound in our ears. For as soon as any temptation takes place, Satan suggests many things to us, and those of various kinds:—“What will you do? what advice will you take? see whether God is propitious to you from whom you expect help. How can you dare to trust that God will assist you? How can he extricate you? What will be the issue?” As Satan then disturbs us in various ways, the Prophet shows that the word of God alone is sufficient for us all, then, who indulge themselves in their own counsels, deserve to be forsaken by God, and to be left by him to be driven up and down, and here and there, by Satan; for the only unfailing security for the faithful is to acquiesce in God’s word.
But this appears still more clear from what is expressed at the close of the verse, when the Prophet adds, and what I may answer to the reproof given me; for he shows that he would be furnished with the best weapons to sustain and repel all assaults, provided he patiently attended to God speaking to him, and fully embraced his word: “Then,” he says, “I shall have what I may answer to all reproofs, when the Lord shall speak to me”. By “reproofs,” he means not only the blasphemies by which the wicked shake his faith, but also all those turbulent feelings by which Satan secretly labors to subvert his faith. For not only the ungodly deride us and mock at our simplicity, as though we presumptuously and foolishly trusted in God, and were thus over-credulous; but we also reprove ourselves inwardly, and disturb ourselves by various internal contentions; for whatever comes to our mind that is in opposition to God’s word, is properly a chiding or a reproof, as it is the same thing as if one accused himself, as though he had not found God to be faithful. We now, then see that the word “reproof” extends farther than to those outward blasphemies by which the unbelieving are wont to assail the children of God; for, as we have already said, though no one attempted to try our faith, yet every one is a tempter to himself; for the devil never ceases to agitate our minds. When, therefore, the Prophet says, what I may answer to reproof, he means, that he would be sufficiently fortified against all the assaults of Satan, both secret and external, when he heard what God might say to him.
We may also gather from the whole verse, that we can form no judgement of God’s providence, except by the light of celestial truth. It is hence no wonder that many fall away under trials, yea, almost the whole world; for few there are who ascend into the citadel of which the Prophet speaks, and who are willing to hear God speaking to them. Hence, presumption and arrogance blind the minds of men, so that they either speak evil of God who addresses them, or accuse fortune, or maintain that there is nothing certain: thus they murmur within themselves, and arrogate to themselves more than they ought, and never submit to God’s word. Let us proceed, –
(24) On my watch-tower, [ משמרתי ]; the word means commonly the office, or the act of watching, but here it means evidently the place; the verb “stand” and the corresponding word [ מצור ] fortress, or citadel, in the next line, prove clearly that this is its meaning here. The metaphor is taken from the practice of ascending a high tower, when any messenger was expected with news. That any locality is meant here is supported by nothing in the passage. The Prophet puts himself in an attitude of waiting for an answer from God to the complaints which he had made: and the metaphor of “tower and citadel” is most beautifully applied by Calvin, and in a very instructive and striking manner. I give this version—
On my watch-tower will I stand, And I will set myself on a citadel; That I may look out to see what he will say to me, And what I shall answer to the reproof given to me; Literally, to my reproof.
—
Ed.
(25) That is, to the chiding, rebuke, or reproof, given to me. Both Newcome and Henderson give a version of this line, which is nearly the same, but seems incongruous, though Grotius agrees with them. The version of the former is as follows:—
And what I should reply to my arguing with him. The latter renders the line thus: — And what I shall reply in regard to my argument.
The phrase is, [ על-תוכחתי ] upon, (to, says Drusius) my reproof, or rebuke, or chiding. This is the current meaning of the word, see 2Kg 19:3; Pro 10:17; Isa 37:3. He calls it “my,” because given him, either by his enemies, as Calvin thinks, or by God, as some others suppose. The view of Piscator and Junius is, that it is the reproof or correction he administered to the people in chapter 1:2-12. He was waiting to know what he might have to give as a reply in defense of that reproof. “And what I may reply as to my reproof,” i.e., the reproof given by him. In this case, the preceding clause, “What he may or will say to me,” refers to his complaint respecting the Chaldeans. This is altogether consistent with the mode in which the Prophets usually write: reversing the order, they take up first the last subject, and then refer to the first. He then waited to know two things, how to solve his difficulties respecting the conduct of the Chaldeans, and how to reply to his own people for the severe rebuke he gave them. There is much in this view to recommend it.— Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
HABAKKUK-OR A PROPHETS HARD PROBLEMS
Hab 1:1 to Hab 3:19.
IT is no easy task to treat the Book of Habakkuk and be silent concerning its difficulties. While every one of the Minor Prophets has been the subject of much discussion on the part of students, conservative and critical, this Book of Habakkuk has been the storm-center for such controversy. Its date is undetermined. And while it probably belongs to the reign of Jehoiakim, about 607 B. C., no man can affirm that to be a fact. The peculiar circumstance of a separate style in each of the three chapters has also raised the question as to whether Habakkuk wrote them all; and if so, whether at one time, or on separate, possibly somewhat widely removed, occasions. The enemy here described has also been made the ground of much dispute, although that, to me, is settled by the text itselfhe was the Chaldean. It were vain to lead you into the intricacies of these questions, presenting the arguments pro and con upon each separate point, since the same could not result in an agreement of opinion. I purpose, therefore, to pass them over, grave as they may be, with merely having called attention to them.
Of Habakkuk himself we know nothing save his name. There are many traditions about him, the most popular of which is that he was a priest, and the son of Joshua of the tribe of Levi. But that this may not be the truth is clear from the fact that other traditions, with equal weight of age, speak concerning the birth of Habakkuk and his parentage, and lay claim to equal exactness. Some have insisted that he was a contemporary of Jeremiah, which is probably true. The one thing we do know is that he was the Prophet of God.
George Adam Smith calls attention to a unique fact concerning this Prophet, namely, he assumes a different attitude from that which characterized his contemporaries. The most of them had addressed the nation Israel on behalf of God. They called attention to Israels sin; they proclaimed Israels doom; they pleaded with Israel to repent; they promised Israel pardon and peace when once he had turned about. Habakkuk, on the contrary, speaks to God on behalf of Israel. He sees the awful condition of his people and propounds to God the question, Why is this permitted? He strives to find out the Divine purpose in permitting tyranny and wrong; he seeks the solution of the great problems of life; he wants to know why Gods work in the world is not successful at every point, why sin is not overthrown, and the adversary brought to an ignominious end.
The Book takes the form of a dialogue, with questions by the Prophet, and answers on the part of God. Sharp questions they were, and hard questions every one; questions that men before him had asked, questions everyone of which skeptics now make capital. The very name of the Prophet Habakkukor Struggler is suggestive of the fact that, as Jacob wrestled with God for his blessing, so Habakkuk strives with God for a solution of the problems of life.
This leads me, therefore, to the first suggestion,
THE PROPHETS HARD PROBLEMS
These problems assume three or four phases at his lips. He wants to know several things.
First of all, Why are my prayers unanswered?
O L,ord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save! (Hab 1:2).
It is an old question! Many a man had asked it before Habakkuk. Many a man, since that time, has repeated the sentiment. In fact every man, at some point in his life, is troubled with this very problem, Why are my prayers unanswered? What one of us but has had an hour with this interrogation point? What one of us but has been in anguish over this problem? I listened only a few days since to one who asserted that she was angry when her prayers were unanswered, and felt tempted not to pray again. And in that respect she was not alone. We have seen our own children in the same mood. They have made requests of us and we have not granted them. Requests which to them seemed reasonable enough, and we have not regarded them; and they have plied and pestered us with that troublesome Why! Why! Why! It is a word with which men have annoyed God from time immemorial.
But the Prophet has another problem of equal importance.
Why is gross iniquity permitted?
Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Therefore the Law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth (Hab 1:3-4).
How many, many times must the minister meet that same inquiry? John Stewart Mills raised that question and saw no sufficient answer to it, and turned skeptical and said, If there is a God He is not Almighty or He would put an end to war, and pain, and death and trouble and every cry.
Mr. Ingersoll gave expression to the same idea in these words, But here is my trouble, I find this world made on a very cruel plan. Life feeds on life; justice does not always triumph; innocence is not a perfect shield; I do not understand itA God that has life feeds on life; every joy in the world born of some agony! I do not understand why in this world, over the Niagara of cruelty, should run this flood of blood. If there be a God He understood this. He knew when He withheld His rains from Russia that the famine would come. He saw the dead mothers; He saw the empty breasts of love; and He saw the helpless babes. There is my trouble. It was one of the hours in Ingersolls life when he came down from flippant rhetoric and really presented a serious problem. But it was a problem not original with Ingersoll; every man since Adam has felt the same perplexity, and propounded the same questions.
And when God makes answer to Habakkuk, He raises a third question almost as difficult as those already presented, for in his answer, he says,
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap dust, and take if (Hab 1:5-10).
This answer involves the Prophet in further difficulty, and he puts it in another question:
Shall the sinner, used as a scourge, escape?
O Lord, Thou hast ordained [the Chaldeans] for judgment; and, O mighty God, Thou hast established them for correction.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and boldest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
He cannot understand why God should take a people of insatiable ambition, or covetous character, of cruel customs, of drunkenness, debauch and idolatry and make them a scourge for His erring children; and he wants to know whether these Chaldeans will be allowed to devastate forever, and will not themselves have to stand in judgment? That question comes up under many circumstances. Here is an insolent child whose conduct invites chastisement, but her cruel guardian brutally beats her. She deserves a certain punishment, but shall one who is worse than she administer it, and then escape herself unscourged?
Here is a man who has gone against his mothers advice and despised his fathers counsel, and contracted the habit of drink, and by his debauches he has squandered his fathers substance and broken his mothers heart and insulted God. He deserves reproof, and one day the saloonist knocks him down and beats him until he is blue in the face, and sends him home to be bedridden for many days. He has only reaped whereon he has been sowing; his judgment is perfectly just. But shall that saloonist go unscathed? Will God approve this act and overlook the character of the man who accomplished it? That is Habakkuks question.
These are not the questions of an Ancient. They are your questions and mine. They enter into the problems that now press upon the thoughtful for solution. They uncover some of the deepest, darkest mysteries of life, and while they are older than even Habukkuk, they are as new as the rising of this mornings sun, or the last breath one has drawn. But, thanks be to God, they are not unanswerable questions!
Follow this prophecy of Habakkuk a little further and you will find
JEHOVAHS READY REPLIES
He denies leaving true prayers in neglect. In answer to the charge that He had let Habakkuks cries go unanswered, God replies, No, no!
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
Mark you God does not say here that He is answering every mans prayer; nor even that He is answering every prayer that any man may put up. There are some prayers that never will be answered. To some He is compelled to say, Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. But we know, on the contrary, This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him (1Jn 5:14-15).
Delay on His part is no sign of indisposition. Because we cannot see the answer at once, it is not conclusive evidence that none is coming. Faith does not always ask to see; it accepts on the ground of a promise, and waits in confidence, Gods own good hourThe just shall live by His faith, we hear this same Prophet saying; and to live and believe that God is at work, even when the movements of His hand do not appear, is to show that one understands Him.
I often think of that little poem which should be a comfort to praying people; to mothers whose prayers for their sons have not been answered, to wives who have watched, till weary, for the conversion of their husbands, to friends who have long sought the sobriety of some dear one addicted to drink:
Unanswered yet! The prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years?
Does faith begin to fail? Is hope departing?
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer,
You shall have your desire, sometime, somewhere!
Unanswered yet! Nay, do not say ungranted
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done.
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere!
And God also answers his second question.
Iniquity shall not go unpunished. He will execute judgment against apostate Israel by the terrible Chaldeans. And then He will call that Chaldean to account for his conduct. In other words every man, and nation, that forgets God and walks in folly, and delights in sin, shall feel the hand of correction, or hear the sentence of judgment. In my recent visit to the South I have been studying somewhat that ever present and disturbing question of mob-violence, although most of it has been occurring lately on our side of the Mason and Dixon line. It would seem that the last few weeks has recorded a carnival of that rapine and murder which is the expression of brute-lust on the part of those who wear the name of men, but whose behavior is below that of the basest beasts of the field. Some of these have met summary justice at the hands of an outraged public, and certain newspapers, with a mind for turning all things to political account, have been passing extended judgment upon the process. I am in sympathy with most all they have said against mob law. It is not for the public weal; no good citizen will advocate it. But I have been chagrined, beyond measure, at the strange silence concerning the acts of those brute-beasts who make mob law almost a social necessity. A few days since I conversed with a colored barber in Texas and asked him what he thought of the likelihood of a race war. And he talked more good hard sense in ten minutes than some partisan newspapers would utter in ten months. He said, The worst thing that ever happened in Texas in the way of mob violence was the burning and torture of a black man at Paris, but my opinion is they didnt give him enough. When I recall, he said, that the child of his attack was only four years of age, and that he was not content to gratify his lusts on this darling little one, but in his murderous spirit, tore her limb from limb and scattered the fragments of one of earths white angels with ruthless hand, I said, let them do what they will, and Ill never so far identify myself with that brute as to take up a race cudgel because he happened to be of my color. I have no objection to make to punishing the guilty. If men dont like the feel of the rope around their necks, and the flame against their flesh, let them quit the devilish conduct that calls for it.
What I object to, he added, is such conduct as has lately characterized Evansville, Indiana, where, when one man commits a crime, a whole community are persecuted for it because they happen to be of his color. It was refreshing to listen to such intelligence after some of the rantings to which the newspapers have lately treated us. Say what you will, the guilty man will answer somewhere for awful conduct. He may have to answer to the flames; he may have to answer to the very enemies of God, for God sometimes makes His enemies to execute judgment for Him. A mob is the enemy of God, but who will say that its work is always unjust? A serpent is the very symbol of Satan himself, and rests under Divine condemnation, and yet, it is written into the Word, concerning certain ones,
Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to Heaven, thence will I bring them down:
And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set Mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
Ah, these are the threats that turn pale the faces of brutal offenders, for God will make them good.
And yet Jehovah always judges according to character. He knows the difference between the righteous and the wicked. He may send rain both upon the just and the unjust. But, after all, He will commend the just; and pass against the unjust His sentence of condemnation. Listen to this word from the Prophet, reporting God, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:but the just shall live by His faith. And then he continues to describe the proud man who transgresseth by wine, * * neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, and he declares that against him that ladeth himself with thick clay enemies shall rise up suddenly to bite him, and vex him, and make booty of him, and because he spoiled many they shall spoil him.
He uncovers also the character of the covetous man (Hab 2:9-11) and lays bare his character who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity (Hab 2:12). He pronounces his woe against the man who gives his neighbor drink; that putteth the bottle to him and maketh him drunken; and the graven-imager whose proudest product is a dumb idol. And He reminds all these that the Lord is in His holy Temple, which is only another way of saying that He will call them every one to account. God judges on the basis of character. He will not at all acquit the wicked; but the righteous shall forever find in Him a Friend. He does care whether the dwellers upon this earth are fair or foul, brutal or beautiful; He does not look upon all men, taking equal pleasure in every one. I tell you that God never loves the wicked, but He ever more loves the good, the true, the noble; His very character requires Him to hate baseness, falsehood, and evil. Iniquity is as an abomination unto Him; righteousness is His delight, and when at last the great white throne judgment is set up, men will be separated upon the basis of character, and judged every man according to his works. The righteous shall hear Him saying, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And the impenitent and wicked shall listen to this sentence of doom, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Who would change? Who would take a single holy man and cast him out of Heaven, and who would bring into the Celestial City any thing that defileth, [or] worketh abomination, or maketh a lie? Ah, beloved, God will be justified when He speaks, and clear when He judges, and His replies will be the solution of our hard problems.
But there remains a third chapter to this Book. Its original form was doubtless blank verse. It is worthy to be bound with the Psalms. It is
A HYMN OF PRAISE AND TRUST
The new style is introduced into this third chapter. It is vivid, and even more vigorous than the foregoing prophecy. Here is a sweep of vision which includes centuries. And the exultation of spirit is indicative of the fact that when one gets at Gods reason for things he can rejoice in spite of adverse surroundings. I believe with St. Augustine, this Psalm has references to the first and second advents of Jesus Christ; and yet with Calvin also, I know that it refers to Gods guidance of Israel from the time of the Egyptian plagues to the days of Joshua and Gideon.
But passing over this historical reference, and for present purposes leaving undiscussed the prophetic element, I want you to see what Habakkuk has to say concerning Jehovah.
He remarks on the majesty of God.
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Par an. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.
And His brightness was as the light; He had horns coming out of His hand: and there was the hiding of His power (Hab 3:3-4).
But what tongue ever attempted this theme but to falter and fail? The majesty of God is beyond the flash of human imagination. One who contemplates it will speedily feel the insufficiency of speech, and yet long to express himself; so he may join with Kempthorn:
Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore Him,
Praise Him, angels, in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him,
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord! for He hath spoken,
Worlds His mighty voice obey;
Laws which never shall be broken,
For their guidance He hath made.
He trembles before the might of God (Hab 3:5-15). It is well for men to realize that Gods will is the law of the universe, and to that will all must bow, either by volition, or else coercion; for, when God cannot command our affectionate obedience, He will restrain, by His might, our disobedience; and He is able. He, whose voice breaketh the cedars of Lebanon, at whose touch the everlasting rocks tremble, who bindeth the clouds with a cord, and excels all angels in strength; He whose hand hurled, from the lofty battlements of Heaven, Satan, and sent after him his every satellite; at whose word the mountains rocked, and in answer to whose request the tempestuous sea ceases from its tossing and is calm, is One before whom the Prophet did well to tremble. And every knee does well to bow, and every tongue to confess. And yet, if one but make peace with Him, that infinite power becomes his security and defense and the subject of jubilant song.
In all our Makers grand designs,Almighty power with wisdom shines.His works through all this wondrous frame Declare the glory of His Name.
He rejoices in the grace of God.
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments (Hab 3:17-19).
A few years since Dwight L. Moody and Robert G. Ingersoll passed from the stage of action. They were born within a few months of each other, and died within a few months of each other; and died each one as he had lived. As types of character they were poles apart. One was serious and the other scornful; one prayerful, the other profane; one reverent, the other addicted to ridicule of holy things. One a student of the Bible for soul-culture, and the other a railer against it, for silver and gold. The deathbed scene of one was the gate of Heaven; that of the other the desolation of darkness. One received and enjoyed the grace of God; the other resisted and rejected the same! One still lives in thousands of converts, great schools, conquering churches, philanthropic and benevolent movements a multitude; the other in souls steeped in skepticism, and in bodies bloated by bad conduct.
Choose ye this day!
I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.] Watch] As those ascending high places to look into the distance (2Ki. 9:17; 2Sa. 18:24). Set] Plant myself firmly. To see] what God will say. Unto] Lit. in me; outwardly to the ear, inwardly to the heart; fixed in purpose and earnest in mind he waits for Gods revelation. Reproved] when reasoned with, for my expostulation with God.
Hab. 2:2. Vision] Outwardly seen and inwardly perceived. Write] The revelation important and immutable. Plain Clearly, that it may easily be read (cf. Deu. 27:8; Deu. 1:5).
Hab. 2:3. For] The reason for writing. Appointed] i.e. future time fixed by God (Dan. 10:14; Dan. 11:27). Speak] Lit. breathe out (then speak), hasten to the end. Tarry] Linger, delay a little. Come] It is certain, though future. Not tarry] Be behindhand or go beyond the appointed time.
HOMILETICS
THE WAITING SERVANT.Hab. 2:1-2
Habakkuk had two great difficulties in justifying the Divine government. First, the wickedness of the Jews and their oppression of the righteous few among them. God removed this difficulty by predicting that he would visit the corruption with captivity, and that the Chaldeans would punish them. But a second objection presented itself that the Chaldeans were worse than the Jews, the avengers more demoralized than the people. Hence the aspect appeared dark indeed to the prophet. The destruction of the temple, cessation of national worship, and universal depravity. Anxious for further light, he determines to take a stand and discern in the light of Gods presence the solution of his difficulties.
I. The fixed purpose of the prophet. I will stand and set me (firmly) upon the tower. The prophet made use of the means which God put within his reach to solve his doubts. All temptations and perplexities should lead us to the sanctuary of God. We should direct our prayer to him and look up beyond human vision. Habakkuk desired
1. To be Divinely enlightened. To see what he will say to me. More truth and more light could be had. God could give these, and he would wait upon him in singleness of aim. The voice, the vision from God would clear away the mists and satisfy the heart. Men are ignorant, and reason is dumb in such circumstances. I will hear what God the Lord will speak.
2. To be Divinely corrected. What I shall answer when I am reproved. He had been pleading with others and they had beset him with objections. He desires to be instructed and guided in his reply. Or he might have cherished wrong thoughts and uttered wrong words concerning God in his darkness. The psalmist stumbled and was hasty in his words, when he saw good men suffer and bad men prosper. Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of the gods, says Emerson.
II. The appropriate attitude of the prophet I will stand upon my watch. This position was most appropriate and safe. It includes
1. Outward retirement. He ascended the tower, excluded himself from the noise of the city and the excitement of society. Alone like Moses in the rock, he sought intercourse with God. Apart from the world, and under the tuition of heaven, he was instructed in the principles of Divine wisdom. All weighty things, says Richter, are done in solitude, that is, without society. Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
2. Inward meditation. The prophet was a man of reflection and prayer. He searched his own heart and examined his own ways. He gave his whole attention to his work. Little can be done well to which the whole mind is not applied, says Johnson. In our great work there must be withdrawal from the world and concentration in self. Commune with thine own heart.
3. Earnest expectation. The prophet waited in patience and perseverance. He did not think that his prayer was done with when offered. He did not find relief in his attitude but in Gods answer. I will watch to see. Ministers must acquit themselves like watchmen in an army or in a city, be awake when others sleep, and patiently seek to be filled with light and truth to give to others in times of darkness and danger.
III. The gracious answer to the prophet. And the Lord answered me. Expectation was not disappointed. God is sometimes found of them that seek him not. But he pledges himself to hear those who sincerely call upon him. He said not, Seek ye me in vain. The answer was an assurance of ruin to the Chaldeans when the chastisement of Israel was accomplished. It was far distant, would try the faith of Gods people, but the event was certain and would come to pass. The answer was to be written in a conspicuous place, recorded for the help of the people in the suspension of the fulfilment, and known as a proof of Divine power and faithfulness when accomplished. Both Israel and Chaldea must own. And the thing was true, but the appointed time was long.
THE APPOINTED VISION.Hab. 2:2-3
The prophet must not only hear but record the Word of God. What the seer beholds he must write. Write the vision.
I. To be permanently recorded. The preacher must die, for all flesh is grass. Tradition is uncertain and may be corrupted. Philosophy is insufficient, and human reason is delusive. The testimony of men would continually perplex and mislead. But the Word of God stands for ever, an assurance and guide to all generations. To the law and to the testimony.
II. To be universally understood. And make it plain upon tables. It must be legibly and correctly written upon accustomed material. Not the impressions, the recollections and surmisings of the mind, not something like the thing, but the thing itself. It must be delivered in simplicity, not hidden in flowers of rhetoric; adapted to the lowest capacity, not merely to the thoughtful few. It takes all our learning to make things plain, says Usher. Write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly (Deu. 27:8).
III. To be prominently fixed. That he may run that readeth it. It must be so conspicuous that it may catch the eye of the traveller, hinder no duty, but read at once without difficulty. Some think that the reference is to the ancient posts which directed the man-slayer to the city of refuge, and that the reading should be he that runneth may read. Refuge was a word so legible that one running for life was neither delayed nor puzzled to read. The writing (a) Excites attention. No one passes without noticing it. (b) Directs the steps. This is the way, walk ye in it. (c) Encourages speed by well-grounded conviction of its truthfulness. The words of the Lord are pure and forcible.
IV. To be a little delayed. The vision is yet for an appointed time. Gods promises reach a long distance and comprehend vast agencies. Delay is discipline to us, and God has reasons for it. It tests our faith, cultivates our patience, and excites our hope. We cannot hasten the end and must therefore wait. We must not measure Gods thoughts by our ways, and the purposes of eternity by the hours of time. We must not attribute delay to impotency or forgetfulness. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. And the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision, &c. (Dan. 10:1; Dan. 10:14).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Hab. 2:3.
1. As the mercies promised to the Church are in the hands of God, so is the timing of them; we are not therefore to expect that the performance of comfortable promises or of threatened vengeance will be always ready at our bid, but we must wait the Lords time, who hath his own seasons for afflicting, trying, and delivering.
2. The Lords delaying to appear diminisheth nothing of the certainty of performance that he hath promised to the Church. 3. But such is our weakness, that when he delayeth the performance we are ready to think that he denies it to all, which is to contradict the verdict of Scripture here published [Hutcheson]. Gods time, says one, to visit his people with his comforts is when they are most destitute of other comforts, and other comforters.
Divine slowness.
1. The history of the earth illustrates this principle.
(1) Creation.
(2) The movement of the seasons.
2. The history of all life illustrates this principle.
(1) Individual life in man.
(2) Life in national history.
3. Revealed religion harmonizes with this principle.
(1) The long interval between promise and the coming of Christ.
(2) The manner of his coming, not as the thoughts of men anticipated.
(3) The history of revealed religion since the appearance of Christ.
(4) The spiritual history of individual believers.
(5) So with the events which make up the story of life [Dr. R. Vaughan].
Gods word speaks and lies not.
1. It speaks at the end, therefore wait. It will not tarry beyond, though it may tarry till the very hour.
(1) Impatience leads to idolatry, as in the case of the Israelites waiting for Moses (Exo. 33:2). Impatience leads to self-destruction, as in the case of Saul waiting for Samuel (1 Samuel 13).
2. It speaks and lies not. All failure is a kind of lying.
(1) Failure in truth is a lie in word.
(2) Failure in performance is a lie in act. Every man is a liar, either by imposture, and so in purpose, or by impotency, and so in the event, deceiving those that rely upon him (Psa. 62:9). But God is faithful and cannot lie, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he [Trapp].
3. Hence wait for the fulfilment. It will not tarry, it will not lie. Waiting comprises in it
(1) faith;
(2) hope;
(3) patience, or waiting to the end for the time which the Lord has appointed, but which he intends us to wait for [Lange].
Surely come.
1. Here is the truth of the decree. The vision is yet for an appointed time.
2. Here is the truth of the word. It shall speak and not lie.
3. Here is the truth of the deed. It will surely come [Marbury].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Hab. 2:1. Watch. We should follow providence, and not attempt to force it, for that often proves best for us which was least our own doing [Henry].
Hab. 2:2-3. Tarry. For our actions let his word be our guide, and for the events of things and all that concern us, let his good pleasure and wise disposing be our will. Let us give up the rudder of our life into his band to be steered by him [Abp. Leighton]. Prayer is the rest of our care, and the calm of our temper [J. Taylor].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
JEHOVAHS ANSWER . . . Hab. 2:1-20
RV . . . I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint. And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith, Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them? Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of mens blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the City and to all that dwell therein. Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and has sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and established a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame, and not glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovahs right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of mens blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
LXX . . . I will stand upon my watch, and mount upon the rock, and watch to see what he will say by me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and that plainly on a tablet, that he that reads it may run. For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should tarry, wait for him; for he will surely come, and will not tarry. If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith. But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke. For suddenly there shall arise up those that bite him, and they that plot against thee shall awake, and thou shalt be a plunder to them. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the nations that are left shall spoil thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evils. Thou hast devised shame to thy house, thou hast utterly destroyed many nations, and thy soul has sinned. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beetle out of the timber shall speak. Woe to him that builds a city with blood, and establishes a city by unrighteousness. Are not these things of the Lord Almighty? surely many people have been exhausted in the fire, and many nations have fainted. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; it shall cover them as water. Woe to him that gives his neighbour to drink the thick lees of wine, and intoxicates him, that he may look upon their secret parts. Drink thou also thy fill of disgrace instead of glory: shake, O heart, and quake, the cup of the right hand of the Lord has come round upon thee, and dishonour has gathered upon thy glory. For the ungodliness of Libanus shall cover thee, and distress because of wild beasts shall dismay thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. What profits it the graven image, that they have graven it? one has made it a molten work, a false image; for the maker has trusted in his work, to make dumb idols. Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake, arise; and to the stone, Be thou exalted! whereas it is an image, and this is a casting of gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth fear before him.
COMMENTS
Having presented what sounds to himself like a conclusive argument against Gods use of the Chaldeans to punish Judah, Habakkuk now declares he will simply stand and wait for Jehovahs answer. We do not know what answer he expected. Perhaps he thought Jehovah would acquiesce, as He did when Moses interceded following the unfaithfulness of the people shortly after the exodus. (Exo. 39:9 -ff) In any event, the answer was not long in coming. The prophet is to write the vision (which is how the book of Habakkuk came into being). He is to make it plain upon tables.
National dealings were engraved upon wooden tables covered with wax. The engraving was made with a hot iron writing instrument and the plaqueor tablet thus engraved was hung in public in the temple. (cp. Luk. 1:63) It is to be written so plainly that one running past could read it without stopping.
The idea seems to be that whoever reads the tablet engraved with Gods answer to Habakkuks complaint will run to whomever he can with the news. Run is used elsewhere for the urgent announcing of Gods revealed truth. (cp. Jer. 23:21, Rev. 22:17)
In view of modern insistence upon the same complaints against God, it would seem that we too should adopt a sense of urgency. Gods answer is still valid. Men need to know it now as in the day of the prophet.
(Hab. 2:3) The message is to be committed to writing because the fulfillment of what is said lies in the future, from the point of view of those who first read it. Write it down just as you receive it, says God, in effect, then see if it doesnt happen just this way.
In this verse is stated a point which needs to be imprinted indelibly on the mind of anyone who ever doubted the divine inspiration of Scripture. What God said and the prophets wrote about the cataclysmic events of history was written well in advance of the events themselves. That these predictions were fulfilled to the letter years, sometimes centuries, later is conclusive proof to any honest scholar that they were not of human origin.
The predictive element of prophecy was one of the strongest evidences offered by the apostles of the truth of the Gospel. (e.g. Act. 2:22 -ff)
A generation ago it was the fad arming the critics of the Bible to say that the predictive prophecies of the Bible were actually written after the fact, but recent scholarship, even of the most liberal persuasion, tends to accept the traditional dates of Scriptural writings. These dates place all predictive prophecies well before its fulfillment.
What God answers here, in reply to Habakkuks second question, is a case in point. Having answered the first question with a prediction of Judahs punishment at the hands of the Chaldeans, He answers the second by predicting the destruction of the Chaldeans themselves by the Persians!
The years of Babylonian captivity will make the fulfillment of this vision seem to tarry. Nevertheless, those who read are to wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay.
(Hab. 2:4-5) Jehovah begins His answer by setting forth a general principle. Whoever is puffed up in his own soul (whether Jew or Chaldean) will be punished. The righteous, whether Jew or Chaldean (Paul will later say to the Jew first but also to the Greek, Rom. 1:16-17) shall live by faith.
The contrast of the Bible between the godly and the ungodly is set forth in verse four in bold relief. It is not a contrast between good and bad per se but between the haughty soul who sets his will against that of God on the one hand and the one who lives by faith on the other. The New Testament will make this contrast even more sharply in terms of the carnal as opposed to the Spirit-directed. (e.g. Gal. 5:16-25)
A word needs to be said here concerning the statement the righteous shall live by his faith. As indicated above, Paul alludes to this Statement in Rom. 1:17. In so doing, he quotes the Septuagint. There the text reads literally but the righteous, out of my faith shall be living. The Greek of the New Testament in Rom. 1:17 reads literally but the righteous out of faith shall be living.
There is a minor textual problem here. The Hebrew text, as represented in our American Standard Version has his faith in Hab. 2:4. The Septuagint in the same place has my faith. Pauls Greek omits both possessive pronouns and says simply by (not my or his) faith.
The apostle has captured the essential truth of Habakkuk. In contrast to the overwhelming military might in which the Chaldeans trusted (Hab. 1:13(b) – Hab. 1:16) and the Assyrian-Egyptian alliance upon which Judah had based her national security, the righteous shall stake his life upon his trust in God.
The Chaldeans would lay waste to Judah who trusted in Assyrian and Egyptian arms. Cyrus would one day bring the Chaldean empire of Babylon to her knees. Through it all, God would preserve His real people . . . the true Israel. (cf. discussion of Micahs prophecy concerning the remnant.)
Here is an eternal truth, and one Gods people in the closing decades of the twentieth century would do well to learn. God deals with people on the basis of obedient faith not on the basis of misplaced national loyalty and military power, whether Chaldean, Jewish or American!
(Hab. 2:6) There is an intriguing reference to wine here. The haughty, who depend on military might and alliances are pointed out as deceived by the treachery of it. When Babylon attacked Nineveh, the leaders of that city were indulging in a drunken revelry. When Babylon herself was taken, it was during Belshazzars feast when he dared drink wine from the golden vessels of the temple of Jehovah. (cf. Dan. 5:2-4; Dan. 5:30 cp. Pro. 20:1; Pro. 30:9)
The United States may one day fail in her own defense while our leaders are enjoying themselves in the endless round of Washington cocktail parties.
Of course one who objects to such things in our day is looked upon as being somewhat strange and fanatic . . . as were the prophets who tried in vain to warn Israel and Judah of the consequences of the same thing.
In verse five there begins a general description of those things characteristic of the Neo-Babylonian empire which carried in them the seed of the destruction that awaited her. Cocktail party diplomacy was only one of those characteristics. The empire is presented as a haughty man. Just as Judahs pride went before her fall so would Babylons contribute to the downfall of the empire.
Every ancient nation shared this weakness of pride. Each imagined itself to be the select or chosen people of a god who was superior to all other gods. This national deity would preserve his people and subordinate all other peoples to them. The Jews flirtation with Baal, along with certain other influences, made them mistake Jehovah for such a nationalistic god. This is why Habakkuk asked his second question (Hab. 1:12 -f), Such haughtiness blinds any nation to the realities of international life.
The second characteristic of Babylon which contributed to his (the haughty mans) downfall was the inability to stay home. As Habakkuk pointed out (Hab. 1:14 -ff), the Chaldeans swept all people into their sphere of dominance as a fisherman snares a school of fish.
Here Jehovah agrees with the prophets evaluation. The haughty man enlarges his desire as Sheol. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Hades; the abode of the dead. It is never full but always seems eager to receive more and more people. Babylon is like this. Just as death is never satisfied, so Babylon is never satisfied . . . always seeking more victims.
This is a fatal obsession for any nation. Every world conqueror, from Alexander (or those who divided his kingdom following his untimely death) to Hitler has learned too late that he cannot encompass the earth and successfully control it.
A classic example is the British Empire. There was a time when Brittania could boast that the sun never set on the Union Jack. But it did not last. Today England is at best a second rate power.
Even our own attempt to build a world wide economic empire has brought to us problems that seem insolvable and that threaten our national vitality beyond endurance.
The lust for power, as any other lust, carries in it the elements of its own death. (cf. Jas. 1:15) It was indeed an attack upon Babylon by those who had once been her ally that brought the empire to destruction in the end.
So Jehovah predicts that those whom the Chaldeans conquer will one day take up a parable (or taunt) against them. This taunt forms the first of a series of woes through which Jehovah answers Habakkuks second question.
THE FIRST WOE . . . Hab. 2:6(b) – Hab. 2:8
As Gods providential guidance of history will bring about Judahs chastisement at the hands of the Chaldeans, so it will bring about, in turn, the destruction of the Chaldeans. Just how this is to come about is described in the woes which Jehovah now pronounces against them.
The first woe is to him that increaseth that which is not his. To see this principle in operation against the Babylonians, we must bear in mind that Judah was not the only nation to fall prey to the Chaldeans military expansionism. The Medes and Persians also came under the influence of Babylonian greed. And the time was not long in coming when they would together find the strength to do something very final about it.
This uprising reached its climax c. 532 B.C. when Cyrus and his Persians in collusion with certain Babylonian clerics made Babylon subject to the enlightened domination of Persia. For two subsequent centuries Babylon was ruled by the Persians.
Gods promise to Habakkuk, in answer to the prophets second question, is (Hab. 2:8) that this downfall of Babylon will be in punishment for her plundering and violence done not only to Judah but to other people as well.
THE SECOND WOE . . . Hab. 2:9-11.
The second in the series of woes pronounced against Babylon in answer to Habakkuks questioning is stated in Hab. 2:9-11. It emphasizes the covetousness of Babylon in her aggressions against other peoples. The covetousness is beyond the normal greed of an aggressor nation. It is so extreme as to be fatal not only to the invaded nations, but to the invader.
Not content with national aggrandizement and the enriching of his own coffers, the ruler of Babylon steals enough from conquered peoples to enrich his whole nation or family.
This is precisely the sin of Jehaiachem for which God raised up Babylon in punishment (cf. Jeremiah 22:31) It will also destroy Babylon in turn.
The nest on high is figurative of the eagle (Job. 39:27). Here it refers to the royal citadel. Babylon was famous for its towered ziggurats.
To Babylon Jehovah says (Hab. 2:10) Thou . . . hast sinned against thy soul. The empire raised up by God thus becomes guilty of her own destruction.
The very towers of Babylon, built by the blood of conquered peoples and supported by stolen loot, will cry out against her (Hab. 2:11). Her splendor is her downfall. Her glory is in her shame!
THE THIRD WOE . . . Hab. 2:12-14
The third woe, pronounced in verses twelve through fourteen, is brought about by the extreme cruelty of Babylon. Like her covetousness, her mercilessness against conquered people also contains the fatal poison of the empire.
This blood-thirstiness of Babylon was infamous throughout the ancient world. John uses it, as a familiar fact, in the symbolism of Revelation. (Rev. 17:6)
Those who are now laboring to build Babylon are laboring for the fire. (Hab. 2:11) That is, they are simply erecting those things which will be burned in the destruction of the city.
The significant truth here, for the sake of the prophets question, is that it is of Jehovah of hosts. The moral principles which bring about the rise and fall of people and nations in the flow of history are not accidental. Neither are they the product of any process of social evolution. These principles are fixed by God. They are the same from age to age in all of mans international relationships. The nation which fails to recognize them and govern itself accordingly may expect to join all previous empires on the rubble heap of dead civilizations!
There is a purpose to Gods rigid insistence that nations as well as men recognize and submit to His moral judgements. (Hab. 2:14) The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah . . .
A word about glory may be helpful here. The term itself means literally the essential nature of a person. Gods glory is His essential character i.e. that which causes Him to be held in high repute among those who know Him.
By dealing with men and nations on the basis of fixed moral laws, Jehovah is revealing Himself to them. That nations are more often than not blind to this truth is to their detriment, not His!
Just as surely as God was preparing for the coming Christ by revealing Himself to Israel through the prophets and His written word, so He was preparing the nations for Christ through His dealings in history. That both Israel and the Gentile nations failed to learn what Jehovah taught simply underscores mans universal need for salvation. It certainly is not, as Habakkuks questions would imply, and as modern agnostics insist, an indictment against God as unfair or unjust.
THE FOURTH WOE . . . Hab. 2:15-17
The fourth woe, with which Jehovah answers the prophets second question, has to do with the drunkenness of the Babylonians. We have already remarked briefly on this. (see above on Hab. 2:5)
Against the practice of excessive drinking in Babylon, God sets in figurative speech the downfall of the empire. Babylon is pictured here as a drunken man. He is not only drunken himself, but like most drunkards, he influences others to share in his revelings.
The accusation is that the drinker shares the drink in order to look on his neighbors nakedness. There is no genuineness of friendship here. Babylon only pretends to share the good life so as to lure his neighbors into alliances which will ultimately expose them to loss and shame.
Proud Babylon, the drunk, is himself not filled with glory as he supposes. His own nakedness is exposed and it is revealed to all the world that he is uncircumcised. He is not Gods covenant people!
God will do to Babylon what Babylon has done to others. He will allow the empire to become corrupt to the extent that foul shame (literally vomit) will cover its glory.
Ironically, Babylons final collapse came in the midst of a drunken revel. (Daniel 5) The imagery here is very appropriate!
In Hab. 2:17 the figure changes. From describing Babylon as a shameful drunk, Jehovah turns to describing him as a beast caught in a net trap.
The violence done to Lebanon reminds us that Lebanon was the gateway to Judah for the armies of Babylon. Also that the temple destroyed by the Babylonians was built of the cedars of Lebanon.
Just as men threatened repeatedly by the incursion of wild beasts become driven by fear to destroy the beasts, so Babylons neighbors, subjected repeatedly to the brutalities of Babylon will one day be driven to destroy him.
THE FIFTH WOE . . . Hab. 2:18-20
The fifth woe against Babylon is introduced by a question (Hab. 2:18). What, Jehovah asks, is the profit of a graven image even to the one who makes it?
As with all nations of ancient time, Babylon created gods in their own image and then relied upon these gods of their own making to lead, empower and preserve them. It is the futility of this practice that God points to in this woe.
Not only the covetousness and bloody violence of Babylon will contribute to the overthrow of the empire. The trust in man-made gods also will conspire to bring it about. The god in which they trust is dead, There is no breath in all the midst of it. Because they serve a dead god; they too shall die!
Christian America woke one day a few years ago to hear on television and read in major publications that God Is Dead! Perhaps there was more truth to the pronouncement than we realized. The gods of Roman and Protestant institutionalism . . . the god of economic materialism . . . the god of permissiveness and pleasure . . . the whole American pantheon is dead. Perhaps as we need to learn from the first four woes, so we need to learn from the fifth. The nation is doomed who worships a dead god!
In contrast (Hab. 2:20) to the dead god of Babylon, Jehovah is in His holy temple. Strange words, since the temple would, when the vision of Habakkuk came to pass, be in ruins. The obvious intent is that God does indeed not dwell in temples made with hands, whether those hands be Jewish or Babylonian.
A brief listing of the five woes may be helpful:
1.
(Hab. 2:6) Woe to him who increases his possession of that which is not his.
2.
(Hab. 2:9) Woe to him who gets evil gain in order to set himself above others.
3.
(Hab. 2:12) Woe to him who builds his great cities on the suffering of downtrodden people.
4.
(Hab. 2:14) Woe to him who involves others in his sin in order to exploit them.
5.
(Hab. 2:19) Woe to those who worship dead gods.
These woes reveal eternal truth which explains in varying degrees the downfall of every collapsed civilization.
Chapter XVIIQuestions
The Second Question
1.
Show how Gods answer to Habakkuks first question gave rise to the second question.
2.
State the prophets second question in your own words.
3.
Show how the Jews misconception of themselves as Gods people is reflected in Habakkuks second question.
4.
What two concepts did the Jews find hard to grasp? (As stated by Dr. Maurice Harris)
5.
Show how Nahums question to Nineveh (Nah. 3:8) could be asked here of Judah.
6.
What do you understand is the Biblical doctrine of election?
7.
How does dispensationalism pervert the doctrine of election?
8.
What word more accurately states the idea of election?
9.
What is implied by Habakkuks use of the term O Rock in reference to Jehovah?
10.
What two fallacies combine to confuse Habakkuk in reference to Gods purity and Babylons impurity?
11.
Describe the activity of the Babylonians toward neighboring nations.
12.
In a sentence, what is Jehovahs answer to Habakkuks second question?
13.
List the five woes with which God gives His answer.
14.
Show how these woes describe eternal principles in Gods dealing with nations in history.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) The Tower.The practice of ascending a high place to secure an extensive view suggests the figure here. (See 2Ki. 9:17; 2Sa. 18:24.) In a yet bolder metaphor Isaiah represents himself as appointing a watchman, who brings reports from his tower. We need not suppose that Habakkuk literally betook himself to a solitary height to wait for a revelation. Balaam, the heathen soothsayer, did so (Num. 23:3), but his conduct throws no light on the customs of the Jewish prophets.
What he will say unto me.Better, what He will say in me, and what answer I shall make to my complaint: i.e., of what solution of the perplexities I am deploring, Jehovah shall make me the mouthpiece.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE PROPHET’S ANXIOUS WATCH; THE DIVINE SOLUTION, Hab 2:1-5.
1. The prophet carries out his determination to secure a divine solution.
Watch, tower The two clauses are not to be understood literally, as if the prophet had an elevated place or tower where, away from the noise, he might look toward heaven for a revelation; they are meant figuratively. As the watchman gazes into the distance from his watchtower (2Sa 18:24; 2Ki 9:17), so the prophet will watch intently for an answer from heaven (Isa 21:8).
Watch to see R.V., “look forth to see.” From the root of the verb used here is derived one of the titles of the prophets, watchman (Jer 6:17; Eze 3:17).
What I shall answer First of all, to himself; then, to others who would be sure to consult the prophet concerning the significance of passing events. Peshitto reads, “what he (Jehovah) will answer,” which brings the clause into closer parallelism with the preceding, and is therefore accepted as original by many commentators.
When I am reproved Better, with R.V., “concerning my complaint,” as expressed in Hab 1:12-17.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Habakkuk Looks Anxiously For The Answer To His Questions ( Hab 2:1-5 )
Hab 2:1
‘I will stand on my watch,
And settle myself on the tower,
And look out to see what he will say to me,
And what I will answer, to do with my complaint.’
Having questioned first why God has not dealt with His people’s sinfulness, and then questioned God’s method of dealing with that sinfulness on the grounds of the unworthiness of the instruments being used, he now declares that he will be on watch for God’s reply.
He will be like a sentry on watch peering through the darkness, hoping to find an answer. Yes, he will settle down on the watchtower. He will wait to see what God has further to say about his complaint, and then he will consider his answer.
Hab 2:2
‘And YHWH answered me and said, “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” ’
God replies that He will give the answer in a vision and that he must take his reply and record it on tablets so that messengers may carry it far and wide. It is messengers who read a tablet and then run.
Or the idea might have been to write it in large tablets for public display (compare Isa 8:1; Isa 30:8), large enough for even those who ran by, or those who were in a hurry, to read what was said.
Hab 2:3
“For the vision is yet for the appointed time,
And it pants towards the end, and will not lie.
Though it tarry (come not quickly), wait for it,
Because it will surely come, it will not delay.”
God assures Habakkuk that the vision He is about to give him will be fulfilled in its appointed time. Indeed it is in such a hurry to reach the appointed time that it is panting. Nevertheless it may seem to be delayed, but he must wait for it, because it will definitely come. It will not be delayed.
Hab 2:4
“Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright within him. But the just shall live in his faithfulness (or ‘his faith’).”
