Deeper Commentary

Habakkuk Chapter 2

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out- As a watchman goes to an elevated place to watch, so Habakkuk was eagerly looking out for God’s response to his complaints. Perhaps he means that the next time the prophetic word comes to him, he will look carefully for answers. He sensed he would be reproved (:1 AV “What I shall answer when I am reproved”); but he was eagerly looking out for the answer. So often, complaints about the apparent injustice or inactivity of God are posed as questions but those ‘questions’ are effectively statements of discontent [‘Why does God allow suffering??!!’], and judgment upon God. There is no serious looking for an answer. But Habakkuk asks and is confident an answer will come, although he fully expects that answer to rebuke him. The rebuke however doesn’t come. God is not mad with man because we have questions. And He will respond to our sincere questioning of His behaviour, if it is made in the right spirit.

To know what He will say to me, and what answer I will get concerning my complaint- As noted on chapter 1, Habakkuk's objections were gut reactions, and the answers are found within the objections. So the answer was really already there. But the original could be translated to the effect: "And what reproof I will receive". Habakkuk senses that God will reprove him, that his complaints are out of step with God's way. And yet we see here the degree of intimacy possible between God and man.

Habakkuk 2:2 Yahweh answered me, Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may run- "May run" could be an idiom for response to God’s word (as in Dan. 12:4). All prophecy, including Habakkuk, has its final fulfilment in the last days. There are a number of hints that there will be a progressive growth in Biblical understanding amongst the latter day faithful. In the spirit of Daniel, Habakkuk was told that the full understanding of his vision concerning the latter day judgment of Babylon was "yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie", and at that time the one who reads and understands it will "run"- using the same idiom as in Dan. 12:4 concerning the latter day believers 'running' in response to their understanding of God's word (Hab. 2:2,3). The Olivet prophecy repeatedly talks about 'seeing' or (Gk.) understanding things and then acting upon this knowledge. The English translation somewhat masks this. Thus Mt. 24:15 "Whoso readeth" uses a Greek word which really means to recognize, distinguish- and he who recognizes, understands, let him "understand" or, better, meditate. Or again, "When ye shall see (Greek, to know, perceive) the abomination that maketh desolate..." (Mt. 24:15).

But the literal meaning was that those who believed this prophecy would flee away and thus escape the Babylonian invasion; or flee out of Babylon because it was to fall. But that would only be perceived by those who lived well in the future (:3), because at the time, the Babylonians were yet to arise as a power (Hab. 1:5,6).

Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it speeds toward the end- The time of the establishment of the Kingdom on earth. Similar language is used in Daniel. Habakkuk had asked whether Babylon would continue abusing for ever (Hab. 1:17). Apparently he had not seen any vision of her destruction. But he is comforted that in the future, his concerns of ethics, justice, theology and morality would all be finally resolved in the establishment of God's Kingdom.

And won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay- Quoted in the NT about the return of Christ (Heb. 10:37). The answer to all Habakkuk’s concerns about injustice will finally be at the Lord’s return; see on :6. We wonder if these assurances were given because Habakkuk was doubting the reality of the visions he had seen. At the time, the Babylonians were yet to arise as a power (Hab. 1:5,6). Only at the "end" would the while picture concerning Babylon become clear.

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul is puffed up- The individual in view is either a personification of Babylon, or its king Nebuchadnezzar. The following verses clearly speak of Babylon's judgment. Typical of the prophetic perspective, Habakkuk sees the reason for his fall as being essentially because of his pride- when so many other issues could have been raised, such as idolatry and the murder of God's people. This is what makes the prophets so relevant to us; for pride is the weakness which affects us all. And that is at the root of all other sin. "Puffed up" is a term only used elsewhere about the presumption of condemned Israel trying to enter the land when they had been barred from it (Num. 14:44). As so often, a parallel is drawn between the sins of the worst Gentiles and those of Israel, both historically and at the time of the prophet.

It is not upright in him- Babylon was "puffed up", lifted up in pride; but this was not being lifted up "upright" before God. Pride is the depths, and humility is exaltation. Such is the radical inversion of values in God's way compared to man's way.

