Habakkuk 2:2-20
And God responds. Of all the issues of Theology Proper, on the nature of God, this is probably the most commonly held misconception: God hears but does not ever respond. Few Christians would say they have heard an audible response from God, but nearly all of us would say God somehow responded to us through the Bible, through another person, or through inexplicable circumstances. God the Holy Spirit is still active.
On first reading, these verses seem a bit disjointed. But, there is a plan to them:
A prologue in verses 2-3 stating the section is about the Babylonians.
A summary in verses 4-5 of the indictments against the Babylonians.
An amplification in verses 6-20 of the indictments against the Babylonians.
In other words, verse two is expanded in verses 4-20. It’s a courtroom scene with a series of accusations each followed by a decision from the Bench.
While the Jews, who had been in Egypt for part of their history, used papyrus and other materials to write texts into scrolls, the Babylonians had traditionally used cuneiform, a method of writing inherited from the Sumerians. It consisted of a triangular wedge-tipped stylus pressed at various angles and in various combinations into clay tablets, although there are extant examples of cuneiform carved into stone monuments (There is an inscription of Xerxes in Turkey that uses cuneiform letters to repeat a message in the Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite languages). In this case, the writing needed to be perfectly clear so the one who reads can run with it.
The words must be written down because they will not be fulfilled until a later time, in God’s time, not in man’s. The Bible serves a similar role for the believer today, having recorded things we need to know during these years before the Lord returns. I predict that one of the greatest difficulties we will face upon entering Heaven is our habit to refer to Scripture, so important here but so unnecessary there where we will talk with Him fact to face. These verses remind us that His Word, the Bible, gives us confidence to run the race with perseverance, in the assurance of the outcome He promised (I Cor 15:58; Heb 11:1, 12:1). The promise can read, “It will surely come,” or “He will surely come.” The Ancient Greek Septuagint translation has “the coming one will come.” He’s already on the way, so run! In a not contradictory exhortation, we are to wait in faith and hope based on the glimmers of the future that God has revealed to us in His Word.
The first indictment is in 2:4-5 with judgment pronounced in 2:6-20.
The words of 2:4 leap out to the Christian because they are quoted three times in the New Testament and were instrumental in the conversions of Martin Luther and John Wesley.
First, a close look at the verse in its context.
“The righteous” or “the just” comes from the word that means straight or level. See I Samuel 6:12 where the cows pulling the wagon bearing the Ark went straight to Bethshemesh.
“Faith” is fairness, stability, reliability, certainty, permanence, translated elsewhere as steady like a firm foundation. See Deuteronomy 32:4 where God’s faithfulness has the meaning of solid stability since it is parallel to God being called a Rock. Here it describes the person whose commitment to things straight and level is undeterred.
The combination of faith and righteousness is not unique to Habakkuk. See I Samuel 16:23, Psalms 33:4-5, 40:10, 96:13, 119:75, 119:138, and 143:1. It is a righteousness pursued steadfastly from the heart. There can be no vacillation, no double-mindedness, no hypocrisy. The Bible repeatedly describes the outcome of such faith as life. See Deuteronomy 6:1-25, Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Ezekiel 18:1-32, Ezekiel 33:12-20, Hebrews 6:9-12, Revelation 2:10, and Revelation 14:12.
Both the Old Testament word and the Septuagint and the New Testament quotations of this verse use words that mean “faith” but have a strong sense of “faithfulness” too. In both Testaments, to live in steadfast righteousness (faithfulness) requires dependence upon God (faith). The two cannot be separated or contrasted. This is the purpose of the verse here. Steadfast trust in God is the only way for the righteous to live through all this.
The influence of Calvinism on today’s Church presses us to regard faith alone as the connection between us and God. But, faithfulness is also required. See Romans 1:5, Romans 10:3 and 16-17, Romans 15:18-19, Romans 16:26, and Hebrews 3:18-19.
This short three-word sentence in Hebrew holds what is, perhaps, the greatest truth of the Bible: In the midst of judgment, God graciously gives life to those who trust Him.
The phrase is quoted three times in the New Testament:
Romans 1:17 where the emphasis is on FAITH.
Galatians 3:11 where the emphasis is on RIGHTEOUS.
Hebrews 10:38 where the emphasis is persevering LIFE.
The RIGHTEOUS has LIFE through FAITH.
Wine betrays in the same way that the Babylonians were untrustworthy. Ancient historians described the Babylonians as given to drunkenness. The empire came to an end in drunkenness (Daniel 5). Then, as a declaration of the guilty’s sentence for these crimes, five “Woe” statements follow.
For wrongly taking wealth through extorting and plundering with the resulting exploitation and enslavement of the poor, the Babylonians will pay in full.
For greed and violence to satisfy that greed, their dynasty will end, their confident pride abased.
For ignorance in brutally building their cities using slaves from the conquered, God’s army will wipe them out and His knowledge will fill the world.
For beguiling others with their strong drink, they will witness God’s cup of wrath coming around to them. Lebanon, here as elsewhere, is used as a symbol for Israel.
For trusting in idols, they will reap all the benefits possible from an idol: nothing.