While he is waiting for the answer God contrasts the attitude of those whom He has spoken about and whom he is again about to describe, with the attitude of the truly righteous. He assures him that he knows exactly what the king of Babylon, with his people, are like. The one who has subjugated the nations and whose judgment is about to be announced is puffed up. He is arrogant and boastful. He is not upright, or behaving rightly. He is decidedly in the wrong. Therefore he too will receive what he deserves.
‘But the just shall live in his faithfulness.’ On the other hand the righteous man is the exact opposite of the puffed up oppressor. He has faith in God, and is faithful to His covenant. Here is the secret of successful living in the face of all doubt and tribulation. Whatever happens and whatever God’s answer, the righteous will live because of his faith, and in his faithfulness. He is confident in God. The idea of ‘live’ here is more than just remain alive. He will live a fulfilled life, a life with God (compare Eze 33:10-19, where to ‘live’, while containing an element of not dying, also seems to add a similar qualitative factor).
It is, however important to recognise what this means. It is not in his righteousness that he will live, but through his faith which results in his faithfulness, his faithful acceptance of and response to the covenant. What will give him life is His true response to the God of the covenant. This consists of a right attitude of trust and love towards God (Deu 6:4-5), which results in a loving response to His requirements, both ritual and moral. As God’s covenant offered to Israel at Sinai made clear, they must first believe His promise to be their Saviour (Exo 20:2), and then they must respond to it fully and faithfully. Faith and faithfulness to the covenant are both sides of the same coin. So here we may translate both ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness’, for it includes both. (We have no word that is similar). And yet faith precedes faithfulness, for it is the essence of it. A man is faithful because of what he has faith in.
It is the attitude of Abraham. ‘Abraham believed in God and He counted it to him for righteousness’ (Gen 15:6). He exercised personal faith. He believed in Him, he believed in His promises, he believed His covenant. And he responded to it. And God counted this response of faith as righteousness, as putting Abraham in a right relationship with God, simply because he looked up to God and believed Him. And it was the fact of his believing that He counted for righteousness, not his final response, although that naturally followed his belief. They were both part of the whole.
Deu 32:20 also makes clear that faith was important in relation to the covenant, although usually being expressed as ‘covenant love’ (chesed). Covenant love was the outward expression of faith. You do not love someone you do not wholeheartedly believe in. Compare also Psa 78:22 where Israel are rebuked because they did not believe in God and trust in His salvation (compare also Psa 116:9-10; Isa 28:16; Isa 43:10). Thus faithfulness in Habakkuk has a similar meaning. They believed in God and trusted in Him and in His deliverance and responded with faithful lives, lives faithful to the covenant.
This verse was later taken by Paul in its LXX rendering pistis to signify, ‘the righteous by faith will live’ (Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17 see also Heb 10:38). He recognised the heart of the matter. Life comes through faith in God as a result of the sacrifice of Christ (or in the case of Habakkuk’s day, through faith in God as a result of the means of atonement that God had provided).
And he recognised too that faith is something a man cannot ‘do’. He is aware of something and he either believes or he does not. He cannot choose to believe. That is why when Jesus told men that they could be saved through believing He was not saying that they could be saved through anything that they could do, He was rather telling them that if there was a response of faith in their hearts it was evidence that they would be saved. God had drawn them and their response of faith demonstrated that God had done a work in their hearts producing their faith. It was all of God.
This is central to God’s message to Habakkuk. It was both a gentle rebuke and an enlightening. A gentle rebuke because Habakkuk had for a moment lost sight of the centrality of faith and trust in his relationship with, and life with, God, and enlightenment because it centred on what was truly important in an uncertain world. Habakkuk did believe, but he had forgotten for a moment what kind of God he believed in. The true believer trusts in the dark, even when he does not understand. He recognises that God’s ways are beyond his understanding, but must be right in the end. And thus he is faith-full, his faith responds in obedience. It is similar to the trust of a small child in his father, once it is established it is unquestioning because he knows that Daddy knows everything and is always right.
In the New Testament Paul take part of this verse as signifying justification by faith, ‘The just shall live by faith’. This was to make use of LXX. But the idea is the same (and unites James and Paul). The man who truly believes will be faithful. Thus the faithful man is the true believer.
Hab 2:5
“Yes, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer,
A haughty man, and which does not keep at home.
Which enlarges his desire as the grave,
And he is as death and cannot be satisfied,
But gathers to him all nations,
And heaps to him all peoples.”
This verse refers back to Hab 2:4 a, the one whose soul was puffed up and not upright within him. This partly explains why it was so. He is a man of wine. Here wine, and its consequences, is contrasted with faith. In contrast with the man who lives by faith in God is the man or nation who trust in wine for their deliverance (compare Isa 28:1; Isa 28:3). Certainly Israel saw the really dedicated believers as avoiding wine (Num 6:3; Amo 2:12; Jer 35:2-14 compare Lev 10:9). For wine is treacherous and deceives (Isa 28:7). It causes men to be puffed up. It haughtily ignores all argument, all justice and all decency (Isa 5:22-23). It causes men to err and not be upright (Pro 20:1). It is the opposite of faithfulness.
The king who lets himself be influenced by wine becomes expansive in his behaviour (compare Psa 78:65), he does not stay at home (compare Pro 23:30), his desire is enlarged so that it cannot be satisfied. He seeks to grasp everything for himself, and make them drink his wine (Hab 2:15; Jer 51:7). Nations become his playthings. Whether the references to the underworld and death are just examples of what is insatiable, or whether the thought is that he gorges himself on slaughter is an open question. but Hab 2:8 might suggest the latter.
And when God would bring his judgment on men and nations He does so as through wine (Psa 75:8; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15-16). So the wine man drinks is symbolic of his coming judgment (see Hab 2:16).
Thus Habakkuk appears to see the king of Babylon as such a man driven by wine, (Jer 51:7 compares Babylon to a wine goblet, making the nations drink of their wine, and thus can be defined in terms of wine). It is his sustenance and driving force, driving him forward to his conquests. It makes his desire for slaughter as wide as the underworld, the world of the dead (Sheol), and like death itself he can never have sufficient victims. (Alternately these may simply be examples of his expansive conquests). For the thought of wine as man’s god see Mic 2:11, and for its effect on a Babylonian king and his nobles see Dan 5:4 where it resulted in false worship and blasphemy. Perhaps Habakkuk saw all great kings in this light (see also in general Hos 7:5; Hos 4:11; Jer 51:7).
The word for ‘wine’ is ha-yyayin. Some have suggested reading as something like hayyoneh (possibly a waw having been at some time misread as a yod ), ‘the oppressor’, but it is not necessary.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hab 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Hab 2:20
Benny Hinn says that divine silence is produced from abundance and not lack. There is a place in God’s presence where words cannot be spoken. This is where true prayer begins, where the soul no longer labours, but is at rest. [8]
[8] Benny Hinn, This is Your Day (Irving, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Introduction and the First Woe
v. 1. I will stand upon my watch, v. 2. And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, v. 3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, v. 4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, v. 5. Yea, also, because he transgresseth by wine, v. 6. shall not all these take up a parable against him, v. 7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, v. 8. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Hab 2:1-3
5. The prophet, waiting for an answer to his expostulation, is bidden to write the oracle in plain characters, because its fulfilment is certain.
Hab 2:1
Habakkuk speaks with himself, and, mindful of his office, waits for the communication which he confidently ex-poets (Jer 33:3). I will stand upon my watch (Isa 21:6, Isa 21:8). As a watchman goes to a high place to see all around and discern what is coming, so the prophet places himself apart from men, perhaps in some secluded height, in readiness to hear the voice of God and seize the meaning of the coming event. Prophets are called “watchmen” (comp. Eze 3:17; Eze 33:2, Eze 33:6; Mic 7:4). The tower; i.e. watch tower, either literally or metaphorically, as in the first clause. Septuagint, , “rook.” What he will say unto me; quid dicatur mihi (Vulgate); , “what he will speak in me”. He watches for the inward revelation which God makes to his soul (but see note on Zec 2:1-13 :0). When I am reproved; ad arguentem me (Vulgate); ; rather, to my complaint, referring to his complaint concerning the impunity of sinners (Hab 1:1-17 :18-17). He waits till he hears God’s voice within him what answer he shall make to his own complaint, the expostulation which he had offered to God. There is no question here concerning the reproofs which others levelled against him, or concerning any rebuke conveyed to him by Godan impression given by the Anglican Version.
Hab 2:2
Jehovah answers the prophet’s expostulation (Hab 1:12, etc.). Write. That it may remain permanently on record, and that, when it comes to pass, people may believe in the prophet’s inspiration (Joh 13:19; comp. Isa 8:1; Isa 30:8; Jer 30:2; Rev 1:11). The vision (see Hab 1:1 : Oba 1:1). The word includes the inward revelation as well as the open vision. Upon tables; upon the tables (Deu 27:8); i.e. certain tablets placed in public places, that all might see and read them (see Isaiah, loc. cit.); Septuagint, , “a boxwood tablet” The summary of what was to be written is given in Hab 2:4. This was to be “made plain,” written large and legibly. Septuagint, . That he may run that readeth it. The common explanation of these words, viz. that even the runner, one who hastens by hurriedly, may be able to read it, is not borne out by the Hebrew, which rather means that every one who reads it may run, i.e. read fluently and easily. So Jerome, “Scribere jubetur planius, ut possit lector currere, et nullo impedimento velocitas ejus et legendi cupido teneatur.” Henderson, comparing Dan 12:4, “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased,” interprets the clause to signify that whosoever reads the announcement might run and publish it to all within his reach. “‘ To run,'” he adds, “is equivalent to ‘to prophesy’ in Jer 23:21,” on the principle that those who were charged with a Divine message were to use all despatch in making it known. In the passage of Daniel, “to run to and fro,” is explained to mean “to peruse.”
Hab 2:3
For. The reason is given why the oracle is to be committed to writing. Is yet for an (the) appointed time. The vision will not be accomplished immediately, but in the period fixed by God (comp. Dan 8:17, Dan 8:19; Dan 11:27, Dan 11:35). Others explain, “pointeth to a yet future time.” But at the end it shall speak. The verb is literally “breathes,” or “pants;” hence the clause is better rendered, and it panteth (equivalent to hasteth) towards the end. The prophecy personified yearns for its fulfilment in “the end,” not merely at the destruction of the literal Babylon, but in the time of the endthe last time, the Messianic age, when the world power, typified by Babylon, should be overthrown (see Daniel, loc cit.). And not lie; it deceiveth not; , “not in vain”. It will certainly come to pass. Wait for it. For the vision and its accomplishment. Because it will surely come. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (10:37) quotes the Septuagint Version of this clause, applying it to the last coming of Messiah (plus , Hebrew) ( , Hebrew); so the Vulgate, Veniens veniet, et non tardabit. The original passage does not primarily refer to the coming of Messiah, but as the full and final accomplishment of the prophecy doubtless belongs to that age, it is not a departure from the fundamental idea to see in it a reference hereto. It will not tarry; it will not be behindhand; it will not fail to arrive (Jdg 5:28; 2Sa 20:5).
Hab 2:4
6. The great principle is taught that the proud shall not continue, but the just shall live by faith. The prophecy commences with a fundamental thought, applicable to all God’s dealings with man. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; literally, behold, puffed up, his soul is not upright in him. This is a description of an evil character (especially of the Chaldean) in opposition to the character delineated in the following hemistich. One who is proud, presumptuous, thinks much of himself, despising others, and is not straightforward and upright before God, shall not live, shall not have a happy, safe life; he carries in himself the seeds of destruction. The result is not expressed in the first hemistich, but may be supplied from the next clause, and, as Knabenbauer suggests, may be inferred from the language in Heb 10:38, Heb 10:39, where, after quoting the Septuagint rendering of this passage, , the writer adds, “But we are not of them that shrink back () unto perdition.” Vulgate, Ecce, qui incredulus est, non erit recta anima ejus in semetipso, which seems to confine the statement to the ease of one who doubts God’s word. But the just shall live by his faith. The “faith” here spoken of is a loving trust in God, confidence in his promises, resulting in due performance of his will. This hemistich is the antithesis to the former. The proud and perverse, those who wish to be independent of God, shall perish; but, on the other hand, the righteous shall live and be saved through his faith, on the condition that he puts his trust in God. The Hebrew accents forbid the union, “the just by faith,” though, of course, no one can be just, righteous, without faith. The passage may be emphasized by rendering, “As to the just, through his faith he shall live.” This famous sentence, which St. Paul has used as the basis of his great argument (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; comp. Heb 10:38), in its literal and contextual application implies that the righteous man will have perfect trust in God’s promises and will be rewarded by being safe in the day of tribulation, with reference to the coming trouble at the hands of the Chaldeans. When the proud, greedy kingdom shall have sunk in ruin, the faithful people shall live secure. But the application is not confined to this circumstance. The promise looks beyond the temporal future of the Chaldeans and Israelites, and unto a reward that is eternal. We see how naturally the principle here enunciated is applied by the apostle to teach the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ. The LXX. gives, i,e. “by faith in me.” The Speaker is God. St. Paul omits . Habakkuk gathers into one sentence the whole principle of the Law, and indeed all true religion.
Hab 2:5
7. The character of the Chaldeans in some particulars is intimated. The general proposition in the former hemistich of Hab 2:4 is here applied to the Chaldeans, in striking contrast to the lot of the just in the latter clause. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine. This should be, And moreover, wine is treacherous. A kind of proverbial saying (Pro 20:1). Vulgate, Quomodo vinum potantem decipit. There is no word expressive of comparison in the original, though it may be supplied to complete the sense. The intemperate habits of the Babylonians are well attested (see Dan 5:3, Dan 5:4; Quint. Curt; Dan 5:1, “Babylonii maxime in vinum et quae ebrietatem sequuntur effusi sunt;” comp. Her; 1.191; Xen; ‘Cyrop.,’ 7.5. 15). They used beth the fermented sap of the palm tree as well as the juice of the grape, the latter chiefly imported from abroad. “The wealthy Babylonians were fond of drinking to excess; their banquets were magnificent, but generally ended in drunkenness”. Neither the Septuagint, nor the Syriac, nor the Coptic Version has any mention of wine in this passage. The Septuagint gives, , “the arrogant and the scorner.” He is a proud man, neither keepeth he at home; a haughty man, he resteth not. His pride is always impelling him to new raids and conquests. This is quite the character of the later Chaldeans, and is consistent with the latter part of the verse. The comparison, then, is this: As wine raises the spirits and excites men to great efforts which in the end deceive them, so pride rouses these men to go on their insatiate course of conquest, which shall one day prove their ruin. The verb translated “keepeth at home” has the secondary sense of “being decorous;” hence the Vulgate gives, Sic erit vir superbus, et non decorabitur; i.e. as wine first exhilarates and then makes a man contemptible, so pride, which begins by exalting a man, ends by bringing him to ignominy. Others take the verb in the sense of “continueth not,” explaining that the destruction of Babylon is here intimated. But what follows makes against this interpretation. The LXX. gives, , which Jerome, combining with it his own version, paraphrases, “Sic vir superbus non decorabitur, nec voluntatem suam perducet ad finem; et juxta Symmachum, , hoc est, in rerum omnium erit penuria.” Who enlargeth his desire as hell; Hebrew, Sheol. Hell is called insatiable (Pro 27:20; Pro 30:16; Isa 5:14). Is as death, which seizes all creatures and spares none. People; peoples.
Hab 2:6-8
8. The destruction of the Babylonians is announced by the mouth of the vanquished nations, who utter five woes against their oppressor. The first woe: for their rapacity.
Hab 2:6
All these. All the nations and peoples who have been subjugated and barbarously treated by the Babylonians (comp. Isa 14:4). A parable. A sententious song (see note on Mic 2:4). A taunting proverb. The Anglican Version combines the two Hebrew words, which stand unconnected, into one notion. So the Vulgate, loquelam aenigmatum. The latter of the two generally means “riddle,” “enigma;” the other word (melitzah) is by some translated, “a derisive satirical song,” or “an obscure, dark saying;” but, as Keil and Delitzsch have shown, is better understood of a bright, clear, brilliant speech. So the two terms signify “a speech containing enigmas,” or a song which has double or ambiguous meanings (comp. Pro 1:6). Septuagint, , . Woe (Nah 3:1). This is the first of the five “woes,” which consist of three verses each, arranged in strophical form. Increaseth that which is not his. He continues to add to his conquests and possessions, which are not his, because they are acquired by injustice and violence. This is the first denunciation of the Chaldeans for their insatiable rapacity. How long? The question comes in interjectionallyHow long is this state of things to continue unpunished (comp. Psa 6:3; Psa 90:13)? That ladeth himself with thick clay; Septuagint, , “who loadeth his yoke heavily;” Vulgate, aggravat contra se densum lutum. The renderings of the Anglican and Latin Versions signify that the riches and spoils with which the conquerors load themselves are no more than burdens of clay, which are in themselves worthless, and only harass the bearers. The Greek Version seems to point to the weight of the yoke imposed by the Chaldeans on them; but Jerome explains it differently, “Ad hoc tantum saevit ut devoret et iniquitatis et praedarum onere quasi gravissima torque se deprimat.” The difficulty lies in the abtit, which forms an enigma, or dark saying, because, taken as two words, it might pass current for “thick clay,” or “a mass of dirt,” while regarded as one word it means “a mass of pledges,” “many pledges.” That the latter is the signification primarily intended is the view of many modern commentators, who explain the clause thus: The quantity of treasure and booty amassed by the Chaldeans is regarded as a mass of pledges taken from the conquered nations a burden of debt to be discharged one day with heavy retribution. Pusey, “He does in truth increase against himself a strong pledge, whereby not others are debtors to him, but he is a debtor to Almighty God, who careth for the oppressed (Jer 17:11).”
Hab 2:7
That shall bite thee. As thou hast cruelly treated others, so shall they, like fierce vipers (Jer 8:17), bite thee. Henderson, Delitzsch, Keil, and others see in the word a double entendre connected with the meaning of “lending on interest,” so the “biting” would signify “exacting a debt with usury.” Such a term for usury is not unknown to classical antiquity; thus (quoted by Henderson) Aristoph; ‘Nub.,’ 12
“By the expenditure deep bitten,
And by the manger and the debts”
Lucan, ‘Phars.,’ 1.181,” Hinc usura vorax, avidumque in tempore faenus.” The “biters” rising up suddenly are the Persians who destroyed the Babylonian power as quickly and as unexpectedly as it had arisen. Vex; literally, shake violently, like (Luk 3:14), or like the violent arrest of a creditor (Mat 18:28); Septuagint, , “thy plotters;” Vulgate, lacerantes te. So of the mystic Babylon, her end comes suddenly (Rev 18:10, Rev 18:17).
Hab 2:8
The law of retaliation is asserted. All the remnant of the people (peoples) shall spoil thee. The remnant of the nations subjugated and plundered by the Chaldeans shall rise up against them. The downfall of Babylon was brought about chiefly by the combined forces of Media, Persia, and Elam (Isa 21:2; Jer 1:9, etc.); and it is certain that Nebuchadnezzar, at one period of his reign, conquered and annexed Elam; and there is every probability that he warred successfully against Media (see Jer 25:9, Jer 25:25; Judith 1:5, 13, etc.); and doubtless many of the neighbouring tribes, which had suffered under these oppressors, joined in the attack. Because of men’s blood. Because of the cruelty and bloodshed of which the Babylonians were guilty. For the violence of (done to) the land, of the city (see Hab 2:17). The statement is general, but with special reference to the Chaldeans’ treatment of Judaea and Jerusalem, as in Isa 43:14; Isa 45:4; Jer 51:4, Jer 51:11. Jerome takes “the violence of the land,” etc; to mean the wickedness of the Jews themselves, which is to be punished. He is led astray by the Septuagint, which gives, , “through the iniquity of the land.”
Hab 2:9-11
9. The second woe: for their avarice, violence, and cunning.
Hab 2:9
That coveteth an evil covetousness to his house; better, gaineth evil gains for his house. The “house” is the royal family or dynasty, as in Hab 2:10; and the Chaldean is denounced for thinking to secure its stability and permanence by amassing godless gains. That he may set his nest on high. This is a figurative expression, denoting security as well as pride and self-confidence (comp. Num 24:21; Job 39:27, etc.; Jer 49:16; Oba 1:4), and denotes the various means which the Chaldeans employed to establish and secure their power (comp. Isa 14:14). Some see in the words an allusion to the formidable fortifications raised by Nebuchadnezzar for the protection of Babylon, and the wonderful palace erected by him as a royal residence. It is certain that Nebuchadnezzar and other monarchs, after successful expeditions, turned their attention to building and enriching towns, temples, and palaces (see Josephus, ‘Cont. Ap.,’ 1:19, 7, etc.). From the power of evil; from the hand of evil; i.e. from all calamity.
Hab 2:10
The very means he took to secure his power shall prove his ruin. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house. By thy measures thou hast really determined upon, devised shame and disgrace for thy family; that is the result of all thy schemes, By cutting off many people (peoples). This is virtually correct. The verb in the present text is in the infinitive, and may depend upon the verb in the first clause. The versions read the past tense, , concidisti. So the Chaldee and Syriac. This may be taken as the prophet’s explanation of the shameful means employed. Hast sinned against thy soul (Pro 8:36; Pro 20:2). Thou hast endangered thy own life by provoking retribution. The Greek and Latin Versions have, “Thy soul hath sinned.”
Hab 2:11
Even inanimate things shall raise their voice to denounce the Chaldeans’ wickedness. The stone shall cry out of the wall. A proverbial expression to denote the horror with which their cruelty and oppression were regarded; it is particularly appropriate here, as these crimes had been perpetrated in connection with the buildings in which they prided them. selves, and which were raised by the enforced labour of miserable captives and adorned with the fruits of fraud and pillage. Compare another application of the expression in Luk 19:40. Jerome quotes Cicero, ‘Orat. pro Marcello,’ 10, “Parietes, medius fidius, ut mihi videntur, hujus curiae tibi gratias agere gestiunt, quod brevi tempore futura sit ilia auctoritas in his majorum suorum et suis sedibus”. Wordsworth sees a literal fulfilment of these words in the appalling circumstance at Belshazzar’s feast, when a hand wrote on the palace wall the doom of Babylon (Dan 5:1-31.). And the beam out of the timber shall answer it. “The tie beam out of the timber work shall” take up the refrain, and “answer” the stone from the wall. The Hebrew word (Kaphis) rendered “beam” is an . It is explained as above by St. Jerome, being referred to a verb meaning “to bind.” Thus Symmachus and Theodotion translate it by . Henderson and others think it means “a half brick,” and Aquila renders it by , “something baked.” But we have no evidence that the Babylonians in their sumptuous edifices interlaced timber and half bricks. The LXX. gives, , a beetle, a worm, from the wood. Hence, referring to Christ on the cross, St. Ambrose (‘Orat. de Obit. Theod.,’ 46) writes, “Adoravit ilium qui pependit in ligno, illum inquam qui sicut scarabaeus clamavit, ut persecutoribus suis peccata condonaret.” St. Cyril argues that tie beams were called from their clinging to and supporting wall or roof. Some reason for this supposition is gained by the fact that the word canterius, or cantherius, is used in Latin in the sense of “rafter.”
Hab 2:12-14
10. The third woe: for founding their power in blood and devastation.
Hab 2:12
The Chaldeans are denounced for the use they make of the wealth acquired by violence. That buildeth a town with blood (Mic 3:1-12 :19, where see note). They used the riches gained by the murder of conquered nations in enlarging and beautifying their own city. By iniquity. To get means for these buildings, and to carry on their construction, they used injustice and tyranny of every kind. That mercy was not an attribute of Nebuchadnezzar we learn from Daniel’s advice to him (Dan 4:27). The captives and deported inhabitants of conquered countries were used as slaves in these public works (see an illustration of this from Koyunjik, Rawlinson’s ‘Anc. Men.,’ 1:497). What was true of Assyria was no less true of Babylon. Professor Rawlinson (2:528, etc.) tells of the extreme misery and almost entire ruin of subject kingdoms. Not only are lands wasted, cattle and effects carried off, the people punished by the beheading or impalement of hundreds or thousands, but sometimes wholesale deportation of the inhabitants is practised, tons or hundreds of thousands being carried away captive. “The military successes of the Babylonians,” he says (3:332), “were accompanied with needless violence, and with outrages not unusual in the East, which the historian must nevertheless regard as at once crimes and follies. The transplantation of conquered races may, perhaps, have been morally defensible, notwithstanding the sufferings which it involved. But the mutilations of prisoners, the weary imprisonments, the massacre of non-combatants, the refinement of cruelty shown in the execution of children before the eyes of their fathers,these and similar atrocities, which are recorded of the Babylonians, are wholly without excuse, since they did not so much terrify as exasperate the conquered nations, and thus rather endangered than added strength or security to the empire. A savage and inhuman temper is betrayed by these harsh punishments, one that led its possessors to sacrifice interest to vengeance, and the peace of a kingdom to a tiger-like thirst for blood we cannot be surprised that, when final judgment was denounced against Babylon, it was declared to be sent in a great measure ‘because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwelt therein.'”
Hab 2:13
Is it not of the Lord of hosts? Hath not God ordained that this, about to be mentioned, should be the issue of all this evil splendour? That the people shall labour in the very fire; rather, that the peoples labour for the.fire; i.e. that the Chaldees and such like nations expended all this toil on cities and fortresses only to supply food for fire, which, the prophet sees, will be their end (Isa 40:16). Jeremiah (Jer 51:58) applies these and the following words to the destruction of Babylon. This is indeed to weary themselves for very vanity. Babylon, when it was finally taken, was given over to fire and sword (comp. Jer 50:32; Jer 51:30, etc.).
Hab 2:14
The prophet now gives the reason of the vanity of these human undertakings. For the earth shall be filled, etc. The words are from Isa 11:9, with some little alterations (comp. Num 14:21). This is cue of the passages which attests “the community of testimony,” as it is called, among the prophets. To take a few out of many cases that offer, Isa 2:2-4 compared with Mic 4:1-4; Isa 13:19-22 with Jer 1:1-19 :39, etc.; Isa 52:7 with Nah 1:15; Jer 49:7-22 with Oba 1:1-4; Amo 9:13 with Joe 3:18 (Lodd, ‘Doctrine of Scripture,’ 1:145). All the earth is to be filled with, and to recognize, the glory of God as manifested in the overthrow of ungodliness; and therefore Babylon, and the world power of which she is a type, must be subdued and perish. This announcement looks forward to the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom, which “shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and shall stand forever” (Dan 2:44). We must remember how intimately in the minds of Eastern heathens the prosperity of a nation was connected with its local deities. Nothing in their eyes could show more perfectly the impotence of a god than his failing to protect his worshippers from destruction. The glory of Jehovah and his sovereignty over the earth would be seen and acknowledged in the overthrow of Babylon, the powerful, victorious nation. As the waters cover the sea. As the waters fill the basin of the sea (Gen 1:22; 1Ki 7:23, where the great vessel of ablution is called “the sea”).
Hab 2:15-17
11. The fourth woe: for base and degrading treatment of subject nations.
Hab 2:15
Not only do the Chaldeans oppress and pillage the peoples, but they expose them to the vilest derision and contumely. The prophet uses figures taken from the conduct produced by intemperance. That giveth his neighbour drink. The Chaldeans behaved to the conquered nations like one who gives his neighbour intoxicating drink to stupefy his faculties and expose him to shame (comp. Hab 2:5). The literal drunkenness of the Chaldeans is not the point here. That puttest thy bottle to him. If this translation is received, the clause is merely a strengthened repetition of the preceding with a sudden change of person. But it may be rendered, “pouring out, or mixing, thy fury,” or, as Jerome, “mittens fel suum,” “adding thy poison thereto.” This last version seems most suitable, introducing a kind of climax, the “poison” being some drug added to increase the intoxicating power. Thus: he gives his neighbour drink, and this drugged, and in the end makes him drunken also. For the second clause the Septuagint gives, , subversione turbida and the versions collected by Jerome are only unanimous in differing from one another That thou mayest look on their nakedness. There seems to be an allusion to the case of Noah (Gen 9:21, etc.); but the figure is meant to show the abject state to which the conquered nations were reduced, when, prostrated by fraud and treachery, they were mocked and spurned and covered with ignominy (comp. Nah 3:5, Nah 3:11). So the mystic Babylon is said to have made the nations drink of her cup (Rev 14:8; Rev 17:2; Rev 18:3).
Hab 2:16
Just retribution falls on Babylon. Thou art filled with shame for glory. Thou art satiated, indeed, but With shame, not with glory. Thou hast revelled in thy shameless conduct to the defencelses, but this redounds to thy dishonour, and will only add to the disgrace of thy fall The Septuagint joins this clause with part of the following: “Drink thou also fulness of shame for glory.” Drink thou also the cup of wrath and retribution. Let thy foreskin be uncovered. Be thou in turn treated with the same ignominy with which thou hast treated others, the figure in Hab 2:15 being here repeated (comp. Lam 4:21). It is otherwise translated, “Be thou,” or “show thyself, uncircumcised.” This, in a Jew’s eyes, would be the very climax of degradation. The Vulgate has consopire, from a slightly different reading. The LXX; “Be tossed, O my heart, and shaken.” The present text is much more appropriate, though the Syriac and Arabic follow the Greek here. The cup of the Lord’s right hand. Retributive vengeance is often thus figured (comp. Psa 60:3; Psa 75:8; Isa 51:17, Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15, etc.). Shall be turned unto thee. God himself shall bring round the cup of suffering and vengeance to thee in thy turn, and thou shalt be made to drink it to the dregs, so that shameful spewing (foul shame) shall be on thy glory. The kikalon is regarded as an intensive signifying “the utmost ignominy”, or as two words, or a compound word, meaning vomitus ignominiae (Vulgate). It was probably used by the prophet to suggest both ideas.
Hab 2:17
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee; LXX; : iniquitas Libani (Vulgate). It would be plainer if translated, “the violence against,” or “practised on, Lebanon,” as the sentence refers to the devastation inflicted by the Chaldeans on the forests of Lebanon (comp. Isa 14:8; Isa 37:24). Jerome confines the expression in the text to the demolition of the temple at Jerusalem in the construction of which much cedar was employed; others take Lebanon as a figure for Palestine generally, or for Jerusalem itself; but it is best understood literally. The same devastation which the Chaldeans made in Lebanon shall “cover,” overwhelm, and destroy them. And the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid. The introduction of the relative is not required, and the passage may be better translated, And the destruction of beasts made them (others read “thee”) afraid. Septuagint, “And the wretchedness of the beasts shall affright thee.” Jerome, in his commentary, renders, “Et vastitas animalium opprimet te.” The meaning is that the wholesale destruction of the wild animals of Lebanon, occasioned by the operations of the Chaldeans, shall be visited upon this people. They warred not only against men, but against the lower creatures too; and for this retributive punishment awaited them. Because of men’s blood, etc. The reason rendered in Hab 2:8 is here repeated. Of the land, etc; means “toward” or “against” the land.
Hab 2:18-20
12. The fifth woe: for their idolatry.
Hab 2:18
The final woe is introduced by an ironical question. The Chaldeans trusted in their gods, and attributed all their success to the divine protection; the prophet asksWhat good is this trust? What profiteth the graven image? (comp. Isa 44:9, Isa 44:10; Jer 2:11). What is the good of all the skill and care that the artist has lavished on the idol? (For “graven” or “molten,” see note on Nah 1:14.) And a (even the) teacher of lies. The idol is so termed because it calls itself God and encourages its worshippers in lying delusions, in entire contrast to Jehovah who is Truth. From some variation in reading the LXX. gives, , and Jerome, “imaginem falsam” (comp. Jer 10:14). Trusteth therein. The prophet derides the folly which supposes that the idol has powers denied to the man who made it (Isa 29:16). Dumb idols; literally, dumb nothings. So 1Co 12:2, . There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew, elilim illemim.
Hab 2:19
The prophet now denounces the folly of the maker and worshipper of idols. With this and the following verses compare the taunts in Isa 44:9-20. The wood. From which he carves the image. Awake! Come to my help, as good men pray to the living God (comp. Psa 35:23; Psa 44:1-26 :28; Isa 51:9). Arise, it shall teach! The Hebrew is bettor rendered, Arise! it teach! i.e. shall this teach?an emphatic question expressing astonishment. Vulgate, Numquid ipse docere poterit? The LXX. paraphrases, , “and itself is a phantasy.” It is laid, over. “It” is again emphatic, as if pointed at with the finger. Hence the Vulgate, Ecce iste coopertus est; and Henderson, “There it is, overlaid,” etc. The wooden figure was encased in gold or silver plates (see Isa 40:19; Dan 3:1).
Hab 2:20
The prophet contrasts the majesty of Jehovah with these dumb and lifeless idols. His holy temple. Not the shrine at Jerusalem, but heaven itself (see Psa 11:4, and note on Mic 1:2). Let all the earth keep silence before him. Like subjects in the presence of their king, awaiting his judgment and the issue to which all these things tend (comp. Hab 2:14; Psa 76:8, etc.; Zep 1:7; Zec 2:13). Septuagint, , .., “Let all the earth fear before him.”
HOMILETICS
Hab 2:1-3
The prophet upon his watch tower.
I. THE OUT LOOKING PROPHET. (Hab 2:1.) Having spread out before Jehovah his complaint, Habakkuk, determined to stand upon his watch tower or station himself upon his fortress, and to look forth to see what Jehovah would speak within him, and what reply in consequence he should give to his own complaint. The words indicate the frame of mind to be cherished and the course of conduct to be pursued by him who would hold communion with and obtain communications from God. There must be:
1. Holy resolution. No soul can come to speaking terms with God without personal effort. Certainly God may speak to men who make no efforts to obtain from him either a hearing or an answer, but in general those only find God who seek him with the whole heart (Psa 119:2). Prophets frequently received revelations which they had not sought (Gen 12:7; Exo 3:2; Exo 24:1; Isa 6:1; Eze 1:1; Dan 7:1), but as often the Divine communications were imparted in answer to specific seeking (Gen 15:13; Exo 33:18; Dan 9:2; Act 10:9) In the same way may God discover himself, disclose his truth, and dispense his grace to individuals, as he did to Saul of Tarsus (Act 9:1-6), without their previous exertions to procure such distinguished favours; but in religion, as in other matters, it is the hand of the diligent that maketh rich (2Pe 1:10).
2. Spiritual elevation. He. who would commune with God must, like Habakkuk, “stand upon his watch tower, and station himself upon his fortress,” not literally and bodily, but figuratively and spiritually. It is not necessary to suppose that Habakkuk went up to any steep and lofty place in order the better to withdraw himself from the noise and bustle of the world, and the more easily to fix his mind on heavenly things and direct his soul’s eye Godward. Abraham certainly was on the summit of Moriah when Jehovah appeared to him; Moses was called up to the top of Sinai to meet with God (Exo 24:1; Exo 34:2); Jehovah revealed himself to Elijah upon the mount of Horeb (1Ki 19:11); Balaam went to “an high place” to look out for a revelation from God (Num 23:3); the disciples were on the crest of Hermon when Christ was transfigured before them (Mat 17:1); and even Christ himself spent whole nights in prayer with God among the hills (Joh 6:15). Local elevation and corporeal isolation may be usefully employed to aid the heart in abstracting itself from mundane things; yet this only is the elevation and isolation that brings the soul in contact with God (Mat 6:6). When David prayed he retired into the inner chamber of his heart (Psa 19:14; Psa 49:3) and lifted up his soul to God (Psa 25:1).
3. Confident expectation. Habakkuk believed that his prayers and complaints would not pass unattended to by God. He never doubted that God would reply to his supplications and interrogations. So he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb 11:6). It was David’s habit, after directing his prayer to God, to look up expecting an answer (Psa 5:3), and it ought to be the practice of Christians first to ask in faith (Jas 1:6), and then to confidently hope for an answer.
4. Patient attention. Though Habakkuk had no doubt as to the fact that God would speak to him, he possessed no assurance either as to the time when or as to the manner in which that speaking would take place. Hence he resolved to possess his soul in patience and keep an attentive outlook. So David waited on and watched for God with patient hope and close observation (Psa 62:5; Psa 130:5). So Paul exhorted Christians to “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col 4:2). Many fail to obtain responses from God, because they either are not sufficiently attentive to discern the tokens by which God speaks to his people, or lack the patience to wait till he chooses to break silence.
5. Earnest introspection. The want of this is another frequent cause of failure on the part of those who would but do not hear God speak. Habakkuk understood that if God answered him it would be by his Spirit speaking in him, and that accordingly he required not to watch for “signs” in the firmament, in the earth, or in the sea, but to listen to the secret whisperings that he heard within himself. So David exhorted others to commune with their own hearts upon their bed (as doubtless he himself did), if they would know the mind of God (Psa 4:4); and Asaph, following his example, observed the same godly practice (Psa 77:6). While God has furnished lessons for all in the pages of nature and revelation, it is in the domain of the inner man, enlightened by his Word and taught by his Spirit, that his teaching for the individual is to be sought.
II. THE IN SPEAKING GOD. (Verse 2.) Habakkuk had not long to wait for the oracle he expected; and neither would modern petitioners be long without answers were their waiting more like Habakkuk’s. Three things were announced to the prophet.
1. That he should receive a vision. Jehovah would not leave his dark problem unsolved, would afford him such a glimpse into the future of the Chaldean power as would effectually dispel all his doubts and tears, would unveil to him the different destinies of the righteous and the wicked in such a way as to enable him calmly to endure until the end; and exactly so has the Christian obtained in the Bible such light upon the mystery of Providence as helps him to look forward to the future for its full solution. The vision about to be granted to Habakkuk was
(1) definite, i.e. for an appointed time, and so is the vision now granted to the Christian for a time as well known to God (though not to the Christian) as any moment in the past has been;
(2) distant, i.e. to be fulfilled after a longer or shorter interval, and so has the day of the clearing up of the mystery of providence for the Christian been “after a long time;” but still
(3) certain, i.e. it would surely come to pass, and so will all that God has revealed in Scripture concerning the different destinies of the righteous and the wicked come to pass. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not God’s Word (Mat 24:35).
2. That he should write the vision. Whether a literal writing upon a tablet (Ewald, Pusey) was intended, as Isaiah (Isa 8:1; Isa 30:8) and Jeremiah (Jer 30:2) were directed to write down the communications received by them from God; or whether it was merely a figurative writing (Hengstenberg, Keil) that was meant, as in the ease of Daniel (Dan 12:4); the intention manifestly was that Habakkuk should publish the vision he was about to receivepublish it in terms so clear and unambiguous that persons who only gave it a casual glance would have no difficulty in understanding it. This has been done, not with reference to Habakkuk’s vision merely, but as regards the whole Bible, which is not only “all plain to him that uuderstandeth” (Pro 8:9), but is able to “make wise the simple” (Psa 19:7), and guide in safety “the wayfaring man, though a fool” (Isa 35:8). The object contemplated by the writing (literal or figurative) of Habakkuk’s vision was
(1) the comfort of God’s people in Judah during the period of waiting that should intervene between then and the day of their enemy’s overthrow; and
(2) the interpretation of the vision when the incidents occurred to which it referred. The same purposes are subserved by the Word of God, and especially by those prophetic parts which foretell the destruction of the enemies, and the salvation of the people, of God.
3. That he should wait for the vision. It might be delayed, but it should come. Hence he should possess his soul in patience. So should Christians wait patiently for the coming of the Lord for their final redemption and for the overthrow of all the Church’s foes (Jas 5:8). The contents of the vision are narrated in the verses which follow.
LESSONS.
1. The dignity of man, as a being who can converse with God; the condescension of God in that he stoops to talk with man.
2. The duty and the profit of reflection and meditation; the sin and loss of those who never commune with their own hearts.
3. The simplicity of the Bible a testimony to its divinity; had it been man’s book it would not have been so easy to understand.
4. The certainty that Scripture prediction will be fulfilled; the expectation of this should comfort the saints; the realization of this will vindicate God.
Hab 2:4, Hab 2:5
The unjust man and the just: a contrast.
I. THEIR CHARACTERS.
1. The unjust man.
(1) Proud or “puffed up” in soul. The heart the seat and source of all sin; pride its origin and essence (Psa 10:4; Psa 52:7; Pro 16:5; Mal 4:1). Arrogant haughtiness and self-sufficiency characteristic of the carnal heart (Rom 1:30; Eph 4:17). These qualities had marked the Assyrian (Isa 10:12), and were to distinguish the Chaldean (Hab 2:5) conqueror. They discover themselves in all who oppose or decline from the spirit of Christ (1Co 5:2; Php 2:3; 3Jn 1:9). They will eventually culminate in antichrist (2Th 2:4).
(2) Wicked or ungodly in life. His soul, being thus puffed up with pride, is not “upright” or “straight” within him; is not free from turning and trickery; does not in its thoughts, feelings, words, and actions adhere to the straight path of integrity, but loves “crooked ways” and devious roads, and thus turns aside unto iniquity (Psa 125:5). Again true of the Chaldean, whose iniquitiesdrunkenness, boasting, restless ambition, insatiable lust of conquest, relentless oppressionare specifically enumerated (Hab 2:5), it holds good also of the natural heart and carnal mind (Jer 13:10; 2Ti 3:2).
(3) Rejected or “condemned” by God. This implied in the fact that he is not a just or “justified” man.
2. The just man.
(1) Believing in soul. As pride or trust in self is the animating principle of the wicked, so is faith or trust in God that of the good. Faith the root of all moral and spiritual excellence in the soul. As the proud soul stands aloof from God, the humble heart cleaves to God, as “that which is straight, being applied to what is straight, touches and is touched by it everywhere.”
(2) Upright in life. As pride leads to disobedience, faith leads to obedience. Hence Paul speaks of “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5), i.e. such obedience as is inspired by faith. The soul that trusts God, walks in his ways, avoids sin, and endeavours to order his conversation aright (Psa 1:1-6 :23; 1Pe 2:5). Faith and holiness are in the gospel scheme inseparably connected (Joh 15:8; Rom 2:13; Eph 2:10; Tit 3:8).
(3) Accepted by God. Paul in Romans (Rom 1:17), and the writer to the Hebrews (Heb 10:38), by quoting this statement from Habakkuk, teach that the “just” and the “justified” are onethat the just in the Scripture sense of that expression are those legally and spiritually righteous before God.
II. THEIR DESTINIES.
1. That of the unjustdeath. Though not stated, this may be inferred.
(1) The soul of which the inward essence is pride and self-sufficiency is destitute of spiritual life, is dead. “Swollen with pride, it shuts out faith, and with it the presence of God” (Pusey); and “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6).
(2) The man who lives in sin is dead while he liveth (1Ti 5:6)dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1), and so long as he remains a stranger to the principle of faith which the breath of God’s Spirit alone can awaken in the unrenewed, he must continue “dead,” i.e. incapable of actions spiritually good.
(3) The sinner not accepted before God is of necessity condemned by God; and to be under condemnation is to be “legally dead.”
2. That of the justlife. Not necessarily life physical and temporal, because the “justified” die no less than their neighbours (Heb 9:27); but
(1) life legal and judicial”he that believeth shall never come into condemnation” (Joh 3:18; Joh 5:24; Rom 8:1);
(2) life moral and spiritual, which Scripture connects with faith in God and in his Son Christ Jesus as a stream with its fountain, as a tree with its root, as an effect with its cause (Act 15:9; Act 26:18; 2Th 1:11; Gal 2:20); and
(3) life indestructible and eternal, this being always a quality ascribed to the life which the justified man receives through his faith (Joh 3:36 Joh 5:24; Joh 11:26; 1Jn 2:25; 1Jn 5:11; 1Ti 1:16; 1Ti 6:12; Tit 1:2; Tit 3:7). All other life but that which Christ bestows is temporal and perishing.
Hab 2:6-8
A parable of woes: 1. Woe to the rapacious!
I. THEIR PERSONS IDENTIFIED.
1. The Chaldean nation, in its kings and people, who were animated by a lust of conquest, which impelled them upon wars of aggression.
2. The enemies of the Church of God and of Jesus Christ, whether national or individual, in whom the same spirit dwells as resided in the Babylonian power. God’s promises and threatenings in the Bible have almost always a wider sweep and a larger reference than simply to those to whom they were originally addressed.
II. THEIR SIN SPECIFIED. Spoliation, robbery, theft, plunder. A wickedness:
1. Unjust; as all theft is. In heaping up the spoils of plundered nations, the Chaldean was increasing what was not his; and the same is done by those who store up money or goods gotten by fraud or oppression. What men acquire by violence or guile is not theirs. How much of the wealth of modern nations and of private persons is of this character may not be told; to assert that none is may be charity, but is not truth. The practices complained of by James (Jas 5:4-6) have not bees unknown since his day.
2. Insatiable; as the lust of possession is prone to be. The plundered nations are depicted as askingHow long is this devastating power to go on despoiling peoples weaker than himself? Is his career of rapine never to be arrested? Will his thirst for what belongs to others never be quenched? So “he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase” (Ecc 5:10). The passion for heaping up ill-gotten gains grows by what it feeds on. Those who determine to enrich themselves at the expense of others seldom know when to stop. Almost never do they cry, “Enough!” till retribution, overtaking them, strips them of all.
3. Vain; as all sin will ultimately prove to be. The foreign property taken by the Chaldean from other nations, the prophet characterizes as “pledges” exacted from them by an unmerciful creditor, perhaps intending thereby to suggest that the Chaldean would be “compelled to disgorge them in due time” (Keil). The idea, true of all man’s earthly possessions (Job 1:21)
“Whate’er we fondly call our own
Belongs to heaven’s great Lord;
The blessings lent us for a day
Are soon to be restored,”
is much more applicable to wealth acquired by fraud or oppression (Jer 17:11). The day will come when, if not by the robbed themselves, by God the rightful Owner of the wealth (Hag 2:8) and the strong Champion of the oppressed (Psa 10:18), it will be demanded back with interest (Job 20:15).
III. THEIR PUNISHMENT DESCRIBED.
1. Certain. “Shall not all these take up a parable against him?” The overthrow of the Chaldean is so surely an event of the future that the very nations and peoples he has plundered, or the believing remnant amongst them, will yet raise a derisive song over his miserable and richly merited fall; and just as surely will the rapacious plunderer of others be destroyed, and his destruction be a source of satisfaction to beholders (Pro 1:18, Pro 1:19).