 

But the justified one will live due to his faith- Will live eternally, according to how this verse is interpreted in the New Testament. Heb. 10:38 quotes it in this way; and note that the preceding Heb. 10:37 is quoting the preceding verse here, Hab. 2:3. Eternal life will be given at the Lord’s coming on the basis of faith. As noted on 2:6, the real answer to Habakkuk’s questions is that they will all have their resolution in the coming of God’s Kingdom on earth. "The justified one" may immediately refer to Habakkuk and the faithful remnant, about whom Habakkuk had expressed concern in Hab. 1:13. God's answer was that although they might indeed perish in the Babylonian invasion, they would be justified by their faith in Habakkuk's prophecies and live eternally. Again we wonder if "his faith" is a hint that Habakkuk and the faithful were struggling to believe the prophecies he was giving.

Paul’s quotation from Hab. 2:4 is in the context of human pride: “Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith”. Paul is interpreting this verse as talking about faith in righteousness being imputed to us, which leads to us being just or justified before God. The practical result of this is humility- for we realize through this process that we have absolutely nothing to be “puffed up” about. Our uprightness isn’t because of our own works but because of God’s righteousness being imputed to us by grace through faith.

Habakkuk 2:5 Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous- This may speak of Nebuchadnezzar, or as a personification of Babylon. His treachery was Habakkuk's complaint in Hab. 1:13. God now uses Habakkuk's word choice, showing that He indeed knows that Babylon will be treacherous, and their leader will be identified with the wine he drinks, so that as wine is treacherous, so will he be. The Bible often demonstrates that God likes to use our words back to us, just as in building rapport in conversation it is helpful to repeat back to our conversation partner words and phrases which they have used. And God likewise is in dialogue with man.

Again we note that God's people had also been "treacherous" (Mal. 2:10,11,14,16 etc.). They would be deceived by the Babylonians, just as they had deceived others in their lives and had been deceitful toward God.

A proud man who doesn’t stay at home- He would go out from his homeland to conquer others.

Who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied- The way of the flesh is insatiable. Flesh cannot be satisfied. The wealthy man wants another billion, the owner of multiple homes or vehicles wants yet another. And thereby the parallel the grave and death, which likewise are never satisfied. The end of this unsatisfied life is the grave. By contrast, God's way is presented as satisfying the believer, in this life and eternally (s.w. Dt. 14:29 and often). Not being satisfied was one of the curses upon Israel for breaking covenant (Lev. 26:26 s.w.). Again we see a parallel between the judgment of the Babylonians and that upon Israel. This was one aspect of God's answer to Habakkuk's issues- that Israel were no better than the Babylonians. This was the answer to his objection that Israel were being treated like all the other Gentile fish in the sea of nations (Hab. 1:15).

 

But gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples- The idea may be that he gathers "all nations" [around Israel] into confederacy with him, and heaps together people from all the nations as captives. But it was God who would gather all nations to Babylon, so that He might destroy them (Is. 13:4).

Habakkuk 2:6 Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say- Isaiah likewise predicts a taunt song being sung over Babylon by those she had once abused (Is. 14). Those nations who sung it would include Judah- or that was the intention. But when Babylon fell, the Divine intention was that the repentant exiles would flee Babylon and return to Judah, rebuilding and restoring God's Kingdom there. But they didn't repent, and instead became prosperous under the Medes and Persians, as the book of Esther witnesses. But finally this will come true in the fall of the latter day Babylon and repentance of the remnant of Judah. The prophecy was therefore rescheduled and reapplied, but will still come true in its essence.

'Woe to him- Five woes are now pronounced upon Babylon, in that the word “woe” occurs five times, although in fact seven woeful things are mentioned in this chapter. The idea of seven woes coming upon Babylon is of course the message of Revelation, where such woes are presented as having their fulfilment at the time of the Lord’s return. The answer to Habakkuk’s questions about justice not being done is therefore that the Lord shall return, and woes shall be poured out upon the wicked. This is why these woes are interspersed with language appropriate to the Kingdom of God upon earth (:3 and 14 especially). On a far more extended scale, this is the broad approach taken in the book of Revelation too- woes upon Babylon interspersed with brief Kingdom visions.

Who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion!- The criticism of Babylon is framed in language elsewhere used by the prophets about Judah. This was the answer to Habakkuk's objection that Israel were being treated like all the other Gentile fish in the sea of nations (Hab. 1:15).

How long?’- This is the typical cry of the faithful, and this is perhaps Habakkuk's interjection. For these chapters show him in dialogue with God.

Habakkuk 2:7 Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly- Initially fulfilled in the sudden overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus.

