HABAKKUK LESSON 2


     We will begin this lesson in 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."

     Habakkuk is speaking in this verse. He is waiting to see what God
will say to him.  He is not shirking his duties in the meantime. He
will still act as the watchman. We see that Habakkuk separates himself
from this sinful people. He goes aside, perhaps, to a place in the
mountains, until he hears from God. He is expecting God to reprove him
for the questions he asked Him in chapter 1.

     Habakkuk 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."

     There really is no reprove in this. God does answer Habakkuk
though. This is telling Habakkuk to write the very book we are reading
here. The reason God wanted Habakkuk to write it down, was so future
generations could draw from it. Habakkuk is a book that many scholars
have drawn from.  In the earlier lesson, we mentioned the fact that
Paul quoted from Habakkuk.  We, also, mentioned that Martin Luther
started the Protestant reformation after studying Habakkuk. Many have
been so moved by this little book, that it encouraged them to be
workers for God. I, myself, was shown this very Scripture {and the one
following} by inspiration of God, just before I began writing these
Bible studies.

     Habakkuk 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."

     Every person who has a vision of a work God would have him do,
could be inspired by these Words. God does things in His time, and not
when we think it is time. Notice, in all of this, God does not scold
him about the vision, or even the questions he has asked God. He
explains that, sometimes, they do not come to pass at the time of the
vision. They may happen weeks, months, or even years later.  The
vision is for a time God appointed. God reminds Habakkuk that he is to
patiently wait on the answers to come. When the appointed time comes,
they will not tarry.

     Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not
upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

     This statement is not just for Habakkuk, but for all of God's
people. Our faith in God should not be determined by things we see
with our eyes. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Our faith in God is what
separates us from the world. The world has no hope. We have hope of
the resurrection. Those who have confidence in themselves, are not
depending on their faith in God to see them through.
     Habakkuk 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 is speaking of a man who is lacking in moral character. He
drinks heavily. He runs around. He is living for the desires of the
flesh, and his flesh will die. The sad thing is this type of person
winds up in hell for all of eternity. In this particular instance,
this is speaking of the Babylonians {Chaldeans}. They, as a nation,
are headed for total destruction in hell.

     Habakkuk 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!"

     All of the nations, who have been captured, and their people
killed by these ruthless Babylonians, have taken up a parable against
them.  They know that God will bring condemnation upon these evil
people, they just do not know when. They have taken countries and
people that do not belong to them. They are really asking God how long
will He wait to punish these evil men? The "clay" in the Scripture
above speaks of things that are earthly. The things they have piled up
and called wealth will pass away. They are things of this earth. We
Christians should lay up our treasures in heaven, where nothing can
destroy them.

     Habakkuk 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?"

     Even their people, that the Babylonians take captive, are no more
to them than the inanimate things they count as their booty. The
people are thought of as the possession of the captors. Their cruelty
toward their captives will come right back to them, when they are
under the judgement of God. The army, which destroys them, will be
just as cruel to them, as they had been to their captives.

     Habakkuk 2:8 "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."

     Babylon had been a conqueror that seemed impossible to stop.  God
will bring judgement on Babylon by the Medes and Persians. The cruelty
and the bloodshed the Babylonians had brought on others, would bring
the very same type of treatment upon them. They had gone much further
than God intended them to, when they attacked Judah and Jerusalem.
God's judgement of the Chaldeans would be severe for this reason.

     Habakkuk 2:9  "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!"
     The Babylonians {Chaldeans} had taken great wealth from the
people they had defeated. They had taken far more than their needs and
left the people without anything. They had thought so highly of
themselves, they had tried to lift themselves up as high as the skies
by all the wealth they had obtained at other's expense.

     Habakkuk 2:10 "Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting
off many people, and hast sinned [against] thy soul."

     This, of course, is speaking to the Babylonians. They had made a
terrible name for themselves by their cruelty in battle. People both
feared and hated them. They have gone so far with their cruelty, they
have sinned in their souls.

     Habakkuk 2:11 "For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the
beam out of the timber shall answer it."

     We do know the handwriting on the wall condemned these evil
people. Perhaps, that is what is intended here. In their time of joy
and revelry, a hand from God wrote a message of condemnation and
destruction upon them.

     Habakkuk 2:12  "Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and
stablisheth a city by iniquity!"

     They shed much blood to get the wealth they had. They are
condemned for building great buildings over the shed blood of those
they conquered.

     Habakkuk 2:13 "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?"