2. Heavy. The wealth he has stolen from others will be to him as a “burden of thick clay” that will first crush him to the earth, making the heart within him wretched and the spirit sordid and grovelling, and finally sink him into a hopeless and cheerless grave (Ecc 2:22, Ecc 2:23; Ecc 6:2; Psa 49:14).
3. Sudden. Retribution should fall upon the Chaldean in a momenthis biters should rise up suddenly, and his destroyers wake up as from a sleep to harass him (verse 7); and in such fashion will the end be of “everyone that is greedy of gain and taketh away the life of the owners thereof” (Pro 1:19); he may “spend his days in wealth,” but “in a moment he shall go down to the grave” (Job 21:13); he may “heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay,” but he shall “lie down and not be gathered;” he shall “open his eyes, and behold! he is not” (Job 27:16, Job 27:19).
4. Retributive. The Chaldean should be spoiled by the nations he had spoiled. So will violent and rapacious men reap what themselves have sowed. How often is it seen that money goes as it comes! Acquired by speculation or gambling, it is lost by the same means. He who robs others by violence or fraud not unfrequently is himself robbed by another stronger or craftier than he. “Whatsoever a man soweth,” etc. (Gal 6:7).
LESSONS.
1. “Provide things honest in the sight of all men” (Rom 12:17).
2. “Do violence to no man” (Luk 3:14).
3. “If thou do that which is evil, be afraid” (Rom 13:4).
Hab 2:9-11
A parable of woes: 2. Woe to the covetous!
I. THEIR AIM.
1. Personal comfort. Suggested by the term “nest,” which for the Chaldean meant Babylon with its palaces, and for the individual signifies his mansion or dwelling place (Job 29:18). Josephus (‘Ant.,’ 10:11, 1) states that Nebuchadnezzar built for himself a palace “to describe the vast height and immense riches of which would be too much fur him (Josephus) to attempt;” and Nebuchadnezzar himself tells us in his inscription that he constructed “a great temple, a house of admiration for men, a lofty pile, a palace of his royalty for the land of Babylon,” “a large edifice for the residence of his royalty,” and that within it were collected as an adornment “trophies, abundance, royal treasures” (‘Records of the Past,’ 5:130, etc.). Men who set their hearts on riches mostly do so under the impression that these will add in their comfort and increase their happinessto them comfort and happiness being synonymous with large, beautiful, and well plenished houses (Psa 49:11).
2. Social distinction. Pointed at by the word “high,” in which notions of elevation and visibility are involved. For one rich man that covets wealth to augment his bodily comfort or mental gratification, then seek it for the lustre in others’ eyes it is supposed to give. The upper classes in society are the wealthy; the under or lower classes are the poor. None notice the wise man who is poor (Ecc 9:16); the rich fool stands upon a pedestal and receives the homage of admiring crowds (Pro 14:20). The same delusive standard is employed in estimating the greatness of nations. Wealth is commonly accepted by the world as the true criterion of rank. Rich nations take precedence of poor ones. In God’s sight money is the smallest distinction that either country or person can wear.
3. Permanent safety. Stated by the clause, “that he may be delivered from the power [or, ‘the hand’] of evil” The Babylonian sovereigns as individuals and as rulers held the delusion that the best defence against personal or national calamity was accumulated treasure (Pro 10:15; Pro 18:11). Nebuchadnezzar in particular used his “evil gain” for the fortification of his metropolis, building around it “the great walls” which his father Nabopolassar had begun but not completed, furnishing these with great gates of ikki and pine woods and coverings of copper, to keep off enemies from the front, and rearing up a tall tower like a mountain, so rendering it, as he supposed, “invincible” (‘Records of the Past,’ 5:126, etc.). In a like spirit men imagine that “money is a defense” (Ecc 7:12), and that he who has a large balance at his banker’s need fear no evil. But “riches profit not in the day of wrath” (Pro 11:4); and just as certainly as Nebuchadnezzar’s “eagle’s nest” was not beyond the reach of the Persian falconer, so neither will the wicked man’s silver and gold be able to deliver him when his end is come (Jer 51:13; Eze 7:19; Zep 1:18).
II. THEIR SIN.
1. Against God. This evident from the nature of the offence, which God’s Law condemns (Exo 20:17), as well as from the evils to which it leadsoppression, pride, self-sufficiency, and self-destruction.
2. Against others. In carrying out its wicked schemes covetousness usually involves others in ruin. It impelled the Chaldean to cut off many peoples. It drives those whom it inspires to deeds of violence, robbery, oppression, and murder (Pro 1:19; 1Ti 6:10).
3. Against themselves. The covetous burden their own souls with guilt; and so, while professing to seek their own happiness and safety, are in reality accelerating their own misery and destruction.
III. THEIR FATE.
1. Disappointment. Whereas the covetous man expects to set his house on high, he usually ends by involving it in shame (Pro 15:27); instead of promoting its stability, as the result of all his scheming he commonly accomplishes its overthrow (Pro 11:28).
2. Vengeance. Likening the covetous nation or man to a house builder, the prophet says that “the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it,” as it were uniting their voices in a solemn cry to Heaven for vengeance on the avaricious despoiler. Almost literally fulfilled in the history of Belshazzar (Dan 6:24-28), the words are often verified in the experiences of communities and individuals who are destroyed by that very prosperity in which they have trusted (Pro 1:32).
LESSON, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness” (Luk 12:15).
Hab 2:12-14
A parable of woes: 3. Woe to the ambitious!
I. THE CRIMINALITY OF THEIR AMBITION.
1. The object aimed at. To build towns and establish cities. Not necessarily a sinful project, unless the motive or the means be bad. City building may have originated in a spirit of defiance against Jehovah (Gen 4:17), though this is not certain; but cities may be, as they often are, centres and sources of incalculable blessing to mankind. If they help to multiply the forces of evil, they also serve to intensify those of good. Cities promote the good order of society, stimulate intellectual life, increase the privileges, opportunities, and comforts of individuals, and so tend to accelerate the march of civilization, by quickening movements of reform and combining against public evils. Hence, though “God made the country,” and “man made the town” (Cowper), it need not be assumed that city founding is against the Divine willit can hardly be, since he himself has prepared for us a city (Heb 11:16). Only as there are cities and cities, so are there diversities in the modes of their construction.
2. The means resorted to. Blood and iniquity. Murder, bloodshed, transportation, and tyranny of every kind the Babylonian sovereigns employed to enrich their capital and strengthen their empire; and one is not sure whether in modern times cities are not sometimes built and kingdoms strengthened by similar methods, viz. by wars of aggression against foreign peoples, and by the enforcement of sinful treaties upon unwilling but weak governments. With regard to individuals, there is no room for doubt that often they build the houses of which a city consists in the way here indicated, if not by bloodshed exactly, at least by iniquity, paying for them by ill-gotten gains, and erecting them by means of under paid labour.
II. THE VANITY OF THEIR AMBITION.
1. The fact of it. They, i.e. the peoples (nations or individuals), who build towns and cities as above described, “labour for the fire” and “weary themselves for vanity;” i.e. exert themselves to erect buildings that the fire will one day consume, and weary themselves in producing structures that will one day be laid in ruins. What is here said about Babylon is true of all earthly things (2Pe 3:10), and ought to moderate the strength of men’s desires in running after them.
2. The certainty of it. It is already determined of the Lord of hosts. It is part of his counsel that permanence shall not attach to anything here below (1Jn 2:17), and least of all to the productions of iniquity. Individuals may be allowed to wait for their ultimate overthrow till the day of death or the end of the world, but cities and nations, having no future, are usually visited with doom in the present. The overthrow in time of nations and empires that are built up by bloodshed and iniquity may be safely counted on. Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, are examples.
3. The reason of it. “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.” That is to say, because this is the destiny of the world, the goal towards which all things terrestrial are moving, it is impossible that the ambitious projects of man should be allowed permanently to succeed. All superstructures, however solidly built, must be overthrown, all organizations, however compactly formed, must be broken up, that hinder the advancement of that happy era which Jehovah has promised. Hence the triumph of Babylon will come to an end, and with that the glory of Jehovah will shine forth with a brighter degree of effulgence. Men will see in that a display of Jehovah’s character and power never witnessed before. The knowledge of his glory will take a wider sweep and extend over a larger area than before. The same principle demanded the overthrow of Rome, and demands the final destruction of all God’s enemies, that the knowledge of his glory may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Learn:
1. The sin and folly of ambition.
2. The beauty and wisdom of humility.
Hab 2:15-17
A parable of woes: 4. Woe to the insolent!
I. WANTON WICKEDNESS.
1. Symbolically set forth. The image employed is that of giving to one’s neighbour drink from a bottle with which “vengeance,” “fury,” or “wrath,” or, according to another interpretation, “poison,” has been mixed, in order to intoxicate him, that one might have the devilish enjoyment of looking on his nakedness, as Ham did on that of Noah, or generally of glorying in his shame. To infer from this that the bare act of giving to a neighbour drink is sinful, is not warranted by Scripture (Pro 31:6; Ecc 9:7; 1Ti 5:23), and is going beyond the intention of the prophet, who introduces the “picture from life,” not as an instance of one sort of wickedness in itself, but as a symbol of another sort of wickedness on the part of the Chaldean. Still, the action selected by the prophet has in it several elements of wickedness which are worthy of consideration. It the mere giving of drink to another is not sinful (Pro 31:6), the doing so out of malice (“adding venom or wrath thereto”) is, while the sin is aggravated by practising deception in connection therewith (“mixing poison therewith””drugging the wine,” as the modern phrase is), and intensified further by the motive impelling thereto (to be able to gloat over the neighbour’s degradation), and most of all condemned by being done against a neighbour to whom one owes not wrath but love, not casting down but lifting up, not exulting in his shame but rejoicing in his welfare. The words can hardly be construed into a condemnation of those who give and take wine or other drinks in moderation and to the glory of God; but they unquestionably pronounce him guilty in God’s sight who deliberately and maliciously makes his fellow man drunk in order to enrich or amuse himself at that fellow man’s expense.
2. Historically acted out.
(1) By the Chaldean, who drew the nations of the earth into his power by means of poisoned flatteries Enticed to place themselves beneath his tutelage, these nations ultimately fell into his power, and were by him oppressed, degraded, and insulted.
(2) By modern nations, who to enrich themselves enforce upon weaker tribes treaties and traffic (whether of opium or of strong drink) which lead to their moral enfeeblement.
(3) By private individuals, who for their own gain or pleasure hurl their neighbours with sublime indifference into gulfs of misery and shame.
II. APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT.
1. Of Divine sending. Jehovah’s goblet, of which he had caused the nations to drink, should be handed round to the Chaldeans and other guilty nations and individuals, who should all be compelled to drink of it (Psa 75:8).
2. Of terrible severity. It should be as shameful as that which the Chaldeans had inflicted upon the nations. It should cause him also to be drunken, and should expose his foreskin to others (cf. Isa 47:3). It should cover his glory with shame as when the attire of a drunken man is bespattered with his vomiting. Of sinners generally it is written that “shame shall be the promotion of fools” (Pro 3:35).
3. Of retributive character. The wickedness of the Chaldean should return upon his own pate. The violence he had done to Lebanon (the Holy Land or the fair regions of the earth generally) should rebound upon himself. The destruction of the beasts, i.e. practised upon wild animals which, by their incursions, cause men to assemble against them, should crush the Chaldean who had become as a ferocious beast (Pusey); or the destruction inflicted by the Chaldean on the wild beasts of Lebanon and other districts by cutting down the wood thereof for military purposes or for state buildings, should return upon them with avenging fury (Keil). The same law of retribution obtains in the punishment of sinners generally (Mat 7:2).
Learn:
1. The sin of drunkenness.
2. The greater sin of making others drunk.
3. The acme of sin, exulting in the moral overthrow of others.
4. The certainty that none of these acts of sin will go unpunished.
5. The fitness that this should be so.
Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19
A parable of woes: 5. Woe to the idolatrous!
I. IDOLATRY AN ABSURDITY. It must ever be so. The notion that any figure fashioned by man out of wood or stone, silver or gold, however carved or gilded, can either be or represent the Infinite and Eternal One, carries the stamp of unreason on the face of it (Psa 115:4-8; Isa 44:19; Jer 10:5).
II. IDOLATRY A FRAUD. Set up as gods, and worshipped as such, graven and molten images are a hideous imposition upon man’s credulity, being
(1) lifeless,”There is no breath at all in the midst of them;”
(2) speechless,the carved wood and graven stone are Mike “dumb” (1Co 12:2), and only fools would say to them, “Arise, and teach!”
(3) truthless,in so far as they can be supposed to impart instruction being veritable “teachers of lies;” and
(4) valueless,of no use or profit to any one on earth and beneath the sun (Jer 10:5).
III. IDOLATRY A RUINATION. It brings with it a woe upon all who are deluded by it. It entails upon them God’s curse (Deu 27:15) and endless sorrow (Psa 16:4) and everlasting death (Rev 21:8).
LESSON. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1Jn 5:21).
Hab 2:20
The temple of Jehovah.
I. THE HOLY TEMPLE.
1. Its material dimensions. The universe. “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord” (Jer 23:24). “The Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in temples made with hands,” but in that which his own hands have fashioned (Act 17:24). He “filleth all in all” (Ephesians L 23).
2. Its inner shrine. Heaven, the habitation of his holiness (Deu 26:15; Isa 63:15), his dwelling place (1Ki 8:43; 2Ch 6:33), the throne of his glory (Psa 11:4; In. Psa 66:1), the place of his immediate presence (Psa 16:11; Psa 17:15), the abode of the redeemed (Psa 73:24; Rev 4:4), his temple proper (Rev 7:15; Rev 16:1).
3. Its distinctive designation. Holy, as being the temple of a holy God, which only the holy in spirit can enter, and in which holy services alone can be performed.
II. THE INDWELLING DEITY.
1. His name. Jehovah, the Self-existent and Immutable One. “I am that I am” (Exo 3:14).
2. His attributes. Omnipresence, since he is in his holy temple (Exo 20:24; Jer 23:24); omniscience, since all are before him (Psa 66:7; Pro 5:21; Pro 15:3).
3. His character. Gracious, since he condescends to receive the homage of worshippers, and to hold communication and correspondence with them.
II. THE SILENT WORSHIPPERS.
1. Their persons. “All the earth;” i.e. all the inhabitants thereof, if all are not as yet (Psa 74:20; 1Co 10:20), all ought to be (Exo 20:3; Exo 34:14; Mat 4:10), and all one day will be (Psa 22:27; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14; Rev 15:4) worshippers of the one living and true God.
2. Their attitude. “Before him”in his presence, beneath his eye, before his throne, at his footstool. God’s worshippers should strive to realize the immediate presence of him whom they worship (Psa 51:11; Psa 95:2; Psa 100:2).
3. Their devotion. “Silence;” expressive of reverence before his majesty (Psa 89:7), of submission beneath his authority (Psa 31:2), of trust in his mercy (Psa 130:5), of expectant waiting for his utterances whether of commandment or promise (Psa 85:8).
Learn:
1. That the highest glory of the universe is God’s presence in it.
2. That man’s truest hope springs from the vicinity of God.
3. That the finest worship may at times be inaudible.
4. That God oftenest speaks to those who are waiting to hear him.
HOMILIES BY S.D. HILLMAN
Hab 2:3
Waiting for the vision.
In this chapter we have set forth the doom of Babylon. The prophet had given to him glimpses of the future as affecting the adversaries of his people. The Divine voice within him gave assurance that the power of the oppressor should at length be broken. He saw the solution of the dark problem which had perplexed him so much concerning the victory to be gained over his people by the Chaldeans. The triumphing of the wicked should be short, and should be followed by their utter collapse. Yet there would be delay ere this should come to pass. The darkness which brooded over the nation should not be at once dispersed; indeed, it should even become more dense in the working out of the Divine purposes. Defeat must be experienced, the Captivity must be endured, and the faithful and true must suffer in consequence of sins not their own. Still, ultimately, “light should arise,” and meanwhile, so long as the gloom continued, it behoved him and his people to trust and not be afraid, assured that in God’s time the vision of peace and prosperity should dawn upon them. “Though it tarry, wait for it,” etc. (Hab 2:3). The truth suggested is that even the best of men have to experience seasons of darknesstimes when everything appears adverse to them, but that it shall not be ever thus with them, that brighter scenes are before them, and that hence their duty in the present is tranquilly and trustfully to wait the development of God’s all-wise and gracious purposes. This teaching admits of various applications.
I. TEMPORAL CIRCUMSTANCES. These are not always easy and prosperous. Sources of perplexity may at any moment arise. There may come slackness of trade; new rivals may appear, causing sharp and severe competition; losses may have to be sustained; and in this way, from a variety of causes, “hard times” may have to be passed through. And under such circumstances we should trust and not be afraid, knowing that all our interests are in our loving Father’s keeping. He has promised us a sufficiency. “His mercies are not the swift, but they are the sure, mercies of David.” We must not be less hopeful and trustful than the little red breast chirping near our window pane, even in the wintry weather. “Behold the fowls of the air,” etc. (Mat 6:26). Then, “though the vision,” etc.
II. LIFE‘S SORROWS. These have fallen upon men at times with a crushing weight. All has appeared dark; not a ray of light has seemed to penetrate the gloom. Yet still they have found that, whilst the vision of hope has been deferred, it has been realized at last, filling their hearts with holy rapture. Jacob lived long enough to see that neither Joseph nor Benjamin had been really taken from him, and that those circumstances which he regarded as being against him were all designed to work out his lasting good. Elijah cast himself down in the wilderness and slept. And, lo! angel guards attended him and ministered unto him, new supplies of strength were imparted, the sunshine of the Divine favour beamed upon him, and he who thought he ought to die under a lonely tree in the desert was ultimately altogether delivered from experiencing the pangs of the last conflict, and was borne in triumph to the realms of everlasting peace. The Shunammite had her lost child restored; the exiled returned at length with songs unto Zion. The Egyptians painted one of their goddesses as standing upon a rock in the sea, the waves roaring and dashing upon her, and with this motto, “Storms cannot move me.” What that painted goddess was in symbol we should seek to be in reality, unmoved and unruffled by the tempests which arise in the sea of life, assured that there awaits us a peaceful and tranquil haven. Then, “though the vision,” etc.
III. SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION. The Christian life is not all shadow. It has its sunny as well as its shady side. The good have their seasons of joyseasons in which, believing, they can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Yet they have also their seasons of depression. There is “the midnight of the soul,” when the vision of spiritual light and peace and joy tarries; and it is then their truest wisdom to trust and to wait, assured that in due time God will make them glad by lifting upon them “the light of his countenance.” “Who is among you that feareth the Lord?” etc. (Isa 50:10); “Though the vision,” etc. (Hab 2:3).
IV. CHRISTIAN WORK. The great purpose of this is the deliverance of men from the thraldom of sin. The vision we desire to behold an accomplished reality is that of the dry bones clothed afresh, inspired with life, and standing upon their feet, an exceeding great army, valiant for God and righteousness. But the vision tarries! Spiritual death and desolation reign! What then? Shall we despair? Shall we express doubt as to whether the transformation of the realm of death into a realm of spiritual life shall ever be effected? No; though the vision tarry, we will wait for it, knowing that it will surely come; for “the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” So Robert Moffat laboured for years without gaining any converts from heathenism, but at length a few were won, and he commemorated with these the death of Christ. “Our feelings,” he wrote, “were such as pen cannot describe. We were as those that dreamed while we realized the promise on which our souls often hung (Psa 126:6). The hour had arrived on which the whole energies of our souls had been intensely fixed, when we should see a Church, however small, gathered from amongst a people who had so long boasted that neither Jesus nor we his servants should ever see Bechuanas worship and confess him as their King.” And so shall the faith and patience of all workers for God be rewarded, since the issue is guaranteed and the harvest home of a regenerated world shall be celebrated amidst rapturous joy.S.D.H.
Hab 2:4 (last clause)
The life of faith.
There are two forms of life referred to in Scripturethe life of sense, and the life of faith. These differ in their bent (Rom 8:5), and also in the issues to which they tend (Rom 8:13). The sincerely righteous man, “the just,” has tested both these. Time was when he lived the former, but, satisfied as to its unreality, he now looks not at the things which are seen, but at those which are unseen (2Co 4:18). His motto is Gal 2:20. “The just shall live by his faith.” These words are quoted by St. Paul (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11), and also by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (10:38). The New Testament writers were diligent students of the Old Testament, and we may learn from their example not to treat those more ancient writings as being of comparative unimportance They, however, use this expression of the Prophet Habakkuk in a somewhat different sense from that in which he employed it, and apply it to the exposition and enforcement of the important doctrine of “justification by faith.” The thought possessing the mind of the seer was that the righteous man exercises an implicit confidence in God; and adopting this course is preserved and protected, and experiences tranquillity and happiness under every circumstance of life. In reflecting upon his words our attention may appropriately be directed to some of the circumstances in which “the just” may be placed, with a view to indicating how that, under these, their faith in God strengthens and sustains them, and enables them truly to live.
I. “The just shall live by their faith” in times of DECLENSION IN RELIGION. Such declension prevailed in the age to which this prophet belonged. The mournful words with which his prophecy commences indicate this (Hab 1:2-4). Many similar times of declension have risen among the nations, and when the falling away from the true and the right has been widespread. So also has it been with Christian communities. Watchfulness has been neglected, and prayer has been restrained; there has been a lack of the spirit of Christian unity and concord; there has been the fire upon the altar, but, alas? it has been in embers; the lamp has been burning, but it has given only a flickering light. “The just,” under such circumstances, are grieved as they view the state of religion around them, but whilst sad at heart in view of such declension and of the way in which it dishonours God, they are also inspired with confidence and hope. Their trust is in him. They know that with him is the residue of the Spirit.” Whilst praying the prayer of this prophet, “O Lord, revive thy work” (Hab 3:2), they can also, like him, express this confident assurance, “For the earth shall be filled,” etc. (Hab 2:14). And so it comes to pass that in the season of declension in religion, when many around have lost the fervour of their love and loyalty to God and to righteousness, “the just shall live by his faith.”
II. “The just shall live by their faith” in times of NATIONAL CALAMITY. Chastisement follows transgressions to nations as well as to individuals. Judah had wandered from God, and, lo! he permitted them to fall into the hands of the Chaldeans; and it was the mission of Habakkuk to foretell the approaching Captivity. National calamities have been experienced by our own people. Sometimes it has come to us in the form of war. The appeal has been made to the arbitrament of the sword; and even although we have been victorious, the triumph has been secured at an enormous sacrifice of life, with all the bitter suffering to survivors thus involved. Or pestilence has prevailed. The destroying angel has swept over the land, sparing neither the old nor the young, and numbering thousands among his victims. And in the midst of these faith grasps the rich promises of God and rests unswervingly on him. Let the Chaldean warriors come on horses swifter than the leopards and more fierce than the evening wolves, let them in bitterness and haste traverse the breadth of the land, resolved to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs, let them scoff at kings and scorn princes and gather the captivity as the sand, still the hearts of the faithful shall be upborne, for in the time of national calamity, and when hearts uncentred from God are breaking, “the just shall live by his faith.”
III. LEAVING THE EXACT CONNECTION OF THE TEXT, THE TRUTH CONTAINED IN IT RECEIVES ILLUSTRATION FROM THE VARIED CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE GOOD ARE PLACED HERE. Take the two extremes of prosperity and adversity.
1. Some enjoy great temporal prosperity. The temptations of such are
(1) pride,
(2) worldliness,
(3) indolence,
(4) selfishness, and yielding to which they lack those higher joys and nobler aspirations in which consists the true life.
Walking by faith, the good man is preserved from yielding to the influence of these temptations. Strong in faith, he will see that all his prosperity is to be ascribed to him who giveth power to get wealth, and thus pride will be laid low. Strong in faith, he will realize that there are other treasures, incorruptible and unfading, and with mind and heart directed to the securing of these, he will think less of this world’s pomp and vanity and show. Strong in faith, he will feel that he has a work to do for God, and that the additional influence prosperity has secured to him ought to be held as a sacred trust to be used to God’s glory, and hence he will be preserved from seeking merely his own ease and enjoyment. And strong in faith, he will view himself as a steward of all that he has, and will therefore seek to be God’s almoner to the needy around him. So shall he live by his faith.
2. Others have to pass through adverse scenes; and the faith that strengthens in prosperity wilt also sustain amidst life’s unfavourable influences. Resting in the Lord and in the glorious assurances of his Word, his servants can outride the severest storm, quietly acquiescing and bravely enduring. Ruskin remarks that there is good in everything in God’s universe, that there is hardly a roadside pond or pool which has not as much landscape in it as above it, that it is at our own will that we see in that despised stream either the refuse of the street or the image of the sky, that whilst the unobservant man knows simply that the roadside pool is muddy, the great painter sees beneath and behind the brown surface what will take him a day’s work to follow, but he follows it, cost what it will, and is amply recompensed, and that the great essential is an eye to apprehend and to appreciate the beautiful which lies about us everywhere in God’s world. And this is what we want spirituallythe eye of faith, and then shall we see, even in the most opposite of the experiences which meet us in life, God’s gracious operation, and the vision shall thrill us with holy joy. “The just shall live by his faith.” This life of faith is a life characterized by true blessedness. There can be no real happiness whilst we are opposing our will to the will of God; but if our will is renewed by his grace, if we are trusting in the Saviour and following him along the way of obedience to the Divine authority and of resignation to the Divine purpose, then amidst all the changing scenes of our life our peace shall flow like a river, and we shall experience joy lasting as God’s throne.S.D.H.
Hab 2:6-8
Covetousness.
In the remaining portion of this chapter the prophet dwells upon the sins prevailing amongst the Chaldeans, and indicates the misery these should entail. His utterances, taken together, form a satirical ode directed against the Chaldeans, who, though not named, are yet most clearly personified. In the general statement respecting them in Hab 2:5 allusion is made to their rapacity, and the first stanza in the song is specially directed to this greed, which was so characteristic of that nation. The words of the prophet suggest to us respecting the sin of covetousness, that
I. IT IS UNSATISFYING IN ITS NATURE. It is compared (Hab 2:5) to Hades and death, that crave continually for more. “The covetous man is like Tantalus, up to the chin in water, yet thirsty.” Necessarily it must be so, for “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth” (Luk 12:15). Wealth can only yield satisfaction in proportion as it is acquired, not for its own sake, but to be consecrated to high and holy purposes. George Herbert sings
“Be thrifty, but not covetous. Get, to live;
Then live and use it: else it is not true
That thou hast gotten.”
II. IT LEADS TO INJUSTICE AND OPPRESSION. The covetous man “increaseth that which is not his” (Hab 2:6). He disregards the rights of others. He uses all who come within his power with a view to his own aggrandizement. Self is the primary consideration with him, and influences all his movements. “He oppresseth the poor to increase his riches,” and out of their grinding poverty and want he grows fat. He is ready to take any mean advantage so as to add to his own stores. He demands heavy security of the debtor, and exacts crushing interest, and “ladeth himself with thick clay” (Hab 2:6), i.e. “loadeth himself with the burden of pledges.”
III. IT INCURS SURE RETRIBUTION. Whether this sin is committed by individuals or nations, it is alike “woe” unto such; for there shall assuredly follow Divine judgments. Habakkuk represents the Chaldeans as one who had gathered men and nations into his net (Hab 1:14-17), and as having “spoiled many nations” (verse 8), and Jeremiah confirms these representations of their rapacity by describing them as “the hammer” (Jer 50:23) and the destroyer (Jer 51:25) of the whole earth; and they also declare that there should overtake them certain retribution for the wrongs they had thus done and the sorrows they had thus occasioned, and that the spoiler should be at length spoiled (verses 7, 8). In the destruction of the Chaldean empire by the Medes and Persians we have the fulfilment of the threatenings, whilst, at the same time, we hear the voice of God speaking to us in the events of history and saying,, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness!”S.D.H.
Hab 2:9-11
Corrupt ambition.
Ambition may be pure and lofty, and when this is the case it cannot be too highly commended. It is “the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.” “It is to the human heart what spring is to the earth, making every root and bud and bough desire to be more.” Headway cannot be made in life apart from it, and destitute of this spirit a man must be outstripped in the race. Ambition, however, may take the opposite form, and it is to ambition corrupt and low in its nature that these verses refer. Observe indicated here concerning such unworthy ambition.
I. ITS AIM. The concern of the rulers of Babylon was to secure unlimited supremacy, to reach an eminence where, secure from peril and in the enjoyment of ease and luxury, they might, without restraint, exercise despotic control over the nations. “That he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil” (Hab 2:9). False ambition, whether in individuals or nations, is directed to the attainment of worldly distinction, authority, and power, and has its foundation in pride and selfesteem.
II. ITS UNSCRUPULOUSNESS. “They coveted an evil covetousness to their house” (Hab 2:9), totally disregarding the sacredness of property and the rights of man. Their acts were marked by oppression, plunder, and cruelty; they impoverished feebler nations and even “cut off many people” (Hab 2:10) in seeking the accomplishment of their selfish purposes. So is it ever that such ambition breaks the ties of blood and forgets the obligations of manhood.”
III. ITS ISSUE. The prophet indicates that all this self-seeking and self-glorying must end in disgrace and dishonour.
1. The very monuments reared thus in the spirit of pride should bear adverse testimony. In the language of poetry he represents the materials which they had obtained by plunder and which they had brought from other lands into Chaldea, to be used in the construction of their stately edifices, as protesting against the way in which they had been obtained and the purposes to which they had been applied (Hab 2:11).
2. Shame and ruin should overtake the schemers and plotters themselves. “Thou hast sinned against thy soul” (Hab 2:10). Whatever their material gain, they had become spiritually impoverished by their course of action. They had degraded their higher nature and had incurred guilt and condemnation.
3. All connected with them should share in the disgrace and dishonour. “Thou hast consulted shame to thy house” (verse10); “God visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him” (Exo 20:5); “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house” (Pro 15:27). Men who have sought, by grasping and extortion, or by war and conquest, to establish and .perpetuate a high reputation, have, through their unrighteous deeds, passed away in ignominy, leaving to their posterity a tarnished and dishonoured name. “The house of the wicked shall be overthrown; but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish” (Pro 14:11).S.D.H.
Hab 2:12-14
The two kingdoms: a contrast.
Reference is made in these verses to two kingdomsthe kingdom of Babylon and the kingdom of God; and this association serves to indicate several points of contrast.
I. THE GLORY OF THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD IS MATERIAL; THE GLORY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS SPIRITUAL. The glory of Chaldea centred in its magnificent city of Babylon, so grand in its situation, its edifices, it defences, and in the stores of treasure it contained, its greatness consisting thus in its material resources; but the glory of the kingdom of God is spiritual. It is “the glory of the Lord” that constitutes its excellenceall moral beauty and spiritual grace abounding therein.
II. THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE OFTEN BEEN FOUNDED AND ESTABLISHED BY MEANS OF WRONG DOING; THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS FOUNDED AND ESTABLISHED IN PURE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS. The Chaldeans, by their superior might and powers, conquered other tribes, and with the spoils of war and the forced labour of the conquered they reared their cities. They “built a town with blood, and established a city by iniquity” (Hab 2:12); but “a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of God’s kingdom.”
III. HUMAN TOIL IS INVOLVED IN THE INTERESTS OF BOTH; yet notice, by way of contrast;
1. Toil in the interests of earthly kingdoms is often compulsory and is rendered reluctantlyaliens who had fallen as captives into the power of the Chaldeans were made to labour and serve; but toil in the interests of God’s kingdom is ever voluntary and is rendered lovingly and without constraint.
2. Toil in the interests of earthly kingdoms is often toil for that which shall be destroyed, and which shall come to nought. “The people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity” (Hab 2:13), i.e. they should labour in erecting edifices which should be consumed by fire, and thus their toil prove in vain; but toil in the interests of God‘s kingdom shall prove abiding and eternal in its results.
3. The workers of iniquity, no matter how earnest their toil, should be covered eventually with dishonour and shame“Woe to him!” etc. (Hab 2:12)but all true toilers for God and righteousness shall be divinely approved and honoured.
IV. THE PROSPERITY OF MATERIAL KINGDOMS IS UNCERTAIN; WHEREAS THE TRIUMPH OF GOD‘S SPIRITUAL KINGDOM IS ASSURED. “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth.”
V. EARTHLY KINGDOMS ARE LIMITED IN EXTENT; BUT THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM OF OUR GOD SHALL ATTAIN UNTO UNIVERSAL DOMINION. “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.“S.D.H.
Hab 2:15-17
God’s retributive justice.
It is a Divine law that “whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap” (Gal 6:7). God is just, and hence will cause retribution to be experienced by evil doers. A striking illustration of the operation of this great law is presented in these verses. Consider
I. THE COURSE THE CHALDEANS HAD ADOPTED TOWARD OTHERS. (Hab 2:15.) The reference in this verse is not to the sin of drunkenness. That sin is a distressing and degrading one, and they are true lovers of their kind who seek to lessen its ravages, to deliver men from its thraldom. It has proved a blight to the children of men all down the ages. The Chaldeans were notorious for it; revellings, banquetings, excess of wine, marked them all through their history, and specially signalized the close of their career. The prophet, however, here simply used this vice as a symbol in order to set forth vividly the course the Babylonians had adopted towards others, and specially to indicate their deceitfulness. Drink drowns the reason, and places its victim at the mercy of any who are mean enough to take advantage of him. And the thought the prophet wished to convey here (Hab 2:15) seems to be that as a man, desiring to injure another, persuades him to take stimulant, and thus, whilst professing good intentions, effects his evil purpose, so had the Chaldeans intoxicated feebler powers by professions of friendship and regard, drawing them into alliance, and then turning upon them to their discomfiture and ruin. And he proceeds to indicate
II. THE COURSE GOD WOULD ADOPT TOWARDS THEM. (Hab 2:16, Hab 2:17.) And in this he traced the Divine retribution of their iniquity. He saw prophetically that:
1. As they had taken advantage of others, so others should in due course take advantage of them (Hab 2:16) and bring them to shame.
2. As they would lay waste his country and take his people into captivity, so subsequently they should themselves be brought to nought, and their empire pass out of their hands (Hab 2:17; comp. Isa 14:8, in which the fir trees and cedars are made to rejoice in the overthrow of Babylon). Our prophet had been perplexed at the thought of the Chaldeans as being the instruments of the Divine justice in reference to his own sinful people, but the mystery was clearing away, and in the final overthrow of Babylon he here foreshadowed, he traced another token that “the Lord is righteous in all his ways.”S.D.H.
Hab 2:18-20
Worship, false and true.
The prophet, in recounting the sins of the Chaldeans, finally recalled to mind the idolatry prevailing amongst them. He thought of the temple of Bel, “casting its shadow far and wide over city and plain,” and of the idolatrous worship of which it was the centre, and he broke forth in words expressive of the utmost scorn and contempt, and then closed his song by pointing to him who alone is worthy to receive the devout adoration and adoring praise of all the inhabitants of the earth. Notice
I. HIS EXPOSURE OF THE WEAKNESS AND FOLLY OF IDOLATRY. (Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19.)
1. He appealed to experience. His own people unhappily had been betrayed into idolatry, and he asked them whether they had ever profited thereby (Hab 2:18).
2. He appealed to reason. The maker of anything must of necessity be greater than that which he fashions with his own hands and as the result of his own skill; hence what greater absurdity could there be than for the maker of a dumb idol to be reposing his trust in the thing he has formed (Hab 2:18)?
3. He denounced the idol priests, who, by using dumb idols as their instrument, made these “teachers of lies” (Hab 2:18).
4. He declared the hopelessness resulting from reposing trust in these. “Woe unto him!” etc. (Hab 2:19).
5. He indulged in scornful satire (Hab 2:19). This verse may be fittingly compared with Elijah’s irony of speech addressed in Carmel to the prophets of Baal (1Ki 18:27). The verse is more effectively rendered in the Revised Version
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake!
To the dumb stone, Arise!
Shall this teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver:
And there is no breath at all in the midst of it.”
The weakness and folly of idolatry as practised in heathen lands is readily admitted by us; yet we are prone to forget that the idolatrous spirit may prevail even amongst those who are encompassed by influences eminently spiritual. Love of the aesthetical may lead us to become sensuous rather than spiritual in worship. Attachment to science may cause us to slight the supernatural and to deify nature. Desire for worldly success may result in our bowing down in the temple of Mammon; so that the counsel is still needed, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1Jn 5:21).
II. HIS PRESENTATION OF JEHOVAH AS BEING SUPREME AND AS ALONE ENTITLED TO THE REVERENT HOMAGE OF HUMAN HEARTS. “But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”
1. The contrast presented here is truly sublime. From impotent idols the seer raises his thoughts and directs attention to the living God.
2. The temple in Jerusalem was the recognized dwelling place of God. The prophet saw looming in the distance the invasion of his country by the idolatrous Chaldeans, followed by the destruction of the temple and the desecration of all he held so sacred in association with it. Still he was assured that through all the coming changes Jehovah would remain the Supreme Ruler and Controller. Unconfined to temples made with hands, their overthrow could not affect his role. “His throne is in the heavens;” he reigns there; and fills heaven and earth, dominating the universe, and guiding and overruling all to the accomplishment of his all-wise and loving purposes. “The Lord is in his holy temple.”
3. Our true position as his servants is that of reverentially waiting before him, acquiescing in his will, trusting in his Word, assured that, despite the prevailing mysteries, the end shall reveal his wisdom and his love. He says to us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Then let no murmuring word be spoken, even when clouds and darkness seem to be round about him; the processes of his working are hidden from our weak view, but the issue is sure to vindicate the unerring wisdom and infinite graciousness of his rule. Happy the man who is led from doubt to faith, who, like this seer, beginning with the complaint, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” etc. (Hab 1:2), is led through calm reflection and hallowed communion to cherish the conviction that “the Lord is in his holy temple, and that all the earth should keep silence before him.”S.D.H.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS
Hab 2:1-3
Man’s moral mission to the world.
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” The prophet, after his supplicatory cry, receives a Divine command to write the oracle in plain characters. because it was certain, although it would not be immediately fulfilled. The first verse is a kind of mouologue. The prophet holds conversation with himself; and he resolves to ascend his watch tower, and look out for a Divine revelation. It is thought by many critics that the watch tower is not to be regarded as something external, some lofty place commanding an extensive view and profound silence, but the recesses of his own mind, into which he would withdraw himself by devout contemplation, I shall use the words of the text to illustrate man’s moral mission to the world. Wherefore are we in this world? Both the theories and the practical conduct of men give different answers to this all-important problem. I shall take the answer from the text, and observe
I. OUR MISSION HERE IS TO RECEIVE COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE ETERNAL MIND. “I will stand upon my watch, and sot me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me.” That man is constituted for and required to receive communications from the Infinite Mind, and that he cannot realize his destiny without this, appears evident from the following Considerations.
1. From his nature as a spiritual being.
(1) He has an instinct for it. He naturally calls out for the living God. As truly as the eye is made to receive light, the soul is made to receive thought from God.
(2) He has a capacity for it. Unlike the lower creatures around us, we can receive the ideas of God.
(3) He has a necessity for it. God’s ideas are the quickening powers of the soul.
2. From his condition as a fallen being. Sin has shut out God from the soul, created a dense cloud between us and him.
3. From the purpose of Christ‘s mediation. Why did Christ come into the world? To bring the human soul and God together, that the Lord might “dwell amongst men.”
4. From the special manifestations of God for the purpose. I say special, for nature, history, heart, and conscience are the natural orders of communication between the human and the Divine. But we have something more than thesethe Bible; this is special. Here he speaks to man at sundry times and in divers manners, etc.
5. From the general teaching of the Bible. “Come now, and let us reason together,” etc.; “Behold, I stand at the door,” etc. But how shall we receive these communications? We must ascend the “tower” of quiet, earnest, devout thought, and there must “watch to see what he will say.”
II. OUR MISSION HERE IS TO IMPART COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE ETERNAL MIND. “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” From this we may conclude that writing is both an ancient and a divinely sanctioned art. Thank God for books! That we have to impart as well as to receive is evident:
1. From the tendency of Divine thoughts to express themselves. It is of the nature of religious ideas that they struggle for utterance. What we have seen and heard we cannot but speak.
2. From the universal adaptation of Divine thoughts. Thoughts from God are not intended merely for certain individuals or classes, but for all the race in all generations.
3. From the spiritual dependence of man upon man. It is God’s plan, that man shall be the spiritual teacher of man.
4. From the general teaching of the Bible. What the prophets and apostles received from God they communicated. “When it pleased God to reveal his Son in me, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood,” etc. (Gal 1:16).
III. OUR MISSION HERE IS TO PRACTICALLY REALIZE COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE ETERNAL MIND. “Though it tarry, wait for it,” etc. The Divine thoughts which we receive we are to realize in our daily life, practically to work out. Here, then, is our moral mission. We are here, brothers, for these three purposes; not for one of them only, but for all. God is to be everything to us; he is to fill up the whole sphere of our being, our “all in all.” We are to be his auditors, hearing his voice in everything; we are to be his organ, conveying to others what he has conveyed to us; we are to be his representatives, manifesting him in every act of our life. All we say and do, our looks and mien, are to be rays reflected from the Father of lights.
CONCLUSION. From this subject we may learn:
1. The reasonableness of religion. What is it? Simply to receive, propagate, and develop communications from the Infinite Mind. What can be more sublimely reasonable than this?
2. The grandeur of a religious life. What is it? The narrowness, the intolerance, the bigotry, the selfishness of many religionists lead sceptics to look upon religion with derision. But what is it? To be a disciple of the all-knowing God, a minister of the all-ruling God, a representative of the all-glorious God. Is there anything grander?
3. The function of Christianity. What is it? To induce, to qualify, and enable men to receive, communicate, and to live the great thoughts of God.D.T.
Hab 2:4
The portraiture of a good man.
“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Whether the man whose soul is represented as “lifted up” refers to the unbelieving Jew or to the Babylonian, is an unsettled question amongst biblical critics; and a question of but little practical moment. We take the words as a portraiture of a good man.
I. A GOOD MAN IS A HUMBLE MAN. This is implied. His soul is not “lifted up.” Pride is not only no part of moral goodness, but is essentially inimical to it. It is said that St. Augustine, being asked, “What is the first article in the Christian religion?” replied, “Humility.” “What is the second?” “Humility.” “And the third?” “Humility.” A proud Christian is a solecism. Jonathan Edwards describes a Christian as being such a “little flower as we see in the spring of the year, low and humble in the ground, opening its bosom for the beams of the sun, rejoicing in a calm rapture, suffusing around sweet fragrance, and standing peacefully and lowly in the midst of other flowers.” Pride is an obstruction to all progress and knowledge and virtue, and is abhorrent to the Holy One. “He resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”
“Fling away ambition,
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by ‘t?”
(Shakespeare.)
II. A GOOD MAN IS A JUST MAN. “The just shall live by his faith.” To be good is nothing more than to be just.
1. Just to self. Doing the right thing to one’s own faculties and affections as the offspring of God.
2. Just to offers. Doing unto others what we would that they should do unto us.
3. Just to God. The kindest Being thanking the most, the best Being loving the most, the greatest Being reverencing the most. To be just to self, society, and God,this is religion.
III. A GOOD MAN IS A CONFIDING MAN. He lives “by his faith.” This passage is quote! by Paul in Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11; it is also quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 10:38). What is faith? Can you get a better definition than the writer of the Hebrews has given in the eleventh chapter and first verse?”Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This definition replies three things.
1. That the things to which faith is directed are invisible. “Things not seen.” These things include things that are contingently unseeable and things that are essentially unseeable, such as thought, mind, God.
2. That some of the invisible things are objects of hope. “Things hoped for.” The invisible has much that is very desirable to usthe society of holy souls, the presence of the blessed Christ, the manifestations of the infinite Father, etc.
3. That these invisible things faith makes real in the present life. “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The realization of the hopeable. Now, it is only by this faith that man can live a just life in this world; the man who lives by sight must be unjust. To be just, he must see him who is invisible.D.T.
Hab 2:5
Moral wrong: some of its national phases.
“Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people.” No doubt Habakkuk was reviled like the other prophets on account of his terrible predictions, as recorded in the preceding chapter (verses 6 and 11). From this verse to the nineteenth the prophet unfolds new visions concerning the national crimes committed by Babylon, and the consequent national calamities approaching. This verse gives some of the national phases of moral wrong as they appeared in Babylon. Evil, like good, is one in essence, but it has many forms and phases. The branches that grow out of the root, whilst filled with the same sap, vary widely in shape and hue. In this verse we have three of its forms.
I. DRUNKENNESS. “He transgresseth by wine;” or, as some render it, “moreover, the wine is treacherous.” This is one of the most loathsome, irrational, and pernicious forms which it can assume. Drunkenness puts the man or the woman absolutely into the hands of Satan, to do whatsoever he willslie, swear, rob, murder, and luxuriate in moral mud. “A drunken man is like a fool, a madman, a drowned man; one draught too much makes him a fool, the second roads, and the third drowns him” (Shakespeare). It is the curse of England. It fills our workhouses with paupers, our hospitals with patients, our jails with prisoners, our mad houses with lunatics, our cemeteries with graves. Moral wrong took this form in ancient Babylon, and it takes this form in England today to an appalling extent. Woe to our legislators, if they do not put it down by the strong arm of the law! Nothing else will do it.
II. HAUGHTINESS. “Is a proud man.” Babylon became inspired with a haughty insolence. She regarded herself as the queen of the world, and looked down with supercilious contempt upon all the other nations of the earth, even upon the Hebrew people, the heavenly chosen race. Nebuchadnezzar expresses the spirit of the kingdom as well as his own, when he says, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan 4:30). It is suggested that the Chaldeans’ love of wine had much to do in the developing of this haughty spirit. We read (Dan 5:1-31.) that Belshazzar at his feast drank wine with the thousands of his lords, his princes, his wives, his concubines. “Wine is a mocker;” it cheats a beggar into the belief that he is a lord. “Strong drink is raging;” it lashes the passions into furious insolence. It is fabled that Aceius the poet, though he was a dwarf, would be pictured a giant in stature. Pride is an evil that leads to ruin. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
III. RAPACITY. Two things are suggested concerning the rapacious form it assumed in Babylon.
1. It was restless. “Neither keepeth at home.” Not content with its own grandeur, wealth, and luxuries, it goes from home in search of others; goes out into other countries to rifle and to rob.
