2:1The watchman and watchtower, often used by the prophets to show an attitude of expectation (Isaiah 21:8, 11; Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 3:17), are pictures of Habakkuk’s attitude of patient waiting and watching for God’s response. Stone watchtowers were built on city walls or ramparts so that watchmen could see people (enemies or messengers) approaching their city while still at a distance. Watchtowers were also erected in vineyards to help guard the ripening grapes {Isaiah 5:2). Habakkuk wanted to be in the best position to receive God’s message. 2:2tf This chapter records God’s answers to Habakkuk’s questions: (1) How long would evil prevail (1:2, 3)? (2) Why was Babylon chosen to punish Judah (1:13)? God said that the judgment, though slow to come, was certain. Although God used Babylon against Judah, he knew Babylon’s sins and would punish it in due time.
Life Application Study BibleHabakkukChapter 2
Habakkuk 2
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1485, 1486, 1487
1and how he* will answer my complaint.
The Lorop’s Second Reply
22Then the LORD said to me,“Write my answer plainly on tablets,so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
3This vision is for a future time.It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,for it will surely take place.It will not be delayed.
4“Look at the proud!They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.*
5Wealth* is treacherous,and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,* and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
6“But soon their captives will taunt them.They will mock them, saying,‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!Now you will get what you deserve!You've become rich by extortion,but how much longer can this go on?’
7Suddenly, your debtors will take action.They will turn on you and take all you have,while you stand trembling and helpless.
8Because you have plundered many nations,now all the survivors will plunder you.You committed murder throughout the countrysideand filled the towns with violence.
9“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger. 10But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. 11The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
12“What sorrow awaits you who build citieswith money gained through murder and corruption!
13Has not the LORD of Heavens Armies promisedthat the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?They work so hard,but all in vain!
14For as the waters fill the sea,the earth will be filled with an awarenessof the glory of the LORD.
15“What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!You force your cup on themso you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.
16But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.Come, drink and be exposed!Drink from the cup of the LORD'’s judgment,and all your glory will be turned to shame.
17You cut down the forests of Lebanon.Now you will be cut down.You destroyed the wild animals,so now their terror will be yours.You committed murder throughout the countrysideand filled the towns with violence.
18“What good is an idol carved by man,or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—a god that can’t even talk!
19What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,‘Wake up and save us!’To speechless stone images you say,‘Rise up and teach us!’Can an idol tell you what to do?They may be overlaid with gold and silver,but they are lifeless inside.
20But the LORD is in his holy Temple.Let all the earth be silent before him.”
Textual footnotes
- it will surely come and not delay. /+I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away. / But the righteous person wilf
- live by my faith. Compare Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:37-38.
- manuscripts read Wine.
- 2:1 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads /. 2:3b-4 Greek version reads /f the vision is delayed, wait patiently, / for
- 2:5a As in Dead Sea Scroll 1QpHab; other Hebrew
- 2:5b Hebrew as Sheol.
Life Application Notes 6 notes
2:3Evil and injustice seem to have the upper hand in the world. Like Habakkuk, Christians often feel angry and discouraged as they see what goes on. Habakkuk complained vigorously to God about the situation. God’s answer to Habakkuk is the same answer he would give us, “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.” It isn’t easy to be patient, but it helps to remember that God hates sin even more than we do. Punishment of sin will certainly come. As God told Habakkuk, “Wait patiently.” We must trust God even when we don’t understand why events occur as they do.
2:4The wicked Babylonians trusted in themselves and would fall; but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. This verse has inspired countless Christians. Paul quotes it in Romans
2:9-13Babylon’s riches had come from the misfortunes of others, but these riches would only be fuel for the fire. The victims and their cities would cry out against Babylon. Money is not evil, but God condemns the love of riches and the evil means of acquiring them (1 Timothy 6:10). Be careful not to hunger for wealth so much that you lose your appetite for God. Do not allow money to take the place of family, friends, or God.
2:18Idolatry may seem like a sin that modern people do not commit. But idolatry is not just bowing down to idols; it is trusting in what one has made and, therefore, in one’s own power as creator and sustainer. If we say we worship God but put our trust in bank accounts, homes, businesses, and organizations, then we are idolaters. Do you trust God more than you trust what your hands have made?
2:20idols have no life, no personhood, no power; they are empty chunks of wood or stone. Temples built to idols are equally empty; no one lives there. But the LORD /s in his Temple. He is real, alive, and powerful. He is truly and fully God. Idolaters command their idols to save them, but we who worship the living God come to him in silent awe and reverence. We acknowledge that God is in control and knows what he is doing. Idols remain silent because they cannot answer. The living God, by contrast, speaks through his Word. Approach God reverently and wait silently to hear what he has to say.