Habakkuk 2:16-20

Habakkuk 2:16 (KJB)

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.

 

Just as Babylon would try and seduce neighboring countries and think they would be exuding glory by doing this, in essence, they are doing it to their shame and destruction.  God is telling them that they will be drinking of the same cup that they forced other countries to drink from and instead of the others being naked and open to destruction, Babylon will be open and naked before their enemies which means their defenses will be non-existent just as a naked person has no weapons on them but because of their nakedness is susceptible to all kinds of injury.  The exposing of their foreskins will show that they are uncircumcised which means they are outside the covenant of God and therefore his enemy.  They will be drinking of the cup of the Lord’s wrath and what they did to others will now be turned upon them.  The word “spewing” carries with it the meaning of “vomiting.”  So the glory that they thought was a shining example to all the world will be coated with vomit making it a disgusting glory which will represent their fate.

 

Habakkuk 2:17 (KJB)

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.

 

Babylon acted with violence against the natural plant resources in Lebanon on their march to Egypt.  Their violence even was geared toward the beasts of the forests as they killed them on their campaigns.  It may have also been to provide food for the army as they engaged in battles.  Then the Babylonians were also guilty of murdering ordinary citizens in their towns, people that could be of no threat to their war machine.  Habakkuk 2:8 (KJV) 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.  Then they will also pay dearly for their violence against Judah, Jerusalem, and the people of Judah.

 

Habakkuk 2:18 (KJB)

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?

 

The fifth woe is pronounced against the idolatry which was a big part of their society.  Bel was their chief deity and was nothing but an idol.  Here God gives a definition of the false idols in comparison with himself who is the true God in Heaven.  First they would carve the image out of wood, then they would overlay it with either gold or silver.  Since the idol represents a false, non-existent god it would mean that everything which is spoken of or taught on behalf of the idol would all be lies since they were just stories made up by men.  Then even those who fashioned the idols did such a good job on it and then coupled with the false teachings, even those who created the idols would be so blinded they would start believing their teachings.

 

Habakkuk 2:19 (KJB)

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.

 

A woe is pronounced upon the person that says to the dead wood to arise and awake and it shall teach.  This would be an eternal woe because those who follow false teachings normally die in their sins unless they be the Elect of God and are saved sometime in their life.  These people who claim the idols teach will be those who are the priests who serve in the temples of these false gods, who invent teachings and stories as if the false god had dictated it to them.  This would be an impossibility because the idol has no breath in it since it just a dead piece of wood which is covered by gold or silver.  In modern times how many millions stand before statues of Buddha?  How many millions stand before images of Vishnu or Shiva?  What about the millions who stand before statues and images of the Virgin Mary?  These are nothing but molded statues which are covered by metals and then painted.  They too are just dumb idols.

 

Habakkuk 2:20 (KJB)

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

 

Now comes the contrast.  As those idols which are fashioned by men and have no life in them, the Lord is reigning in his holy temple.  This would not be the one in Jerusalem because it was destroyed when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem.  This would be the holy temple in Heaven.  Isaiah 6:1-2 (KJV) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  {2} Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  Isaiah had the privilege of seeing the Lord in the heavenly temple.  The silence which is happening here is being in the presence of Jehovah God who is soon to be stirred to act.  In Oriental courts, silence is maintained by guards and officers who attend upon royalty.  To be silent before the Lord would mean someone is waiting upon the Lord and that his enemies need to be silent before him because he is not like the dumb idols which are nothing but wood and stone.  Psalm 135:15-18 (KJV) The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.  {16} They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;  {17} They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.  {18} They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

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