2. It is insatiable. “Who enlargeth his desire as hell [that is, ‘as Sheol, the grave’], and is as death, and cannot be satisfied.” “Hell and destruction,” that is, the grave and death, says Solomon, “are never full.” The grave cries for more and more, as its tenants multiply by millions. The earth seems to hunger and to gape for all the dust that enters into the frames of men. So it was with the Babylonian despot, though he gathered unto him all nations, and heaped unto him all peoples, his greed and ambition remained unsatiated and insatiable. “This,” says an old writer, “is one of the crying sins of our land, insatiable pride. This makes dear rents and great fines; this takes away the whole clothing of many poor to add one lace more in the suits of the rich; this shortens the labourer’s wages, and adds much to the burden of his labour. This greediness makes the market of spiritual and temporal offices and dignities, and puts well deserving virtue out of countenance. This corrupts religion with opinions, justice with bribes, charity with cruelty; it turns peace into schism and contention, love into compliment, friendship into treason, and sets the mouth of hell yet more open, and gives it an appetite for more souls.” Such are some of the forms that moral wrong took in Babylon, as indicated in these words. But these are not the only forms, as we shall see in proceeding through the chapter. Does not moral wrong assume these very forms here in England? Drunkenness, haughtiness, rapacity,these fiends show their hideous shapes everywhere, and work their demon deeds in every circle of life.D.T.
Hab 2:6-8
National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 1.
“Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?” etc. In these verses, up to the nineteenth inclusive, the prophet denounces upon the Chaldeans and Babylonians five different woes. One for their pride and insatiableness (Hab 2:6-8); another for their covetousness, etc; which would become the cause of their corruption (Hab 2:9-11); another for the bloody and cruel means which they had employed for gratifying their thirst for acquiring possessions not their own (Hab 2:12-14); and fourth, for their wickedness, etc; which would be recompensed to them (Hab 2:15-17); and the fifth, for their trust in idols, which would redound to their shame (Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19). We shall take each of the five sections separately under the title, National wrongs ending in national woes. Notice
I. THE NATIONAL WRONGS.
1. Dishonest accumulation. “Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!” Babylon grew wealthy. Its treasures were varied and all but inexhaustible. But whence came they? Came they by honest industry? Were they the home produce of diligent and righteous labour? No; from other lands. They were wrested from other countries by violence and fraud. Even the golden and silver vessels used at the royal feast were taken out of the temple which was at Jerusalem. “No more,” says an old writer, “of what we have is to be reckoned ours than what we came honestly by. Nor will it long be ours, for wealth gotten by vanity will soon diminish.” Take away the ill-gotten wealth of the nations of Europewealth gotten by fraud and violenceand how greatly will they be pauperized! How much of our national wealth has come to us honestly? A question this worth the impartial investigation of every man, and which must be gone into sooner or later.
2. Dominant materialism. “And to him that ladeth himself with thick clay.” Although some render this “ladeth himself with many pledges,” our version, which gives the word “clay,” will cover all. The burning and insatiable desire of Babylon was for material wealth; and the men or the nation who succeed in this, only lade themselves with “thick clay” It is a bad thing for moral spirits to be laden with “thick clay.” See the individual man who so pampers his animal appetites until he becomes a Falstaff. His spirit is laden with “thick clay.” See the nation whose inspiration is that of avaricious merchandise, and whose god is mammon; its spirit is laden with “thick clay.” Ah me! what millions are to be found in all civilized countries who are buried in “thick clay”! Clay is everything to them.
3. Extensive plunder. “Thou hast spoiled many nations.” The first monarchy we read of in Holy Scripture is that of the Assyrians, begun by Ninus, of whom Nineveh took name, and by Nimrod, whom histories call Belus, and after him succeeded Semiramis his wife. This monarchy grew, by continual wars and violences on their neighbours, to an exceeding height and strength; so that the exaltation of that monarchy was the ruin of many nations, and this monarchy lasted, as some write, annos 1300.
4. Ruthless violence. “Because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.” “The terms ‘men,’ ‘land,’ ‘earth,’ ‘city,'” says Henderson, “are to be understood generally, not restricted to the Jews, their country and its metropolis.” What oceans of the blood of all countries were shed by these ruthless tyrants of Babylon!
II. THE NATIONAL WOES. All these wrongs, as all other wrongs, run into woes. Crimes lead to calamities. What are the woes connected with these wrongs, as given in these verses?
1. The contempt of the injured. “Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!” The woe comes out in a derisive song, which continues to the end of the chapter. Dishonesty and low animalism must ever sink the people amongst whom they prevail into bitter contempt. Scarcely can there be anything more painful than the contempt of others when it is felt to be deserved. To be sneered at, laughed at, ridiculed, scorned,is not this bitterly affictive? Jeremiah predicted that one part of the punishment should be that he should be laughed to scorn.
2. The avenging of the spoiled. “Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee.” Here is retaliationplunder for plunder, blood for blood. Divine retribution often pays man back in his own coin. “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
CONCLUSION. Ever under the righteous administration of Heaven woes tread closely on the heel of wrongs. More certainly than the waves of the ocean follow the moon must suffering follow sin. To every crime there is linked a curse, to every sin a suffering, to every wrong a woe. Be sure that “your sins will find you out.”D.T.
Hab 2:9-11
National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 2.
“Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” Notice
I. THE NATIONAL WRONGS HERE INDICATED.
1. Coveting the possessions of others. “Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house!” “An evil covetousness!” There is a good covetousness. We are commanded to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1Co 12:31). But to hunger for those things which are not our own, but the property of others, and that for our own gratification and aggrandizement, is the sin which is prohibited in the Decalogue, which is denounced in the Gospel as a cardinal sin, and which is represented as excluding from the kingdom of heaven. The covetous man is a thief in spirit and in reality.
2. Trusting in false securities. So “that he may set his nest on high, that he maybe delivered from the power of evil.” The image is from an eagle (Job 39:27). The royal citadel is meant. The Chaldeans built high towers like the Babel founders, to be delivered from the power of evil. They sought protection, not in the Creator but in the creature, not in moral means but in material. Thus foolishly nations have always acted and are still acting; they trust to armies and to navies, not to righteousness, truth, and God. A moral character built on justice, purity, and universal benevolence is the only right and safe defence of nations. “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest against the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord” (Oba 1:4).
3. Sinning against the soul. “And hast sinned against thy soul,” or against thyself. Indeed, all wrong is a sin against one’s selfa sin against the laws of reason, conscience, and happiness. “He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul.” Such are some of the wrongs implied by these verses. Alas! they are not confined to Babylon or to any of the ancient kingdoms. They are too rife amongst all the modern kingdoms of the earth.
II. THE NATIONAL WOES HERE INDICATED. “Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house!” etc. What is the woe connected with these evils? It is contained in these words, “The stone shall cry out of the wail, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” Their guilty conscience will endow the dead materials of their own dwellings with the tongue to denounce in thunder their deeds of rapacity and blood. Startling personification this! The very stones of thy palace and the beams out of the timber shall testify. “Note,” says Matthew Henry, “those that do wrong to their neighbour do a much greater wrong to their own souls. But if the sinner pleads, ‘Not guilty,’ and thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with so much art and contrivance that they cannot be proved upon him, let him know that if there be no other witnesses against him, the stone shall cry out of the wall against him, and the beam out of the timber in the roof shall answer it, shall second it, shall witness it, that the money and materials wherewith he built the house were unjustly gotten (verse 11). The stones and timber shall cry to Heaven for vengeance, as the whole creation groans under the sin of man, and waits to be delivered from that bondage of corruption.“ Observe:
1. That mind gives to all the objects that once impressed it a mystic power of suggestion. Who has not felt this? Who does not feel it every day? The tree, the house, the street, the lane, the stream, the meadow, the mountain, that once touched our consciousness, seldom fail to start thoughts in us whenever we are brought into contact with them again. It seems as if the mind gave part of itself to all the objects that once impressed it. When we revisit, after years of absence, the scenes of childhood, all the objects which impressed us in those early days seem to beat out and revive the thoughts and feelings of our young hearts. Hence, when we leave a place which in person we may never revisit, we are still tied to it by an indissoluble bond. Nay, we carry it with us and reproduce it in memory.
2. That mind gives to those objects that impressed us when in the commission of any sin a terrible power to start remorseful memories. This is a fact of which, alas! all are conscious. And hence those stones and timbers, stolen from other people, that went to build the palaces, temples, and mansions in Babylon, would not fail to speak in thunder to the guilty consciences of those who obtained them by violence or fraud. No intelligent personal witness is required to prove a sinner’s guilt. All the scenes of his conscious life vocalize his guilt.D.T.
Hab 2:12-14
National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 3.
“Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Notice
I. THE NATIONAL WRONGS INDICATED IN THESE VERSES. The great wrong referred to in these verses is the accumulation of gain by wicked means. “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!” In itself there is nothing improper in building towns, establishing cities, and accumulating wealth. Indeed, all these things are both legitimate and desirable. But it is stated that these Babylonians did it:
1. By violence. “With blood.” Men’s lives were sacrificed for the purpose. “By iniquity.” Justice was outraged in the effort.
2. By cruelty. “Labour in the very fire.” These wrongs we have already explained in the preceding sections. (But see a different explanation of “labour in the fire” in the Exposition.)
II. THE NATIONAL WOES INDICATED IN THESE WORDS. What is the woe? Disapprobation of. God.
1. These wrongs are contrary to his nature. “Is it not of the Lord of hosts?” or, as Keil renders it, “Is it not beheld from Jehovah of hosts that the people weary themselves for fire, and nations exhaust themselves from vanity?” He does not desire it. Nay, it is hostile to his will, it is displeasing to his nature. The benevolent Creator is against all social injustice and cruelty. His will is that men should “do unto others as they would that men should do unto them.”
2. These wrongs are contrary to his purpose for the world. His purpose is that the “earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” To this end the kingdom of the world which is hostile to him must be destroyed. “This promise,” says Keil, “involves a threat directed against the Chaldean, whose usurped glory must be destroyed in order that the glory of the universe may fill the whole earth.” What a glorious prospect!
(1) This world, in the future, is to enjoy the greatest blessing. What is that? The knowledge of the glory of God. Knowledge in itself is a blessing. The soul without it is not good (Pro 19:2). It is not the mere knowledge of the works of God. This is of unspeakable value. Not merely the knowledge of some of the attributes of God. This is of greater value still. But the knowledge of the glory of God, which means the knowledge of God himself, “whom to know is life eternal.”
(2) This world, in the future, is to enjoy the greatest blessing in the greatest abundance. “As the waters cover the sea.” He shall flood all souls with its celestial and transporting radiance.D.T.
Hab 2:15-17
National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 4.
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory,” etc. “This,” says Henderson, “is the commencement of the fourth stanza. Though the idea of the shameless conduct of drunkards here depicted may have been borrowed from the profligate manners of the Babylonian court, yet the language is not to be taken literally, as if the prophet were describing such manners, but, as the sequel shows, is applied allegorically to the state of stupefaction, prostration, and exposure to which the conquered nations were reduced by the Chaldeans (see Isa 51:17-20; and comp. Psa 75:8; Jer 25:15-28; Jer 49:12; Jer 51:7; Eze 23:31, Eze 23:32; Rev 14:10; Rev 16:19; Rev 18:6). Notice –
I. THE NATIONAL WRONGS. What are the wrongs referred to in this passage?
1. The promotion of drunkenness. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink!” The Babylonians were not only drunkards, but the promoters of drunkenness. The very night on which this prophecy was fulfilled, Belshazzar drank wine with a thousand of his lords. More than once in these homilies we have had to characterize and denounce this sin. Who are the promoters of drunkenness? Brewers, distillers, tavern keepers, and, I am sorry to add, doctors, all of whom, with a few exceptions, recommend intoxicating drinks. In doing so these men inflict a thousand times as much evil upon mankind as they can accomplish good.
2. The promotion of drunkenness involves indeceney. “That thou mayest look on their nakedness.” It is the tendency of drunkenness to destroy all sense of decency. A drunkard, whether male or female, loses all sense of shame.
II. THE NATIONAL WOES. “Woe unto him that giveth strong drink!, What will come to those people?
1. Contempt. “Thou art filled with shame for glory! the cup of the Lord’s right hand shall be turned unto thee.” As the Chaldeans had treated the nations they had conquered in a most disgusting manner, so they in their turn should be similarly treated. “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
2. Violence. “For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee.” Stripped of all figure, the meaning of this is that the sufferings which Babylon inflicted upon Palestine, represented here by Lebanon, would return to them. Here is retribution. Babylon had given the cup of drunkenness, and in return should have the cup of fury and contempt.D.T.
Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19
National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 5.
“What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” We have said that the prophet denounces upon the Chaldeans, in Hab 2:6-19 of this chapter, five different woes of a most terrible nature. We have noticed four of them. This is the fifth and the last; and it is denounced on account of their idolatry. We have seen no translation of the text more faithful to the original than this, the Authorized Version. The note of Henderson on the text deserves quotation. “These verses expose the folly of idolatry, to which the Babylonians were wholly addicted. It might be supposed, from all the other stanzas having been introduced by a denunciatory , ‘woe!’ that a transposition has here taken place, and that the nineteenth verse ought to be read before the eighteenth; and Green has thus placed them in his translation. But there is a. manifest propriety in anticipating the inutility of idols, in close connection with what the prophet had just announced respecting the downfall of Babylon, before delivering his denunciation against their worshippers themselves.” Now, idolatry, as it prevails in heathen lands, idolatry proper as we may say, is universally denounced by the professors of Christianity everywhere. We need not employ one word to expose its absurdity and moral abominations. But its spirit is rampant in all Christendom, is rife in all “Christian Churches,” as they are called; and it is the spirit, not the form, that is the guilty and damnable part of idolatry. We raise, therefore, three observations from these verses.
I. THAT MEN OFTEN GIVE TO THE WORKS OF THEIR OWN HANDS THE DEVOTIONS THAT BELONG TO GOD. These old Chaldean idolaters gave their devotions to the “graven image” and to the “molten image” that men had carved in wood and stone or moulded from molten metals. It was the works of their own hands they worshipped. They made gods of their own productions. This was all they did; and are not the men of England, as a rule, doing the same thing? They yield their devotions to the works of their own hands. It may be wealth, fame, fashion, pleasure, or power. It is all the same. Are men’s sympathies in their strong current directed towards God or towards something else? Do they expend the larger portion of their time and the greater amount of their energies in the service of the Eternal, or in the service of themselves? This is the question; and the answer is too palpable to the eye of every spiritual thinker. Exeter Hall may “weep and howl” over the idolatry prevailing in India, China, and other heathen parts; but thoughtful Christ-like souls are showering in silence and solitude their tears on the terrible idolatry that reigns everywhere in their own country.
II. THAT MEN OFTEN LOOK TO THE WORKS OF THEIR OWN HANDS FOR A BLESSING WHICH GOD ALONE CAN BESTOW. These old idolaters said to the “wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise!” They invoked the dead forms they themselves had made, to help them, to give them relief, to render them happy. Now, it is true that men do not say formal prayers to wealth, or fashion, or fame, or power; yet to these they look with all their souls for happiness. A man’s prayer is the deep aspiration of his soul, and this deep aspiration is being everywhere addressed to these dead deities; men are crying for happiness to objects which are as incapable of yielding it as the breathless gods of heathendom. “There is no breath at all in the midst of it.” Men who are looking for happiness to any of these objects are like the devotees of Baal, who cried from morning to evening for help, and no help came.
III. THAT IN ALL THIS MEN ENTAIL ON THEMSELVES THE WOES OF OUTRAGED SEASON AND JUSTICE. “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise!”
1. It is the woe of outraged reason. What help could they expect of the “molten image, and a teacher of lies”? What answer could they expect from the “dumb idols” that they themselves had made? What relief from any of the idols, though overlaid with gold and silver? “There is no breath at all in the midst of it.” How irrational all this! Equally unreasonable is it for men to search for happiness in any of the works of their bands, and in any being or in any object independent of God.
2. It is the woe of insulted justice. What has God said? “Thou shalt have no other gods before me;” “Thou shalt worship no graven image;” “Thou shalt love me with all thy heart,” etc. All this devotion, therefore, to the works of our own hands, or to any other creature, is an infraction of man’s cardinal obligation. “Will a man rob God?” Go, then, to the men on ‘Change, who are seeking happiness from wealthto the men in scenes of fashionable and worldly amusements, who are seeking happiness from sensual indulgences and worldly applauseand thunder, “Woo unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise!”
“And still from him we turn away,
And fill our hearts with worthless things
The fires of avarice melt the clay,
And forth the idol springs!
Ambition’s flame and passion’s heat
By wondrous alchemy transmute
Earth’s dross, to raise some gilded brute
To fill Jehovah’s seat.”
(Clinch.)
D.T.
Hab 2:20
Silence in the temple,
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” “In striking contrast,” says Dr. Henderson, “with the utter nihility of idols, Jehovah is here introduced, at the close of all the prophecy, as the invisible Lord of all, occupying his celestial temple, whence he is ever ready to interpose his omnipotence for the deliverance and protection of his people and the destruction of their enemies (comp. Isa 26:21). Such a God it becomes all to adore in solemn and profound silence (Psa 76:8, Psa 76:9; Zep 1:7; Zec 2:13).” We take these words as suggesting three great subjects of thought.
I. THE UNIVERSE IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD. Men practically ignore this fact. To some the world is only as a great farm to produce food; to others, a great market in which commodities are to be exchanged in order to amass wealth; to others, a great chest containing precious ores which are to be reached by labour, unlocked and brought into the market; to others, a great ballroom in which to dance and play and revel in sensuous enjoyment. Only a few regard it as a temple. But few tread its soil with reverent steps, feeling that all is holy ground. What a temple it is! how vast in extent! how magnificent in architecture! how stirring are its national appeals!
II. THE TEMPLE IS FILLED WITH THE DIVINE PRESENCE. “The Lord is in his holy temple.” He is in it, not merely as a king is in his kingdom or the worker in his works; but he is in it as the soul is in the body, the fountain of its life, the spring of its activities. Unlike the human architect, he did not build the house and leave it; unlike the author, he did not write his volume and leave his book to tell its own tale; unlike the artist, he did not leave his pictures or his sculpture to stand dead in the hall. He is in all, not as a mere influence, but as an absolute, almighty Personality. “Do not I fill the heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”
III. HIS PRESENCE IN THE GREAT TEMPLE DEMANDS SILENCE. “Keep silence before him.” It would seem as if the Divine nature revolted from bluster and noise. How serenely he moves in nature! As spring by universal life rises out of death without any noise, and as the myriad orbs of heaven roll with more than lightning velocity in asublime hush. How serenely he moves in Christ! He did not cause his voice to be heard in the streets. His presence, consciously realized, will generate in the soul feelings too deep, too tender for speech. Were the Eternal to be consciously felt by the race today, all the human sounds that fill the air and deaden the ears of men would be hushed into profound silence.
“Never with blast of trumpets
And the chariot wheels of fame
Do the servants and sons of the Highest
His oracles proclaim;
But when grandest truths are uttered,
And when holiest depths are stirred,
When our God himself draws nearest,
The still, small voice is heard.
He has sealed his own with silence:
His years that come and go,
Bringing still their mighty measures
Of glory and of woe
Have you heard one note of triumph
Proclaim their course begun?
One voice or bell give tidings
When their ministry was done?”
D.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Hab 2:1. I will stand upon my watch, &c. I stood upon my watch, and continued upon the tower; and I looked to see what the Lord would say unto me, and what he would answer to my expostulation: [namely, that in the 13th and following verses of the preceding chapter, respecting the prosperity of the wicked, and of Nebuchadnezzar particularly:] Hab 2:2. When the Lord answered me, &c. not shortly and enigmatically, as in Hab 2:11 of the former chapter, but openly and fully, denouncing the punishment of Nebuchadnezzar’s impiety.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
CHAPTER Hab 1:12 to Hab 2:20
[The Prophet expostulates with God on Account of the Judgment, which threatens the Annihilation of the Jewish People (chap. 1. Hab 1:12-17). The waiting Posture of the Prophet (chap. 2. Hab 1:1). The Command to commit to Writing the Revelation which was about to be made to Him (Hab 1:2). Assurance that the Prophecy, though not fulfilled immediately, will certainly be accomplished (Hab 1:3). The proud and unbelieving will abuse it; but the believing will be blessed by it. The Prophet then depicts the Sins of the Chaldans, and shows that both general Justice and the special Agencies of Gods Providence will surely overtake them with fearful Retribution.C. E.]
12 Art thou not from eternity,
Jehovah, my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
Jehovah! for judgment thou hast appointed it;
And O Rock! Thou hast founded it for chastisement.
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil;
Thou canst not look upon injustice.
Why lookest thou upon the treacherous?
Why art thou silent when the wicked destroys
Him that is more righteous than he?
14 And thou makest men like fishes of the sea,
Like reptiles that have no ruler.
15 All10 of them it lifts up with the hook;
It gathers them into its net,
And collects them into its fish-net;
Therefore it rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore it sacrifices to its net,
And burns incense to its fish-net;
Because by them its portion is rich,
And its food fat
17 Shall he, therefore, empty his net,
And spare not to slay the nations continually?
Hab 2:1 I will stand upon my watch11-post,
And station myself upon the fortress;
And I will wait12 to see what He will say to [in] me,
And what I shall answer to my complaint.13
2 And Jehovah answered me and said:
Write the vision14 and grave15 it on tablets,
That he may run, who reads it.
3 For still the vision is for the appointed time;16
And it hastens to the end [fulfillment],
And does not deceive;
Though it delay, wait for it;
For it will surely come, and will not fail.
4 Behold the proud:
His soul is not right within him;
But the just by his faith shall live.
5 And moreover, wine is treacherous:
A haughty man, he rests not:
He who opens wide his soul like Sheol,
And is like death, and is not satisfied,
And gathers all nations to himself,
And collects all peoples to himself:
6 Will not all these take up a song17 aganst him?
And a song of derision,18 a riddle19 upon him;
And they will say:
Woe to him who increases what is not his own!
How long?
And who loads himself with pledges.20
7 Will not thy biters21 rise up suddenly,
And those awake that shall shake thee violently?
And thou wilt become a prey to them.
8 Because thou hast plundered many nations,
All the remainder of the peoples shall plunder thee;
Because of the blood of men and the violence done to the earth;
To the city and all that dwell in it.
9 Woe to him, that procureth wicked gain for his house!
To set his nest on high,
To preserve himself from the hand of calamity.
10 Thou hast devised shame for thy house;
Cutting off many peoples, and sinning against thyself.
11 For the stone cries out from the wall.
And the spar out of the wood-work answers it.
12 Woe to him, who builds a city with blood,
And founds a town in wickedness.
13 Behold, is it not from Jehovah of hosts,
That the peoples toil for the fire,
And the nations weary themselves for vanity?
14 For the earth shall be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe to him that gives his neighbor to drink,
Pouring out thy wrath,22 and also making drunk,
In order to look upon their nakedness.
16 Thou art sated with shame instead of glory;
Drink thou also, and show thyself uncircumcised:
The cup of Jehovahs right hand shall come round to thee,
And ignominy23 shall be upon thy glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee,
And the destruction of wild beasts which terrifies24 them:
Because of the blood of men, and the violence done to the earth,
To the city and all that dwell in it
18 What profits the graven image, that its maker has carved it?
The molten image and the teacher of falsehood,
That the maker of his image trusts in him to make dumb25 idols?
19 Woe to him that says to the wood, awake!
To the dumb stone, arise!
It teach! Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver;
And there is no breath in its inside.
20 But Jehovah is in his holy temple,
Let all the earth be silent before Him.
EXEGETICAL
The first glance shows that this [second] dialogue also is divided into distinct members.
These are:
(1) The Question of the prophet in the name of Israel. Is then the destroyer predicted (Hab 1:5-11), to have continual security? Hab 1:12 to Hab 2:1.
(2). The Answer of God by the prophet (Hab 2:2-20). Every one who is guilty and does not trust in the living God must be destroyed, consequently also the destroyer.
I. Hab 1:12 to Hab 2:1. The Question. As if the prophet had fallen into terror by the distressing answer and the terrifying description, which the Spirit of God drew by him of the destroyer, and had in the mean time failed to hear of the glorious prospect, which was already opening up in Hab 1:11, he turns, praying and expostulating, to God: Art thou not from eternity, Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? in order to receive himself the consoling confidence from the experimental faith, which puts this address in his mouth: we shall not die. Jehovah, my God is the vocative, and my Holy One is the predicate. The suffixes of the first person refer not to the prophet as an individual, but to the people whom he represents; for according to the usage of Scripture language Jehovah is not the Kadsch [Holy One] of the prophet, but the Kadsch of Israel; hence in the verb the change to the plural. Jehovah is implored as the Holy One, i. e., as He, who in a special manner, by special avowal of property [in them] and special revelation (Exo 19:4), adopted Israel from among all nations; and hence as He requires special purity from Israel, so also He will exercise special mercy toward him (Hos 11:9); and [He is implored] as He, who has life in Himself, so that whoever abides in Him, cannot be abandoned to death. (Hence ). Compare the Johrb. f. deutsche Theologie [Journal of German Theology], 12. (1867), 1, p. 42 f. As such, God had shown himself from times of old (comp. Isa 58:14), and He is one Jehovah, one continuing always the same (Exo 3:14; Deu 32:40), hence also now He will not show himself otherwise. But at the same time there lies also in the designation Kadsch the ethical reason that the Holy One of Israel cannot leave unpunished (Nah 2:3) him, who has done injury to his sanctuary Psa 114:2); and then the concluding thought is introduced by virtue of Hab 1:11, which is afterward further carried out in Hab 1:13. Rather, if Jehovah permits the destroyer at all to exercise violence upon Israel, the ground of it is a plan of Divine Wisdom and of a holy government of the world: Jehovah, for judgment hast thou appointed it, and thou Rock hast founded it for chastisement. The noun signifies figuratively the same thing as Jehovah in reality; the unchangeable God, who among all the perverse ways of men remains always the same (Deu 32:37; Psa 18:32, and above). The chastisement does not tend to the destruction, but to the salvation of those who are chastised (Psa 118:18). The vocatives Jehovah and Rock are continued by the vocative address Hab 1:13 : Thou art too pure in thine eyes to be able to look upon evil (for the constr. comp. Jdg 7:2; Deu 14:24) and thou canst not look, inactively, upon mischief (comp. on Hab 1:3); thou, who on account of ungodliness among us, bringest up the destroyer, why wilt thou look upon the plunderer? Thou wilt also not leave the sin unpunished, with which thou punishest sin. Boged is in prophecy a standing term for designating the violent Babylonian conqueror (Isa 21:2; Isa 24:16). The why is rhetorical: Thou canst certainly not do it. Why art thou silentepexegetical to the apathetic looking on in c, for the purpose of designating it as an inactive, tranquil letting-alone (comp. Psa 50:21);when the wickedwho does not even know thee, but has always been at a distance from thee (comp. Mic 2:4)devours him, who is more righteous than he? Although there is much wickedness in Israel, yet, because the Holy One (Hab 1:12) dwells in the midst of them, they are still much more righteous (comp. the N. T. idea of the and ), than he, who purposes to extirpate the worship of Jehovah along with his people; comp. Isa 36:15 ff. Grotius: Judi magnis criminibus involuti erant, sed tamen in ea re multum a Chaldis superabantur.
The is to be supplied in Hab 1:14 also from Hab 1:13 : and why makest thou, wilt thou make men like fishes of the sea. [So Henderson; but Keil does not supply .C. E.] These are not considered as elsewhere with reference to their great number, but to their defenselessness against the fishers net, to which the Chaldan is compared. Hence the parallel clause: like the reptilehere the creeping things of the sea (as in Psa 104:25)which has no ruler, no one who appears to care for, protect and defend them, who goes before collecting means for defense. Where there is no ruler there are helplessness and destruction (Mic 4:9). Instead of , indicating possession, stands in the short relative clause, because is construed with this preposition; literally, no one rules over them.
Hab 1:15. All of them (comp. Hab 1:9) [suf. referring to the collective , Hab 1:14C. E.] he, the fisher, lifts up with his hook, from the deep in which they thought themselves safe. [Because the short vowel seghol is lengthened in the first syllable of into tsere, the corresponding hhateph-seghol must pass over into hhateph-pattach, which occurs after all vowels except seghol and kamets. Ges., sec. 63. Rem. 4.]. And he draws () them into his net, and collects them in his fish-net. Thereforeto his net (Hab 1:16). That is to say, he sacrifices to his martial power, by which he brings the nations under his sway, and which is forsooth his god (Hab 1:11). The Sarmatians were accustomed to offer annually a sacrifice to a sabre set up as an insignia of Mars (Her., 4:59, 62; Clem. Al., Protrept. 64). Whether a similar custom existed among the Babylonians is not known; this passage is clear without the supposition of such a custom. For by them, net and fish-net, his portion is rich, his possessions and gain (Ecc 2:10), and his food is fat. It is the manner of men to render divine honor to that, by which they procure the means of living luxuriously; and idolatry is a perversion of the necessity of gratitude, which searches after the giver (Hos 2:10).
Hab 1:17. But, therefore, shall he empty his net, i. e., for the purpose of casting it out again for a new draught and always strangle nations without sparing? That, Thou, the only One, certainly canst not suffer, comp. Hab 1:13. In the last member the figurative language changes to literal; the infinitive with is not dependent upon , but it stands instead of the finite verb. Compare on Mic 5:1, , unsparingly, a frequent periphrase of the adverb by means of an adverbial clause (Isa 30:14; Job 6:10).
Like Mic 7:7 and Asaph, Psa 73:28, the prophet (Hab 2:1) flees from the picture of destruction, which involuntarily unrolls itself again before his eye, to the solitary height of observation where he hopes to learn the ways and direction of God. I will stand upon my watch-tower and station myself upon the fortress. The language is not literal, like that of Deu 22:3; but figurative (comp. Isa 21:8); since the prophet does not pretend, like the heathen Seer, to discover the Word of God from any celestial sign observed in solitude; but he receives it in the heart (Deu 30:14; Num 12:6). [Keil: Standing upon the watch, and stationing himself upon the fortification, are not to be understood as something external, as Hitzig supposes, implying that the prophet went up to a lofty and steep place, or to an actual tower, that he might be far from the noise and bustle of men, and there turn his eyes toward heaven, and direct his collected mind towards God, to look out for a revelation. For nothing is known of any such custom as this, since the cases mentioned in Exo 33:21 and 1Ki 19:11, as extraordinary preparations for God to reveal Himself, are of a totally different kind from this; and the fact that Balaam the soothsayer went up to the top of a bare height to look out for a revelation from God (Num 23:3), furnishes no proof that the true prophets of Jehovah did the same, but is rather a heathenish feature, which shows that it was because Balaam did not rejoice in the possession of a firm prophetic word, that he looked out for revelations from God in significant phenomena of nature (see at Num 23:3-4). The words of our verse are to be taken figuratively, or internally, like the appointment of the watchman in Isa 21:6. The figure is taken from the custom of ascending high places for the purpose of looking into the distance (2Ki 9:17; 2Sa 18:24), and simply expresses the spiritual preparation of the prophets soul for hearing the Word of God, i. e., the collecting of his mind by quietly entering into himself, and meditating upon the word and testimonies of God.C. E.] Hence he continues: and I will await, literally look out for, what He will speak in me, accurate observare, qu nunc in spiritu mentis contingant, Burck. Compare Hos 1:2. Oehler in Herzog, r.e., 17:637. And what answer I shall bring to my complaint. as in 2Sa 24:13. In direct words the prophet occupies the position of a mediator founded on Mic 7:1 : he complains and answers himself; by virtue of his subjectivity, which connects him to the people, he represents them; and by virtue of the Spirit which comes upon him, and to which his Ego listens eagerly as something objective, he represents God. He calls his address, which has just been concluded, , a rejoinder, properly a speech for the purpose of conviction, or vindication, in a law suit (Job 13:6); with reference to the fact, that, against the threatening, which was in the first answer of God, it took the character of an objection, a deprecatio, an appeal to the mercy, holiness, and justice of God.
The answer follows immediately in the Reply of Jehovah, Hab 2:2-20. It is introduced by a parenthesis, giving directions and information to the prophet, like the reply of Micah to the false predictions of the false prophets (Hab 3:1): and Jehovah answered me and said. After an Introitus, which has the purpose of indicating the importance and immutability of the decrees announced, and after a Divine acknowledgment that the destroyer is worthy of punishment, the reply runs into a five-fold woe, which announces judgment upon all ungodly, rapacious, idolatrous conduct, consequently a general judgment of the world, which involves also the destruction of the conqueror.
Hab 2:2 b, 3. Introitus. Write down the vision (comp. on Hab 1:1; Oba 1:1). is not merely that which is seen, but also that which is inwardly perceived: relates to the eye of the soul. And make it plain ( as in Deu 27:8) on tables, that he may make haste, who reads it, i. e., write it so plainly that every one passing by may be able to read it quickly and easily; to read, with as in Jer 36:13. From the fact that the tables are designated by the article as known, Calvin has already, in the Introduction to his commentary on Isaiah, drawn the conclusion that tables were put up in the temple (Luther, Ewald: in the market-place), on which the prophets noted down a summary of their prophecies, in order to make them known to the whole people. In this way he thinks the possibility of preserving so many prophecies from being falsified may be understood: the tablets, on which they were written, were taken down and piled up. Indeed this latter supposition has nothing incredible; this method of preservation, as the most recent excavations prove, was well known in the ancient East. In an excavation at Kouyunjik (Introd. to Nahum, p. 9) the workmen came upon a chamber full of tablets of terra cotta, with inscriptions in perfect preservation, piled in heaps from the floor to the ceiling. (Compare Zeitschrift der Deutsch-morgenlndischen Gesellschaft [the Journal of the German Oriental Society] 5 p. 446; 10 pp. 728, 731; and on the contents of the tablets Brandis, art. Assyria, in Paulys Encyclopedia, 1 p. 1890). The tablet, of course, of which Isaiah speaks, Isa 8:1, is not a public one, but one disposable for the private use of the prophets (comp. Isa 5:16), and on that account it might appear doubtful whether such tablets were constantly fixed up; but at all events it follows in this passage that it was incumbent upon the prophet to fix them up. The article then points to the fact that the prophet had already laid them up for writing down the vision; since indeed he was not surprised by it, but he had looked out for it (Hab 2:1). The reason that several tablets are mentioned here, and not one, as in Isaiah, is found in the rich and various contents of the five-fold woe. But at all events the design of the command, as the connection with what follows shows, is twofold: first, that the word may be made known to all (comp. Isa 8:1); secondly, that it shall not be obliterated and changed, but fulfilled in strict accordance with the wording. (Comp. Job 19:24; Isa 30:8.)
The latter reason appears with special force in Hab 2:3 : for the vision is yet for the appointed time, still waits for a time of fulfillment, lying perhaps in a far distant future, but nevertheless a fixed (this is indicated by the article) time (comp. Dan 10:14); what this set time is, that which follows declares: and it strives to [reach] the end: the final time, withheld from human knowledge (Act 1:7), which God has appointed for the fulfillment of his promises and threatenings (comp. on Mic 4:1; Dan 8:19; Dan 8:17). The verb , it puffs, pants to the end, is chosen with special emphasis: true prophecy is animated, as it were, by an impulse to fulfill itself. Hitzig. [The third imp. (Hiph.) is formed with tsere, like , Eze 18:14]. And it does not lie, like those predictions of the false prophets, which fixed the time of prosperity as near at hand (Mic 2:11). Therefore, if it tarry, wait for it (comp. Eze 8:17); for it will come (comp. of the fulfillment of prophecy, 1Sa 9:6), and not fail ( as in Jdg 5:28 : 2Sa 20:5). The use of this passage, Heb 10:37, where it seems to be combined with Isa 26:20, is grounded on the translation of the LXX., who point the preceding inf. abs. as the part. , and understand by the , who will certainly come, the Messiah, the judge of the world. There is no objection to this Messianic reference, so far as the meaning is concerned, since all prophecy has its goal in Christ; but, if we accept that punctuation, the reference cannot lie in the words, since in case the definite individual, Messiah, is referred to, we must at least read .
Hab 2:4-6 a. The starting-point of the following announcement of the judgment is exhibited as an ethical one with special reference to the conqueror. Behold puffed up, his soul is not upright in him, consequently he must perish, which furnishes the antithesis to live in the second half of the verse. In harmony with Hab 1:7-11, the insolent defiance, exhibited in his pride, putting itself in the place of God, is pointed out as the pith of the sin of the foreigner.
[, 3 fem. Pual, denominative from the subst. , mound, tumor, from which also a Hiphil, Num 14:44, is formed.] The uprightness, 4 b, forms a contrast to it which consequently is not here, as at other times, opposed to it like simplicity to cunning sophistry (Ecc 7:29), but like humble rectitude to lying ostentation.
All pride against God rests on self-deception; and the judgment has no other object with reference to this self-deception than to lay it open, whereby it is proved to be nothing, consequently its possessor falls to destruction. But the just will live, not by his pride, not at all by anything that is his own, but by the constancy of his faith resting upon God and his word. The use, which the Apostle Paul makes of these words (Rom 1:17; comp. Gal 3:11), is authorized, since there as here the antithesis, by which the idea broad in itself is distinctly sketched, is the haughty boast of his own power entangled in sin. [On the contrary the application of the first half of the verse Heb 10:38, is obscured by the use of the incorrect translation of the LXX., as it is not characterized as an argumentative citation by the free transposition of both halves of the verse, but as a free reproduction. Compare Bengel on the passage.] Isa 7:9 is also parallel to this passage in sense. The idea of faith, which, in this passage and generally in the O. T. lies at the foundation of the words resp. , is not yet the specific N. T. idea of the appropriation of the pardoning grace of God, which brings salvation, but the broader one, which we find in Hebrews 2 : laying firm hold upon (), and standing firmly upon () the word and promise of God, the firm reliance of the soul upon the invisible, which cannot be depressed and misled by the antagonism of that which is seen: constantia, fiducia. [For the word , Heb 11:1 (Oetinger: substructure), is certainly not chosen without reference to the stem . Compare the verb , Hab 2:3. Hitzig is certainly right in claiming for the substantive the signification of faithful disposition=; in passages like Pro 12:17 and Eze 18:22, comp. 1Sa 26:23, it cannot be doubled. But this meaning, however, is to be explained from the etymon, and is not in itself the only authorized one; and one needs not go back to the Hiphil (as H. seems to think), in order to discover as the primary meaning, of the word , that of standing firm. As is the adherence of God to his word and covenant and the adherence of man to the word and covenant of God, so (compare the prevailing usage of the Psalms, especially Psa 89:25, comp. 29) is the standing fast on the part of God to his word (Hab 2:1; Hab 2:12), and the standing fast on the part of man to the word of God: any other constancy than that of a mind established on the word of God the N. T. does not know, at least not as a virtue. Comp. below Luther on the passage.
The general point of view, Hab 2:4, from which it is plain, what he says of the Babylonians, is particularized and enlarged in Hab 2:5, whilst the crimes of the Babylonian are placed under the light of experience, as it is expressed in a proverb. And moreover (the combination stands here in its natural signification, indicated by both words themselves, not in the modified meaning, as in 1Ki 8:27; Gen 3:1), wine is treacherous. The Babylonians were notorious for their inclination to drink: compare Curtius, Hab 2:1 : Babylonii maxime in vinum et qu ebrietatem sequuntur effusi sunt; and in general concerning their luxury, the characteristic fragment of Nicolaus Damascenus (Fragm. Hist. Gro., ed. C. Mller, vol. 2 Paris, 1848. Fragm. 810, p. 357 ff.). [Rawlinsons Ancient Monarchies, vol. 2 pp. 504, 507.C. E.]. The brief formula has the stamp of the proverb, and is not used in the sense of violent plundering, as in Hab 1:13, but in that of perfidious treachery, as in Lam 1:2; Job 6:15 (here also intrans.). In drunkenness men arrogate to themselves high things, and afterward have not strength for them. Comp. also Pro 23:31 f. The other proverb reads: A boastful man, great-mouth, continues not. , only here and Pro 21:24, signifies, in the latter passage by virtue of the parallelism () and according to the versions, tumidus, arrogans. The predicate is attracted by , in order to give emphasis to the subject, as in Gen 22:24; Ew., see. 344 b. (Hupfeld on Psa 1:1 takes as predicate to ; this, however, is too artificial.
That which follows forms together with Hab 2:6 a subjoined relative sentence, whilst the relative introduced before [its antecedent] is defined by the in the following verse; and the contents of this subjoined sentence is the direct application of Hab 2:4-5 a to the Chaldan: He, who widens his desire like the insatiable (Pro 27:20) jaws of hell. , as in Psa 17:9; compare for the figure Isa 5:14. Yea, he, who like death is not satisfied (construction as in the first member), but gathers together all peoples to himself (comp. Hab 1:15) and collects together all nations to himself; will not all these (comp. Nah 3:19) take up a proverb concerning him, yea a satirical speech, a riddle upon him? On compare Commentary on Nah 1:1. , usually a figurative discourse, then a brief epigram, a proverb (Pro 1:1); here as in Isa 14:4, according to the connection, a scoffing, mocking song, in view of the certainty of the fate prepared for him. The same sense is given by the context to the word , to which it [the sense] seems more nearly related by the root , to mock, and the derivatives and . Yet this is in fact no more than semblance, as the passage, Pro 1:6, proves, from which Habakkuk borrows the phraseology of this verse, and in which nothing of derision is to be found. We must rather go back to the Hiphil of the stem, which signifies interpretari: is an interpreter. (Delitzsch denies this signification of [Hiph. pret.], however without proof; his explanation, brilliant oration, is entirely imaginary.) Therefore is not an explanatory saying, i. e., it is not an illustrative, luminous one (Keil), the contrary of which the passage Pro 1:6, and likewise the character of the proverb following, prove, but it is a saying which needs interpretation (as our riddle does not guess, but is intended to be guessed), an apothegm (so the LXX. on Pro 1:6 : : in this passage they construe with what follows), accordingly it is synonymous with the following word , , enigmaan extremely popular form of poetry in the East, and which is also among us a favorite form of popular political ridicule. Certainly to the mind of the prophet it is something different, a prophetic speech.
(Keil: Mshl is a sententious poem, as in Mic 2:4 and Isa 14:4, not a derisive song, for this subordinate meaning could only be derived front the context, as in Isa 14:4 for example; and there is nothing to suggest it here. So, again Meltsh neither signifies a satirical song, nor an obscure enigmatical discourse, but, as Delitzsch has shown, from the first of the two primary meanings combined in the verb , lucere and lascivire, a brilliant oration, oratio splendida, from which is used to denote interpreter, so called, not from the obscurity of the speaking, but from his making the speech clear or intelligible. is in apposition to and , adding the more precise definition, that the sayings contain enigmas relating to him (the Chaldan).
Lucere does not seem to be one of the primary meanings of . Frst gives umherspringen,hpfen (aus Muthwillen), dah. muthwillig, ausgelassen, unruhigen Geistes sein; bertr. verhhnen,spotten, achten unbestndig sein. Gesenius: balbutire, (1) barbare loqui; (2) illudere, irridere alicui. Thesaurus. See Special Introduction to the Proverbs of Solomon, sect. 11, note 2, in this Commentary.C. E.]
Hab 2:6 b20. The Fivefold Woe. Two views are possible concerning the contents of this discourse. One may view it either wholly as the song of the nations indicated Hab 2:6 a, consequently as entirely and specially directed against Babylon; or that only the first woe constitutes this song, but in the others the prophet retains the form once begun, in order to connect with them general thoughts of the judgment. If in favor of this latter view no farther argument can be urged than the one, that in the time of Habakkuk, Nebuchadnezzar had not yet committed all the sins, which are here laid to his charge, a consideration on which Hitzig certainly lays stress, one might perhaps be authorized in calling it, with Maurer and Keil, the most infelicitous of all. But not only the general contents of the following threatenings, which as much concern the sins of Judah, as those of the Chaldans, are in favor of it; but also the circumstance that it appears worthy of God, after the impressive introduction, Hab 2:2-3, and the profound conclusion Hab 2:4 to command the prediction not of a mere amplified derisory song of the nations, but of a universal threatening against sin, in which of course and before all the sin of the Chaldans is also to be included. Further, in favor of this view is the fact that precisely the first woe, Hab 2:6-8, has both the form of the brief; aphoristic, enigmatical song and a direct reference to Babylon, while in the second and third both are entirely wanting; and further that the immediate transition from such a poetical form in the beginning to a more extended prophetical address frequently occurs in other places in the prophets (Mic 2:4 ff.; Isa 23:16 ff; Isa 14:4 ff.).
Also the plural of Hab 2:2, points rather to a plurality of objects of the prophecy than to a single one; and so also the concluding formula Hab 2:20 (all the world), points to the universality of the predicted judgment. Finally, we had in chap. 1 the same double reference of the prophecy; both to the intolerableness of the present sinful state of things (Hab 2:2 ff.), and to that of the future state of calamity; both are characterized by entirely parallel formul, comp. namely, Hab 2:3; Hab 2:13 : the five woes correspond to both complaints.
Hab 2:6-8. First Woe. It is immediately connected by the to the in Hab 2:6 a, and thereby expressly pointed out as the song raised by the oppressed over the fall of the conqueror. is used here, as in 2Ki 9:17; Isa 58:9; Ps. 58:12, in distinction from the aorist , as an annexed jussive form in a future sense and impersonal (comp. Mic 2:4); they shall say: Woe (comp. on Nah 3:1) to him who accumulates what is not his own. as in Hab 1:6. By this accord of sounds the solution of the enigma, which lies in this designation of the Babylonian, is undoubtedly and fully suggested. However, there is in the accord itself, as Delitzsch remarks, a new enigma, to wit, the ambiguity: he accumulates not for himself (Ecc 2:25). In the following expression: For how long, the exclamation, how long already! as Hitzig thinks, is not intended; but the exclamation, how long still! The entire contents of the verse show that he does not suppose the catastrophe as having already taken place, but he predicts it in the midst of the oppression. Generally the formula is employed only in the sense of complaint concerning a present evil. And who loads himself with a burden of pledges gained by usury (comp. Hab 1:11). is also ambiguous: derived from the root , it can signify either a mass of pledges (comp. , shower of rain, , thick darkness): to wit, the laboriously acquired property of the nations, which he collects together, just as the unmerciful usurer heaps up pledges contrary to the law of Moses (Deu 24:10); and which he must for that reason deliver up; or it may be considered as a composite of (thickness, comp. Hupf. on Psa 18:12) and , thick mud. Compare Nah 3:6.