And wake up those who now make you tremble, and you will be their victim?-  The GNB offers: "But before you know it, you that have conquered others will be in debt yourselves and be forced to pay interest. Enemies will come and make you tremble. They will plunder you!". I noted on :6 that the intended Divine program for Babylon didn't exactly come about at this time, although it will in the last days, when the horns of the beast shall hate the whore of Babylon and destroy her (Rev. 17:16).

Habakkuk 2:8 Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it- Babylon's responsibility before God was for what they had done to "many nations", but in particular to "the land" of Israel and "the city" of Jerusalem. "The remnant of the peoples" is of course intended to suggest the remnant of the exiles, who were to repent and plunder Babylon. But instead, they didn't repent and the majority preferred to remain there and prosper under the Medes and Persians, as the book of Esther explains. The language here is very much that of Is. 14:12-14 about Babylon; and that passage has a clear application to the latter day judgment of Babylon at the Lord’s return. Only then will all the angst about justice be answered.

Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!- Daniel records how Babylon / Nebuchadnezzar wished his house / family dynasty to be eternal; hence he made an image of gold in defiance of the image of Daniel 2, in which his house was to give way to other dynasties. He believed that "the nest" of Babylon was untouchable by "evil". Even though he had made "evil [s.w.] gain" for himself and his family dynasty ["house"]. "Gets an evil gain" is the same Hebrew word translated "to covet". The word means both to covet and to actually grab gain for oneself, reflecting how in God's judgment the thought is as the act. The Lord of course developed this idea powerfully in the Sermon on the Mount.

Habakkuk 2:10 You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul- Instead of making his dynasty ["house"] wealthy and eternal (:9), by trying to do so, Nebuchadnezzar was thereby shaming them to eternal destruction. He cut off many peoples in order to remove all opposition and establish his house or family line. But by doing so, he sinned against himself, destroying himself and his family.

Habakkuk 2:11 For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it- Buildings were made of two or three courses of stone followed by one of timber. This was how Solomon’s palace was built (1 Kings 6:36). Sins committed in private we tend to accept as irrelevant to us; yet Hab. 2:11,12 says that “the stone shall cry out of the wall” because of wicked plans hatched within the walls of that room. The innermost plans of Nebuchadnezzar for his dynasty (see on :9,10) were known by God. Rather than focus upon his idolatry and mass murders, the prophetic perspective instead zooms in upon his internal thoughts. For it is inwards thoughts which are of the essence, and which are the source of our actions.     

Habakkuk 2:12 Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!- The town in view is surely Babylon. But these words are those of Mic. 3:10 about the leaders of Judah: "They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity". Micah is quoting Habakkuk's words about Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar about Judah. Micah learnt the lesson that this prophecy was trying to teach Habakkuk- that contrary to what he thought (see on Hab. 1:15), Judah were as bad as Babylon. Whilst Habakkuk begins in chapter 1 by bemoaning the sins of his people, he had to learn that it's not enough to just think 'Well yes we are all sinners', but lament the apparently far greater sin of the Gentile world. He had to see that God's people were no better, because sin is serious. Even 'little sins' performed in secret. And this is the abiding challenge to us as the body of Christ today.

Habakkuk 2:13 Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?- The GNB again is helpful in interpreting the sense: "The nations you conquered wore themselves out in useless labor, and all they have built goes up in flames. The LORD Almighty has done this". Babylon was to be burnt, and all the sacrifices in building it thereby rendered futile. However, the Divine intention to burn Babylon, the judgment for a whore (Jer. 51:30,58), didn't really come true when the Medes conquered Babylon. As noted on :6 and :7, the Divine intention didn't come totally true at that time, because the Jewish remnant didn't repent and generally didn't want to restore God's Kingdom in Judah. And so the prophecy will come true in the last days, when "Babylon" shall be burnt with fire (Rev. 18:8).

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh- That glory is defined in Ex. 34:4-6 as the characteristics of the Yahweh Name. When Babylon was burnt with fire (:13), then the eretz would be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh. Knowledge is used here in the Hebraic sense, not of academic knowledge, but of relationship with Him, on the basis of who He really is, His glory. But as noted on :6, this didn't come about when the Medes conquered Babylon. They didn't destroy it with fire, the Jewish remnant didn't repent, and the eretz didn't come into relationship with Yahweh. This shall happen in the last days. See on :20.

