Habacuque 2

Habacuque 2

Stedman writes that The rest of Chapter 2 is a picture of how five different forms of pride by which men seek to live are shown to be self-destructive… The man of pride will fall apart, but the man of faith has present power to live. Not only will he wind up a victor, but even now he will live by his faith. That is the great lesson of this book. Achtemeier writes that… Everything that follows in Habakkuk’s book is confirmation of the vision given him in Hab 2:3–4. Specifically, the series of woes in Hab 2:6–20 is intended to reinforce the promise given in 2:4 by showing that those who rely on their own powers and not on God cannot sustain their self-contained life or find permanent satisfaction in it. (Ibid) FIVE WOES AGAINST THE INJUSTICES & EVILS OF BABYLON • Hab 2:6-8 Greed - wealth by extortion; promise of plunder • Hab 2:9-11 Arrogant self-assertion - set nest on high; shame will come • Hab 2:12-14 Violence - Resort to bloodshed which will only fuel their own destruction • Hab 2:15-17 Inhumane/Insolent - Treating people disgracefully will come back to haunt them • Hab 2:18-20 Idolatry -Trust their own creation, fail to bow to Creator; Result = no redeemer Woe #1 – Extortion -- The Looter Will Be Looted (Paul Apple) Hab 2:6-8 describes the Babylonians as greedy usurers. Lest we read this chapter with our accusing finger pointed solely at Babylon, we do well to recall that these woes were also against similar sins practiced in Judah, and indeed against all men or women who practice these evils as a lifestyle! Will not all these… ? - Rhetorical question which expects an affirmative answer "Yes, they will!" To whom do "these" refer? The NET Bible says "all these nations" - the nations once humiliated by Babylon will rise up to humiliate them! Taunt-song (KJV = parable) (04912) (mashal) is derived from a root meaning “to be like, to be similar”, often referring to a simple comparison. Thus mashal represents is a pithy maxim also suggesting special insight and authority. Depending on the context, mashal can convey the sense of a proverb, a parable, an allegory, a byword, a taunt, or a discourse. The Septuagint translates mashal with the Greek noun parabole which is defined as "a rhetorical figure of speech, setting one thing beside another to form a comparison or illustration" (Friberg). Mockery (KJV = "proverb") (04426)(meliysah) is a literary device which serves as a mocking expression. It is closely related to the previous Hebrew word mashal. Insinuations (02320) (chidah) is a riddle or ambiguous saying and designates “something by enigmatic allusions.” Woe (01945)(hoy) is an interjection of distress used primarily by the prophets, 6x in mourning for the dead (1Ki 13:30 Jer 22:18; 34:5), and 40x as negative warnings specifying Divine punishment in the form of disaster, etc, for failing to repent from certain sins. The wicked are under the judgment of God (cp Ro 1:18ff) and therefore face a time of ruin and mourning, so that the only thing left for an unrepentant people is to mourn the destruction of their lives! Woe! Patterson - Woe oracles typically contain the following elements: invective (“woe to”), threat, and criticism (the reason for the denunciation and threatened judgment). Carpenter - It expresses great emotion and can be an interjection of warning or distress. It represents a thought transformed into a feeling and expressed in a word—hoy, “woe!” … Hoy can be used to introduce a prophetic declaration of judgment, as when Isaiah announced the coming destruction of Assyria (Isa. 10:5). It conveys a note of certainty about what is said and an atmosphere of finality—such as in, “Woe unto you, the end has come!” The word is also applied to groups of people and individuals who are wicked (Isa. 5:8, 11, 18, 20–22). (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words ) Hoy is used >50x in prophets and only once elsewhere. 6x = mourning for the dead (1 Ki13:30), 40x = negative warnings or threats of God's physical chastisement. R. J. Clifford found 53 occurrences of hoy in the Old Testament. Of these he listed three possible uses: (1) to describe funeral laments (eight times), usually translated “alas”; (2) a cry to get attention (four times), usually translated “ho” or “ah”; (3) an announcement of doom (forty-one times and used only by the prophets), usually translated “woe to.” The wicked were under the judgment of God and therefore faced a time of ruin and mourning. The only thing left for an unrepentant people was to mourn the destruction of their lives. Hoy translated in NAS as - Ah(2), alas(11), ho(2), ho there(1), woe(34). Hoy is translated in the Septuagint with ouai which an interjection of grief, horror, pain, displeasure, disaster, calamity or denunciation. (Mt 11:21, Mt 23:13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29, Rev 18:10, 16, 19, etc) Woe - 47 verse - 1Kgs 13:30; Isa 1:4, 24; 5:8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22; 10:1, 5; 17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9f; 55:1; Jer 22:13, 18; 23:1; 30:7; 34:5; 47:6; 