Hab 2:7. Will not those who bite thee rise up suddenly (a play upon words between , bite of a snake, and , interest: who recover usury from thee); and those who shake thee violently [allusion to the violent seizure of a debtor by his creditorC. E.] wake up (from )? And thou wilt become a booty to them, , plur. rhet. Comp. on Mic 5:1.
Hab 2:8. For thou hast plundered a multitude of nations (comp. Mic 4:2), so all the remnant (Mic 5:2) of the nations will plunder thee: the remnant of the subdued, i. e. the not subdued, those lately come into existence, as e. g. the Persians (Isaiah 45). [Keil, after a labored exposition, concludes: From all this we may see that there is no necessity to explain all the remnant of the nations, as relating to the remainder of the nations that had not been subjugated, but that we may understand it as signifying the remnant of the nations plundered and subjugated by the Chaldans (as is done by the LXX., Theodoret, Delitzsch, and others), which is the only explanation in harmony with the usage of the language. For in Jos 23:12, yether haggym denotes the Canaanitish nations left after the war of extermination; and in Zec 14:2, yether hm signifies the remnant of the nation left after the previous conquest of the city, and the carrying away of half its inhabitants.C. E.] For the blood of men ( as in Oba 1:10) and violence in the earth, the city, and all that dwell in it. The same enumeration of everything destructible, as Hab 1:11 ff. 14; hence not to be restricted to Jerusalem and Israel, though specially intended, but to be understood generally, like Jer. 56:8 [Rawlinsons Ancient Monarchies, vol. 2, p. 506.C. E.]
Hab 2:9-11. Second Woe. If the Chaldan (Hab 2:6-8), according to the connection, was the only possible object, this threatening of judgment certainly reaches farther: Woe to him, who accumulates wicked gain for his house, who sets his nest on high (the inf. with continues the construction of the imperfect, as is frequently the case), [the infin. with is used to explain more precisely the idea expressed by the finite verb. Nordheimers Heb. Gram., sec 1026, 2.C. E.] to save himself from the hand of evil. The judgment of God, proceeding from his holiness, has its source in a necessity universally moral, and, on this account, falls upon all sinners; and the description of those characterized here does not fit so well, according to the language of prophecy, the Chaldans, who inhabited a low country,the parallel (Isa 14:12 ff.) produced by Delitzsch, conveys the idea of heaven-defying pride, whilst here the prophet speaks of concealing treasures,as it does the Edomites, who stored up their plunder in the clefts of the rocks (Oba 1:3; Jer 49:7 f.). And it applies just as well to the rich in Jerusalem (comp. Isa 22:16 ff.), and especially to King Jehoiakim, whose conduct is described in language (Jer 22:13 ff) uttered nearly at the same time with that of our prophet, and in exactly similar modes of expression. [Rawlinsons Ancient Monarchies, vol. 2 p. 504.C. E.]
Hab 2:10 also applies to the same person: Thou hast consulted shame, instead of riches, for thy house, the house of David, which was called to a position of honor before God. And what is the shame? The ends of many nations, i. e., the collective multitude of peoples (comp. 1Ki 12:31) which shall come up like a storm to take vengeance upon the sins of Israel, just as the remnant of the nations are at a future time, to take vengeance upon the sins of the Babylonian. And thou involvest thy soul in guilt (Pro 20:2).
[The ends of many nations, by which Kleinert renders , gives no intelligible meaning. is not the plural of , but the infinitive of , to cut off, destroy. The proper rendering, therefore, is cutting off many nations.C. E.]
Hab 2:11. For the stone cries out of the wall, built in sin, to accuse thee (Gen 4:10), and the spar out of the wood-work answers it,agrees with it in its charge against thee: when the judgment draws near they are the accusing witnesses. Immediately joined to this is
The Third Woe, Hab 2:12-13. Woe to him who builds the fortress in blood, and founds the city in wickedness. Since the prophet has not denounced punishment upon Nebuchadnezzar for building, but for destroying cities (Hab 1:11 f), we must here also, especially on comparing Mic 3:10 and Jer 22:13, understand the reference to be to the buildings of Jehoiakim. Behold, does it not come to pass (2Ch 25:26) from Jehovah of hosts, that the tribes weary themselves,either come up on compulsory service for the king, or driven to Jerusalem by the calamity of war to work upon the fortifications (2Ch 32:4 f.; compare also Mic 1:2)for the fire, and the nations exhaust themselves for vanity? All human wisdom and toil have no success, where Jehovah does not assist in building (Psa 127:1); this applies to Israel (Isa 57:10; Isa 49:4; comp. Isa 40:28; Isa 40:30; Isa 65:23), as it does to Babylon (Jer 51:58). And this vanity must be made manifest: the works of men must crumble into the dust from which they arose (comp. Mic 5:10; Mic 7:13).
For (Hab 2:14) the earth shall be full, but of the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the bed of the sea. So God himself has promised by Isaiah (Isa 11:9; comp. Hab 2:3). This glory is the resplendent majesty of the Ruler of the world coming to judgment against all ungodliness, and for the accomplishment of salvation (Num 14:21; Psalms 97.; Zec 2:12). This knowledge comprehends, at the same time, the acknowledgment of Jehovah and the confession of sin. is not construed as usual with the acc. of the subst., but with and the infinitive. To analyze the last clause into a noun with a following relative clause is unnecessary: can also be used (which Ewald and Keil deny) as a particle of comparison before whole sentences (Hupfeld, Psalms , 2 p. 327 A. 99). does not mean here the sea itself, but the bed, or bottom of the sea, as in 1Ki 7:26. With the general thought which Hab 2:13 f. adds to the special turns [of thought] there is a return to the punishment of heathen wrong-doers. Upon them falls exclusively
The, Fourth Woe, Hab 2:15-18, which also directly introduces again some enigmatical sounds of the first. Woe to thee [so Kleinert and Luther: the LXX., Vulgate, A. V., Keil, and Henderson, use the third person, woe to himC. E.) that givest thy neighbor to drinkwhilst thou pourest out (, as in Job 14:19; synonymous with , Jer 10:25,) thy wrath [or thy leathern bottle, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Hitzig (Gen 21:14); perhaps as the whole address directs us back to Hab 2:6 ff., there is again here also an intentional ambiguity] and also makest him (thy neighbor) drunk (inf. abs. Proverbs 5 fin., Ges., sec. 131, 4 a.) in order to see their shame; to make it wholly subservient to his voluptuous desire (Nah 3:5). [In place of the third person in the first member, the address changes, in the second member, to the second person; in the fourth member the singular is changed into the plural. Both the middle clauses are adverbial to the of the first member]. The figure is taken from common life, and is clear of itself; it is the more appropriate, as the Chaldan is described (Hab 2:5) as a drunkard. The leathern bottle, from which the Chaldan pours out his compacts (comp. Isaiah 39), is, as it turns out in the end, a bottle of wrath; and the disposition in which it is passed is that of wild desire and barbarous lust of power. Therefore the same comes upon him.
Hab 2:16, So thou shalt be satisfied, as thou desirest, but with shame instead of glory. Drink thou also (comp. Nah 3:11) and uncover thyself [Heb.: show thyself uncircumcisedC. E.]: from Jehovahs right hand the cup, also a cup of wrath (comp. Oba 1:16) will come in its turn to thee, and shameful vomit upon thy glory. [Rawlinsons Ancient Monarchies, vol. 2. p. 504.C. E.] , according to the Pilpel derivation from instead of , signifies the most extreme contempt; but it can, at the same time, be considered as a composite word from , vomit of shame, or shameful vomit (comp. Isa 28:8) referring to the figurative description of the drinking revel.
Hab 2:17. For the outrage at Lebanon, whose cedar forests the conquerors wickedly spoiled, in order to adorn with them their magnificent edifices in Babylon (Isa 14:7 ff.; comp. Ausland, 1866, p. 944), shall cover thee, shall weigh upon thee like a crushing roof, and the dispersion of the animals, which it, the outrage, frightened away! The wild beasts of Lebanon, which fled before the destroyer. (, instead of compensation for the sharpening by lengthening the vowel, Ges., 20, 3 c. Rem., and pausal change of the into , Ges., sec. 29, 4, c. Rem.). [See Greens Heb. Gram., sec. 112, 5 c.; 141, 3.C. E.] And as Lebanon with its cedars (Jer 22:6; Jer 22:23), appears to be a representative of the Holy Land and its glory, so here also a general meaning is given to the outrage upon inanimate nature by the repetition of the refrain from the first woe, Hab 2:8 : On account of the blood of men, the outrage upon the land, the city and all its inhabitants. However, the obvious reference to Israel and Jerusalem, in this passage, is made, by the connection, more distinctly prominent than in Hab 2:8, above.
Hab 2:18, according to the thought, is preliminary to the following woe; just as we saw above that Hab 2:11 was preliminary to the third woe, and Hab 2:13 to the fourth. What profiteth the graven image, that its maker carves it? is used sensu negativo, as in Ecc 1:3; and since it requires a negative answer, the secondary clause introduced into the rhetorical question by is also answered thereby in the negative: quid, cur? It profits nothing (Jer 2:11), consequently it is folly to carve it. Parallel to this is the following clause: what profiteth the molten image and the teacher of lies, i.e., either the false prophet, who enjoins men to trust in idols, and encourages the manufacture of them (Isa 9:14 [sa 9:15?]), or rather, according to the in the following verse, the idol itself, which points out false ways in opposition to God, the true teacher (Job 36:22; Ps. 15:12; Delitzsch, Hitzig), That the carver of his image trusts in him to make dumb idols? (Psa 135:16 f.; 1Co 12:2.) The negative answer to this rhetorical question is given by
The Fifth Woe, which is immediately subjoined, Hab 2:19-20 : Woe to him, who says to the block, wake up! as the pious man can pray to the true God (Psa 35:12 [Psa 35:23]); arise ! to the dumb stone. Can it teach? To teach is used here, as in the former verse and generally, to signify that active guidance and advice, which belong to the Deity in contradistinction to men, and which form the basis of practical piety. Concerning the form of the indignant question, compare [Com.] on Mic 2:6. Behold it is enchased with gold and silver (Acc.) and there is nothing of soul, neither breath, nor feeling, nor understanding, in it. (Com. Psa 135:17). However fine it is, it does not even have life (comp. Jer 10:14): how can it teach! Compare the amplification of the same thought, Isa 44:9 ff.
The whole threatening address concludes with the prophetical formula: Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness, i.e. according to Psa 11:4, compare Psa 20:7 [Psa 20:6], heaven, from which, as the situation now stands and as the woes about to pass over the earth are anticipated, we are to expect his judgment, i.e. the confirmation that He will give to show that He is the Holy One (comp. Psa 18:7 ff.; Isa 5:16). Therefore,compare the entirely similar connection of thought Zep 1:7; Zec 2:13 [Heb. Bib. Hab 2:17]:Let all the world be silent before Him.
[Keil: Hab 2:18-20. Fifth and last strophe. This concluding strophe does not commence, like the preceding ones, with hi, but with the thought which prepares the way for the woe, and is attached to what goes before to strengthen the threat, all hope of help being cut off from the Chaldan. Like all the rest of the heathen, the Chaldan also trusted in the power of his gods. This confidence the prophet overthrows in Hab 2:18 : What use is it? equivalent to The idol is of no use (cf. Jer 2:11; Isa 44:9-10). The force of this question still continues in masskhah: Of what use is the molten image? Pesel is an image carved out of wood or stone; masskh an image cast in metal.C. E.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
The sphere of thought of this chapter rests upon the two intersecting ground-lines, sin and death, faith and life. (Compare on the idea of faith the Exegetical Exposition of Hab 2:4.)
Sin and death belong together; sin is the ethical, death the physical expression of separation from God. Therefore the people of God cannot die, because He is their Holy One; because by virtue of their belonging to the Holy One they drink from the fountain of life. Therefore to Israel Gods judgments are a means of purification, while they are destruction to others. And if God, who is a Rock, has such a hatred against sin, that he does not suffer it in his people [heiligen Eigenthum, sacred property] chosen of old (comp. Com. on Micah, p. 00), and brings upon it the scourge of his judgment, how much less will He suffer it in him who is a stranger to his heart, and whom He employs only as an instrument of his judgment. From the consideration that God judges Israel follows the certainty that He will judge the heathen also, consequently the certainty that Israel will be saved.
The sin of the world-power is two-fold; first, it deals with the property of God as if it were its own; secondly, it does not honor God for the success granted to it, but its own power. This must cease.
The countenance of faith is directed forward into the future. Thence it derives its answer for consolation and hope. (Of course it would not have this direction if it had not the promise of God behind it (Gen 49:18); God is, however, always the author: He is of old the Holy One of his people.). When Israel forgat the promise, they began to look back to the flesh pots of Egypt. The whole religion of the O. T. is a religion of the future. Heathendom exercised its intellectual energy upon the origins of things for the purpose of forming and developing their theogonies: the Holy Spirit directs the mind of Israel to prophecy: no ancient people has so little about the primitive time as we find in the O. T.; even modern heathendom knows [professes to know| much more about it. The exact time is not specified in prophecy, at least in regard to the intermediate steps (Hab 1:5); but the certainty is specified, and the exact time is fixed in the purpose of God. God can no more lie than He can look upon iniquity. The certainty of prophecy, and consequently of our confidence, rests upon the holiness of God. How different is the resignation of the O. T. from fatalism. The former comes from life, the latter from death. Resignation places the holiness of God in the centre: fatalism destroys it.
Gods way is the right way. He hates all crooked lines,the side-lines of sophistry, the curve-lines of boasting, the downward sunk lines of dark, concealment. Sin is deviation from the straight way. The straight way is the way of life.
The piety of the Old Testament begins with faith (Gen 15:4 [6]). The stage of the law enters, which gives the uppermost place to faith in action, the obedience of faith, and which, with the apparent extension of the principle of faith, involves in fact a narrowing of it. In prophecy the original principle, in its universality, enters again gradually into its right position. The book of Job may be mentioned as a proof of this. The obedience of the law has for its correlative the doctrine of retribution. On this Job is put to shame. Against it he has no sufficient answer. But because his heart, in every trial, maintained its faith in God, he is nevertheless justified. The book of Job is the exposition of Hab 2:4. Faith is the direct way to the heart of God. He who interposes himself (his own works, his own merits, his own law, his own thoughts) perverts the way. Apostasy from faith is the beginning of sin. Iu the heart of God is imperishable life, because there is imperishable holiness. Therefore the faith of Israel is the correlative of the Holy One of Israel; and faith is the way to life, as sin is the way to death.
The characteristic mark of the kingdom of God is free-will. The world-power raffs men together; they are invited into the kingdom of God; they rise and say: Come, let us go. The coge intrare is contrary to the Scripture. (The prohibe of the enemies of missions is just as truly so. Isa 49:6.) He who thus gathers [men] together, brings upon himself scorn at last. All nations, which Rome has converted by force, have fallen away from her, and they sing over her a song of derision.
Property is sanctified by God; but over-grasping gain is cursed by Him. His omniscience is present in his judgment. Hidden crime is laid open and punished, as if blood, spar, and stones had speech to inform against what is concealed behind them, the guilt that is built up in them. We see in the manner in which no concealed wickedness remains unpunished, but is banished out of sight, the hand of God and the manifestation of his glory on every side, without seeing himself. The pillar of smoke and of fire over the burned city of sin is the veil of his glory. The design of the creation, according to the O. T., is the glory of God. For this the earth was made, just as the basin of the sea was made for the water.
The sinner does not find the right way: he is like a drunken man. To the upright man the ways of sinners are a reeling [an intoxication]. He who leads astray makes drunk; but he enters of himself upon the most crooked way, and hence comes to destruction. The intoxication of sin culminates in the insanity of idolatry. The idol is lifeless. Its worshipper seeks by idolatry, as the righteous man does by faith, the way of life; but he comes to the silence of death. The tranquillity of life is quite another thing. (Isa 30:15.)
Oetinger: Rectitude of heart is the substance and ground of truth. He who has a right heart, sees rightly and hears rightly; he who has a perverse heart heaps up falsehood, without knowing it. Nature produces all the elements at once: the upright soul attracts to it what is true and honest. Intensiveness precedes extensiveness: the moral precedes the physical; the physical, the metaphysical.
R. Joseph Albo (in Starke and Delitzsch): in the book of Chronicles if is said: believe in the prophets, and ye shall be prosperous (2Ch 20:20). This proves that faith is the cause of prosperity, is well as the cause of eternal life, according to the saying of Habakkuk: the just shall live by his faith; by which he cannot mean the bodily life, since in respect to this the righteous man has no advantage over the wicked, but rather the eternal life, the life of the soul, which the righteous enjoy, and for the attainment of which they trust in God, as it is said: The righteous has still confidence in death [A. V.: The righteous hath hope in his death]. (Pro 14:32.)
W. Hoffmann: Abraham had a view [ausschau, outlook] through the promise, in which, at last, every streak of shadow vanished, and in the distant horizon all was light and glory. He looked beyond this world to the blessed rest of the people of God; and he could not do otherwise than this, since he acknowledged God as the restorer of the life of men, of his own life, and of the life of all his descendants and tribes,a life perverted to sin, fallen, and burdened with the curse. It is very likely that the thoughts of the father of the faithful were dark and obscure in regard to this, for it required yet great advancement before clear language could be employed concerning this holy change; but the hearts experience, which he enjoyed of it, was full and steadfast. Restoration of the lost, removal of sin, deliverance from spiritual deaththat is the key-note of Abrahams faith. And it was deliverance only by the manifestation of God. It was this manifestation to which all the revelations of God at that time related. Gods nearness, His dwelling with the children of men; this was the goal; hope could fasten upon no other. What else, therefore, was his faith thanalthough not consciously clear and grasped by the understandinga laying hold upon the future Saviour with outstretched arms?
Delitzsch: Troublous times are at hand. What then is more consoling than the fact, that life, deliverance from destruction, is awarded to that faith, which truly rests on God, keeps fast hold of the word of promise, and in the midst of tribulation confidently waits for its fulfillment? Not the veracity, the trustworthiness, the honesty of the righteous man, considered in themselves as virtues, are, in such calamities, in danger of being shaken and of failing, but, as is shown in the prophet himself, his faith. Therefore, the great promise, expressed in the one word. Life, is connected with it.
Schmieder: All Bible prophecy looks forward to a distant time determined by God, but which we do not know. It points to the end, when the Lord by judgment and redemption shall establish his perfect kingdom. This prophecy will not lie. but will certainly be fulfilled, though its fulfillment is always longer and longer deferred.
HOMILETICAL
Hab 1:12. Of the great joy, which we have reason to ground upon the fact, that God is the Holy One of his people.
1. It is a joy of gratitude that He has always been with his own. Hab 1:12 a, b.
2. A joy of continual confidence, that we cannot perish. Hab 1:12 c.
3. A joy in chastisement, that it is only for the confirmation of his holiness, and for our purification. Hab 1:12 d, e.
Hab 1:13-17 : There is a limit set to the power of the wicked upon earth. For
1. God is holy. Hab 1:13 a, b.
2. But the work of the wicked is unholy. For
(a) It is a work of hatred against the righteous. Hab 1:13 c, d.
(b) It is an abuse of the powers bestowed by God. Hab 1:14.
(c) It does nothing for God, but everything for itself. Hab 1:15.
(d) It does not give God honor, but it makes itself an idol. Hab 1:16.
3. Therefore it must have an end. Hab 1:17.
Hab 2:1-4. The way of patience (compare H. Mller, Erquickstunden, Nr. 97).
1. I must suffer, for Gods judgments and purifications are necessary. Hab 2:1 in connection with chap. 1.
2. I can suffer; for Gods Word sustains me. Hab 2:2-3.
3. I will suffer, for I believe. Hab 2:4.
Or: Persevere, for the redemption draws nigh. (Advent-sermon).
1. The manner of perseverance: confidence. Hab 2:1.
2. The ground of perseverance: the promise. Hab 2:2-3.
3. The power [Kraft, active power, or cause] of perseverance: faith. Hab 2:4.
Hab 1:12 to Hab 2:4. Israels life of promise.
1. A believing retrospect into the past.
2. A believing look into the future.
Hab 2:5-20. Of shameful and hurtful avarice.
1. Avarice is contrary to the order prescribed by God; therefore God must bring it back to order by chastisement. Hab 2:1; Hab 2:6 b, 7.
2. It is contrary to love, therefore, it produces a harvest of hatred. Hab 2:6 a.
3. It confounds the ideas of right, therefore wrong must befall it. Hab 2:8 a.
4. It makes the mind timid; but where fear is there is no stability. Hab 2:9.
5. It accumulates [riches] with sin, therefore for nothing. Hab 2:12; Hab 2:11; Hab 2:13; Hab 2:17.
6. It seeks false honor, therefore it acquires shame. Hab 2:15-16.
7. It sets its heart upon gold and silver and lifeless things, therefore it must perish with its lifeless gods. Hab 2:18-19.
8. On the whole, it provokes the judgment of God. Hab 2:8 b, 14, 20.
On Hab 1:12. Jehovah, the God of Shem, the God of Abraham, of Israel and of Jacob, is not a God of the dead, but of the living. He is a rock: he who stands upon Him stands firm; he who falls upon Him is crushed. Everything that God does takes place for the instruction of him, who consecrates himself to Him. The best way through the afflictive dispensations of God, is not to ask: How shall I adjust them to my mind? But how shall I make them productive of my improvement ?
Hab 1:13. There is an inability, which is no want of freedom, but which is the highest freedom; and there is an ability, which is not freedom, but the deepest bondage. Mat 4:9. There is not one absolutely righteous man, but there are relatively more righteous men; the judgment of God has respect to this fact.
Hab 1:14 f. Man was made lord over the beasts. God indeed permits men to be treated sometimes like beasts, but he who does it commits sin by it; and his insolence will be changed to lamentation.
Hab 1:16. The sinner perverts and vitiates the holiest thing in man, the necessity of worship. Everything is a snare to him, who forsakes God.
Hab 1:17. Everything continues its time. Ecclesiastes 3.
Hab 2:1. Although we have the Holy Spirit as a permanent possession of the Church, and are no longer referred, like the prophets, to separate acts of enlightenment, nevertheless the answers of the Holy Spirit do not come to us without prayer, and patience and quiet waiting.
Hab 2:2. Everything that is necessary to know in order to salvation, is so plainly written in the Scriptures, that even one who only looks at it hastily, in passing, cannot say that he may not have understood it.
Hab 2:3. It is a great consolation to know that there is One who cannot lie. Psa 116:11. Gods time is the very best time. We should not measure Gods ways by our thoughts, nor the periods of eternity by our hours; but we should measure our ways by Gods Word.
Hab 2:4. Take heed that thou think not of thyself more than it is proper for thee to think. In humility there is power. Mat 15:28. Where there is no faith there is no righteousness. The prophet considers faith to be a self-evident possession of the righteous man. Life is the richest idea in the Scriptures. It is a great consolation to be able to say to the enemy, rage on; thou canst not do more to me than God has bidden thee, nor more than what is useful to me; and thy time is already measured.
Hab 2:5. The intemperate are generally also vain-glorious. Both lead to destruction. Only a clear and sober eye finds the right way. There are many things which intoxicate. One can be intoxicated with honor, and another with hatred against honor. One can be intoxicated with science, and another with hatred against science. All partisan disposition is an intoxicating wine. Desire is insatiable: therein lies its destruction: it devours that, which produces its death.
Hab 2:6. It is a miserable feeling for fallen greatness to be derided by those hitherto despised. He who gathers what is not his own does not gather it for himself. This also cannot continue long. Dignities are burdens [Wrden sind Brden, Prov. = the more worship, the more costC. E.] dignities fraudulently obtained are burdens.
Hab 2:7. It is by [divine] ordination, when he, whom God intends to judge, nurses in his own bosom the serpent, which is to sting him. So it was with Nineveh. Thereby too [i. e., by the same appointment: darin refers to Verhngniss; see Act 2:23C. E.] Christ took upon himself the heaviest judgment of sin.
Hab 2:8. The whole world becomes silent only before God. For all others there is a remnant of those, who have not been subdued, by whom they come to ruin. For those, who are not able to stay their hearts by faith in God, the doctrine of retribution taught in the law remains in full power. They have no desire to choose the grace, therefore wrath abides upon them. God takes care of each individual, and will require each and every abused and ruined soul from the destroyer.
Hab 2:9. Flee as high as you may, God is always still higher. What profit is there in all the prudence and in all the gain of the world, if the soul is a loser by them?
Hab 2:11. God has his witnesses everywhere. If these are silent, the stones will cry out. The blood of Abel cries from the earth, and the thorns and thistles in the field speak of Genesis 3.
Hab 2:12. There is a building which destroys; and a destroying which builds.
Hab 2:13. The blessing, or the curse, upon any work, comes after all, finally, only from above. Nothing can hinder the purposes of God concerning the world.
Hab 2:15 f. The career of a great conqueror has something intoxicating. Before Napoleon not only degraded men became idolaters. There is a witchcraft in it. (Comp. Hab 1:12 with the Introduction to the book of Job.) This comes finally to light, when God judges it, and bitter sobering follows the intoxication: men then have a horror of the human greatness before which they bowed.
Hab 2:18. There is also in idolatry a kind of intoxication. The sober questions: What profiteth the image? How can it govern? guide? teach? do not occur to the minds of the worshippers of idols. A god that cannot speak is nothing. Without the Word of God there is no religion. Him, who is not silent before Jehovah from submission and faith, Gods judgments must make silent.
Luther: Hab 1:12. The prophet calls God the Holy One of Israel, because they were holy through their God and by nothing else. And truly from all eternity God is a Holy One. For it gives great courage, when we know and firmly believe that we have a God; that He is our God, our Holy One, and that He is on our side.
Hab 1:13. With these words Habakkuk shows what thoughts occur to wrestling faith, which holds that God is just; but He delays so long, and looks on the wicked, that one might almost think that He may not be just, but may have pleasure in evil men. It is a source of excessive grief that the unrighteous should be successful so long and acquire such great prosperity, though with calamity. But their success is permitted, in order that our faith, having been well tried, may become strong and abundant in God. And yet this is not grievous beyond measure, when a prophet stands by himself in such a conflict of faith; but when he stands in his official capacity and is to console and preserve an entire nation with him, then it is trouble, misery, and distress. Then the people kick, and there are scarcely two or three in the whole mass, who believe and struggle with him.Chap. 2. Hab 1:1. Such words as the following will become the common cry: Pray, where are now the prophets, who promised us salvation? What fine fools they have made of us. Believe, whoever will, that it will come to pass. Thus does reason behave, when God fulfills his Word in another way than it has imagined. It is also the case then that one will not believe God at any time. Does He threaten? Then the present prosperity hinders us [from believing]. Does He promise grace? Then the present calamity hinders us. Then the prophets first of all endeavor to labor with the unbelieving, faint-hearted people. Therefore I stand, says the prophet, as one upon a tower, and contend strongly and firmly for the weak in faith against the unbelieving.
Hab 1:4. Some take up the Jewish objection, pretend to be wise, and pass judgment upon Paul, as if he had dragged in Habakkuk unfairly and forcibly by the hair, since Habakkuk speaks of his table, and not of the Gospel. Though this table also speaks of the Gospel, yet it speaks of it as future, while Paul speaks of the present Gospel. It is, however, the same Gospel, which was then future and which has come, just as Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever (Heb 13:8), although He is announced in a different way before and after his coming. But that is a matter of no importance; it is nevertheless the same faith and spirit. The truth, which one has in his heart, is called Emunah [firmness, stability, faithfulness, fidelity], and by that he clings to the truth and fidelity of another. Now I let it pass, whoever may be disposed to quarrel about it, that he who has the feeling in his heart which cleaves to another as faithful and true, and depends upon him, may call it truth, or what he will; but Paul and we do not know any other name for such a disposition than faith.
Hab 1:11. Not only his edifice, but also the wide world, becomes too narrow for him who has a timid, desponding heart, and when a pillar or a beam cracks in his house he is terrified. Therefore princes and nobles, if they would build durably, should see to it that they lay a right good foundation, that is, they should first pray to God for heart and courage, which in the time of trouble may be able to preserve the building. But if no care is bestowed to acquire this Courage [den Muth, by which Luther means faith, or the courage inspired by itC. E.], but only wood and stone are reared up, it [the building] must finally, when the time comes, perish, as is here recorded.
Starke: Hab 1:12. One can certainly pray to God for a mitigation, but not for an entire averting of all punishment.
Hab 1:17. Plus ultra, always onward, is the maxim of heroes; how much more should it be the maxim of Christians, in regard to their constant growth and increase in spiritual life.Chap. 2. Hab 1:1. Although all Christians, by virtue of the covenant of baptism, have been appointed watchmen by God (Psa 18:32 ff; Psa 139:21), yet teachers particularly are called watchmen.
Hab 1:2. The prophets had not only a commission to preach, but also to write. They act very wickedly who prevent plain people from reading the Holy Scriptures. Gods Word must be plainly presented, so that even the most simple may learn to understand it.
Hab 1:3. Waiting comprises in it (1) faith; (2) hope; (3) patience, or waiting to the end for the time which the Lord has appointed, but which He intends us to wait for.
Hab 1:5. Pride, avarice, bloodthirstiness, and debauchery God does not leave unpunished in any one.
Hab 1:8. We see here that not everything which is done in accordance with international law is right before God also, and allowed by Him.
Hab 1:9. Prosperity inspires courage; courage pride; and pride never does one any good.
Hab 1:10. Bad counsel affects him most who gives it. When tyrants are to execute the command and sentence of God, they generally observe no moderation in doing it.
Hab 1:15. One should never invite any one as a guest, against whom he cherishes a malignant heart.
Hab 1:16. Those who rejoice in distressing others, will in their turn be brought to distress by God and made objects of derision.
Pfaff: Hab 1:12. In times of public danger the safest and the best [means] is to have recourse to prayer. By it one can best vanquish the enemy and arrest his career.
Hab 2:1. The ministers of the Gospel are spiritual watchmen, partly in relation to the souls of men, over which they are to watch, and partly in relation to the Lord to whose Word they are to give heed and which they are to preach.
Hab 2:3. Ye despisers of the Word of God, do not imagine that the Word of the Lord against you will not be fulfilled.
Hab 2:7 ff. To God belongs the right of retaliation. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Hab 2:20. If the divine judgments fall also upon us, we must adore with the deepest humility of heart, and lay our finger upon our mouth.
Rieger: Hab 2:1. Even those who are in true communion with God are not always in the same state of mind. They are at one time, although in a godly frame [of mind], occupied with external things; at another time they are entirely abstracted from earthly things, and placed in a condition which approaches to waiting before the throne of God. This is sometimes effected by the grace of God through the medium of an unexpected impulse; but there are also sometimes on the part of the believer a preparation and composing of the mind for it. This state of mind is indicated in the New Testament by the expression, I was in the Spirit; and the prophet calls it his tower.
Hab 2:3 f. What, according to our reckoning, seems to be delayed, will be admitted not to have been delayed; but to have taken place at the appointed day and at its proper time. The promises cannot be forced [into fulfillment] by a headstrong disposition; but on the contrary one falls sooner from such busy activity back again to a state of indifference, and thereby neglects the promise.
Hab 2:5 ff. Upon what must a man, who has in his heart no peace arising from faith, lean for the purpose of finding peace therein? And how is it with him who misses the path that leads to God? There is nothing else adequate to fill the abyss of his soul, even though he were able to swallow the whole world. What filth upon his soul has he in his conquests, in his forced acquisitions and possessions!
Hab 2:20. The prophet had obtained this whole disclosure by quiet and persevering waiting upon the Lord, and now for the sake of its realization, also, he directs the whole world to be still before the Lord, who from his holy temple will certainly hasten the fulfillment of these his words, but who also will be honored by the respect and by the measure of the regard of his own people to his judgments. When the heart is free from its thousand cares, projects, passions, partial inclinations, then, and not till then, can it receive many a ray of divine knowledge. Faith is no sleep, but a vigilant knowledge; it is moreover no hasty and precipitate attempt to help ones self, but a waiting upon the Lord.
Schmieder: Hab 1:13. It would be in conformity to the simple arrangement of God that the pious should punish the impious, the more righteous the unrighteous, not the reverse. But the ways of God in the present government of the world are so complicated and intricate, that the reverse often actually takes place; and this is to the pious, who are not yet properly enlightened, a great trial.
Hab 1:14. Then it seems as if things were directed by chance and at will. He who knows God does not trust to false appearances; but the appearance nevertheless pains him, and he would wish that even the appearance did not exist.
Hab 2:2 f. The end, the very last time and the establishment of the perfected kingdom of God, is of all future things the most certain and the most important, and every intermediate prophecy of judgment and redemption has a real value only in the fact that it delineates this last end and assures us of it.
Hab 2:4. Here the character of Abraham, the father of the faithful, is depicted in contrast with that of the insolent princes of the world. This character is righteousness, the source of righteousness is faith, the fruit is life in the full Biblical sense of the word. Faith has no merit on the part of man, because man cannot produce, but only receive it; for faith, as the consciousness of God, is the work of the Creator in man. It is also faith alone, which receives Christ and all the grace of God in him; but the same faith is also the essential principle of all good works. We must beware of considering the faith, which lays hold of grace and justifies the sinner, as a peculiar, separate kind of faith: faith cannot be so divided in reality; but it is an indivisible unity: so the Bible understands it. The dividing and isolation of faith into separate kinds, belongs only to the dogmatic systems of human science.
Hab 2:5. Comp. Daniel 5.
Hab 2:6. There are times, when nations, that are so often devoid of understanding, become prophets, and the voice of God becomes the voice of the people.
Hab 2:18. The teacher, who makes an idol, tries to animate stone and wood. But the animation by means of human idea and art ever remains only a false animation, which, if it is considered real, is deceptive, and only nourishes superstition.
W. Hoffman: On Hab 1:12 (comp. Schmieder on chap. 2. Hab 2:1): Among us of the evangelical church faith is not even yet the possession of every one. There is certainly need, in the Church, of the venerable form of father Abraham to cast us down; of the man who never lost sight of what had been revealed in grace and truth, who continually comforted himself with the fact, that the eternal God, who made heaven and earth, and who held with the first man a fellowship of peace, still lived, because he had continued to reveal himself during two thousand years previous.
Burck: It is something to know the final purposes of the words of God, and to be able properly to apply this knowledge in public and private affairs.
Hierom.: Hab 1:13. He says this in the anguish of his heart, as if he did not know that gold is purified in the fire, and that the three men came out of the fiery furnace purer than they were when they were thrown in; as if he did not know that God, in the riches of his wisdom, sees otherwise than we do.
Burck: Hab 1:14. That God watches over the smallest animals, he neither denies nor declares; but he says only that God has a particular care for men, especially for his own people.
Hengstenb. makes an effective application of Hab 1:13 ff. to gambling hells (Vorw. z. Ev. K. Z. [Preface to the Evangelical Church Gazette] 1867).
Capito: Hab 2:1 : While the righteous man wrestles with God by faith, he conquers at last by his indefatigable perseverance. The prophet is perplexed to the highest degree, while he considers the success of the Chaldan and the misery of his own people, but he stands not the less constantly upon his guard, i. e., upon the Word of God, which promises reward and punishment, and he leans upon God, as upon a rock, in order that his feet may not slip upon the slippery soil of temptation. Whom does God answer? One who is almost broken under daily struggles with bitter anguish of soul, to whom nothing remains, after every protection is lost, but to stand fast upon his watch, i. e., upon the Word of God. Trial teaches such perseverance. Only the answer of God, if it is heard with the ear of the heart, leads to an unwavering hope, for it comes when man despairs of everything else.
Hab 2:3. Philo: Every word of God is an oath.
Burck: O those deplorable ones, who, under whatever pretext, or self-delusion, shun trial. O the happiness of those who obtain the end of faith, and who are to be gathered to Him to be with Him. He will come, yea, certainly He will come. Yea, come, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Hab 2:4. Cocceius: The soul stands right upon that which is promised, i. e., Jesus Christ, if it loves Him. If it does not love Him, it is perverse.
Burck: On every point, article, accent, on every turn and even collocation of words, which may seem to be entirely accidental, the Word of God has laid its especial emphasis. We acknowledge with humility that it is a word from God.
Talmud: In this one sentence, The just shall live by his emunah [faith], the six hundred and thirteen precepts, which God once delivered from Sinai, are collected into a compendium.
Hab 2:5. Schlier: The Babylonians were a voluptuous people, notorious for their drunkenness; but this voluptuous propensity is usually with the prophet an image of the insatiable desire, by which their pride they destroyed one nation after another. And yet it is just so with wine, which is sweet to the taste and seems delicious, and nevertheless it robs the most powerful of his senses, makes him helpless and an object of universal derision. So shall it happen also to the Chaldans with their insatiable greed: it will only plunge them [by their own agency] into destruction and make them objects of general contempt.
H. Mller: Many treasures, many nets. Whom does not the miser injure? He defrauds his neighbor of his property: he is like a thorn-bush; he grabs and holds on to whatever comes too near to him; he seeks everywhere his advantage to the disadvantage of others; he deprives himself of Gods favor and blessing, suffers shipwreck of his conscience and good name, loses the favor and love of men. Lightly won, lightly gone.
Stumpf: Hab 2:11. So in Euripides, Phdra, the wife of Theseus, breaks out vehemently against adulteresses, that they should fear the very darkness and the houses the abominable deeds which they had witnessed to light.26
Schlier: The scourge of the Lord will perform its service, then it will be thrown away.
Footnotes:
[10][Hab 1:15. points back to the collective , Hab 1:14. Here it is the object: in Hab 1:9, it is the nominative. For the form, see Greens Heb. Gram., sec. 220, 1 b. The correct orthography is .
[11][Hab 2:1., observance, guard, watch, from , to watch, observe, preserve, etc. Here it is used as a concrete, the place, or post of observation.
[12][Hab 2:1. signifies to look out, to look out for anything, to await.
[13][Hab 2:1., my proof, contradiction, reproof, correction, complaint, refers to the complaint, which he makes against God in Hab 1:13-17, that He permits the Chaldans to multiply their conquests. The suffix is not to be taken passively, but actively,not the complaint against me, but the complaint that I make against God. LXX.: ; Vulgate.: et quid respondeam ad arguentem me: Luther: und was ich antworten soll dem, der mich schilt; Kleinert: was fr Bescheid ich bringen soll auf meine Gegenrede.
[14][Hab 2:2., vision, the prophetic matter about to be communicated to the prophet.
[15][Hab 2:2., and grave. The LXX. read ; the Vulgate has: et explana eum. Luther: und male es. The idea of legibility, and not that of durability, is doubtless intended. The verb may, therefore, be understood as relative to and qualifying it. Write the vision, and that clearly.
[16][Hab 2:3., to the set time the time fixed by God for its realization.
[17][Hab 2:6., parable, apothegm, proverb, poem, song, verse; a satirical poem, Isa 14:4.
[18][Hab 2:6. from , a song of derision.
[19][Hab 2:6., from , intricate speech, a riddle, enigma. The LXX. render them: ; the Vulgate reads, loquelam nigmatum; Luther: eine Sage und Sprchwort; Kleinert: eine Stachelrede, Rathsdspiele. Delitzsch thinks that signifies a brilliant oration, oratio splendida; and hence is used to denote an interpreter, not from the obscurity of the speaking, but from his making the speech clear or intelligible. But there seem to be no instances in which has the meaning of lucere.
[20][Hab 2:6., from , to give a Pledge, by the repetition of the last radical, signifies the mass of pledges (pignorum captorum copia). The word may from two words, so far as the sound is concerned, namely. , cloud (i. e. mass) of dirt. Jerome and the Syriac take the word in this sense. The Vulgate reads: et aggravat contra se densum lutum; Luther: und ladet nur viel Schlamm auf sich.
[21][Hab 2:7. from , to bite, to lend on usury. The idea seems to be, that those would arise, who would demand back from the Chaldans, with interest, the capital of which they had unjustly taken possession. There is an antithesis to , at the close of the preceding verse.
[22][Hab 2:15. is the construct of heat, wrath, and not of , bottle. Luther employs the second person: Wehe dir, der du deinem Nachsten einschenkest und mischest deinen Grimm darunter, etc. So also Kleinert: Wehe dir, der da zu trinken giebt seinem Nichsten, indem du deinen Zornschlauch ausgiessest.
[23][Hab 2:16. a . ., according to Keil, formed from the Pilpal, from ; but, according to Henderson, a reduplicated form of , shame. In some MSS. it is read as two words, , vomit, and , shame, and this etymology has been approved by both Jewish and Christian interpreters. The Vulgate reads: et vomitus ignomini super gloriam tuam; Luther: und musst schandlich speien fur deine Herrlichkeit; Keil: the vomiting of shame; Kleinert: Schandgespei ber deine Herlichkeit.
[24][Hab 2:17. LXX.: . . ; Vulgate: et vastitas animalium deterrebit eos; Luther: und die verstrten Thiere werden dich schrecken, Kleinert: und die Verstrung der Thiere, die er vcrscheucht. Keil considers a relative clause, and translates the clause: and the devastation among the animals, which frightened them. According to this view, the appended Nun is not paragogic, but the verbal suffix of the third feminine plural, agreeing with . For the use of the suffix fem. 3 pl. see Greens Heb. Gram., sec. 104, g.; and for the peculiar form of the verb, sec. 141, 3. Fursts Heb. Lexicon; die Verwstung durch Behemot.
[25][Hab 2:18. ; compare , 1Co 12:2.C. E.]
[26][See the Hippolytus of Euripides, line 415 f.C. E.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The Prophet in the preceding Chapter having offered up his prayer; in this is represented as waiting for his answer. The Lord grants him a gracious one; the Chapter closeth with a solemn account of the Lord in his temple.
Hab 2:1
This is a beautiful and an interesting account of a child of God, after having given in his petition at the court of heaven waiting for an answer. Such should be the conduct of all the praying seed of Jacob.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Free-thinker Among the Prophets
Hab 2:1
Tradition has much to tell of Habakkuk the Prophet, but history has nothing. He belongs to a class who have made history; he is the kind of man whom God sends to usher in new stages, and launch new epochs of knowledge and action. Look at the spirit of his questioning.
I. It was a temper which, with all its daring, was always reverent, and in its utter frankness was completely sincere. This man never rails against God; he is never irreverent, much less blasphemous. But he is always unmuzzled. His questions are not against God, but to God. This man cannot square his belief in a good and righteous God with the facts of life as he sees them, and he feels that he has right of inquiry when he thus finds his faith baffled by his experience. God counts no question heterodox which comes out of an orthodox life.
II. It was a temper which, amid its questionings, was steadied by a sense of personal responsibility. He feels that he is a man with a responsibility to discharge and only from the standing-ground of his own faithfulness does he feel that he has a right to ask and expect light. ‘I will stand to my post.’ There is no better vantage-ground for a man who watches for the dawn.
III. This is a temper which seeks the highest truth in the highest spirit. Divine verities are only revealed to the gaze of the uplifted life. High truth is not to be found on a low plane of thinking and feeling. Character is the chief condition of illumination; lofty conduct is the kindler of the light The only house of life which can stand against storm and tide is a building whose every stone is squared to the plummet of righteousness.
T. Yates, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxiv. 1908, p. 321.
References. II. 1. J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons (6th Series), p. 109. II. 1-4. J. Bowstead, Practical Sermons, vol. ii. p. 177. II. 2. J. P. Chown, Old Testament Outlines, p. 276. II. 3, 4. J. Vaughan, Sermons (9th Series), p. 229.
The Necessity of Faith to Morality
Hab 2:4
Is not this a singular statement? Is not the just man the man of practical morality the last man in the world whom we should expect to live by his faith.
I. There are classes of men whom we should expect to live by their faith. The poet lives by his faith, for he aspires after an unearthly ideal. The painter lives by his faith, for there floats before him a superhuman beauty. The musician lives by his faith, for his inner ear catches melodies which his instruments cannot express. Even the husbandman lives by his faith, for he commits the seed to a life underground. But the just man the man of practical morality how can he be said to live by his faith? Is he not building his trust upon definite outward acts, on obedience to a command? Yes, but whose command? To a command which is inaudible to the outer ear.
II. The voice of conscience is not uttered by anything within the world. It is not uttered by beauty; you may gaze on the woods and fields without hearing it. It is not uttered by prudence; you may study your own interests for days without meeting it. It is not uttered by law; you may be condemned by a criminal court without receiving its message. This mysterious voice is independent of places and times. It comes at the most unlikely moment; it fails to come at the most likely. It may be absent during the most solemn religious service; it may be heard in the whirl of the dance and in the vortex of gay society. The Garden of Eden may be deaf to it; the haunts of corruption may ring with it. It may elude the thunder, the earthquake, and the fire; it may breathe in the still small sound of a human word. The stars of night may fail to declare it; the streets of the garish day may resound with its solemn refrain. The man who listens to it is walking by faith. It has no mandate from the world; it has no reward from the world; it has no promise from the world. It is a message from an unearthly sphere sent for an unearthly reason and accompanied by the offer of an unearthly recompense. No poet or painter or musician lives more by faith than the man of outward virtue.
G. Matheson, Messages of Hope, p. 15.
References. II. 4. J. Keble, Miscellaneous Sermons, p. 428. C. Kingsley, Village Sermons, p. 34. F. D. Maurice, Prophets and Kings, p. 360. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix. No. 1749. T. Hammond, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx. p. 246. II. 20. J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons (8th Series), p. 225. III. 2. J. N. Norton, Every Sunday, p. 129. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii. No. 725.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
On the Look Out
Hab 2
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch” ( Hab 2:1 ).