     Babylon, which was built to such magnificence with the slave
labour, was but vanity. The people building this magnificent place
labored as if in fire. It was not a labor of love, but forced labor.
All of their labor is in vain, because Babylon and all its finery is
destroyed, never to be built again.

     Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge
of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

     God's glory far surpasses all the glory of these big cities, like
Babylon. The following Scripture is almost identical to the one above.
Isaiah 11:9 "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the
waters cover the sea." The following Scripture tells what the above
Scripture means better than I could explain it. Hebrews 8:11 "And they
shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the
greatest." The knowledge of the glory of God will cover all the people
of the earth in that day.

     Habakkuk 2:15  "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!"

     This drink is alcoholic in nature. The drink was given to the
neighbor, so his judgement would be impaired. The person who gave the
drink to his neighbor had an ulterior motive. This is speaking of the
impaired judgement the nations had dealing with Babylon. These
Babylonians are like the evil Babylon in Revelation which leads the
people to sin. The Babylonians have shamed them.

     Habakkuk 2:16 "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."

     Babylon is thought of by all the other nations in a shameful way.
God exposes them, and they are destroyed. They are shown to be
uncircumcised. They do not belong to God. They will drink of the cup
of God's indignation. Revelation 18:6 "Reward her even as she rewarded
you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup
which she hath filled fill to her double." This is speaking of
Babylon.

     Habakkuk 2:17 "For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and
the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid, because of men's blood,
and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell
therein."

     The Babylonians {Chaldeans} had destroyed the forest of Lebanon.
They had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and Judah, as well. They
were a threat to man and beast. They destroyed the beasts along with
the people who got in their way. They killed with the sword, burned,
and took captive. They were a very violent people.

     Habakkuk 2:18  "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?"

     An image cannot help them. It has no power to save them. Their
false gods will be of no help at all, when the judgement of God comes
upon them. They had put their faith and trust in false gods, not in
God.

     Habakkuk 2:19 "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."

     This is speaking of the things the false gods were made with.
Their false gods are not alive, and cannot speak, or help them.

     Habakkuk 2:20 "But the LORD [is] in his holy temple: let all the
earth keep silence before him."

     This is in direct contrast to their false gods. The LORD is
alive. He can, and does, speak to His people. He can help, or punish,
His people whenever He chooses, because He Is God. His holy temple,
here, is speaking of His throne in heaven. God is not like those idols
which had to be in one place at one time. He is "omnipresent",
everywhere all the time. He is not limited to one location. His
presence hovered over the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the
temple in Jerusalem. The unfaithfulness of His people caused Him to
leave. All of the earth should keep silence before the LORD, because
all of it belongs to Him.  He created it all for Himself. I will give
you a few Scriptures to ponder on about this very thing.

Acts 17:29 "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone,
graven by art and man's device."

John 1:3 "All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made."

Colossians 1:20 "And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say],
whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven."

Colossians 1:16 "For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they
be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him:"

Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour
and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they
are and were created."
























                        Habakkuk 2 Questions


1.  Who is speaking in verse 1?
2.  He will act as a ____________.
3.  What is Habakkuk expecting from God?
4.  And the Lord answered me, and said, ________ the vision down.
5.  What is God telling him to write?
6.  Why is it to be written?
7.  What New Testament penman quoted Habakkuk?
8.  _______ _______ started the Protestant reformation after studying
    Habakkuk.
9.  What relationship does the author have with verse 2 and 3 of this
    lesson?
10. The vision is for an ____________ ______.
11. Though it tarry, ________ for it.
12. Who, in particular, can be inspired by these verses?
13. What does God explain to Habakkuk in verse 3?
14. The just shall live by ________.
15. Quote Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1.
16. What hope do we have, that the world does not have?
17. What things, in verse 5, show us the man is without moral
    character?
18. Who is verse 5 speaking of?
19. Who take up a parable against him?
20. What is the "clay" speaking of in verse 6
21. Who will God use to bring judgement on the Babylonians?
22. The Babylonians had sinned against their _________.
23. What is verse 11 speaking of?
24. Quote Isaiah chapter 11 verse 9.
25. Quote Hebrews chapter 8 verse 11.
26. What kind of drink is verse 15 speaking of?
27. What does the drink do to them?
28. How do the other nations think of Babylon?
29. What had they done to Lebanon?
30. What had they put their trust in?
31. The LORD is in His ________ ________.
32. Let all the earth keep _________ before Him.
33. What does "omnipresent" mean?
34. Which is your favorite of the Scriptures the author gave to ponder
    on?