As the waters cover the sea- We surely are to read in an ellipsis here; ‘sea’ must stand for ‘the sea bed’. For the waters are the sea, and do not therefore cover it. The idea would therefore be that the knowledge of God will be both deep and widespread. The contrast is with Habakkuk’s questions against God in chapter 1. God doesn’t specifically answer them, apart from to say that He will indeed judge wickedness because He is intensely aware of what goes on in the world. His broader answer is that true knowledge / comprehension of Him, and of His awesome glory, will one day be both deep and universal. And it will involve a realization of His utter glory, rather than trying to shoot holes in His positions by the kind of petty questioning recorded in chapter 1.

Habakkuk 2:15 Woe to him who gives his neighbour drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!- Latter day Babylon in Revelation is likewise condemned for making her neighbouring nations drunk with her teachings. We note that the focus is upon the Middle East- the neighbours of Babylon and Judah. And supremely in view is the way that Babylon had made Judah drunk with the wine of her idolatry. But as noted on :16, to drink from a cup of wine is also a symbol of Divine judgment. They were drinking judgment to themselves by partaking. And the end result of accepting Babylon's "wine" was to lay in the naked shame of death, uncovered before all.

Habakkuk 2:16 You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed!- Note the present tenses. Babylon had yet to arise (Hab. 1:5,6), but the future of Babylon is so certain, according to God's prophetic word, that what is yet future is spoken of as a present reality. The same is true of promises of the life eternal in John's Gospel. Being exposed and shamed is the language of a woman, especially a prostitute. It is the basis for the condemnation of the whore Babylon in Rev. 17,18. Then, all too late, Babylon will be exposed for what it is. It is the wisdom of God's people to perceive that now.

The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory- To be given a cup of the Lord is a double symbol; we either drink blessing or condemnation to ourselves. For the cup of the Lord is either “the cup of blessing” or of condemnation. This is why the breaking of bread meeting focuses our attention on the only two possible outcomes of our lives. The fact there is no third way inspires us to choose wholeheartedly for Him.

Habakkuk 2:17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them- God kept a careful note of all Babylon did to His land. Every animal destroyed was noted, and even every animal which was terrified and made to bolt by the Babylonian traumas was likewise noted by God; and how much more the human suffering. This again answers Habakkuk's objection that God appears indifferent to human suffering. There will indeed come a day of reckoning- but not immediately. This again is typical of the prophetic perspective; to focus upon the apparently minor [making animals bolt] in order to reveal the depth of God's appreciation of the more evidently apparent abuses. And all this was in response to Habakkuk's complaint that God appeared unaware of human suffering. See on Hab. 3:11.

Habakkuk 2:18 What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?- The ultimate significance of Babylon's fall was and shall be the declaration that all idols are powerless. We note the tendency of the former of the idol to trust in it- when he of all people ought to have realized that the idol was of his own human device. But this perversity is seen in us all. The woman who labours all her lifetime developing her business is then inclined to trust in its profits as her ultimate salvation; the man who builds his own house is tempted to make that house his idol. But again, the language of Habakkuk about the Babylonians is later applied to God's people. The phrase "teacher of lies" is applied to the false prophets of Judah in Is. 9:15. Likewise the phrase "maker of... images" is applied to the Jews in Is. 44:9,10. Isaiah learnt the lesson that this prophecy was trying to teach Habakkuk- that contrary to what he thought (see on Hab. 1:15), Judah were as bad as Babylon. See on :12.

Habakkuk 2:19 Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in its midst- This woe upon Babylon was equally true for the people of Judah. The same language is used of their false prophets and idolatry; see on :12,18.

Habakkuk 2:20 But Yahweh is in His holy temple- This continues the answer to Habakkuk's complaints of chapter 1, that God appears distant from the sin and suffering on this earth. But His apparent silence doesn't mean that He is not watching nor judging; He is in his heavenly temple. And in awe of that, the earth should be silent before Him, rather than arguing back with Him as Habakkuk had done.

Let all the earth be silent before Him!- The same Hebrew word is used in calling for silence because of God’s presence (Zeph. 1:7 “be silent at the presence of Yahweh”) and because He has arisen up in active outreach in the earth (Zech. 2:13 “Be silent all flesh before Yahweh; for He is raised up out of His hold habitation”). Although God appeared to be inactive in response to the injustices Habakkuk so struggled with, His presence is indeed active. And men should be silent before Him rather than make petty complaint about His injustice. The invitation to "all the earth" to be respectful of Yahweh is part of God's intention that the fall of Babylon would coincide with the repentance of Judah and the spread of relationship with Him to the entire eretz. This didn't happen at the time, but will come true in the latter day fulfilment; see on :14.