This was the conclusion of asking questions of the most painful and distressing kind. Here then is a lesson for all time. A strong-headed man like Habakkuk, whose very name suggests, etymologically, “strong embrace of God,” has his questions; he is puzzled and perplexed by the whole play of things: the tragedy seems to have no beginning, no key, no end. Habakkuk therefore puts his questions “Art thou not from everlasting?” Then why this contention, collision, confusion? Why this universal misery? Art thou not of purer eyes than to behold iniquity? Why then dost thou look on when the wicked man eats up, devours that is the word swiftly and cruelly shuts his jaws upon the man that is more righteous than himself? Why dost thou make us, as if in mockery, like the fishes of the sea, yea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them a wild and furious democracy of disorder? Other questions he puts. Thus he tortures himself, until he says, Away with you! I will stand, I will watch, I will wait. Etymologically, Habakkuk says he will stand as a servant stands. Everything depends upon the spirit of our standing. There be fine critics who stand, and the Lord takes no notice of their posture; he allows them to stand until they drop down dead: he has nothing to say to the merely intellectual vanity of criticism. Habakkuk will stand as a servant. The attitude is indicative of reverence, expectancy, willingness to respond. What a stoop there is in the attitude, even though it be upright to the eye; There is a line of inclination which God sees even in the upright attitude, and in that line he sees condescension, homage, obedience. They who stand so are refreshed by their standing the exercise gives them further strength; it is not a position of exhaustion, but a self-recruiting position, and whilst it is being exhibited and realised, time is nothing. Philosophy has tried to humiliate time; philosophy has laughed at both time and space; in some of its most audacious moods philosophy has denied both. Philosophy has always been struggling to be almost religious. It is difficult for a metaphysician to be flippant. He deals with shadows, symbols, ghostly typologies, and beginnings of things. He lives where he wants great silence, or the line of his thought will be broken, and he shall have his many pains for nothing. But this is a religious emotion which destroys time and space and labour, and seizes but one grand thought Immortality. Philosophy is vexatious; religion is calm, and is, being calm, tranquillising in its effect upon the soul.
“I will stand and watch”: literally, I will spy out. There is a microscopic gaze as well as a telescopic survey. The telescope is proud; it admits nothing but planets and solar systems into its sanctum of vision. Right proud lenses are they that are in the telescope: suns may look at themselves in such mirrors, but little things, tiny specks, animalcular life, such cannot come within the dignity of the telescope. But they have their mediums, instruments; they have their microscope, and to the microscope they all come forth at once, saying, with the thunders and the lightnings, Here are we also, part of thy household, thou great Father of every life. Habakkuk says, Not the telescope now, but the microscope. I will spy out little things; or, I will have an instrument made that can see the very least things at a distance. Great religious enthusiasms are not tramelled by your mechanical limitations, or pestered by your little metaphorical consistencies. Great religious emotion says, I will combine the telescope and the microscope; I will have a binary instrument of some sort, and it shall show me not the great only but the little, not the little only but the great; I will sweep horizons, and read the story of the grass blade.
Habakkuk will stand therefore on what the mariner calls the look-out. When you have been to sea you have observed men at the front of the vessel who were apparently doing nothing but walking across the ship backward and forward; looking now and then furtively; but they were doing a special and necessary business, namely, looking out. When the layman looked out he saw nothing; the skilled mariner, the trained eye looked, and rang a bell. We have looked after the ringing of that bell to see what the ringing meant, and the horizon was all grey, dull, without one broken line upon it; but presently after a few more throbbings of the engine there was a tuft of steam in the far distance, or a sail; it was that the man on the look-out saw, and when he saw it he announced the event to those who were in charge of the vessel. Habakkuk says, I will be on the look out to-night; I will sit up all through the darkness and I will watch, because at any moment there may be a vision. God’s stars sometimes come forth suddenly, and I cannot tell when they may appear; I will therefore look out. The world sleeps the prophet is spying, peering, watching, searching the horizon for signs of coming devastation or dawning light. Bless God for the prophets. They have a hard time of it; it must have been agonising to have been taken up and made a prophet. It is better within given limits to be commonplace, to buy and sell and get gain, and live by the hands. All this fancy life, this discipline that comes through a fiery imagination, this horrible power of seeing the unseen, and this maniac madness of telling men that there are things in front of them which it is impossible for them to discern, this should be the preacher’s life. He should always be ten years ahead of everybody; so far ahead as to be called foolish, mad, eccentric, absurd, raving; and yet he should have such patience, the very quietness of God, that when he hears men say seven years after that he was right, he should simply smile at their tardiness. He knows that he is right. But for this consciousness the prophets could not have lived: it could not have been an easy thing to have been called a madman seven times a day.
When the Lord did speak to Habakkuk he delivered a brief discourse which ought to constitute the first lesson, the middle and the last lesson of every Christian preacher. We need no book of lectures so long as we have these words:
“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” ( Hab 2:2-4 ).
Writing has a function. Fasten this thing down in words; the words will be very poor to him who reads words only, but they will be full of intellectual stimulus, suggestion, wealth, to him who sees in every letter a thought, in every shadow a variety of high colour. We must have a book. No one man can write it all. It must be a book of letters in our mother tongue, and if there be in it no contradictions, swift, sharp collisions, suspect it suspect it! Any man can make a smooth surface; the very poorest mechanic that ever shouldered a bag of tools can make a fair show on the outside. A kitchen table looks much more respectable than a forest: there is an evident respectability about the one, there is a ruggedness about the other; there are caverns and dark places that might house lions and tigers about the other. God’s Bible is full of cavernous recesses, tangled jungles, and cataracts of names we cannot remember two moments together; and yet, reading it all, and reading it all at once, it falls into harmony and music, as the world becomes quite beauteous when swung with astronomic force around the central fire. The earth is geographically about as rough as it can be, there is hardly space upon it to sit down on with any comfort; but caught astronomically, swung round the sun, they say it is beautiful even to shining. You can deal with the Bible geographically or astronomically; fool is he who never rises to the astronomic use and vision of revelation. “Make it plain upon tables.” There must be some very plain words in revelation; the presence of these plain words will make the presence of other words almost contradictory and offensive; for we say now and again, as we read the vision, “That is plain; why is not all as plain as that?” Through and through the Bible there are short sentences, definite lines, as to the scope and meaning of which there can be no mistake, and then on the next page there is nothing but cloud, sometimes breaking a little as if in calculated mockery, and then closing so suddenly as to constitute a frown. It is to be written so plainly that he may run that readeth it, or he may read it that runneth. Make your statements to suit the people to whom you make them. If the young preacher will heed that he will be wise as Solomon to the end of his ministry. So write as to suit the age, the occupations of the men that are round about you. Are the men leisurely? Are they enjoying so much of this world’s goods that they can take time so easily? Then you may write accordingly. Are they in haste, are they swiftly passing to and fro, is it a moment and no more here gone? Who shall preach to that swift-moving age? The man who can photograph instantaneously, the man in whose every sentence is a condensed Bible, the man of swift heart-speech. Yet there are those little Habakkuks who will not do this; they will only write for one kind of people, and that kind of people they can never persuade to pay the least attention to them. They will write for the absentees; they will answer the people who have never spoken, and they will set up objections which their own hearers never imagined; they will offer prizes for amateur infidelity.
The vision does not come true all at once, and you may have to wait for a long time. We have to wait the appointed time. Everything is calculated. God is the timekeeper. You can hasten nothing, you can stop nothing: God reigneth. When he wants you at the front no man can keep you back, and when he does not want you at the front you cannot even force yourself into conspicuousness. O that men were wise, that they understood these things, that they would believe that everything is settled for them every soul a plan, every day a divine study, every soul a divine care: “O rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, and he shall give thee thine heart’s desire.” It is not in life to disappoint the expectation that is just, the expectation that is reverent and grateful. God’s words are seeds; they are immediately blessings, and they are harvests in promise. In all the Bible there is something to be going on with just now; there is an immediate feast, and yet the feast on which we now regale the soul is but a dim outline of that banquet which shall last throughout eternity.
God then rebukes a certain class of the community, saying, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him.” God is against all swollenness, vanity, self-exaltation, self-trust So are you, if you have learned the lessons of experience. God is in these respects but man infinitised. Thus God speaks of himself, “Like as a father” but a father multiplied by infinity; like as a mother, but a mother that represents ideal womanhood. So the Lord will not have the self-exalting man. Find a young man who is going to do everything, who thinks that he can manage all things easily, so much so that he need never pay the faintest attention to them; find a boy who laughs at examinations, who calls them “exams.,” and then thinks that they are done; find a man who is going to arrange and settle everything, and you find a man who will one day be about the poorest looking creature you ever saw drenched through and through on the top of a hill. It comes to this always. All bounce is condemned. Find a young life that says, I will try: I am rather afraid I shall not be able to do it all at once, but I will do all I can; let that be the frank, sincere speech of a childlike heart, and it comes to honour, and none can keep it back from the wages of merit. Humility is always crowned, not mock-humility, but sincere self-distrust, that peculiar quality of self-distrust which says, If this has to be done I must do a great deal of it when nobody is looking at me; I will wait until all the others retire, and then I will have two hours to myself, and see if I can manage it. That man shall be crowned and envy cannot hinder the coronation, nor calumny destroy the fair fame that is built on reason and on industry.
“The just shall live by his faith.” We do not get the full force of these words. The greatest annotators upon the Hebrew text assure us that the words, “shall live” mean shall live eternally. There is immortality then in the Old Testament. We have had this sentence in the negative in the first chapter, in the twelfth verse; Habakkuk says, “We shall not die.” Believe the higher emotion and not the merely critical pedantry of men. The soul is only its very self now and then, but in that now and then it sees God’s word, it realises God’s promise, it is what God meant it to be. Here is a man in times that we call pagan who stands up and says that we shall not die; and on what does he base this challenge to death? On God’s own everlastingness; there is quality touching quality: “Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die.” “The just shall live by his faith”: the just shall never die; the just may be regarded as immortal. There must be immortality in the Old Testament; if there is little of it literally it may be because there is so much of it assumptively; instead of looking upon it as a thing to be argued, it is the one thing that is beyond controversy.
There is a meaner life, there is a life that must die:
“Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! [Felicitous contempt, delicate scorn, satire all sting! Think of a man lading himself with thick clay! This is what men do who serve mammon only: their cry is all day, More, more, more clay, more covering!] Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!” ( Hab 2:6-9 ).
God will not have these high nests. You know it. When you were young, what you were going to be! What adornment and finery and vanity and presumption! Now that you are a wrinkled old woman tell us what life really is; tell us what you would be and do if you had the chance to begin again. And when you came from school to college, you remember, you were going to trample down everybody and set everything right, and now that you are a disappointed old grey-beard, tell us what is life: how would you do if you had to start once more? Where is the girl that was simple, frank, self-distrustful, industrious, almost silent, and absolutely without pretence? She is crowned among the mothers of Israel. Where is the young man that began at the bottom, and went up and said, I am afraid I am getting almost too high now: what am I in my father’s house that I should have this elevation? Where will he end? In heaven. Here is your choice then: the life of the just, or the life of the clay-gatherer; the life of holiness, or the life of covetousness; the life that will have nothing that reason cannot explain and conscience justify and merit claim, or the life that will have a high nest without working for it and without climbing to it. It need be no Habakkuk who can forecast the future of men now. The Bible has, if we have inhaled its true spirit, made us all prophets. Show me a man, and I will tell you his end; not by my own sagacity, but by reading God’s Book and watching the issues of divine history. Has Habakkuk anything evangelical about him? Does he ever in all this faith-life of his touch the very highest line of vaticination? He does; he says, “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Oh, that is a great evangelical song! God’s will be done: thy kingdom come: thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
What is the end of all Habakkuk’s waiting and watching and spying out? This:
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” ( Hab 2:20 ).
It is the Lord’s doing; he setteth up, he pulleth down; he is indeed watching the wicked man devouring the upright, but presently he will lock his jaw, and send him away into everlasting darkness. The wicked man is doing menial service in God’s house, and is showing that nothing can hinder the triumph and coronation of the righteous. “The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God: you do nothing by all your exclamation and fury and protection of the truth and watching lest anybody should injure the ark of God. Away with it! God will take care of his own ark; God will defend his own truth; God will bring forth the judgment of the just like the morning; yea, he shall set it on high like the glory of noontide. If religious men cannot be quiet, what men can enter into the mystery and the joy of tranquillity? Everything is settled, foreappointed, arranged. In that faith I live. Therefore no man can make me afraid. Your bitterest enemy cannot take one hair out of your head more than God counts and looks after and permits to go. And when the right time comes he will show you his purpose. You will first be humbled by the vision, and then you will ask for eternity in which to give sufficient praise.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
II
THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK INTRODUCTION AND INTERPRETATION
The theme of this chapter is the prophecy of Habakkuk. As regards the author, nothing more is known of him, no reference is made to him in any other portion of the Scriptures besides what is given in Hab 1:1 . The name is a little peculiar. It means to embrace, or to be embraced. It found its application to the prophet in that he kept very close to God. Apparently he was well known, for he styles himself “the prophet,” which may or may not imply that he was prominent in prophetic circles. But it does imply that he was well known. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, although they make no reference whatever to each other. Thus while Jeremiah was preaching his great sermons and seeking to lead Israel back to God, Habakkuk was also grappling with another great problem.
The date of this book is almost certainly in the reign of Jehoiakim between 609 and 605 B.C. We put it subsequent to 609 B.C., because the conditions which the prophet describes could hardly have existed during the reign of Josiah. We put it before 605 B.C., for it seems altogether likely that he wrote before Nebuchadnezzar inflicted that terrible defeat on Pharaoh-Necho at Carchemish and became the supreme ruler in western Asia. In the book of Habakkuk, Chaldea, or Babylonia, was the rising power, but had not yet come to its highest pinnacle of greatness. The evil conditions of the time fit the earlier half of the reign of Jehoiakim.
The prophecies in the book of Jeremiah seem to imply that exactly the same evils existed then as were depicted by Habakkuk. We also find that he makes no reference to Assyria or Nineveh, its capital, which shows that Nineveh was destroyed at this time, and the power of Assyria was forever crushed. He does refer to the Chaldeans, and it was shortly before and after the destruction of Nineveh that the Chaldean power was rising to its place of supremacy. Putting things together then, it seems most likely that it was written between the years 609 and 605 B.C. in the reign of Jehoiakim.
The style of the book is almost classical. Habakkuk is one of the most original of the Hebrew writers. He is a sublime poet. Though we have only one of his poems preserved to us, it is one of the finest poems in Hebrew literature. He is a literary genius of the highest type, almost equal to that of Isaiah. There are many textual difficulties in his prophecy; the text has in some places suffered corruption, as we shall see as we proceed with the study of it.
It is well for us to note at this point that there were four great prophets prophesying or preaching in this period. There was Jeremiah, one of the greatest of the prophets; there was Zephaniah, whom we studied in our last chapter; there was Habakkuk, who perhaps did comparatively little preaching, but who lived during that period; and then in Jer 26 there is reference to a certain prophet named Uriah, who prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, fled into Egypt to escape the wrath of Jehoiakim, was brought back to Jerusalem and slain. These four prophets were contemporaries. Jeremiah was saved because he had a friend among the princes; Zephaniah was a prince himself and therefore he escaped; Habakkuk, we know nothing about; he probably was in obscurity, as he seems to be more of a writer than a preacher. Uriah suffered martyrdom at the hands of the wicked and unscrupulous king.
Jeremiah’s problem was to warn Israel of her sins, predict the coming destruction, prophesy of the preservation of the remnant and the restoration to their own land again after the exile, and thus be the means of preserving religion among the exiles, securing their return and preparing the way for the glorious age that should follow. The prophecy of Zephaniah was very similar to that, but the prophecy of Habakkuk is different. Habakkuk is not a preacher in the same sense in which Zephaniah and Jeremiah were. It is no part of his talk to warn the people of their sins, to warn them against the impending destruction at the hands of Babylon, to seek to induce, if possible, repentance on their part and to promise a future return and restoration. That is not his problem.
In Habakkuk we see what is called speculation in Israel. I am not sure that we have the beginning of speculation here, but we certainly have speculation, or we have an instance of the mind of a prophetic man, dealing with one of the most perplexing problems that could ever occupy the attention and thought of a mortal being. It is not how Israel shall escape the punishment of her sins, but it is this problem: Why does God allow this evil to exist? How is it that God can allow Israel to go on in this state? How is it that God permits this moral evil? And then when he projected that problem, he received his answer from Jehovah, and the answer is this: Israel is allowed to go on in her iniquity, but God is going to raise up the Chaldean power to punish her for her sins, and she must suffer destruction because of those sins at the hands of that power.
Then another question comes upon the horizon. The Chaldeans were terrible and ruthless warriors, worse than the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, and how can a holy God who has pure eyes too pure to look upon evil how could he permit such a nation as Chaldea to swallow up a nation vastly better than themselves? In answer to this question he takes his stand upon what he calls his watchtower, the watchtower of history, to observe God’s providences and see what God is going to do. God gives him a vision and tells him to write it on a tablet. What did it mean? It is the settlement of the great problem troubling the mind of Habakkuk. Habakkuk gets his answer, and the answer is that the nation of the Chaldeans carried within themselves the principle of death, and must perish through their iniquity as truly as Judah must perish because of her iniquities. The triumph of the Babylonian power is but temporary.
God in the future will work out his principle of righteousness, providence will vindicate itself, and in Hab 3 we have the prophet’s vision of God marching through history, and he pictures him as few poets have ever pictured God in his providential management of the world and its affairs. The question is then, How can God, holy and pure and righteous as he is, permit this evil in Judah and in Babylonia? It will be observed at once that it is a profound question, one of the most perplexing questions that ever troubled the human mind. Habakkuk is not the only one who has asked that question. How is it that God permits the colossal evils that have been going on for millenniums in this world? What is the meaning of it all? Such questions have troubled many minds.
The following is a convenient analysis of the book of Habakkuk:
Introduction: The title, (Hab 1:1 ).
I. The prophet’s problems (Hab 1:2-2:4
1. The prophet’s cry (Hab 1:2-4 ).
2. Jehovah’s answer (Hab 1:5-11 ).
3. A new problem (Hab 1:12-17 ).
4. The prophet’s attitude (Hab 2:1 ).
5. Jehovah’s explanation (Hab 2:2-5 ).
II. The prophet’s proclamations (Hab 2:6-3:19 ).
1. The vision of destruction in five woes (Hab 2:6-20 ).
2. The prophet’s prayer and psalm (Hab 3:1-19 ).
The prophet cries against injustice and oppression (Hab 1:2-4 ). Abominable iniquities were prevailing in Judah and Jerusalem under the reign of that wicked king. The prophet was unable to restrain himself, and he broke forth, “O, Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear?” This cry is not necessarily the cry of prayer; it is the cry of distress, the cry that arises from a heart which feels that something is wrong, feels it deeply, and cries out to God because of it. It may include prayer, but it is not primarily prayer. He has been crying to God because of this iniquity and God doesn’t seem to be listening: “Thou wilt not save! How long must I continue?”
“I cry out unto thee of violence,” and that word “violence” is the word they used when any great crime was being committed, as murder or robbery. It is one of the strongest words in the language. Instead of crying, “Murder,” he would say, “Violence.” It means that the worst of evils prevailed in the city and in the land. “And thou wilt not save I” How long is God going to stand this condition of affairs and not save us from it?
Then he raises another question: “Why dost thou show and cause me to see iniquity, crookedness, perverseness? for destruction and violence are before us; and there is sin and contention.” That was the condition of affairs in the reign of Jehoiakim. The law found in the Temple not long before this and which was promulgated under good King Josiah and accepted by the nation, with the king at its head, “is slackened, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.” It will be observed that the sins mentioned here are those that Amos charged against Northern Israel, that Jeremiah and Micah especially charged against Southern Israel, the same conditions, and the same iniquities prevailing. Such is the prophet’s cry.
There is a great difference of opinion among interpreters regarding this oppression, violence, and perversion of justice, as to how it arose. Some maintain that it was because of the oppression of the Chaldeans; and others that it was the oppression of Egypt, for during this time Judah and Jerusalem were swaying between these powers; at one time Assyria, then Babylonia, and then Egypt. But this explanation does not fit the case. It was not a case of foreign oppression. Foreign oppression did not cause the law to be slack and justice and judgment to be perverted. Foreign oppression would not necessarily affect the social, commercial, and religious life of the people. The prophet had in mind evidently the actual condition of Israel during the reign of Jehoiakim when wickedness prevailed among the people, especially in Jerusalem itself.
Jehovah’s answer to the cry of the prophet (Hab 1:5-11 ) is that he is going to raise up the nation of the Chaldeans and they are going to be the means of punishing Israel for her sins. God calls attention first of all to the great wonder he is going to perform: “Behold, ye among the nations, and look and wonder marvelously, for I am working a work in your days,” which shows that the Chaldeans now rising up on the horizon had not yet attained their greatest height. “Behold, I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.”
Assyria and Nineveh had been crushed and it was almost inconceivable to them that another nation would be raised up, almost as cruel and as rapacious as was Nineveh herself. He has done that many times in history and since the days of Habakkuk. What a wonder that people have not believed, although it has been told them. In Hab 1:6 this is explained: “I raise up the Chaldeans.” Let us note particularly the description of this nation: “that bitter and hasty nation,” swift in their movements, could strike blows where they were least expected, “that march through the breadth of the earth to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” That was the purpose of all their conquests, to seize upon possessions not theirs, the same as was the purpose of Assyria and Nineveh. “They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves,” not from any higher source. “Their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen shall spread themselves, and shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagles that hasteth to devour.” A very vivid description of the swiftness with which the Babylonian army marched.
They shall come for what? Hab 1:9 , “They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forward; and they gather captives as the sand. Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it.” They will gather the people together like heaps of dust, no matter whether kings, princes, or strongholds, the Chaldeans will gather them together as they would gather dust in their hands. “Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall pass over, and be guilty,” or commit sin, “even he whose might,” whose strength, whose prowess, “is his god.” There is such a thing as a deifying of force, the worship of strength, or a man making his strength his god, or a man making money his god. Why? Because money is power. The Babylonian made his might his god; he worshiped his strength, and Babylonia is not the only nation that has done that same thing.
Habakkuk (Hab 1:12-17 ) expresses a very beautiful faith in God and a very high and holy conception of him: “Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die.” He voices the consciences of the very best people of Israel, God’s people. “We shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him [the Chaldeans] for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction.” That is why the Chaldeans have been raised up. Then he goes on: “Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness,” and this is what gives rise to his problem, “Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and boldest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he; and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?” He goes on with his description: “He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and he gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad.”
Here is a nation that treats every other nation and people as if they were mere fish of the sea; he casts his great conquering net in and brings it up full, as mere fish to be devoured or thrown away. How can God look upon such things as that, such a nation treating God’s own people in this way? That is his problem. Then he goes on with the description, verse Hab 1:16 : “Therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his food plenteous.” Then the question arises, “Shall he therefore empty his net, and spare not to slay the nations continually?” Is God going to let such a rapacious and insatiable monster go like that, devouring the people forever?
The prophet’s attitude toward this question (Hab 2:1 ) was a waiting attitude, or the attitude of faith and honesty. The prophet in receiving an answer to this great question as to what providence means by permitting such, says, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.” I will take my stand upon my tower where I can observe what God is going to do and what God will answer to my complaint; how he will answer my question.
Jehovah’s explanation of the new problem is that the Chaldean principle is the principle of death, but the righteous have within them the principle of life: “Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.” Let the people see what is coming; write your vision plainly so that when a man sees it and reads it, he will run. And when the vision was written and they saw it, they felt like running. The vision, he says, is for the appointed time, this is a vision of coming destruction, the coming judgment, the overwhelming power of the Chaldeans: “The vision is for the appointed time, it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie.” It is true, though it tarry, wait for it: it will surely come, it will not delay. Now he repeats the statement, making it emphatic, to impress upon them the fact that that vision which Habakkuk saw of the coming destruction of judgment must certainly come.
I think you will find in Hab 2:4 , the greatest text in Habakkuk and one of the greatest texts of the Bible: “Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Behold, the soul of the Chaldean is puffed up, elated with mirth, with self-sufficiency; “but the righteous one shall live by his faithfulness.” This is the text upon which Paul bases his theology and his interpretation of Christianity, and he uses it more than once. Let us try to find the interpretation of it: “The righteous shall live in his faithfulness.” The word here is “faithfulness,” not merely faith. The root of it is the word which means faith, and from which we get our word “amen”. It means faithfulness, integrity, perseverance, and especially, steadfastness. Applied to business life it means integrity and steadfastness; to family life, faithfulness of father and mother, husband and wife, and child. Applied in every other respect we can interpret it by the word “faithfulness”.
Paul says, “The just shall live by faith,” that is, the soul shall find forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ through the exercise of faith in his gospel. It implies there also the doctrine of perseverance and steadfastness. The just man, the righteous man shall live by his faithfulness, not merely by believing once in Jesus Christ, or believing once in God, but lie shall go on living by that faith in steadfastness and perseverance in his belief.
This is the great characteristic of Job, that he was proved to be steadfast, and the finest commentary, explanation of the doctrine of perseverance, or the preservation of the saints, is the book of Job. That is the principle of life, the principle by which the righteous shall live, by which Judah and Israel shall live, but the principle that animates the soul of the Chaldeans is pride, self-sufficiency, which unbalances all his powers and is the principle of death. It is suicide. That is the vision upon the tablet, great and eternal principles: that sin is suicide; that faithfulness is life. This is Habakkuk’s great contribution to the Old Testament theology.
Jehovah illustrates his answer in Hab 2:5 . The proud, treacherous, insatiable Chaldean shall become a proverb to the nations: “Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home,” means this: As wine will make a man drunk, it also makes him treacherous, with a tendency to wander away; so the Chaldean, drunk with his conquests, proud, self-sufficient, wandering everywhere wherever he can find anything to satisfy his lusts for conquest. As wine creates an appetite never satisfied, so the drunkenness that comes from conquests enlargeth his desire as Sheol, the underworld, with its insatiable maw that is never satisfied, “but gathereth unto him all nations and heapeth unto him all peoples.” It is conquest, the lust for dominion and power, that is as insatiable as death and Sheol.
Hab 2:6 says that the nations would take up a parable against him, a taunting proverb. Here he pictures the downfall of Babylon, who because of her greed, oppression, and plunder should have nations rise up against her and taunt her. Five songs, or five woes, follow:
1. The plunderer shall in turn be plundered, Hab 2:6-8 : “Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges!” That is, making himself a debtor to all these nations by taking their possessions; and by continually treating the nations this way, he made all the nations his creditors, and he himself was debtor to them all. “Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them? Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein.”
2. A house built by evil gain shall witness against its owner, Hab 2:9-11 : “Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!” That is a picture of many businessmen and other men of the present age, who set up a nest for themselves on high to be reserved for a rainy day. “Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it,” a figurative expression, that the house built thus will witness against its owner.
3. The capital built by blood shall be as fuel to the fire, Hab 2:12-14 : “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!” just as Nineveh and Babylon were established by iniquity. “Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?” That is the case because Jehovah hath decreed it. “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea,” a fine text, which goes to show that the city being built by blood shall be burned, shall be destroyed, but Jehovah’s cause will triumph.
4. The producer of drunkenness and shame shall in turn be put to shame, Hab 2:15-17 : “Woe to him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” What is the meaning? Not simply giving one drink and compelling him to drink, but it means that he oppressed the people, brought them down to degradation, weakness, and shame, in order that he might gloat over their wretched, shameful condition, the figure being drawn from Noah when he got drunk and lay in his tent in a shameful condition.
Now Chaldea was to make all nations drunk, bring them down to shame and degradation and gloat over their condition. Then the woe follows: “Thou art filled with shame, and not glory; drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah’s right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory. .For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein.”
5. The gross idolatry of Babylon disappoints the idol maker, Hab 2:18-20 : “What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?” Then he says in Hab 2:19 , “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” Compare that with Isa 44 for a description of idolatry. Then he goes on: “But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” A splendid contrast that is, one of the finest in all the world’s literature, between the idols of Babylon and Jehovah, the living God.
Hab 3 is in the form of a poem, picturing the theophany, the appearance of God as he is executing his vengeance in the world and saving his people: the picture of God appearing on the horizon of history, combining the elements that we find portrayed in the deliverance from Egypt, the bringing of Israel into Canaan, and some of the great historical deliverances that followed. A company of Savants in France gathered together and each one was to bring one of the finest quotations of poetry that he could discover, and Benjamin Franklin appeared with them on invitation and contributed his part to the program by reading this poem of Habakkuk. They were enraptured, wanted to have it published, wanted to know whence it came, who wrote it, where it was found, and thought it the finest thing they had ever heard. Franklin simply referred them to this book in the Bible.
In this proclamation concerning righteousness the viewpoint is that of the majesty of Jehovah, and the consequent triumph of his people. In the first movement the prophet declares his recognition of the divine interference, his consequent fear, and breathes a prayer for the revival of Jehovah’s work (Hab 3:2 ). He then proceeds to celebrate the greatness of Jehovah as manifested in his dealings with his ancient people. This k a review of God’s work in the history of Israel, in an exalted strain of poetry, Hab 3:3-15 : At Sinai (Hab 3:3-4 ); the plagues in the desert (Hab 3:5 ) ; the terror of the nations at Israel’s coming (Hab 3:6-7 ); crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan (Hab 3:8-10 ); Joshua at Bethhoron (II) ; conquest of the land (Hab 3:12-15 ). In the last section of the poem the prophet expresses fear and faith concerning the judgment. The contemplation of the judgment on the “puffed up” had filled him with fear, yet he triumphed in God. Describing the circumstances of utter desolation, he declares his determination in the midst of them to rejoice (Hab 3:16-19 ). This view of the mountaintop faith of the prophet here furnishes a fitting conclusion of our study of this prophet. May his faith and spirit possess us!
QUESTIONS
1. What is the biblical information concerning the author of Habakkuk?
2. What is the date of this book and the circumstances fixing it?
3. What of the style and literature of this book?
4. What four great prophets of this period were contemporary and what the problem of each?
5. What other question arises in this connection?
6. Give an outline of this book.
7. What is the cry of the prophet, what its nature and cause, what the prevailing condition, what the theories respecting this oppression and what the real state of affairs?
8. What is Jehovah’s answer to the cry of the prophet, what the destructive work of the Chaldeans and the characteristics of their army (Hab 1:5-11 )?
9. What of Habakkuk’s faith in Jehovah and what new problem arises here (Hab 1:12-17 )?
10. What is the prophet’s attitude toward this question (Hab 2:1 )?
11. What is Jehovah’s explanation of the new problem, what specific charge to the prophet and why this special commission?
12. What was the writing on the tablet and what Paul’s use of it?
13. How does Jehovah illustrate his answer (Hab 2:5 )?
14. What was to be the attitude of the nations toward this devouring monster?
15. What is the first woe (Habakkuk 2:-8)?
16. What is the second woe (Hab 2:9-11 )?
17. What is the third woe (Hab 2:12-14 )?
18. What is the fourth woe (Hab 2:15-17 )?
19. What is the fifth woe (Hab 2:18-20 )?
20. What is the literary form of Hab 3 , what the contents Hi general, and what historic incident of the use of this poem?
21. Give more specifically the contents of this poem?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Hab 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Ver. 1. I will stand upon my watch ] To see what becomes of my prayer, and what will be the issue of my doubts and temptations about God’s providence, ruling the affairs of the world. See the note on Hab 1:17 . There are spaces between our prayers and God’s answers. God hearkens what Habakkuk speaks; and Habakkuk must hearken another while what God speaks. This he had learned from David, Psa 85:8 . Prayer is a Christian’s angel, seed, dove, messenger; and must be looked after. Who shoots an arrow, or casts a bowl, and takes not notice where it lights? They that observe not the answer of their prayers do as scoffing Pilate, who asked in scorn of Christ what is truth? but stayed not for an answer.
And set me upon the tower
And will watch to see what he will say unto me
And what I shall answer, when I am reproved
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
watch = watch-tower; referring to the place.
set me = take my station.
tower = fortress.
watch = look out; referring to the act = keep outlook.
unto: or, in.
answer when I am reproved: or, get back because of my complaint.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Shall we turn at this time to the book of Habakkuk.
Very little is known concerning the personal background of Habakkuk. Very little, nothing is known. We don’t know really anything about his background. There are indications from the book itself that he was of a priestly family, perhaps one of the priests in Israel. He addresses the last chapter, which is a psalm, he addresses it to, “the chief singer on my stringed instrument.” And that was usually the place of the priests who were, many of them, God had called them for the purpose of providing music in the temple. So Habakkuk could’ve been just one of the temple priests.
The time of his prophecy is not declared, as so often at the beginning of a prophecy the prophet will declare, “Who prophesied during the reigns of Josiah, and Jehoiakim,” and so forth. He doesn’t tell us the time of his prophesies. But, again, from the prophecy itself, from the book itself, we realize that there is a great spiritual declension and the impending invasion of Babylon. Many put the prophecy during the reign of Josiah, however, during the reign of Josiah there was more or less a spiritual revival in Judah. After the evil, wicked reign of Manasseh, Josiah came along and instituted many spiritual reforms. The discovery again of the law of God, the instituting again of the Passover festivals, and there was a great spiritual revival under Josiah.
In chapter 1, Habakkuk is complaining against the tremendous spiritual declension, and thus, probably towards the end of the reign of Josiah, and then, of course, the reign of Jehoiachin and Jehoiakim. It is in the final period of the national deterioration prior to falling to Babylon. And, of course, Habakkuk is prophesying of Babylon’s coming invasion and being used as a rod of God to punish God’s people.
So he begins,
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see ( Hab 1:1 ).
It begins with a cry unto the Lord. Now Habakkuk had a very beautiful and close relationship with God. The word Habakkuk means embracer, and Habakkuk embraced the Lord and was embraced by the Lord. So he begins with a prayer unto the Lord.
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! even cry out unto you of the violence, and you do not save! Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold these grievances? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are those that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment never goes forth: for the wicked encompass the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds ( Hab 1:2-4 ).
So the complaint against God because of the deteriorating conditions of the country, the land. It seems as though the stem of evil, or the tide of evil, is not being stemmed by God. “Lord, how long will I cry to You of these things that are taking place, and You don’t answer, You don’t hear, You don’t respond? God, there’s such a horrible deterioration in the land. There is such moral corruption. There’s such an overwhelming tide of evil, and the whole nation is just going down so rapidly. God, You don’t seem to be doing anything about it. We pray; we cry unto You, but it seems like evil is prevailing, and that the evil persons are prevailing. As the result, righteous judgment no longer proceeds.”
The effect of the moral declension of the nation is reflected in the judicial system. So that the law is slacked and judgment does not go forth. I think of things that are going on in our own area here. I am deeply concerned for the judicial system. Last year this young man John Hinkley attempted to assassinate the President, and we’re all aware of the incidents that took place on that fateful day. A couple of weeks later, in Italy a young man attempted to assassinate the Pope. Now he has already had his day in court and was tried, and is now serving his sentence. Hinkley hasn’t even come up for trial yet. Now there’s something wrong with the judicial system that it’s so cumbersome, that here he is not even yet up for trial, and over in Italy those who kidnapped Dozier just recently are already in court being tried.
I was reading where this big drug bust in Newport Beach recently where a million dollars worth of cocaine was recovered from a house up in Spy Glass Hill. Though they found the cocaine there and everything else, they did not have a proper reason to search them. Therefore, they’ve been dismissed and are now scott free, out buying more drugs, and back into their trade.
Something’s wrong with the judicial system that releases known criminals who have even confessed their crimes, but just because of a failure to inform them of their rights before their confession, they’re allowed to go free. Or because they were accomplices together in the murder, and though they admitted, both of them, to being involved, each one said the other one did it. And because they can’t testify against each other in such a case, they let them both go free. Such was the case of the two young men who murdered my friend Ray Boatright. There’s something wrong. The law is slack; judgment does not go forth. That is a mark of a declining moral state, a weakness of a nation. When a body gets so sick that it can no longer purge itself of its poisons, that body will soon die. When we’ve become so weak in our judicial system that we cannot purge our society of the poison within the society, you can be sure that that society hasn’t long to live.
“The wicked compass about the righteous.” It would seem that the humanistic, liberal concepts are being embraced by the majority of the people. That those who would dare to stand up for morality and righteousness and pure living are considered as archaic, Victorian, and all of the other names that they call it.
So the prophet Habakkuk sees all these things. He cries out unto the Lord, but it seems like God isn’t doing anything about it. It seems like things are just getting worse, there’s no change. It seems like their nation is just sliding down more rapidly all the time. So he is distraught. He says, “Lord, I’d just as soon You not show me anything else.”
I’ve really gotten to that place almost myself. Someone came up this morning and said they now have X-rated radio in several of the major cities of the United States. Some radio stations have gone to what they call X-rated programming, in which they use all kinds of filthy language and get into all kinds of filthy type of diatribe and stories and everything else. It says that they are such a tremendous success and have such a large listening audience among the young people, that it’s about the greatest success story that’s come in radio for a long time, X-rated radio.
I said, “Lord, please don’t let me know anything else. I can’t take it. Lord, this whole corrupt system seems to be getting worse all the time, and You’re not doing anything about it.”
“Lord, I cried unto You,” he said. “How long shall I cry and You don’t seem to hear me?” So the Lord responded to Habakkuk, verse Hab 2:5 , and He said,
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you ( Hab 1:5 ).
Now the prophet was saying, “God, please don’t show me anything else, because the whole thing is deteriorating so rapidly, and You’re doing nothing about it.” God in essence responded, “I am doing something. I am working. I’m doing a work in your day, and if it were told to you, you wouldn’t believe it.” The prophet more or less said, “Try me.” And so the Lord went on. He said,
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god ( Hab 1:6-11 ).
So the Lord said, “I am working, and what I am doing is I am gathering together the Babylonian nations, the Chaldeans, and they are going to come with their swift army. They are going to move through the breadth of this land and conquer it, and destroy the houses of these people.”
So he predicts the impending invasion and victory of Babylon over Judah. But then he says when they have conquered, then they are gonna make a mistake, and they are going to attribute the fact that they had been able to conquer Judah to their god being superior to the God of Israel.
Now when God revealed His plan to Habakkuk to use the evil nation of Babylon as an instrument to bring defeat to God’s people, to destroy their land, it was true, Habakkuk couldn’t believe it. As God said, “I am working, but if it were told to you, you wouldn’t believe it.” Habakkuk answers God. In his answer to God, he again expresses his not understanding the ways of God. He said,
Are you not from everlasting ( Hab 1:12 ),
Have you not always existed?
O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ( Hab 1:12 )
That is, as a nation surely we will not die.
O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou has established them for correction. But Lord, you are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and you cannot look on iniquity ( Hab 1:12-13 ):
Very interesting verses. God is of purer eyes than to behold evil. That is, to behold in the sense of approval. “You cannot look upon iniquity with approval.”
We are coming this week, of course, to the remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As this Sunday throughout Christendom, they were celebrating Palm Sunday, the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Fulfillment of the promise of God through Daniel and through Zechariah of the coming Messiah. “Behold thy King cometh unto thee,” Zechariah declared. “But He is lowly sitting on a colt, foal of an ass” ( Zec 9:9 ). But even as Daniel said, “When the Messiah comes, He’ll be cut off” ( Dan 9:26 ).
So this is the week right after His triumphant entry, and His being rejected officially by the religious leaders, and their conspiracy to put Him to death. We will be remembering again the death of Jesus Christ. And in remembering the death of Jesus Christ, we remember the agony in the Garden of Eden, as He prayed three times to the Father concerning the cup that He was to drink. Sweating as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground. As He agonized before the Father concerning the cross, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless if it cannot pass from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done” ( Mat 26:39 ). As we remember the prayer of Christ, and as we look at the cross, and we hear the cry from the cross, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” then we understand the prayer of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Isaiah in prophesying concerning the death of Jesus Christ that, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. By His stripes we are healed. For all we like sheep have gone astray. We turned every one of us to our own ways, but the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all” ( Isa 53:5-6 ). When Jesus was there on the cross suffering in your place, taking the judgment that was due you for your sins, as the iniquities of the world were laid upon Him, the history of man, all of the evil, vile acts committed by man in his history were at that point placed upon Jesus Christ.
As Habakkuk said, “Thou canst not look upon iniquity.” And in His bearing of your iniquities, He became separated from the Father. Thus the cry, “My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?” But we realize that God in His plan to show you how much He loved you, forsook His Son when He took your iniquities, in order that He would not have to forsake you eternally. Oh, the mysteries and the depths of God’s love that were revealed there on Calvary, as Jesus bore your sin, and my sin, and He suffered in our place, and took our judgment. We feel like taking the shoes off of our feet whenever we talk about the things of the cross, because truly we are standing there on holy ground. As we consider God’s great love for fallen man, for you, for me.
In the Psalm that Jesus was actually quoting when He cried, “My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Psa 22:1-31 , it goes on to say, “Why art Thou so far from the cry of my roaring? I cry in the day season, and Thou hearest not, and in the night, and Thou art silent. But,” and in verse Hab 2:3 he gives the reason for being forsaken, “but Thou art holy, O Thou who inhabits the praises of Thy people Israel.”
Here the prophet speaks of the holiness of God, “Your eyes are so pure that You cannot behold evil. You cannot look upon iniquity, O Thou art holy, thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.”
So the penalty and the result of sin, separation from God, was experienced by the Son, who knew no sin, but God made Him to be made sin for us, in order that we might be made the righteousness of God through Him. Oh, I’ll tell you, how can a person reject such a fabulous offer that God gives to man? He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. Oh, what a glorious thing to realize. He became what we are, that we might become what He is. So the declaration of the prophet concerning God: the purity of God, the holiness of God.
Now this brings up an interesting point, you see. Because so many times we find ourselves in that position of asking God to condone our iniquity or our sin. Paul said, “Don’t you realize your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? You’re not your own, you’ve been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and your spirit, which are His.”
Don’t you realize that if you are using your body for immoral purposes, and your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, you’re actually asking God to condone, or to go along, and to partake in your iniquity? Yet, God is of pure eyes than He could behold evil; He cannot look upon iniquity. If God forsook His only begotten Son when the iniquities of the world were laid upon Him, it is sheer folly if you think that you can embrace God while doing evil. “If a man says he is in the light, and walks in darkness, he lies and does not the truth. Be not deceived.” Many people are deceived into thinking that they can embrace God and embrace evil and iniquity at the same time. Not so. “Come ye apart from them saith the Lord, touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters” ( 2Co 6:17-18 ). But God said, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
Now the prophet has a problem. “Lord, You are of pure eyes to behold evil, You cannot look upon iniquity,”
how come, Lord, you’re looking on those who deal treacherously [That is, the Babylonians], and you hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he? ( Hab 1:13 )
What the prophet is basically saying is, “Hey, God, we are bad, I recognize that. But they are worse than we are. I don’t understand, Lord, why You would use a nation that is even more corrupt than we are to judge us, or to bring judgment on us. I don’t understand this.” Speaking of the Babylonians, he said,
They make men as the fish of the sea, as creeping things, that have no ruler over them. They take up all of them with their hooks, and they catch them with their nets, and they gather them with their drag: and therefore they rejoice and are glad. Then they sacrifice unto their nets, and burn incense to their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? ( Hab 1:14-17 )
“God, I don’t understand why You would use the Babylonians. They’re pagans; they are idolaters. They are like fishermen, who, after they have taken a great multitude of fish, they then offer sacrifices to their nets, burn incense to them and all, and they’re worshiping the wrong god. They’re not worshiping You. Why would You prosper them? Why would You allow them to have victory? Why would You allow them to have such great spoil?” In other words, “Why would You bless the ungodly and prosper the ungodly?” “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Hab 2:1. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
I shall look to God, and I shall also look to myself. There shall be an expectation as I gaze upward to my Lord, and there shall also be an examination as I look within at my empty, guilty, good-for-nothing self.
Hab 2:2. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
The prophets were accustomed to write their messages upon wax tablets, and the Lord bade Habakkuk thus write what he had seen. God would have both his law and his gospel plainly revealed to men, so that they might know and understand his will. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, We use great plainness of speech; and the Lord would have all his servants do likewise. It is not for us to bury the gospel under a mass of fine words, but to set it forth in the simplest and clearest possible language; for it is not the power of human words that God blesses, but the truth itself as it is applied to the heart by his Spirit.
Hab 2:3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Is that a contradiction,Though it tarry,…. it will not tarry ? No; to us, it appears to tarry; but, in Gods way of reckoning, it does not really tarry. To our impatient spirits, it seems long in coming; but God knows that it will not be a moment beyond the appointed time.
Hab 2:4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
This grand text was quoted by Paul when he wrote his Epistles to the Romans, the Galatians, and the Hebrews. It proves that Old Testament saints understood New Testament life. David and Abraham lived by faith, even as Paul and Peter and the other apostles did.
Hab 2:5. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
This was spoken of the Chaldeans, an ambitious nation so exceedingly greedy that it seemed as if the whole world would not be large enough to satisfy their voracious appetite. Their great kings enlarged their mouths like Gehenna, and they seemed as insatiable as the very maw of death itself.
They heaped up nation upon nation to make a huge empire for themselves.
Hab 2:6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
That which is said of ambition may also be said of covetousness. What an idle task it is for a man to go on perpetually hoarding, heaping together more than he can possibly enjoy himself, as if it were made for nobody but for one man, and he must needs grasp all the wealth of the world. There is scope enough for the loftiest ambition when you seek the nobler joys of grace; there is room for a sacred covetousness when you covet earnestly the best gifts; but, in every other respect, may these two things ambition and covetousness be ever thrust far from us!
Hab 2:7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
So it happened to Chaldea that the nations, which they had spoiled, by-and-
by grew strong enough to take vengeance upon them, and to spoil them in their turn. Usually, when men do wrong, it comes home to them sooner or later. The chickens they hatch come home to roost; at night, at any rate, if not before. Towards the end of life, a man begins to gather the fruit of his doings; or if he does not reap it in this world, certainly he will in the world to come.
