seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a]
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a]
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness[d]—
5 indeed, wine betrays him;
he is arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive all the peoples.
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness[d]—
5 indeed, wine betrays him;
he is arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 “Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain,
setting his nest on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples,
shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
setting his nest on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples,
shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed[e]!
The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed[e]!
The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman?
Or an image that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;
there is no breath in it.”
Or an image that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;
there is no breath in it.”
20 The Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
let all the earth be silent before him.
a. Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
b. Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
c. Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
d. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
e. Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagge
Reading of a "Woe" on Friday the 13th..... Good thing I'm not superstitious.
This is from studylight.org.
In response to Habakkuk’s second complain, the Lord announced that He would judge the Chaldeans as well for their wickedness. His reply included:
(1) The instructions to write it down, as a reminder that it would surely occur;
(2) A description of the character of the wicked in comparison to the righteous; and
(3) The pronouncement of 5 woes describing the Chaldeans’ demise.
“Write the vision”: Habakkuk was to record the vision to preserve it for posterity, so that all who read it would know of the certainty of its fulfillment (similar language in Daniel 12:4, 9). The prophecy had lasting relevance and thus had to be preserved.
Although a period of time would occur before its fulfillment, all were to know that it would occur at God’s “appointed time” (Isa. 13; Jer. chapters 50 and 51). Babylon would fall to the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus (ca. 539 B.C.; Daniel chapter 5).
Five woes, in the form of a taunt song, were pronounced upon the Chaldeans in anticipation of their eventual judgment. Presented in 5 stanzas of 3 verses each, the 5 woes were directed at 5 different classes of evildoers.
The first woe charged extortion, i.e., plundering nations under threat of great bodily harm for the purpose of making themselves rich. As a result, they were to become plunder for those nations who remained.
The proud and seemingly impregnable city of Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great (in 539 B.C.), due as much to its own inner corruption as to the presence of the great conqueror. According to the reports of the ancient world, Cyrus was hailed as a liberator (Isa. 45:1-3).
The second charge, of premeditated exploitation borne out of covetousness, was a continuation of (verses 6-8). The walls of their houses, built with stones and timbers taken from others, testified against them (verse 1).
The third woe accuses them of being ruthless despots, building luxurious palaces by means of bloodshed and forced labor. Like a fire that burns everything given to it, their labors would all be futile, having no lasting value (Mic. 3:10).
The fourth charge is debauchery, wherein Babylon forced others to become intoxicated and poisoned, making them behave shamefully and become easy prey. As a result, they too would be forced to drink the cup of God’s wrath and exposed to public shame. (Jer. 49:12).
The fifth accusation is idolatry, exposing the folly of following other gods (Isa. 41:24; 44:9). The destruction of the Chaldeans would demonstrate the superiority of the Lord over all gods.
This is from bibletrack.org.
And I do mean WOE! Look at this next oracle from God. Woe to the Babylonians in verses 6, 9, 12, 15 and 19. These "woes" are listed as personal violations of the Mosaic principles of law, but are applied nationally as violations of the Babylonians to come.
- Verse 6 - Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!
The Babylonian army does just that. - Verse 9 - Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house
The Babylonian army did that too. - Verse 12 - Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
The Babylonians were certainly responsible for a lot of bloodshed. - Verse 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!
- The helpless condition of the drunken man here is a figurative representation. The point is as follows: The inhumane treatment at the hands of the Babylonians is comparable to that of a man who gets his neighbor drunk so that he might abuse him.
- Verse 19 - Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach!
And the Babylonians were big-time idol worshippers also.
In other words, the Babylonians will get their deserved reward. Just because God will use them to punish Judah, does not mean they get a free ride. Babylon's severe judgment is coming later. Some have suggested that these woes are ALSO intended as indictments against some of the wicked acts of the Jews themselves. Perhaps, but there can be no question that these are the actions of the Babylonians at the capture of Jerusalem/Judah.
In verses 18-20 we see those pesky idols contrasted with the living God. Why won't those idols "awake" when you need them (verse 19)? Then they are told to keep quiet before the Lord in verse 20, "But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."
It's really difficult to write anything this morning. As I post this.... a worldwide pandemic is on the news. As bad as this pandemic is reported to be.... it's not end times.... or I don't think it is anyway.... but what do I know.God used the Babylonians to stop the Assyrians. In time... God will have the Babylonians send the descendants of Jacob [Israel] back to Judah.... but that won't be an easy road either. The Greeks and Romans are still waiting in the wings to take over..... and then there will be a bigger badder worst than worst horrific end.... those woes make these woes look like love smacks.
Yesterday there was a comment about God not being able to look at evil. That bugged me all day yesterday.... and it's still bugging me this morning. God can do anything.... He is after all God.... He created everything.... He knows how it works. If God wants to let an iceberg melt releasing a fatal virus.... He can do it. If God wants to put the formula in the brain of a human that would lead to an accidental or planned release of a fatal virus.... He can. God can do anything..... including looking at something really vile or evil. IMHO.... it's like saying "I don't want to look." He's God.... He doesn't have to look.... He has already seen it. God knows what is written in the last chapter.
My daughter is worried because I am old. I'm not worried.... I have a detached retina so I'm not hanging out at the mall or the bingo halls. My husband does the shopping at Walmart in the middle of the night to avoid crowds. We wash our hands and face whenever we come in contact with the world. We are happy hanging out in and around our little place..... and what's the worse that can happen to me.... Heaven?
The Assyrians had to answer up to the Babylonians..... the Assyrians were horrible and cruel.... which means the Babylonians were even more horrible and even more cruel. I read in Daniel that the king had three men thrown in a smelting fire because they wouldn't worship him..... that's pretty cruel.... but it's not as cruel as what is coming down the pike.
So put a lime in that corona cause it's not end times yet and this is only a hint of how bad it could be if God decided to let it loose.
Have a great Friday the 13th.