48:1; 50:27; Ezek 13:3, 18; 34:2; Amos 5:18; 6:1; Mic 2:1; Nah 3:1; Hab 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19; Zeph 2:5; 3:1; Zech 2:6f; 11:17 Makes himself rich with loans - The KJV is difficult to understand "to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!" The ESV has "loads himself with pledges!" The NET has "he who gets rich by extortion!" Wiersbe feels that The image seems to be that of a creditor giving a pledge to the banker (a clay tablet) and promising to pay his debt at a specific time. Habakkuk wrote, “The predator (Babylon) is really a creditor and his victims will one day rise up to collect what is due. It will be payday!” (Ibid) For how long? - Hab 2:7 answers this somewhat rhetorical question, stating that it won't be long before Babylon will have pay day and it would be a day of that came upon them suddenly. Note that Habakkuk had earlier ask "How long?" (Hab 1:2) Pusey… Truly wealth ill-gotten by fraud or oppression, is not his who wins it, before he had it, nor when he has it, but is a woe. Laetsch The first woe refers to the rapacity of the Chaldean, his eagerness to enrich himself at the expense of others by conquest of their home countries, making vassals of the nations, extorting from them huge contributions of materials, money, and men, bleeding them white. Jamieson… The Babylonians are compared to a ruthless loan shark, and their ill-gotten treasures to piles of contracts in the hands of a usurer. Habakkuk 2:7 "Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. Your creditors: Pr 29:1 Isa 13:1-5,16-18 21:2-9 41:25 45:1-3 46:11 47:11 Isa 48:14,15 Jer 50:21-32 51:11,27,28,57 Da 5:25-31 Na 1:9,10 1Th 5:3) Bite [KJV]: Eccl 10:8 Jer 8:17 Habakkuk 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PLUNDERERS WILL BE PLUNDERED! NLT - Suddenly, your debtors will rise up in anger. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless. KJV - Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? - Rhetorical question. Answer "Yes" Divine retribution is coming and its arrival is certain and sudden! The spoiler will be spoiled. This is the divine retribution which may be read in all of world history, and which still continues true for nations and individuals for… Whatsoever a man sows This he will also reap. Gal 6:7-note Creditors (05391) (nashak) means literally to a snakes bite (Nu 21:6), the "bite" of alcohol (Pr 23:32), the "bite" of adversaries God would send against Judah (Jer 8:17) intending to injure or wound. It also has the meaning of lending or borrowing at interest (Dt 23:19, 20). In a sense this is a prophecy that was at least in part fulfilled when the Medes and Persians rose up and overthrew Babylon in 539 BC as described in Daniel 5 “Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out. 25 “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ 26 “This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’–God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 27 “ ‘TEKEL’–you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 “ ‘PERES’–your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two. (Daniel 5:24-31-note) Suddenly (06621)(petha') means in a moment, a wink, in an instant. Which is exactly what happened in Daniel 5:30-note ("that same night")! Used 7x - Nu 6:9; Nu 35:22; Pr 6:15; Pr 29:1; Isa 29:5; Isa 30:13; Hab 2:7 Pr 6:14 Who with perversity in his heart devises evil continually, Who spreads strife. Pr 6:15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly (petha'); Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing. Plunder (04933)(meshiccah) means loot or booty (objects and/or people) taken in war by the conquerors (2Ki 21:14; Isa 42:22, 24; Jer 30:16; Zeph 1:13) Habakkuk 2:8 "Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants.: Because you: Hab 2:10,17 Isa 33:1,4 Jer 27:7 30:16 50:10,37 51:13,44,48,55,56 Zec 2:8,9 Bloodshed: Hab 2:17 Violence: Ps 137:8 Isa 47:6 Jer 50:11,17,18,28,33,34 51:8,24,34,35 Mic 4:11-13 Zec 1:15 2:8 12:2-4 14:12 Rev 6:10 Rev 18:20-24 Habakkuk 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Because - A term of explanation explaining why the plunderers would be suddenly plundered, exactly what happened when the Medes took the seemingly impregnable fortress of Babylon in one night! (Read Daniel 5:1-31) Criswell writes… Protected by its huge wall more than 85 feet thick and 11 miles long, Babylon seemed as impregnable and inaccessible as an eagle's nest (Hab 2:9), but nevertheless it fell to the Medes and Persians under Cyrus in 539 B.C. The spoiler is spoiled, the plunderer plundered and reduced to ignominy (Hab 2:16). All the remainder of the peoples will loot you - This is one of many prophecies that foretell of Babylon's fall (Babylon’s Predicted Destruction) which was historically fulfilled (Babylon’s Historic Fall) in 539BC when Babylon was conquered by the Medes (Da 5:30-31). Note that although Babylon was conquered, and in subsequent centuries became a place of little importance, the location has never been completely destroyed, contrary to what many commentaries teach. Tony