Hab 2:8-9. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of mens blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
He fancies, when he gets rich by oppressing others, that he will himself rise out of harms way. He says that he will make the main chance sure, He who has plenty of gold fancies that he will be able to preserve himself from sorrow; but this is what God has to say about that matter:
Hab 2:10-11. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
These Chaldeans were great builders, as we know by the vast ruins that still remain; and most of their buildings were erected by labour exacted from the people whom they oppressed. They received no wages for their work; so even today, from the ruins, the stone cries out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber answers it. Let all men know that, sooner or later, God will execute justice even upon the greatest nations. If they will be destroyers, they shall be destroyed. Their evil policy shall, by-and-by, sweep them away. There is a something in the world, says one, that makes for righteousness. Indeed there is, only it is more than a something; it is God himself who is ever working in all things towards the vindication of his own righteous and holy law.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Hab 2:1-20
JEHOVAHS ANSWER . . . Hab 2:1-20
THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH…Hab 2:1-5
Having presented what sounds to himself like a conclusive argument against Gods use of the Chaldeans to punish Judah, Habakkuk now declares he will simply stand and wait for Jehovahs answer. We do not know what answer he expected. Perhaps he thought Jehovah would acquiesce, as He did when Moses interceded following the unfaithfulness of the people shortly after the exodus. (Exo 39:9 -ff) In any event, the answer was not long in coming. The prophet is to write the vision (which is how the book of Habakkuk came into being). He is to make it plain upon tables. National dealings were engraved upon wooden tables covered with wax. The engraving was made with a hot iron writing instrument and the plaque-or tablet thus engraved was hung in public in the temple. (cp. Luk 1:63) It is to be written so plainly that one running past could read it without stopping. The idea seems to be that whoever reads the tablet engraved with Gods answer to Habakkuks complaint will run to whomever he can with the news. Run is used elsewhere for the urgent announcing of Gods revealed truth. (cp. Jer 23:21, Rev 22:17) In view of modern insistence upon the same complaints against God, it would seem that we too should adopt a sense of urgency. Gods answer is still valid. Men need to know it now as in the day of the prophet.
Zerr: The preceding chapter closes with the plea of the prophet to put a stop to the wicked business of the enemy. Hab 2:1 represents him as waiting at his post of duty and listening to hear what the Lord will say to him in response. Watch is a short term for watchtower, because prophets were regarded as watchmen on the walls of Zion and looking out for the welfare of the people (Eze 3:17). The prophet is watching and sees the enemy approaching (with his prophetic eye) and has reported it to his great Commander-in-chief and wants to know what is to be done about it. Hab 2:2 begins the Lord’s answer to the prophet’s inquiry. He is instructed to make it plain which is tram BAAR, defined in the lexicon, “A primitive root; to dig; by analogy to engrave.” Tables is from LUACH which Strong defines, “To glisten; a tablet (as polished), of stone, wood or metal.” The means of advertisement were not very plentiful in ancient times, and public notices were supposed to be so arranged that all could know about it. Hab 2:2 means that Habakkuk was to select a writing tablet or plate and engrave the announcement upon it. He was to engrave the words on this plate and display it in a conspicuous place. Then a man running by could read it as he was passing very much as a traveler today can read the road signs as he is driving along.
(Hab 2:3) The message is to be committed to writing because the fulfillment of what is said lies in the future, from the point of view of those who first read it. Write it down just as you receive it, says God, in effect, then see if it doesnt happen just this way. In this verse is stated a point which needs to be imprinted indelibly on the mind of anyone who ever doubted the divine inspiration of Scripture. What God said and the prophets wrote about the cataclysmic events of history was written well in advance of the events themselves. That these predictions were fulfilled to the letter years, sometimes centuries, later is conclusive proof to any honest scholar that they were not of human origin.
Zerr: The gist of Hab 2:3 is that some time will pass by before the prediction is fulfilled, but it is sure to come and the people should be expecting it.
The predictive element of prophecy was one of the strongest evidences offered by the apostles of the truth of the Gospel. (e.g. Act 2:22 -ff) A generation ago it was the fad arming the critics of the Bible to say that the predictive prophecies of the Bible were actually written after the fact, but recent scholarship, even of the most liberal persuasion, tends to accept the traditional dates of Scriptural writings. These dates place all predictive prophecies well before its fulfillment. What God answers here, in reply to Habakkuks second question, is a case in point. Having answered the first question with a prediction of Judahs punishment at the hands of the Chaldeans, He answers the second by predicting the destruction of the Chaldeans themselves by the Persians! The years of Babylonian captivity will make the fulfillment of this vision seem to tarry. Nevertheless, those who read are to wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay.
(Hab 2:4-5) Jehovah begins His answer by setting forth a general principle. Whoever is puffed up in his own soul (whether Jew or Chaldean) will be punished. The righteous, whether Jew or Chaldean (Paul will later say to the Jew first but also to the Greek, Rom 1:16-17) shall live by faith. The contrast of the Bible between the godly and the ungodly is set forth in verse four in bold relief. It is not a contrast between good and bad per se but between the haughty soul who sets his will against that of God on the one hand and the one who lives by faith on the other. The New Testament will make this contrast even more sharply in terms of the carnal as opposed to the Spirit-directed. (e.g. Gal 5:16-25).
Zerr: Lifted up (Hab 2:4) is said in the sense of pride, something that the Lord abhors as not being the proper spirit of an upright man. Such a principle will not direct anyone In the way pleasing to Him. Instead, the man who will live or be in the favor of God is one who shall live by faith and who is not prompted tn conduct by pride. Hab 2:5 and a number of verses following describe some characteristics of the Chaldeans who were destined finally to come against Judah. Neither keepeth at home indicates the practice of that heathen nation in seeking further territory to subdue. In the pursuit of such a desire it gathers unto him all nations. This explains the motive that Babylon had in subduing Judah although it was the decree of God that his people be taken into that captivity. But since the motive was wrong, the Lord was determined to punish that heathen nation, which accounts for these verses against it.
A word needs to be said here concerning the statement the righteous shall live by his faith. As indicated above, Paul alludes to this Statement in Rom 1:17. In so doing, he quotes the Septuagint. There the text reads literally but the righteous, out of my faith shall be living. The Greek of the New Testament in Rom 1:17 reads literally but the righteous out of faith shall be living. There is a minor textual problem here. The Hebrew text, as represented in our American Standard Version has his faith in Hab 2:4. The Septuagint in the same place has my faith. Pauls Greek omits both possessive pronouns and says simply by (not my or his) faith.
The apostle has captured the essential truth of Habakkuk. In contrast to the overwhelming military might in which the Chaldeans trusted (Hab 1:13-16) and the Assyrian-Egyptian alliance upon which Judah had based her national security, the righteous shall stake his life upon his trust in God. The Chaldeans would lay waste to Judah who trusted in Assyrian and Egyptian arms. Cyrus would one day bring the Chaldean empire of Babylon to her knees. Through it all, God would preserve His real people . . . the true Israel. (cf. discussion of Micahs prophecy concerning the remnant.) Here is an eternal truth, and one Gods people in the closing decades of the twentieth century would do well to learn. God deals with people on the basis of obedient faith not on the basis of misplaced national loyalty and military power, whether Chaldean, Jewish or American!
(Hab 2:6) There is an intriguing reference to wine here. The haughty, who depend on military might and alliances are pointed out as deceived by the treachery of it. When Babylon attacked Nineveh, the leaders of that city were indulging in a drunken revelry. When Babylon herself was taken, it was during Belshazzars feast when he dared drink wine from the golden vessels of the temple of Jehovah. (cf. Dan 5:2-4; Dan 5:30 cp. Pro 20:1; Pro 30:9)
The United States may one day fail in her own defense while our leaders are enjoying themselves in the endless round of Washington cocktail parties. Of course one who objects to such things in our day is looked upon as being somewhat strange and fanatic . . . as were the prophets who tried in vain to warn Israel and Judah of the consequences of the same thing.
In Hab 2:5 there begins a general description of those things characteristic of the Neo-Babylonian empire which carried in them the seed of the destruction that awaited her. Cocktail party diplomacy was only one of those characteristics. The empire is presented as a haughty man. Just as Judahs pride went before her fall so would Babylons contribute to the downfall of the empire. Every ancient nation shared this weakness of pride. Each imagined itself to be the select or chosen people of a god who was superior to all other gods. This national deity would preserve his people and subordinate all other peoples to them. The Jews flirtation with Baal, along with certain other influences, made them mistake Jehovah for such a nationalistic god. This is why Habakkuk asked his second question (Hab 1:12 -f), Such haughtiness blinds any nation to the realities of international life.
The second characteristic of Babylon which contributed to his (the haughty mans) downfall was the inability to stay home. As Habakkuk pointed out (Hab 1:14 -ff), the Chaldeans swept all people into their sphere of dominance as a fisherman snares a school of fish. Here Jehovah agrees with the prophets evaluation. The haughty man enlarges his desire as Sheol. Sheol is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Hades; the abode of the dead. It is never full but always seems eager to receive more and more people. Babylon is like this. Just as death is never satisfied, so Babylon is never satisfied . . . always seeking more victims.
This is a fatal obsession for any nation. Every world conqueror, from Alexander (or those who divided his kingdom following his untimely death) to Hitler has learned too late that he cannot encompass the earth and successfully control it. A classic example is the British Empire. There was a time when Brittania could boast that the sun never set on the Union Jack. But it did not last. Today England is at best a second rate power. Even our own attempt to build a world wide economic empire has brought to us problems that seem insolvable and that threaten our national vitality beyond endurance.
The lust for power, as any other lust, carries in it the elements of its own death. (cf. Jas 1:15) It was indeed an attack upon Babylon by those who had once been her ally that brought the empire to destruction in the end. So Jehovah predicts that those whom the Chaldeans conquer will one day take up a parable (or taunt) against them. This taunt forms the first of a series of woes through which Jehovah answers Habakkuks second question.
THE FIRST WOE . . . Hab 2:6-8
As Gods providential guidance of history will bring about Judahs chastisement at the hands of the Chaldeans, so it will bring about, in turn, the destruction of the Chaldeans. Just how this is to come about is described in the woes which Jehovah now pronounces against them. The first woe is to him that increaseth that which is not his. To see this principle in operation against the Babylonians, we must bear in mind that Judah was not the only nation to fall prey to the Chaldeans military expansionism. The Medes and Persians also came under the influence of Babylonian greed. And the time was not long in coming when they would together find the strength to do something very final about it. This uprising reached its climax c. 532 B.C. when Cyrus and his Persians in collusion with certain Babylonian clerics made Babylon subject to the enlightened domination of Persia. For two subsequent centuries Babylon was ruled by the Persians. Gods promise to Habakkuk, in answer to the prophets second question, is (Hab 2:8) that this downfall of Babylon will be in punishment for her plundering and violence done not only to Judah but to other people as well.
Zerr: After the Babylonians have been overthrown the nations that were mistreated by them will rejoice in their downfall. They will return to the covetous practices of which they had been victims and consider them as reasons why the dreaded nation was itself conquered. Thick clay (Hab 2:6) in the original is ABTIYT which Strong defines, “Something pledged. i.e. (collectively) pawned goods.” Moffatt renders it “what he must repay.” The passage means that when the Babylonian king seized the property of all these nations he was taking on a load that he would not always be able to carry. It is likened to a man who obligated himselt by pawning something that he would not be able to redeem. That was because God was going to bring the King of Babylon to account and he would not be able to meet it. Hab 2:7 is in Question form, but it is a prediction that the nations that Babylon had depressed would rebound and take vengeance on it. Spoiled many nations (Hab 2:8) refers to the plunder that the Babylonians took from the helpless countries.
THE SECOND WOE . . . Hab 2:9-11.
The second in the series of woes pronounced against Babylon in answer to Habakkuks questioning is stated in Hab 2:9-11. It emphasizes the covetousness of Babylon in her aggressions against other peoples. The covetousness is beyond the normal greed of an aggressor nation. It is so extreme as to be fatal not only to the invaded nations, but to the invader. Not content with national aggrandizement and the enriching of his own coffers, the ruler of Babylon steals enough from conquered peoples to enrich his whole nation or family. This is precisely the sin of Jehaiachem for which God raised up Babylon in punishment (cf. Jeremiah 22) It will also destroy Babylon in turn. The nest on high is figurative of the eagle (Job 39:27). Here it refers to the royal citadel. Babylon was famous for its towered ziggurats. To Babylon Jehovah says (Hab 2:10) Thou . . . hast sinned against thy soul. The empire raised up by God thus becomes guilty of her own destruction. The very towers of Babylon, built by the blood of conquered peoples and supported by stolen loot, will cry out against her (Hab 2:11). Her splendor is her downfall. Her glory is in her shame!
Zerr: The prophet now turns his writing into a general discussion at certain principles pertaining to the conduct of man (Hab 2:9) and of God’s attitude toward the same. Coveteth an evil covetousness means to desire that which would be wrong to have. That which would make it wrong is his evil motive namely, that he might set his nest on high which means the act of selfexaltation or pride. Concerning such a person described in Hab 2:9, the prophet charges him to have consulted shame (Hab 2:10) which means that his conduct will bring on his house the shame of defeat. He has really sinned against his own soul or life because in the end he wlll be the loser. Stone and beam (Hab 2:11) are inanimate objects and are used figuratively to represent the miraculous judgment that will come upon the man guilty or these wrongs.
THE THIRD WOE . . . Hab 2:12-14
The third woe, pronounced in Hab 2:12-14, is brought about by the extreme cruelty of Babylon. Like her covetousness, her mercilessness against conquered people also contains the fatal poison of the empire. This blood-thirstiness of Babylon was infamous throughout the ancient world. John uses it, as a familiar fact, in the symbolism of Revelation. (Rev 17:6) Those who are now laboring to build Babylon are laboring for the fire. (Hab 2:11) That is, they are simply erecting those things which will be burned in the destruction of the city.
The significant truth here, for the sake of the prophets question, is that it is of Jehovah of hosts. The moral principles which bring about the rise and fall of people and nations in the flow of history are not accidental. Neither are they the product of any process of social evolution. These principles are fixed by God. They are the same from age to age in all of mans international relationships. The nation which fails to recognize them and govern itself accordingly may expect to join all previous empires on the rubble heap of dead civilizations! There is a purpose to Gods rigid insistence that nations as well as men recognize and submit to His moral judgements. (Hab 2:14) The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah . . .
Zerr: It is right to build towns for habitations of needy people, but it is wrong to do so by violence (Hab 2:12) against other helpless men. The Lord has decreed that all who pursue such wicked courses for gain shall find themselves laboring in vain (Hab 2:13). Their own practices wlll turn out to be as a fire about them that will destroy all their evil labors. The general knowledge of God’s glory (Hab 2:14) was to come to the nations when He brought the mighty Chaldean power into subjection. But we can see a greater fulfillment of the prediction in the universal distribution of the Gospel (Mat 28:19; Mar 16:15 ; Rom 10:18 ; Col 1:23).
A word about glory may be helpful here. The term itself means literally the essential nature of a person. Gods glory is His essential character i.e. that which causes Him to be held in high repute among those who know Him. By dealing with men and nations on the basis of fixed moral laws, Jehovah is revealing Himself to them. That nations are more often than not blind to this truth is to their detriment, not His!
Just as surely as God was preparing for the coming Christ by revealing Himself to Israel through the prophets and His written word, so He was preparing the nations for Christ through His dealings in history. That both Israel and the Gentile nations failed to learn what Jehovah taught simply underscores mans universal need for salvation. It certainly is not, as Habakkuks questions would imply, and as modern agnostics insist, an indictment against God as unfair or unjust.
THE FOURTH WOE . . . Hab 2:15-17
The fourth woe, with which Jehovah answers the prophets second question, has to do with the drunkenness of the Babylonians. We have already remarked briefly on this. (see above on Hab 2:5) Against the practice of excessive drinking in Babylon, God sets in figurative speech the downfall of the empire. Babylon is pictured here as a drunken man. He is not only drunken himself, but like most drunkards, he influences others to share in his revelings. The accusation is that the drinker shares the drink in order to look on his neighbors nakedness. There is no genuineness of friendship here. Babylon only pretends to share the good life so as to lure his neighbors into alliances which will ultimately expose them to loss and shame.
Zerr: The Bible teaches that a drunkard will not inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 6:10). so that such a character will be condemned for his own act. And Heb 2:15 condemns those who encourage or induce others to drink. It is especially to be condemned when the motive is as low as indicated in Heb 2:15. The statement gives us an additional thought, namely, that when a man is drunk, his mentality is depressed and he Is rendered unreliable in his actions and judgment.
Proud Babylon, the drunk, is himself not filled with glory as he supposes. His own nakedness is exposed and it is revealed to all the world that he is uncircumcised. He is not Gods covenant people! God will do to Babylon what Babylon has done to others. He will allow the empire to become corrupt to the extent that foul shame (literally vomit) will cover its glory. Ironically, Babylons final collapse came in the midst of a drunken revel. (Daniel 5) The imagery here is very appropriate!
Zerr: As a degradIng suggestion befitting the character of such a tempter, he is told to drink with his intended victim and thus be induced to expose his own nakedness. Shame for glory (Hab 2:16) is rendered “more with shame than with glory” in the margIn which is evidently correct. The tempter intended to get glory from the shame of his victim, but instead he was destined to bring shame upon himself. The cup Is figurative and means the cup of God’s wrath against such an evil character. He was to be forced to drink of it and be thereby induced to vomit out his own filth instead of glorying over the debauched condition of his victim.
In Hab 2:17 the figure changes. From describing Babylon as a shameful drunk, Jehovah turns to describing him as a beast caught in a net trap. The violence done to Lebanon reminds us that Lebanon was the gateway to Judah for the armies of Babylon. Also that the temple destroyed by the Babylonians was built of the cedars of Lebanon. Just as men threatened repeatedly by the incursion of wild beasts become driven by fear to destroy the beasts, so Babylons neighbors, subjected repeatedly to the brutalities of Babylon will one day be driven to destroy him.
Zerr: Violence of Lebanon (Hab 2:17). The violence of Lebanon or the city of Jerusalem means that which was intended against the holy territory. But such violence was to rebound and cover the wicked nation or king who designed such drastic actions.
THE FIFTH WOE . . . Hab 2:18-20
The fifth woe against Babylon is introduced by a question (Hab 2:18). What, Jehovah asks, is the profit of a graven image even to the one who makes it? As with all nations of ancient time, Babylon created gods in their own image and then relied upon these gods of their own making to lead, empower and preserve them. It is the futility of this practice that God points to in this woe. Not only the covetousness and bloody violence of Babylon will contribute to the overthrow of the empire. The trust in man-made gods also will conspire to bring it about. The god in which they trust is dead, There is no breath in all the midst of it. Because they serve a dead god; they too shall die!
Zerr: . The weakness and foolishness of idolatry is the subject of Hab 2:18-19. Teacher of lies. Every expectation that an idol seems to offer its maker is a He. Man made the idol and therefore it could not possess any wisdom or power that man does not already have and so It could contribute nothing to him.
Christian America woke one day a few years ago to hear on television and read in major publications that God Is Dead! Perhaps there was more truth to the pronouncement than we realized. The gods of Roman and Protestant institutionalism . . . the god of economic materialism . . . the god of permissiveness and pleasure . . . the whole American pantheon is dead. Perhaps as we need to learn from the first four woes, so we need to learn from the fifth. The nation is doomed who worships a dead god!
In contrast (Hab 2:20) to the dead god of Babylon, Jehovah is in His holy temple. Strange words, since the temple would, when the vision of Habakkuk came to pass, be in ruins. The obvious intent is that God does indeed not dwell in temples made with hands, whether those hands be Jewish or Babylonian.
Zerr: Silence (Hab 2:20) is defined as “hush” in the lexicon. The servants of God are everywhere encouraged to sing and speak their praises of Him which would not seem like silence. The thought is to show a contrast with the foolishness of idolatry and the wisdom at an intelligent Deity. An idol is only a teacher of lies and should not be listened to. The Lord is in his rightful place, the temple (Hab 2:20), and on the throne of the universe. Therefore when He speaks it is the truth and all the earth should be hushed and with reverent ears receive the divine words.
A brief listing of the five woes may be helpful:
1. (Hab 2:6) Woe to him who increases his possession of that which is not his.
2. (Hab 2:9) Woe to him who gets evil gain in order to set himself above others.
3. (Hab 2:12) Woe to him who builds his great cities on the suffering of downtrodden people.
4. (Hab 2:14) Woe to him who involves others in his sin in order to exploit them.
5. (Hab 2:19) Woe to those who worship dead gods.
These woes reveal eternal truth which explains in varying degrees the downfall of every collapsed civilization.
Questions
The Second Question
1. Show how Gods answer to Habakkuks first question gave rise to the second question.
2. State the prophets second question in your own words.
3. Show how the Jews misconception of themselves as Gods people is reflected in Habakkuks second question.
4. What two concepts did the Jews find hard to grasp? (As stated by Dr. Maurice Harris)
5. Show how Nahums question to Nineveh (Nah 3:8) could be asked here of Judah.
6. What do you understand is the Biblical doctrine of election?
7. How does dispensationalism pervert the doctrine of election?
8. What word more accurately states the idea of election?
9. What is implied by Habakkuks use of the term O Rock in reference to Jehovah?
10. What two fallacies combine to confuse Habakkuk in reference to Gods purity and Babylons impurity?
11. Describe the activity of the Babylonians toward neighboring nations.
12. In a sentence, what is Jehovahs answer to Habakkuks second question?
13. List the five woes with which God gives His answer.
14. Show how these woes describe eternal principles in Gods dealing with nations in history.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The Just Shall Live by Faith
Hab 2:1-20
Having prayed, the prophet expected an answer and looked out for it. When it came, there would be no mistaking it. But until we see eye to eye, we must live by simple faith in God. Note that wonderful clause in Hab 2:4, which is referred to so often afterward. See Rom 1:17; Gal 2:16; Gal 3:11. Life in this age, as in that, may be obtained and maintained by faith in the ever-living God. Through long waiting-times the only source of continued life is the faith which draws all from God. From Hab 2:5 onwards, the prophet enumerates Babylons sins: her pride, love of strong drink, rapacity, and violence. It could not be Gods will that the mighty city should flourish on the anguish of the world.
From scenes of anarchy and riot which foretell Chaldeas doom, we pass into Jehovahs temple, where peaceful silence reigns! Let us live in that secret place! The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter 2
On The Watch-Tower
There is nothing harder for man to do than to wait on God. The restlessness and activity of the flesh will not brook delay, but counts time spent in waiting and watching as so much time lost. It is blessedly otherwise with Habakkuk. As no reply is at once given to his eager, anxious questionings, he takes the attitude of the patient learner who remains silent till the Master is ready to make known His mind.
I will stand upon my watch, he says, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved (ver. 1).
His words bespeak a very right and proper condition of soul. Perplexed and confused by the seeming enigma of Gods ways, he owns he may require reproof, and takes his stand upon the watch-tower, above the mists of earth, and beyond the thoughts and doings of men, where he can quietly wait upon God, and look out to see what He will say unto him.
Such an attitude ensures an answer. God will not leave His servant without instruction if there be a willing mind and an exercised conscience.
As he maintains his lonely watch, Jehovah answers, bidding him, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that read-eth it (ver. 2). The oracle about to be revealed is not for the prophet alone, but through him for all men. It is a principle of vast importance, far-reaching in its application. Therefore let him take his stylus and set it forth plainly upon a writing-table, that he who reads it may run and proclaim the message far and near.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (ver. 3). What is to be declared is not for then-present alone. It shall have fuller, wider application in a time of the Lords appointment, which was then in the future. Forward to this day of blessing is the prophet directed to look.
We know from Heb 10:37 that it is really Messiahs reign to which he is pointed. When the verse is quoted there, the pronouns are no longer in the neuter, but they become intensely personal. To Christ alone do they refer. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. When the apostle wrote, He had already come the first time, only to be rejected and crucified. But He is coming back again, coming in a very, very little while, as the words might be rendered. When He returns He will put down all unrighteousness, and bring forth judgment unto victory. Then shall that for which the prophet yearned have come to pass. The mystery of Gods long toleration of evil shall be finished, and the reign of righteousness shall have come in. To this period of blessing Habakkuk is to look forward; and meantime, though of the man of self-will it can be said, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, yet, however wickedness may triumph, the man of God is given to know that the just shall live by his faith (ver. 4).
This is the oracle which Habakkuk had been bidden to write so plainly. This is the word that the reader should run to declare.
Such a reader, and such a runner, was the apostle Paul. This verse is the key-note of his instruction to both saint and sinner. Having read the prophets words with eyes anointed by the Holy Ghost, he runs the rest of his days to make them known to others.
Three times they occur in his epistles, and in each place they are used with a different object in view.
When, in the letter to the Romans, he is expounding the glorious doctrine of the righteousness of God as revealed in the gospel (chap. 1:16, 17), he finds in these words the inspired answer to the question raised ages ago in the book of Job, How then can man be justified with God? (chap. 9:2; 25:4). Triumphantly he points to the revelation of the watch-tower, and exclaims, The just shall live by faith!
When Judaizing teachers sought to corrupt the assemblies of Galatia by turning them away from the simplicity that is in Christ, implying that while it is by faith we are saved, yet the law becomes the rule of life afterwards, he indignantly repudiates the false assertion by declaring that not only is faith the principle upon which they first begin with God, but the just shall live by faith (Gal 3:11). Immediately he proceeds to show that the law is not of faith, and therefore cannot be the Christians standard. Christ, and Christ alone is that. In Him we are a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God (chap. 6:16).
Again, when, in the treatise to the Hebrews, he is tracing out the pilgrims path through this world, from the cross to the glory, he shows most blessedly that only the entering into the power of the unseen can sustain the believer through a life of trial and conflict; and so once more he declares, The just shall live by faith (Heb 10:38). He adds, But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him, which is the first half of the verse in the Septuagint rendering.
Thus the secret made known to Habakkuk so long ago becomes the watchword of Christianity, as at the Reformation it most properly became the battle-cry of Luther and his colleagues.
It was all-important that the lonely prophet look beyond and above what his natural eyes beheld, and thus would he endure as seeing Him who is invisible.
So today. Much there is to dishearten and discourage. But dark though the times may be, the man of God turns in faith to the Holy Scriptures, there to find the mind of the Lord. He acts on what is written, let others do as they may. His path may be a lonely one, and his heart be ofttimes sad; but with eager, glad anticipation he looks on to the day of manifestation, and seeks to walk now in the light of then.
Thus his eyes are opened to behold everything clearly, and he is able to estimate the pretensions of ungodly and spiritual men at their true value. The Chaldean proudly boasted of being helped by his gods to overthrow the people of Jehovah. Habakkuk is shown that he is but an instrument used for present chastening, but soon to be recompensed double for all his sins. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell (sheol), and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people (ver. 5). Inflated, and self-important, like the false world-church of the day, Babylon would gather all into its fold, and stifle everything that is really of God. But the hour of doom is coming, when he shall be the sport of the people, and they shall tauntingly cry, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! Suddenly his enemies shall arise, and he shall be spoiled because of his blood-guiltiness and his blasphemy against Jehovah (vers. 6-8).
Meantime, though the times be difficult, and waters out of a full cup be wrung out to the little flock who seek to walk in obedience to God, the trusting soul looks up in holy confidence, knowing that the triumphing of the wicked is short. Thus the just shall live by his faith.
In every age, when declension came in, those who would live for God have found themselves in a position similar to that of Habakkuk. Jeremiah, his companion-prophet, felt it most keenly: but grace sustained him through all. And it is well if, in our day, when the word of God is in large measure given up, and human expedients take the place of divine precepts, that we be found walking humbly in the path of faith, able to say, All my springs are in Thee!
The woes that follow have their application not only to the king of Babylon, and his cruel, relentless armies, but they declare the mind of God regarding any who are in the same unholy ways.
Woe to him that coveteth! The sentence, uncompleted, causes the special sin to which attention is drawn to stand out all the clearer. It was covetousness that drew the hordes of Chaldea to the gates of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar would add an evil gain to his house (literal rendering), that he might magnify himself and set his nest on high. But though he might build a costly and magnificent palace by means of the spoil he should take, the very stones would cry out of the wall, and the beam of the timber would answer, exclaiming, Woe unto him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity (vers. 9-12). Unrighteousness springs out of covetousness, even as we read, The love of money is a root of all evil. That is, lust for wealth is a suited root for every kind of iniquity to spring from.
Covetousness is unquestionably the crying sin of the present day. Insidiously it creeps in and lays hold of the people of God as well as of men of the world. Yet it is a sin against which the word of God warns with fearful solemnity. It has proven the undoing of many an otherwise valiant man, and has destroyed the pilgrim character of thousands.
What, then, is covetousness? And how is it to be distinguished from honorable thrift and a proper use of opportunities whereby to provide things honest in the sight of all men? In our English Bibles four words are used to express the one sin-covetousness, concupiscence, lust, desire. Believers are exhorted to be content with such things as ye have (Heb 13:5); we also read, Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content (1Ti 6:8). Covetousness is the very opposite of this. It is the unsatisfied craving of the heart for more than God has been pleased to give. Covetousness, we are told, is idolatry! Then it is plain that the covetous man is the one who puts gain between his soul and God. Anything that turns us from heart-occupation with Him is an idol. By this we may readily test ourselves as to where we stand.
The sluggard and the shiftless are not commended by the word of God, but rigorously condemned, and exhorted to thrift and energy. But to run to the other extreme, and to set the heart upon business and the accumulation of wealth, is equally fatal to spirituality. The happy medium is that laid down by the Holy Ghost, who bids us be not remiss in zeal, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. When He is served, all else will fall into place. I shall then use this world not disposing of it as my own, but shall hold all committed to me as His steward.
One cannot but feel that, had we a single eye as to this, we should hear less of pilgrims embarking in doubtful (not to say shady) business schemes and speculations, because of possible large profits; the failure of which oftentimes brings grave dishonor on that holy name by which we are called. It may be laid down as an axiom, that no saint should be in any way connected with any business, however profitable, that could not bear the searching inspection of Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire.
If it be otherwise, there may seem to be present success and assured prosperity, but it shall turn out at last as Habakkuk has written, Behold, is it not of the Lord of Hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? (ver. 13). Another passage says, Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of My hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow (Isa 50:11). How many, alas, have had to prove this to the full! Laboring in the very fire, they have wearied themselves in the search for vanity; kindling their own fire, and walking in the light of its sparks, they have had to lie down in sorrow, because of their neglect of the word of the Lord.
But however great the apparent triumph of sin in the present time, the outlook is all bright for the man of faith. When the present evil age is passed away, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (ver. 14). Who that has part in the coming day of glory but would gladly surrender all present gain, were it his to live once more a life of faith during the rejection of his Lord and Redeemer! But it will then be too late to be faithful. For all self-seeking we shall suffer loss in the time when those who have held all here in view of the coming of the Lord shall have an entrance ministered unto them abundantly into His everlasting kingdom.
The next woe is pronounced upon him that giveth his neighbor drink in order to encompass his destruction and manifest his shame. It is that wretched hypocrisy that speaks fair, while hatred fills the heart; that unholy dissimulation which leads one to proffer a soothing but brain-intoxicating draught to another in order to accomplish his ruin (vers. 15-17). Terrible shall be the recompense of Jehovah when He makes inquisition for blood! To put an occasion of stumbling in the way of another is to draw down judgment on ones own head. He who causes one of Christs little ones to fall, might better have had a millstone tied to his neck, and be thrown into the depths of the sea!
The final woe is against idolatry, the making and worshipping of the idols in which Babylon boasted. But the idol and its worshiper shall perish together in the hour of Jehovahs fury (vers. 18, 19). He alone is God over all, blessed forever, now manifested in flesh in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him (ver. 20). When He speaks, it is for man to hear, and to bow in subjection to His Word. Thus has Habakkuk heard His voice, and his anxious questionings vanish. His heart is at rest, and his soul awed before the majesty of Jehovahs glory. May we toe be of the same chastened and humbled spirit!
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Hab 2:1
I. The prophet Habakkuk defines for us what the position of that man’s mind must be, who would catch the deep, still messages of which everything is full-what it is to be waiting for heavenly signs. (1) There must be an individuality and solitude; you must be, and feel, alone with God. (2) You must be found in your own proper duty, whatever it be, and in that duty faithful. (3) You must carry on your watch at a high level of thought. (4) In the watch, and on the tower, you must be patient. (5) There must be a confident anticipation that something is coming, that God is going to speak, and that God will speak.
II. There are some occasions on which we should especially wait, and when we may so calculate with an entire confidence on the speaking of God that those passages of life ought to be singled out. (1) One is, after prayer. How many answers have been missed, simply because we did not follow our petitions with a heavenward eye, and with the calm waitings of expectant faith! Remember, when you pray, go at once from the footstool to the tower. (2) Another time when we should watch well to see what God will say unto us is just before we are entering upon any important duty, or work done for God, or undertaking any enterprise. (3) Afflictions are the seasons for very earnest listenings. Depend upon it, whenever a cloud rolls over you, there is a voice in that cloud.
III. Whatever else there may be in the voice, long listened for, when it comes there will certainly be three things. God will comfort you; God will stimulate you; God will reprove you. He will comfort you that you are His child. He will stimulate you to do a child’s work. And He will reprove you, because it is a child’s portion at a faithful Father’s hand.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 6th series, p. 109.
References: Hab 2:1-4.-Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, p. 348. Hab 2:2.-J. P. Chown, Old Testament Outlines, p. 275.
Hab 2:3
The word “wait” is the one word which the Divine wisdom often seems to utter, in rebuke of human impatience. God is never in haste. In Holy Scripture men are often counselled to wait; to wait upon God, to wait for God; language which supposes delay and the need of patience.
I. (1) The history of the earth is illustrative of the principle now suggested. (2) There is something in the movement of the seasons tending to remind us of this great law. (3) There is something in the history of all life adapted to convey the same lesson.
II. Revealed religion contains much in harmony with these facts in nature and providence. (1) We see a fact of this nature in the long interval which was to pass between the promise of a Saviour and His advent. (2) When the Saviour did come, the manner of His coming was not such as the thoughts of men would have anticipated. (3) Nor is it without mystery to many minds that the history of revealed religion since the advent should have been such as it has been. (4) The law of waiting is seen in the spiritual history of the individual believer. (5) So is it with the events which make up the story of a life. We have to wait-it may be to wait long-before we see the Divine purpose in the things which befall us. Experience should check impatience, should teach us how to wait.
R. Vaughan, Pulpit Analyst, vol. iii., p. 1.
References: Hab 2:3.-M. Dix, Sermons Doctrinal and Practical, p. 14; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 266.
Hab 2:3-4
A large space of the Church’s history, and of every believer’s experience, is occupied by waiting. The whole of the Old Testament was a waiting for one dispensation. The whole of the New is waiting for another. David speaks of his waiting for God more than twenty-five times. Isaiah is full of the same thought. And every child of God could have much to tell of it. The reason is evident. It exercises faith. It humbles the soul. It enhances the blessing. It glorifies God. Therefore God waits, and therefore we must tarry His leisure.
I. We understand by the word “vision” something which we do not yet fully see, but which God will show us. It is a familiar thought to us all to wait for the advent of Jesus Christ. The whole Church stands always in the attitude of expectation for the return of her Lord. But very few think of waiting for the advent of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes-goes-His advents are not one, but many. These comings are in very various degrees of power, and light, and influence. Observe St. Peter’s remarkable expression: “When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
II. Why does the vision tarry? I answer, partly, sovereignty; partly, your want of preparation; partly, discipline-but all love. It tarries behind your blind, hasty, impetuous rush; but it does not tarry behind God’s calm, wise, pre-ordaining counsel.
III. How shall we wait? Just as the Apostles did. In holy places and ancient ordinances; in unity among ourselves; loving and praying; grasping the promises with submitted will; in the joy of confidence, though the God of our future, though the future of our God, be hidden; in the simplicities of faith and with loving views of Jesus.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 9th series, p. 229.
I. We know that these words are spoken especially of the last coming of Christ; for St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, thus introduces this passage: “Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” And then the Apostle proceeds to add, from the next verse of the prophet, “Now the just shall live by faith.” The passage sets before us, in a lively and striking manner, our whole condition in this world as a waiting for a judgment of the great day, and the temper of mind with which we are to await it. Let us look upon it as a warning and invitation to us to set aside all disguises and deceits, and to look steadfastly in the face the great, real, and abiding Truth; even as they who wait for the dawning day, and because they can behold no streak of light, look again and again, and, on account of their own impatience, think that the sun is long in rising, while at the same time it is ever approaching and will burst forth in its own appointed time; and they will wonder that their short time of waiting could have appeared so long.
II. The vision will come in its appointed time, and will not tarry; and in the meanwhile “the soul of him that is puffed up is not upright.” More prayer, more solitude, more looking into the account of our souls, more humiliation before God-in these we are to grow daily, in order that we may be prepared for the vision of God.
And for this reason we have to cast aside everything that tends to deceive, and to lead us to form a wrong estimate of ourselves. When we look back in the truth of God, behind us we see the Cross of Christ, teaching us humiliation; and when we look forward before us we see the tribunal and judgment seat of Christ, teaching us humiliation. Whenever anyone is lifted up with pride, there is a want of faithfulness in him; and this the day of trial will show; that day of visitation which is the forerunner of the great day of God. Waiting with humility, waiting with patience, waiting for God-this is the state of the Christian.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times” vol. x., p. 11.
Hab 2:4
This is one of those texts of which there are so many in the Bible, which, though they were spoken originally to one particular man, yet are meant for every man. They are worldwide and world-old. They are the law by which all goodness and strength and safety stand either in men or angels, for it always was true, and always must be true, that if reasonable beings are to live at all, it is by faith.
I. Think of the infinite power of God, and then think how is it possible to live except by faith in Him-by trusting to Him utterly. He made us; He gave us our bodies; He gave us our life; what we do He lets us do; what we say He lets us say-we all live on sufferance. If we are mere creatures of God, if God alone has every blessing both of this world and the next, and the will to give them away, whom are we to go to but to Him for all we want? It is so in the life of our bodies and in the life of our spirits. By trusting in Him, and acknowledging Him in every thought and action of our lives we shall be safe; for it is written: “The just shall live by faith.”
II. This is not a doctrine which ought to make us despise men; any doctrine that does, does not come of God. When the Bible tells us that we can do nothing of ourselves, but can live only by faith, the Bible puts the highest honour upon us that any created thing can have. What are the things which cannot live by faith? The trees and plants, the beasts and birds, which, though they live and grow by God’s providence, yet do not know it, do not thank Him, cannot ask Him for more strength and life, as we can. It is only reasonable beings like men and angels, with immortal spirits in them, who can live by faith, and it is the greatest glory and honour to us that we can do so. Instead of being ashamed of being able to do nothing for ourselves, we ought to rejoice at having God for our Father and our Friend, to enable us to do all things through Him who strengthens us to do whatever is noble and loving, and worthy of true men.
C. Kingsley, Village Sermons, p. 34.
I. When this world has done its best and its worst, it will plainly appear that the great question between it and the Church is, whether it is better to trust in one’s self-one’s own wisdom and fame, and riches, and high spirit-or to go altogether out of one’s self and to live entirely by faith upon the heavenly righteousness which God gives to His own people. The world rests upon itself, the Church lives by faith. The last day will show to all God’s creation, as even man’s death will show to him and convince him for ever, which is the right of these two and which is the wrong. It is the great concern of us all to make up our minds to this in good time, to make it the very rule of our life, that when the shadows of this world pass away, we may not depart helpless and unprepared into that other world where are no shadows at all; but dying with Christ’s mark on us, and with our hearts full of Him, may both be acknowledged by Him whom we shall there meet face to face, and may ourselves know Him even as we are known.
II. The faith which keeps hold of our Lord, not only as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, but also as uniting us to Himself and making us members of Him, strong in the strength of His Spirit to keep all we have vowed to Him-such faith as this leads immediately to the obeying of all His commandments;. not one or two which may happen to come easiest to us, but all.
III. If our faith really tell us that we are in very deed brought so near to God in Christ as the New Testament everywhere implies, how certain must we feel, on the one hand, that none of our labour can be in vain in the Lord, that He counts and treasures up every one of our good thoughts, and actions, and self-denials; and on the other, that every wilful sin must tell for the worse upon our spiritual condition; it may be truly repented of, confessed, forsaken, but there is reason to fear that it never may nor can so vanish as if it had never been.
IV. Faith in Christ Jesus, just in proportion as it makes our actions important, will make our fortunes in this world of small consequence, because this thought will ever be in our minds-God has put us on our way to heaven, Christ is abiding in us by His Spirit to help us thither; what real difference can it make how we fare and how we are employed in the worldly matters through which we must pass here? How we behave, how we think and feel, what our hearts are set upon-that makes the difference, not how well we are provided for in this world.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times” vol. viii., p. 236.
References: Hab 2:4.-J. Keble, Sermons on Various Occasions, p. 428; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix., No. 1749; Ibid., My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, pp. 351, 354; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xvii., p. 227; T. Hammond, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 246; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 185; S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 4th series, No. 10. Hab 2:11.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 286.
Hab 2:20
The mystery of the Holy Trinity.
I. The Holy Trinity is the foundation-stone of our faith. All religious truth is little more than the expansion of the Trinity. The Trinity, as a fact, is beyond all controversy. It is shadowed out in nature-in leaves, flowers, and many creatures. It strangely pervades Providence. It has its counterpart in the triple composition and the wonderful structure of man. It has revealed itself in sacred histories, when the Three Persons have been pleased to show themselves distinct and yet simultaneous, as in the baptism of Jesus. But there are chains of thought as regards the Trinity-which we cannot, must not, enter-dark and awful! We can only wait outside the porch of the house and say adoringly: “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
II. The expression, “in His holy temple,” seems to describe very exactly and beautifully how it is. Within the three courts of the Temple at Jerusalem stood the actual Temple, properly so called. It also had its three parts, and in its innermost part, the Holy of Holies, was the Shekinah-a light always shining over the mercy seat and the ark. No one ever saw it except the High Priest once a year. Between the people and the Holy Place was a curtain, which no one might even dare to touch. Nevertheless, though they might not look on it, every Jew knew that that mysterious light day and night was there, the token and pledge of God’s unchanging presence; and this knowing it was there was his confidence and his joy. It was to him matter of faith only, but as true to him as if he saw it. Just so it seems to be God’s law that it should be with all grand truths. There are circles within circles, shrines within shrines. Into many we may safely go, we are bound to go; and in these is all we really need for each day’s higher life. There we know God, we meet God, we converse with God, we enjoy God. But within it there is a secret place where no foot may tread. Reason cannot follow there. Woe to the man who curiously pries into its boundaries! The secret is-The Lord, the Lord alone! It is the region of pure trust. But then, I know a light I cannot look on is always burning, and to be conscious that there is that hidden lustre of rays, too dazzling for human eyes, is always doing good. It is always something beyond and above me, to lift me up. It exercises me, it humiliates me, it carries on my thoughts into the eternal. I know it is there, and I know that it is mine.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 8th series, p. 223.
References: Hab 2:20.-J. Davis, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 81; Pulpit Analyst, vol. v., p. 412.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 2
The Ungodliness of the Chaldeans and Their Destruction
1. The waiting prophet and the message he received (Hab 2:1-4)
2. The five-fold woe upon the Chaldeans (Hab 2:5-20)
Hab 2:1-4. It seems there was no immediate answer to the plea of the prophet. He then speaks to himself and expresses his attitude. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and I will wait to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer as to my complaint. He watches like a sentinel upon a watchtower for the answer the Lord will give him. It does not mean that the prophet actually ascended a tower, but he expresses his innermost attitude by the symbol of the watchman. He remained silent and eagerly looked for the reply.
How long he waited is not stated. But the answer came, for the Lord never disappoints His inquiring and waiting servants. He is told to write the vision and make it plain upon the tablets, that he may run that readeth it. Thus the Lord spoke to him and gave him the vision, which he was to write in plain characters upon tablets. The effect should be not that he that runneth may read (as it is sometimes misquoted) but that he that readeth may run. The prophetic Word is always plain. It is far from being the deep and complicated portion of Gods truth that some make it, but it needs an ear opened by the Spirit of God. Prophecy believed is a great stimulating agent to Christian service, even as it is stated here, that the reader of the vision runs to spread the message.
In the next place we hear of the certainty of the vision. It is for the appointed time. It hastes toward the end, and shall not lie. The prophet is commanded to wait for it, though it tarry, and then receives the assurance that it will surely come and not tarry. These are important instructions by which many a believer might profit. God has an appointed time for all His purposes and their fulfillment. He cannot be hastened, for His schedule was made before the foundation of the world. When the appointed time comes all visions will be accomplished. It hastens toward the end. That end is the end of the times of the Gentiles, which began with the rising of the Babylonians, and the first great king, Nebuchadnezzar, the golden head in the prophetic image of Dan 2:1-49. When the end of the times of the Gentiles comes, the world-power then, final Babylon as revealed in the last book of the Bible, will be judged and the Lord will be manifested in all His glory. The prophets business is, as well as that of every believer, to wait for it and not be disturbed if there is delay, for the assurance is given that it will surely come and not tarry. And here faith can rest.
Part of this is quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry Heb 10:37. From this quotation we learn that the vision which will surely come is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the center of every vision and without Him there is no vision. The Septuagint translation is the same: If He tarry wait for Him, for coming He will come and not delay.
In the fourth verse, which may properly be taken to be the opening statement for the vision which follows, the all importance of faith in the vision is made known. The proud one who is mentioned must primarily be applied to the haughty Chaldean, but it is equally true of the unbelieving, proud Jew, and of the nominal Christian. The proud, the puffed up one, his soul is not right within him, and God resisteth the proud, while he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
But the just shall live by faith. Criticism has not left this matchless sentence untouched. The higher critic Davidson labors to show that the Hebrew word for faith (Emunoh) means faithfulness, dealing in faithfulness in money matters, that is, one who deals honestly. According to his statement the verse means if an Israelite, or anybody else, does right he will live. But in Genesis we read, Abraham believed the LORD and He counted it to him for righteousness. As every intelligent Christian knows, there was no law then, and the New Testament in the testimony of the Holy Spirit makes it plain that this is the gospel of grace in which the ungodly are justified; justified by faith. Interesting is the quotation of the sentence the just shall live by faith in the three passages of the New Testament Epistles. Rom 1:17 quotes this sentence. In this passage the emphasis is upon the word just. The theme of Romans is the righteousness of God, at least in the opening chapters. It shows how a person, a lost and guilty sinner, becomes righteous, and as such is saved. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
In Gal 3:11 the emphasis is upon the word faith. But no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, as it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith.
In Heb 10:38 the emphasis is upon live. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Hab 2:5-20. The Lord uncovers the wicked conditions prevailing among the Chaldeans. God had allowed the people whom He loved to be chastised by an evil instrument; they were to be crushed by injustice and by the actions of the cruel invader. But the character and conduct of the oppressor, the Chaldeans, was not unknown to Him, as the prophet expressed it, Who is of purer eyes than to behold evil. And now the righteous Lord announces the five-fold woe upon the wicked world-power. While all this applies primarily to the Chaldean, it is likewise a prophecy concerning the future. The world powers remain the same to the end of the times of the Gentiles. It was true then, as it is true now, and will be true in the future throughout this present age, The world lieth in the Wicked One. There is no improvement to be looked for among the world powers, and as we have seen so frequently in the study of the prophets, the end of the age brings still greater opposition and defiance of God, with a corresponding moral decline. We see therefore in these verses a description of the world conditions down to its very end. The word wine does not need to be interpreted in a literal way, though drunkenness was one of the sins of the Babylonians. They were inflamed with an ambition for conquest, as a drunken man is inflamed with wine. This intoxication made them treacherous, haughty, restless: like death, which is never satisfied, so they are never satisfied; constantly pressing on they spoil the nations, gather prisoners, and act in violence. How can God permit this to go unjudged?
Then follows a taunting song in Hab 2:6-7. Divine retribution is coming for them. The spoiler is going to be spoiled. It is the retribution which may be read in all history, which still continues, for of nations it is true as of individuals, Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.
The second woe is on account of their covetousness and their self aggrandizement. Like Edom, they were possessed by an abominable pride to make their nest high, they imagine self-security, thinking they can avert the power of evil. But their proud plans were to result in shame; their security would end in collapse and confusion. It is well known how Nebuchadnezzar manifested this spirit. One day this proud monarch walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty? The humiliation which came upon the king is prophetic. Thus the Lord will humble the proud world-power into the dust Dan 4:1-37.
Then comes a third woe. Hab 2:12-14 are of special interest, for they give us a picture of a godless civilization and its appointed end. Their cruel oppression, their ungodly gains, had built up a magnificent city. Excavations have shown what a marvelous civilization was in force when Babylon was mistress of the world. But the foundations of it all were iniquity and the blood of victims. Is it any better today? We have seen the top-notch of a boasted civilization, steeped in iniquity and defiance of God, suddenly collapsing and producing a war of horrors and cruelty which makes the conquests and atrocities of the Chaldeans pale into insignificance.
And how true it is today, The peoples labor for the fire, the nations weary themselves for vanity. The day is approaching when this civilization will be swept away, and before the better things come, the kingdom is established and He reigns whose right it is, there will be the fires of judgment. And after that it will be true, as it cannot be true before, The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
The fourth woe shows the corruption which held sway in the Babylonian empire. Drunkenness here is a figure of the utter prostration of the nations which the Chaldeans had conquered; they stripped them in their wicked endeavors of all they possessed. They spread a shameless dissolution in every direction. For this they will have to drink the cup of fury from the hand of the Lord, and shall be covered with vile shame, so that their glory will be blotted out.
The fifth woe is on account of their idolatry. They worshipped wood and stone. Nebuchadnezzar set up his golden image in the plain of Dura and demanded worship for it. The spiritual Babylon, Rome, is a well-organized system of idolatry which goes on undiminished. Finally the age ends in idolatry, for the image of the beast of Rev 13:1-18 is still future.
But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him. First, by way of contrast, their idols are dumb; Jehovah, the God of Israel, is the living God. He is in His holy temple; from there He takes notice of the doings of men. He is the Sovereign, the only Potentate; the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance Isa 40:15. It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in Isa 40:22.
But this closing verse of the chapter of woe has a prophetic meaning. When at last the world-power is dethroned, when the Lord returns, He will take His place as King of Kings. He will be in His holy temple, and then all the earth will keep silence before Him.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
stand: Psa 73:16, Psa 73:17, Isa 21:8, Isa 21:11, Isa 21:12
tower: Heb. fenced place, 2Sa 18:24, 2Ki 9:17, 2Ki 17:9, Isa 21:5, Isa 62:6
and will: Hab 1:12-17, Psa 85:8
unto me: or, in me, 2Co 13:3, Gal 1:16
when I am reproved: or, when I am argued with, Heb. upon my reproof, or arguing, Job 23:5-7, Job 31:35, Job 31:37, Jer 12:1
Reciprocal: Gen 19:27 – to the Jos 7:8 – what shall Isa 21:6 – Go Jer 6:17 – I Jer 25:12 – that I Eze 3:17 – hear Eze 10:1 – I looked Joh 13:7 – What
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ON THE WATCH-TOWER
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Hab 2:1
I. The prophet Habakkuk defines for us what the position of that mans mind must be who would catch the deep, still messages of which everything is fullwhat it is to be waiting for heavenly signs.(1) There must be an individuality and solitude; you must be, and feel, alone with God. (2) You must be found in your own proper duty, whatever it be, and in that duty faithful. (3) You must carry on your watch at a high level of thought. (4) In the watch, and on the tower, you must be patient. (5) There must be a confident anticipation that something is coming, that God is going to speak, and that God will speak.
II. There are some occasions on which we should especially wait, and when we may so calculate with an entire confidence on the speaking of God that those passages of life ought to be singled out.(1) One is, after prayer. How many answers have been missed, simply because we did not follow our petitions with a heavenward eye, and with the calm waitings of expectant faith! Remember, when you pray, go at once from the footstool to the tower. (2) Another time, when we should watch well to see what God will say unto us, is just before we are entering upon any important duty, or work done for God, or undertaking any enterprise. (3) Afflictions are the seasons for very earnest listenings. Depend upon it, whenever a cloud rolls over you, there is a voice in that cloud.
III. Whatever else there may be in the voice, long listened for, when it comes there will certainly be three things.God will comfort you; God will stimulate you; God will reprove you. He will comfort you that you are His child. He will stimulate you to do a childs work. And He will reprove you, because it is a childs portion at a faithful Fathers hand.
Rev. Jas. Vaughan.
Illustration
The prophet steadies himself, he will be quiet, he will watch and see what God will say to him in his distress (Hab 2:1). The answer comes, the wicked man, though apparently prosperous, is really a ruined man, but the righteous shall live by faith (Hab 2:2-5). Then suddenly the scene changes: Habakkuk becomes the spokesman for those nations that had suffered from the scourge of invading Chaldans; in their name he pronounces five several woes upon them, ending with the solemn and restful words: The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him. These woes were aimed at the characteristic sins of the Chaldan, his cruel spoliation, his proud building of Babel-like palaces, his founding of cities filled with tyrannical misrule, his drunkenness, and his idolatry (Hab 2:6-20).
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Hab 2:1. The preceding chapter closes with the plea of the prophet to put a stop to the wicked business of the enemy. This verse represents him as waiting at his post of duty and listening to hear what the Lord will say to him in response. Watch is a short term for watchtower, because prophets were regarded as watchmen on the walls of Zion and looking out for the welfare of the people (Eze 3:17). The prophet is watching and sees the enemy approaching (with his prophetic eye) and has reported it to his great Commander-in-chief and wants to know what is to be done about it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Hab 2:1. I will stand upon my watch The Hebrews often express one thing by a multiplicity of words, as here several expressions are used to signify the same thing, namely, watching. As the prophets were considered as watchmen, and as the watchmen were placed on high towers, and it was their duty to look around very diligently to see what messengers or enemies, or what dangers or deliverances were approaching, and to continue steadfast in their posts; so here the prophet declares that he would as diligently watch and wait for Gods answer to what he had complained of in the foregoing chapter, namely, the great success of the Chaldeans though they were guilty of greater crimes than the Jewish nation. And what I shall answer when I am reproved Or rather, As to what I have argued, meaning the expostulations which he had uttered just before. Archbishop Newcome, who renders the verbs in the first three clauses of this verse in the past time, (namely, I stood on my watch-tower, &c.,) interprets the latter part of it thus: And I looked to see what he would speak by me, and what I should reply to my arguing with him; that is, what I should reply, to my own satisfaction, and to that of others, as to the difficulties raised Hab 1:13-17, why the idolatrous and wicked Chaldeans and their king are to be prosperous and triumphant.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Hab 2:1. I will stand upon my watch. The ancient nations often had no great confidence in what is now called, The faith of treaties. The Israelites kept a watchman on the tower of Jezreel; others had towers, round towers, as is mostly their structure. Hence the gloss of certain rabbins, I will confine myself within a circle. I will not stir, nor be absent from my station. When the Roman general, Popilus, had his first interview with Antiochus, he drew a circle, and said to the king, you shall not leave this circle till you accept the conditions of peace which I offer in the name of the Roman people, or I will declare war against you.
Hab 2:2. Write the vision, which Habakkuk saw while awake, watching and waiting for the Lord to disclose his pleasure. These visions were the emanations of the Word of Jehovah, unveiling futurity to the mind. Hence the holy prophets, on special occasions, watched and waited for them in the most hallowed abstractions of the mind. The prophet was commanded to write the vision on a full sheet of parchment, and like a placard, in fair hand and large characters, for the public eye, that all men might see light in the light of the Lord; see the tremendous invasion, the fall of Jerusalem, the pride of the conquerors, and the ultimate fall of Babylon, followed by the liberation of the jews. The assurance of the revelation made the prophet bold. It shall speak and not lie.
Hab 2:4-5. His soul which is lifted up is not upright. The king of Assyria said, I will cut off nations not a few. He was intoxicated with the mania of conquest, as with wine. His desire of aggrandisement was enlarged as hell. The fire of ambition burns the more furiously for gratification.Oh Zion, be not afraid. The just shall live by faith; a word of comfort applicable to the church through every future age.
Hab 2:6. Take up a parable against him; even against Nebuchadnezzar, who, after the fall of Nineveh in the twenty ninth year of king Josiah, aspired at universal dominion. Woe to him that encreaseth wealth and dominion, not his own. The Medes shall rise up suddenly and vex thee. Where does history present us with a blazing conqueror whose wick has not expired with the ftid effluvia of a candle? The Chaldean conquerors we know; the death of Cyrus is beclouded; that of Alexander was tragic in the midst of his days. We have seen one in our own times, who equalled them all in blood, close his career in St. Helena, doing penance for his sins.
Hab 2:8. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee. All the blood that thou hast shed shall be visited on the third and fourth generation of the Chaldeans. They were defeated on the plains of Babylon by Cyrus with tremendous slaughter; and Xenophon adds, that after Babylon was taken, the Persian cavalry paraded the city for three days, and lowered their hand to smite all they found in the streets. The first strokes of their arm fell on Belshazzar, and on his court, ere they had time to become sober.
Hab 2:9. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high. The pride of Babylon is four times reproved by the eagle who built her nest on the high summits of Lebanon. Jer 22:23; Jer 49:16. Eze 31:6. Oba 1:4. Pride must fall, and the plundered wealth of the poor is a canker. The wars of Babylon for aggrandisement and plunder, comprised the essence of every crime. The trembling nations had committed no aggression: existence was their only crime.
Hab 2:11. The stone shall cry out of the wall. The ruins of cities and houses, wide as the Asiatic world, shall cry to heaven against thy injustice and cruelty; nor shall they cease from wailing, till her kingdom is numbered and finished.
Hab 2:12. Woe to him who buildeth a town with blood. Nebuchadnezzar said, Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house, the palace, and metropolis of my kingdom, by the power of my might, and for the glory of my majesty? Dan 4:30. He in a manner rebuilt Babylon, and replaced the brickwork of Semiramis with stone.Herodotus.
Hab 2:15. Woe to him that giveth his neighbour drink. Critics apply these words to the intrigue of the Chaldean court, which dazzled, beguiled, and intoxicated the nations into submission. Others think that Pharaoh-Hophra might be intended, who excited the kings of Judah to revolt. But the idea of exposing the weakness of the jewish state to contempt, does not apply to the king of Egypt.
REFLECTIONS.
We find our illustrious and eloquent watchman at his post. He watches for farther disclosures of divine wisdom. He writes the vision in large characters for public exposure, being assured that though delayed to the extreme periods of longsuffering, it should surely speak with the roaring of a lion, the terrors of invasion, and the excision of the Hebrew state. From this prophet, other watchmen may learn the lesson of vigilance and labour. In like manner also let us wait for the full accomplishment of every promise.
In the pride, the aggrandizement, and monopolies of Babylon, other characters, on a minor scale, may see their own portrait. Why does this courtier buy up the cottages of the poor? Why does he fare sumptuously, and daily indulge in wine? Why does this enterprising tradesman oppress his neighbours, to gain a villa and a carriage before he dies? He may not live to do it; and wealth gained with daily shades of extortion, will inspire the stones and timbers of his mansion with reproachful eloquence. Let good men prosper like the holy patriarchs, but never by unfair and reproachful means.
But the just shall live by faith. Precious words of comfort and hope, which comprise, according to some rabbins, the whole of the Mosaic law; Christ and his covenant, righteousness, and life. He who punishes proud and bloody-minded men, will clothe the righteous with salvation, and make their memory blessed.
Therefore our evangelical prophet, seeing the earth full of wars and blood, places Zion on the holy hill, where she might overlook the dark ages of tears, and see her Messiah filling the earth with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. These words from the eleventh of Isaiah, are a reference to the whole of that chapter; for the old testament, according to Pascal, is full of Christ. He will heal the nations, he will shame and destroy the idols of the gentiles, the dumb nothing, as Hab 2:18 literally reads. He will silence the trumpet of war, that the people may renew their strength, in all the grace and glory of the latter day. Thus the prophet forgets his troubles in the sublimest of songs, which immediately follows.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Hab 2:1-4. The Oracle from Yahweh.Unable to explain the mystery, the prophet stations himself on his watch-tower, and looks for the revelation of Gods purpose. Soon the oracle comes, and he is asked to write it on tablets plainly, that one may read it running: Behold, the soul of the wicked shall faint in him, but the righteous shall live by his faithfulness (his loyalty to God and His promises).
Hab 2:1. I will stand, etc.: an imaginative representation of the prophets mission as tsopheh, watchman (cf. Isa 21:6 ff.).For ashib, I shall return (answer), read yashib, He will return (Syr.).
Hab 2:2. That one may run while reading it: i.e. that one may read it at a glance.
Hab 2:3. Translate, Though the vision may still wait (may have to wait a little longer) for the appointed time, yet it panteth (straineth) toward the end, and will fail not.
Hab 2:4. The first half of the verse is clearly corrupt. The most satisfying solution is to read ullephah, faint, for uphphelah, is puffed up, and to take not upright personally as equivalent to the wicked man (cf. translation above).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Habakkuk 2
(Hab 2:1). Having closed his appeal to the LORD, the prophet takes his stand upon his watch-tower to look and hear what God will do and say. He acts in accord with the exhortation that tells us to watch and pray (Luk 21:36; Eph 6:18). He does not watch merely to see what men will do, and thus be guided by sight; he watches to see what God will say, and thus walk by faith.
In verses 2 to 20 of chapter 2, we have the LORD’S answer to the prophet’s appeal; an answer that is full of comfort for God’s people at all times of trial. The LORD’S words present a vision of the coming judgment upon the enemies of God’s people. and of the blessing for which these judgments will prepare the way, when “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (verse 14).
(V. 2). The prophet is instructed to write the vision with such plainness, that he that reads may be energised to run with patience the race that is set before us – to use our New Testament exhortation. This surely is the meaning of these words, and not, as often assumed, “that the runner may read, but rather that the reader may run” (W.K.).
(V. 3). Secondly, we are assured of the absolute certainty of the vision. There is an appointed time for the judgment of the wicked and the deliverance of God’s people. For that time we may have to wait, but it will surely come and will not tarry a moment beyond the appointed time.
(V. 4). As ever, if God in mercy delays to exercise judgment the wicked make it an occasion to exalt themselves and pursue their own lusts; even so we are warned that in these last days, there will be ” scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming?” (2Pe 3:3-4). In contrast to the wicked, the godly will find in this delay an occasion for the exercise of faith, for, “The just shall live by his faith” – a passage quoted by the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews to encourage believers to run with faith and patience, seeing that it is but ” a little while and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry ” (Heb 10:36-38 : Heb 12:1). The people of God, whether in the prophet’s day or our own day are thus exhorted to run with spiritual energy; to wait with patience; and to live by faith.
(V. 5). Following these exhortations to the believer, the LORD formally pronounces judgment, in five woes, that would come upon the enemies of His people (verses 5 to 19). We are first told of the outstanding evils that lead to these governmental dealings of God. Intoxicated by his own vanity and pride, this restless enemy is not content to remain in his own country. His unsatisfied craving for power over others leads him to act with hellish desire to bring all nations under his control.
(V. 6-8). The oppression and injustice of this nation cries aloud to God for judgment. As the LORD had used the Chaldeans to chastise His people, and the nations, so now He uses the nations to judge the Chaldeans. For it is the nations who are used to take up a taunting proverb against these oppressors, and pronounce these woes upon them.
The first woe is called forth by the rapacity which leads the enemy to increase his possessions by seizing lands that are not his, in spite of “pledges” (N. Tr.) which he does not keep. Such wickedness unites the nations in a sudden rising against him, by which he is worried and vexed, and finally becomes a spoil to those that he has spoiled with bloodshed and violence.
(Vv. 9-11). The second woe is called forth by the covetousness (N. Tr.) which leads him to rob others to establish his own house, in the effort to set “his nest on high.” He would thus seek to be supreme over the nations and make himself secure from attack. To reach this end he does not hesitate to stoop to the “cutting off many people.” Nations may be crushed and millions slain if thereby he can gratify his lust for power. But he has to learn that all this ruthless wickedness will turn to his own shame. The very stones and beams of the houses that he has ruined will be a witness against him and cry out for his judgment.
(Vv. 12-14). The third woe, pronounced against this nation that has sought to establish itself in power on a foundation of bloodshed and iniquity, tells us that these men will come under the fire of judgment against which they will weary themselves in vain (N. Tr.). The universal power over the nations is reserved for the LORD. “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
(Vv. 15-17). A fourth woe is called forth by a vision of the corruption, followed by violence, that marks the activities of the enemy. With deceit and cunning they deceive the nations into a helpless condition, and thus prepare the way for attacking them with violence, in order to seek their own glory. In the end they will be filled with shame instead of glory, when made to drink of the cup of judgment from the hand of the LORD. They would be overwhelmed by the violence they had shewn to others.
(Vv. 18, 19). The final woe on this wicked nation is called forth by its greatest sin – a sin directly against God. The idolatry, and the teacher of lies, which lead men to trust in a false god, and thus deny the true God, would bring overwhelming judgment upon this wicked nation.
(V. 20). The judgment that overtakes this wicked nation establishes the great and blessed fact that, in spite of all the failure of God’s people and the increasing wickedness of the world, “The LORD is in His holy temple.” In His presence every mouth that is opened in rebellion to blaspheme His holy Name will at last be stopped. In the face then of the coming judgment upon the wicked, “Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
In the LORD’S answer to the prophet’s appeal, we are thus assured that, in God’s appointed time, He will deal in judgment with all the evil of the world. There may be a waiting time, which calls for the exercise of faith, but faith is sustained by the assurance that whatever takes place among men, the LORD is in His holy temple, the unfailing resource of His people.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
2:1 I will stand upon my {a} watch, and seat myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
(a) I will renounce my own judgment, and only depend on God to be instructed what I will answer those that abuse my preaching, and to be armed against all temptations.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
1. The introduction to the answer 2:1-3
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Habakkuk compared himself to a sentinel on a city wall watching the horizon for the approach of a horseman. He purposed to watch and wait expectantly for the Lord to reply to this second question, as He had the first, so he could report it to his people (cf. Hab 3:16). He prepared himself for a discussion with the Lord about the situation as well as for the Lord’s answer that he expected in a vision or dream (cf. Job 13:3; Job 23:4).
"Only by revelation can the genuine perplexities of God’s dealings with human beings be comprehended." [Note: Robertson, p. 166.]
"Yahweh’s response to those who inquire of him is never automatic. They must be willing to wait in order to hear ’what God the LORD will speak’ (Psa 85:9 [8])." [Note: Bruce, p. 857.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
7
Hab 1:1-17
Hab 1:2-17; Hab 2:1-4 (or 8)
Yet it is the first piece which raises the most difficult questions. All admit that it is to be dated somewhere along the line of Jeremiahs long career, c. 627-586. There is no doubt about the general trend of the argument: it is a plaint to God on the sufferings of the righteous under tyranny, with Gods answer. But the order and connection of the paragraphs of the argument are not clear. There is also difference of opinion as to who the tyrant is-native, Assyrian, or Chaldee; and this leads to a difference, of course, about the date, which ranges from the early years of Josiah to the end of Jehoiakims reign, or from about 630 to 597.
As the verses lie, their argument is this. In Hab 1:2-4 Habakkuk asks the Lord how long the wicked are to oppress the righteous, to the paralyzing of the Torah, or revelation of His Law, and the making futile of judgment. For answer the Lord tells him, Hab 1:5-11, to look round among the heathen: He is about to raise up the Chaldees to do His work, a people swift, self-reliant, irresistible. Upon which Habakkuk resumes his question, Hab 1:12-17, how long will God suffer a tyrant who sweeps up the peoples into his net like fish? Is he to go on with this forever? In Hab 2:1 Habakkuk prepares for an answer, which comes in Hab 2:2-4 : let the prophet wait for the vision though it tarries; the proud oppressor cannot last, but the righteous shall live by his constancy, or faithfulness.
The difficulties are these. Who are the wicked oppressors in Hab 1:2-4? Are they Jews, or some heathen nation? And what is the connection between Hab 1:1-4 and Hab 1:5-11? Are the Chaldees, who are described in the latter, raised up to punish the tyrant complained against in the former? To these questions three different sets of answers have been given.
First: the great majority of critics take the wrong complained of in Hab 1:2-4 to be wrong done by unjust and cruel Jews to their countrymen, that is, civic disorder and violence, and believe that in Hab 1:5-11 Jehovah is represented as raising up the Chaldees to punish the sin of Judah-a message which is pretty much the same as Jeremiahs. But Habakkuk goes further: the Chaldees themselves with their cruelties aggravate his problem how God can suffer wrong, and he appeals again to God, Hab 1:12-17. Are the Chaldees to be allowed to devastate forever? The answer is given, as above, in Hab 2:1-4. Such is practically the view of Pusey, Delitzsch, Kleinert, Kuenen, Sinker, Driver, Orelli, Kirkpatrick, Wildeboer, and Davidson, a formidable league, and Davidson says “this is the most natural sense of the verses and of the words used in them.” But these scholars differ as to the date. Pusey, Delitzsch, and Volck take the whole passage from Hab 1:5 as prediction, and date it from before the rise of the Chaldee power in 625, attributing the internal wrongs of Judah described in Hab 1:2-4 to Manassehs reign or the early years of Josiah. But the rest, on the grounds that the prophet shows some experience of the Chaldean methods of warfare, and that the account of the internal disorder in Judah does not suit Josiahs reign, bring the passage down to the reign of Jehoiakim, 608-598, or of Jehoiachin, 597. Kleinert and Von Orelli date it before the battle of Carchemish, 605, in which the Chaldean Nebuchadrezzar wrested from Egypt the Empire of the Western Asia, on the ground that after that Habakkuk could not have called a Chaldean invasion of Judah incredible. {Hab 1:5} But Kuenen, Driver, Kirkpatrick, Wildeboer, and Davidson date it after Carchemish. To Driver it must be immediately after, and before Judah became alarmed at the consequences to herself. To Davidson the description of the Chaldeans “is scarcely conceivable before the battle,” “hardly one would think before the deportation of the people under Jehoiachin.” This also is Kuenens view, who thinks that Judah must have suffered at least the first Chaldean raids, and he explains the use of an undoubted future in Hab 1:5, “Lo, I am about to raise up the Chaldeans,” as due to the prophets predilection for a dramatic style. “He sets himself in the past, and represents the already experienced chastisement [of Judah] as having been then announced by Jehovah. His contemporaries could not have mistaken his meaning.”
Second: others, however, deny that Hab 1:2-4 refers to the internal disorder of Judah, except as the effect of foreign tyranny. The “righteous” mentioned there are Israel as a whole, “the wicked” their heathen oppressors. So Hitzig, Ewald, Konig, and practically Smend. Ewald is so clear that Habakkuk ascribes no sin to Judah, that he says we might be led by this to assign the prophecy to the reign of the righteous Josiah; but he prefers, because of the vivid sense which the prophet betrays of actual experience of the Chaldees, to date the passage from the reign of Jehoiakim, and to explain Habakkuks silence about his peoples sinfulness as due to his overwhelming impression of Chaldean cruelty. Konig takes Hab 1:2-4 as a general complaint of the violence that fills the prophets day, and Hab 1:5-11 as a detailed description of the Chaldeans, the instruments of this violence. Hab 1:5-11, therefore, give not the judgment upon the wrongs described in Hab 1:2-4, but the explanation of them. Lebanon is already wasted by the Chaldeans; {Hab 2:17} therefore the whole prophecy must be assigned to the days of Jehoiakim. Giesebrecht and Wellhausen adhere to the view that no sins of Judah are mentioned, but that the “righteous.” and “wicked” of Hab 1:4 are the same as in Hab 1:13, viz., Israel and a heathen tyrant. But this leads them to dispute that the present order of the paragraphs of the prophecy is the right one. In Hab 1:5 the Chaldeans are represented as about to be raised up for the first time, although their violence has already been described in Hab 1:1-4, and in Hab 1:12-17 these are already in full career. Moreover Hab 1:12 follows on naturally to Hab 1:4. Accordingly these critics would remove the section Hab 1:5-11. Giesebrecht prefixes it to Hab 1:1, and dates the whole passage from the Exile. Wellhausen calls Hab 1:5-11 an older passage than the rest of the prophecy, and removes it altogether as not Habakkuks. To the latter he assigns what remains, Hab 1:1-4; Hab 1:12-17; Hab 1:2 I-5, and dates it from the reign of Jehoiakim.
Third: from each of these groups of critics Budde of Strasburg borrows something, but so as to construct an arrangement of the verses, and to reach a date, for the whole, from which both differ. With Hitzig, Ewald, Konig, Smend, Giesebrecht, and Wellhausen he agrees that the violence complained of in Hab 1:2-4 is that inflicted by a heathen oppressor, “the wicked,” on the Jewish nation, the “righteous.” But with Kuenen and others he holds that the Chaldeans are raised up, according to Hab 1:5-11, to punish the violence complained of in Hab 1:2-4 and again in Hab 1:12-17. In these verses it is the ravages of another heathen power than the Chaldeans which Budde describes. The Chaldeans are still to come, and cannot be the same as the devastator whose long continued tyranny is described in Hab 1:12-17. They are rather the power which is to punish him. He can only be the Assyrian. But if that be so, the proper place for the passage, Hab 1:5-11, which describes the rise of the Chaldeans must be after the description of the Assyrian ravages in Hab 1:12-17, and in the body of Gods answer to the prophet which we find in Hab 2:2 ff. Budde therefore places Hab 1:5-11 after Hab 2:2-4. But if the Chaldeans are still to come, and Budde thinks that they are described vaguely and with a good deal of imagination, the prophecy thus arranged must fall somewhere between 625, when Nabopolassar the Chaldean made himself independent of Assyria and King of Babylon, and 607, when Assyria fell. That the prophet calls Judah “righteous” is proof that he wrote after the great Reform of 621; hence, too, his reference to Torah and Mishpat, {Hab 1:4} and his complaint of the obstacles which Assyrian supremacy presented to their free course. As the Assyrian yoke appears not to have been felt anywhere in Judah by 608, Budde would fix the exact date of Habakkuks prophecy about 615. To these conclusions of Budde, Cornill, who in 1891 had very confidently assigned the prophecy of Habakkuk to the reign of Jehoiakim, gave his adherence in 1896.
Buddes very able and ingenious argument has been subjected to a searching criticism by Professor Davidson, who emphasizes first the difficulty of accounting for the transposition of Hab 1:5-11 from what Budde alleges to have been its original place after Hab 2:4 to its present position in chapter 1. He points out that if Hab 1:2-4; Hab 1:12-17 and Hab 2:5 ff. refer to the Assyrian, it is strange the latter is not once mentioned. Again, by 615 we may infer (though we know little of Assyrian history at this time) that the Assyrians hold on Judah was already too relaxed for the prophet to impute to him power to hinder the Law, especially as Josiah had begun to carry his reforms into the northern kingdom: and the knowledge of the Chaldeans displayed in Hab 1:5-11 is too fresh and detailed to suit so early a date: it was possible only after the battle of Carchemish. And again, it is improbable that we have two different nations, as Budde thinks, described by the very similar phrases in Hab 1:11, “his own power becomes his god,” and in Hab 1:16, “he sacrifices to his net.” Again, Hab 1:5-11 would not read quite naturally after Hab 2:4. And in the woes pronounced on the oppressor it is not one nation, the Chaldeans, which are to spoil him, but all the remnant of the peoples. {Hab 2:7-8} These objections are not inconsiderable. But are they conclusive? And if not, is any of the other theories of the prophecy less beset with difficulties? The objections are scarcely conclusive. We have no proof that the power of Assyria was altogether removed from Judah by 615; on the contrary, even in 608 Assyria was still the power with which Egypt went forth to contend for the empire of the world. Seven years earlier her hand may well have been strong upon Palestine. Again, by 615 the Chaldeans, a people famous in Western Asia for a long time, had been ten years independent: men in Palestine may have been familiar with their methods of warfare: at least it is impossible to say they were not. There is more weight in the objection drawn from the absence of the name of Assyria from all of the passages which Budde alleges describe it; nor do we get over all difficulties of text by inserting Hab 1:5-11 between Hab 2:4-5. Besides, how does Budde explain Hab 1:12 b on the theory that it means Assyria? Is the clause not premature at that point? Does he propose to elide it, like Wellhausen? And in any case an erroneous transposition of the original is impossible to prove and difficult to account for. But have not the other theories of the Book of Habakkuk equally great difficulties? Surely, we cannot say that the “righteous” and the “wicked” in Hab 1:4 mean something different from what they do in Hab 1:13? But if this is impossible the construction of the book supported by the great majority of critics falls to the ground. Professor Davidson justly says that it has “something artificial in it” and “puts a strain on the natural sense.” How can the Chaldeans be described in Hab 1:5 as “just about to be raised up,” and in Hab 1:14-17 as already for a long time the devastators of earth? Ewalds, Hitzigs, and Konigs views are equally beset by these difficulties; Konigs exposition also “strains the natural sense.” Everything, in fact, points to Hab 1:5-11 being out of its proper place; it is no wonder that Giesebreeht, Wellhausen, and Budde independently arrived at this conclusion. Whether Budde be right in inserting Hab 1:5. If after Hab 2:4, there can be little doubt of the correctness of his views that Hab 1:12-17 describe a heathen oppressor who is not the Chaldeans. Budde says this oppressor is Assyria. Can he be any one else? From 608 to 605 Judah was sorely beset by Egypt, who had overrun all Syria up to the Euphrates. The Egyptians killed Josiah, deposed his successor, and put their own vassal under a very heavy tribute; “gold and silver were exacted of the people of the land”: the picture of distress in Hab 1:1-4 might easily be that of Judah in these three terrible years. And if we assigned the prophecy to them, we should certainly give it a date at which the knowledge of the Chaldeans expressed in Hab 1:5-11 was more probable than at Buddes date of 615. But then does the description in chap. Hab 1:14-17 suit Egypt so well as it does Assyria? We can hardly affirm this, until we know more of what Egypt did in those days, but it is very probable.
Therefore, the theory supported by the majority of critics being unnatural, we are, with our present meager knowledge of the time, flung back upon Buddes interpretation that the prophet in Hab 1:2-17; Hab 2:1-4 appeals from oppression by a heathen power, which is not the Chaldean, but upon which the Chaldean shall bring the just vengeance of God. The tyrant is either Assyria up to about 615 or Egypt from 608 to 605, and there is not a little to be said for the latter date.
In arriving at so uncertain a conclusion about Hab 1:1-17 – Hab 2:4, we have but these consolations, that no other is possible in our present knowledge, and that the uncertainty will not hamper us much in our appreciation of Habakkuks spiritual attitude and poetic gifts.
FURTHER NOTE ON
Hab 1:1-17 – Hab 2:4
Since this chapter was in print Nowacks “Die Kleinen Propheten” in the “Handkommentar z. A.T.” has been published. He recognizes emphatically that the disputed passage about the Chaldeans, Hab 1:5-9, is out of place where it lies (this against Kuenen and the other authorities cited above), and admits that it follows on, with a natural connection, to Hab 2:4, to which Budde proposes to attach it. Nevertheless for other reasons, which he does not state, he regards Buddes proposal as untenable; and reckons the disputed passage to be by another hand than Habakkuks, and intruded into the latters argument. Habakkuks argument he assigns to after 605; perhaps 590. The tyrant complained against would therefore be the Chaldean.-Driver in the 6th edition of his “Introduction” (1897) deems Buddes argument “too ingenious,” and holds by the older and most numerously supported argument (above).-On a review of the case in the light of these two discussions, the present writer holds to his opinion that Buddes rearrangement, which he has adopted, offers the fewest difficulties.
THE PROPHET AS SCEPTIC
Hab 1:1-17 – Hab 2:4
OF the prophet Habakkuk we know nothing that is personal save his name – to our ears his somewhat odd name. It is the intensive form of a root which means to caress or embrace. More probably it was given to him as a child, than afterwards assumed as a symbol of his clinging to God.
Tradition says that Habakkuk was a priest, the son of Joshua, of the tribe of Levi, but this is only an inference from the late liturgical notes to the Psalm which has been appended to his prophecy. All that we know for certain is that he was a contemporary of Jeremiah, with a sensitiveness under wrong and impulses to question God which remind us of Jeremiah; but with a literary power which is quite his own. We may emphasize the latter, even though we recognize upon his writing the influence of Isaiahs.
Habakkuks originality, however, is deeper than style. He is the earliest who is known to us of a new school of religion in Israel. He is called “prophet,” but at first he does not adopt the attitude which is characteristic of the prophets. His face is set in an opposite direction to theirs. They address the nation Israel, on behalf of God: he rather speaks to God on behalf of Israel. Their task was Israels sin, the proclamation of Gods doom, and the offer of His grace to their penitence. Habakkuks task is God Himself, the effort to find out what He means by permitting tyranny and wrong. They attack the sins; he is the first to state the problems, of life. To him the prophetic revelation, the Torah, is complete: it has been codified in Deuteronomy and enforced by Josiah. Habakkuks business is not to add to it, but to ask why it does not work. Why does God suffer wrong to triumph, so that the Torah is paralyzed, and Mishpat, the prophetic “justice” or “judgment,” comes to naught? The prophets travailed for Israels character-to get the people to love justice till justice prevailed among them: Habakkuk feels justice cannot prevail in Israel, because of the great disorder which God permits to fill the world. It is true that he arrives at a prophetic attitude, and before the end authoritatively declares Gods will; but he begins by searching for the latter, with an appreciation of the great obscurity cast over it by the facts of life. He complains to God, asks questions, and expostulates. This is the beginning of speculation in Israel. It does not go far: it is satisfied with stating questions to God; it does not, directly at least, state questions against Him. But Habakkuk at least feels that revelation is baffled by experience, that the facts of life bewilder a man who believes in the God whom the prophets have declared to Israel. As in Zephaniah prophecy begins to exhibit traces of apocalypse, so in Habakkuk we find it developing the first impulses of speculation.
We have seen that the course of events which troubles Habakkuk and renders the Torah ineffectual is somewhat obscure. On one interpretation of these two chapters, that which takes the present order of their verses as the original, Habakkuk asks why God is silent in face of the injustice which fills the whole horizon, {Hab 1:1-4} is told to look round among the heathen and see how God is raising up the Chaldeans, {Hab 1:5-11} presumably to punish this injustice (if it be Israels own) or to overthrow it (if Hab 1:1-4 mean that it is inflicted on Israel by a foreign power). But the Chaldeans only aggravate the prophets problem; they themselves are a wicked and oppressive people: how can God suffer them? {Hab 1:12-17} Then come the prophets waiting for an answer {Hab 2:1} and the answer itself. {Hab 2:2 ff.} Another interpretation takes the passage about the Chaldeans {Hab 1:5-11} to be out of place where it now lies, removes it to after chapter 4 as a part of Gods answer to the prophets problem, and leaves the remainder of chapter1 as the description of the Assyrian oppression of Israel, baffling the Torah and perplexing the prophets faith in a Holy and Just God. Of these two views the former is, we have seen, somewhat artificial, and though the latter is by no means proved, the arguments for it are sufficient to justify us in re-arranging the verses of chapter 1-2:4 in accordance with its proposals.
“The Oracle which Habakkuk the Prophet Received by Vision. How long, O Jehovah, have I called and Thou hearest not? I cry to Thee. Wrong! and Thou sendest no help. Why make me look upon sorrow, And fill mine eyes with trouble? Violence and wrong are before me, Strife comes and quarrel arises. So the Law is benumbed, and judgment never gets forth: For the wicked beleaguers the righteous, So judgment comes forth perverted.”
“Art not, Thou of old, Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? Purer of eyes than to behold evil, And that canst not gaze upon trouble! Why gazest Thou upon traitors, Art dumb when the wicked swallows him that is more righteous than he? Thou hast let men be made like fish of the sea, Like worms that have no ruler! He lifts the whole of it with his angle: Draws it in with his net, sweeps it in his drag-net: So rejoices and exults. So he sacrifices to his net, and offers incense to his drag-net; For by them is his portion fat, and his food rich. Shall he forever draw his sword, And ceaselessly, ruthlessly massacre nations?”
“Upon my watch-tower I will stand, And take my post on the rampart. I will watch to see what He will say to me, And what answer I get back to my plea”.
“And Jehovah answered me and said: Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, That he may run who reads it”.
“For the vision is for a time yet to be fixed, Yet it hurries to the end, and shall not fail: Though it linger, wait thou for it; Coming it shall come, and shall not be behind. Lo! swollen, not level is his soul within him; But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness. {Hab 1:5-11} round among the heathen, and look well, Shudder and be shocked; For I am about to do a work in your days, Ye shall not believe it when told. For, lo, I am about to raise up the Kasdim, A people the most bitter and the most hasty, That traverse the breadths of the earth, To possess dwelling-places not their own. Awful and terrible are they; From themselves start their purpose and rising”.
“Fleeter than leopards their steeds, Swifter than night-wolves. Their horsemen leap from afar; They swoop like the eagle a-haste to devour. All for wrong do they come: The set of their faces is forward, And they sweep up captives like sand. They-at kings do they scoff, And princes are sport to them. They-they laugh at each fortress, Heap dust up and take it! Then the wind shifts and they pass! But doomed are those whose own strength is their god!”
The difficulty of deciding between the various arrangements of the two chapters of Habakkuk does not, fortunately, prevent us from appreciating his argument. What he feels throughout (this is obvious, however you arrange his verses) is the tyranny of a great heathen power, be it Assyrian, Egyptian, or Chaldean. The prophets horizon is filled with Hab 1:3; Israel thrown into disorder, revelation paralyzed, justice perverted. {Hab 1:4} But, like Nahum, Habakkuk feels not for Israel alone. The tyrant has outraged humanity. {Hab 1:13-17} He “sweeps peoples into his net,” and as soon as he empties this, he fills it again “ceaselessly,” as if there were no just God above. He exults in his vast cruelty, and has success so unbroken that he worships the very means of it. In itself such impiety is gross enough, but to a heart that believes in God it is a problem of exquisite pain. Habakkuks is the burden of the finest faith. He illustrates the great commonplace of religions doubt, that problems arise and become rigorous in proportion to the purity and tenderness of mans conception of God. It is not the coarsest but the finest temperaments which are exposed to skepticism. Every advance in assurance of God or in appreciation of His character develops new perplexities in face of the facts of experience, and faith becomes her own most cruel troubler. Habakkuks questions are not due to any cooling of the religious temper in Israel, but are begotten of the very heat and ardor of prophecy in its encounter with experience. His tremulousness, for instance, is impossible without the high knowledge of Gods purity and faithfulness, which older prophets had achieved in Israel:-
“Art not Thou of old, O Lord, my God, my Holy One, Purer of eyes than to behold evil, And incapable of looking upon wrong?”
His despair is that which comes only from eager and persevering habits of prayer:-
“How long, O Lord, have I called and Thou hearest not! I cry to Thee of wrong and Thou givest no help!”
His questions, too, are bold with that sense of Gods absolute power, which flashed so bright in. Israel as to blind mens eyes to all secondary and intermediate causes. “Thou,” he says, –
“Thou hast made men like fishes of the sea, Like worms that have no ruler,”
boldly charging the Almighty in almost the temper of Job himself, with being the cause of the cruelty inflicted by the unchecked tyrant upon the nations; “for shall evil happen, and Jehovah not have done it?” Thus all through we perceive that Habakkuks trouble springs from the central founts of prophecy. This skepticism-if we may venture to give the name to the first motions in Israels mind of that temper which undoubtedly became skepticism-this skepticism was the inevitable heritage of prophecy: the stress and pain to which prophecy was forced by its own strong convictions in face of the facts of experience. Habakkuk, “the prophet,” as he is called, stood in the direct line of his order, but just because of that he was the father also of Israels religious doubt.
But a discontent springing from sources so pure was surely the preparation of its own healing. In a verse of exquisite beauty the prophet describes the temper in which he trusted for an answer to all his doubts:-
“On my watch-tower will I stand, And take up my post on the rampart; I will watch to see what He says to me, And what answer I get back to my plea.”
This verse is not to be passed over, as if its metaphors were merely for literary effect. They express rather the moral temper in which the prophet carries his doubt, or, to use New Testament language, “the good conscience, which some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck.” Nor is this temper patience only and a certain elevation of mind, nor only a fixed attention and sincere willingness to be answered. Through the chosen words there breathes a noble sense of responsibility. The prophet feels he has a post to hold, a rampart to guard. He knows the heritage of truth, won by the great minds of the past; and in a world seething with disorder, he will take his stand upon that and see what more his God will send him. At the very least, he will not indolently drift, but feel that he has a standpoint, however narrow, and bravely hold it. Such has ever been the attitude of the greatest skeptics-not only, let us repeat, earnestness and sincerity, but the recognition of duty towards the truth: the conviction that even the most tossed and troubled minds have somewhere a {missing Greek word} appointed of God, and upon it interests human and Divine to defend. Without such a conscience, skepticism, however intellectually gifted, will avail nothing. Men who drift never discover, never grasp aught. They are only dazzled by shifting gleams of the truth, only fretted and broken by experience.
Taking then his stand within the patient temper, but especially upon the conscience of his great order, the prophet waits for his answer and the healing of his trouble. The answer comes to him in the promise of “a Vision,” which, though it seem to linger, will not be later than the time fixed by God. “A Vision” is something realized, experienced-something that will be as actual and present to the waiting prophet as the cruelty which now fills his sight. Obviously some series of historical events is meant, by which, in the course of trine, the unjust oppressor of the nations shall be overthrown and the righteous vindicated. Upon the re-arrangement of the text proposed by Budde, this series of events is the rise of the Chaldeans, and it is an argument in favor of his proposal that the promise of “a Vision” requires some such historical picture to follow it as we find in the description of the Chaldeans- Hab 1:5-11. This, too, is explicitly introduced by terms of vision: “See among the nations and look round Yea, behold I am about to raise up the Kasdim.” But before this vision is given, and for the uncertain interval of waiting ere the facts come to pass, the Lord enforces upon His watching servant the great moral principle that arrogance and tyranny cannot, from the nature of them, last, and that if the righteous be only patient he will survive them:-
“Lo, swollen, not level, is his soul within him; But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.”
We have already seen that the text of the first line of this couplet is uncertain. Yet the meaning is obvious, partly in the words themselves, and partly by their implied contrast with the second line. The soul of the wicked is a radically morbid thing: inflated, swollen (unless we should read perverted, which more plainly means the same thing), not level, not natural and normal. In the nature of things it cannot endure. “But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.” This word, wrongly translated faith by the Greek and other versions, is concentrated by Paul in his repeated quotation from the Greek {Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11} upon that single act of faith by which the sinner secures forgiveness and justification. With Habakkuk it is a wider term. Emunah, from a verb meaning originally to be firm, is used in the Old Testament in the physical sense of steadfastness. So it is applied to the arms of Moses held up by Aaron and Hur over the battle with Amalek: “they were steadiness till the going down of the sun.” {Exo 17:12} It is also used of the faithful discharge of public office {2Ch 19:9} and of fidelity as between man and Hos 2:22 (Heb.). It is also faithful testimony, {Pro 14:5} equity in judgment, {Isa 11:5} truth in speech, {Pro 12:17; cf. Jer 9:2} and sincerity or honest dealing. {Pro 12:22} Of course it has faith in God as its secret-the verb from which it is derived is the regular Hebrew term to believe-but it is rather the temper which faith produces of endurance, steadfastness, integrity. Let the righteous, however baffled his faith be by experience, hold on in loyalty to God and duty, and he shall live. Though St. Paul, as we have said, used the Greek rendering of “faith” for the enforcement of trust in Gods mercy through Jesus Christ as the secret of forgiveness and life it is rather to Habakkuks wider intention of patience and fidelity that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews returns in his fuller quotation of the verse: “For yet a little while and He that shall come will come and will not tarry; now the just shall live by faith, but if he draw back My soul shall have no pleasure in.” {Heb 10:37-38}
Such, then is the tenor of the passage. In face of experience that baffles faith, the duty of Israel is patience in loyalty to God. In this the nascent skepticism of Israel received its first great commandment, and this it never forsook. Intellectual questions arose, of which Habakkuks were but the faintest foreboding-questions concerning not only the mission and destiny of the nation, but the very foundation of justice and the character of God Himself. Yet did no skeptic, however bold and however provoked, forsake his faithfulness. Even Job, when most audaciously arraigning the God of his experience, turned from Him to God as in his heart of hearts he believed He must be, experience notwithstanding. Even the Preacher, amid the aimless flux and drift which he finds in the universe, holds to the conclusion of the whole matter in a command, which better than any other defines the contents of the faithfulness enforced by Habakkuk: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.” It has been the same with the great mass of the race. Repeatedly disappointed of their hopes, and crushed for ages beneath an intolerable tyranny, have they not exhibited the same heroic temper with which their first great questioner was endowed? Endurance, this above all others has been the quality of Israel: “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” And, therefore, as Pauls adaptation, “The just shall live by faith,” has become the motto of evangelical Christianity, so we may say that Habakkuks original of it has been the motto and the fame of Judaism: “The righteous shall live by His faithfulness.”