He's gonna cut those Babylonians down . . .

Let's look at the remainder of chapter two in Habakkuk, and see what God says about the Babylonians. They would end up being the tool used to judge the nation of Judah for their sins . . . .

“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?’ Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey. (v. 6-7)

Wowser!

That describes the Babylonians "to a T." Piling up stolen goods . . . . when they took a city, they plundered its silver and gold. They took the crops, the flocks, the beasts of burden and the cattle, and they carried off anything else they could find that had value. 

Including people.

They grew rich from the misery of others. 

But look at that - God promised a day of judgment. He said the Babylonians would become the prey of others! And He said other people would plunder the Babylonians, just as they themselves had plundered cities and nations. 

Because you have plundered many nations,
    the peoples who are left will plunder you. (v 8a)

They had gotten away with their meanness for a long time; nobody dared to stand against them. But God saw it all, and He said in due time, they would pay.

Not just their greed and extortion would be judged, but God also promised to judge their arrogance. Remember in chapter one, God said that their own strength was their god? He also said this, in chapter two:

“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain,
    setting his nest on high
    to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 11 The stones of the wall will cry out,
    and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. (v. 9, 11)

"Setting his nest on high" is a reference to the walls of Babylon, the scholars say. In some places, the walls were 100 feet high! They stretched about forty miles around the city, so the Babylonians thought they were impervious to attack. "No army can breach our fortifications!" they thought. But check out verse eleven up there. The walls will speak? Yup. Remember that many years later, the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar, was having a drunken feast? Remember that a finger wrote upon the wall, and Daniel translated it for him: Babylon had been weighed in the scales of justice. The king died that very night and the kingdom collapsed.

God also is angry over wanton bloodshed, and oh boy, were the Babylonians guilty of that! 

“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed    and establishes a town by injustice!
13 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea. (v. 12, 14)

God hates those who build an empire on bloodshed. Obviously, this applied to the Babylonians who used military might to conquer the weak and the defenseless. But doesn't it also apply to our nation? We allow the murder of our unborn . . . millions of babies killed through legal abortion since a fateful day in 1973. Surely this "woe" applies as much to us as to the Babylonians of ancient times.

But God then (verse 14) gives us a glimpse of the world as it will be. 
When Jesus comes back.

Yes, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Not the knowledge of arrogance and greed.

Not the knowledge of bloodshed and injustice.

God is planning on filling the whole earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord - covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. 
The same earth that had no room for the Son of God. The same earth that rejected Him. 

One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

We're not there yet, but it's coming!

Back in chapter two, we read another "woe" against those who practice immorality and pursue pornography. 

“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! (v. 15)

This is pretty graphic. Indelicate. It's meant to be. Because God totally condemns those who use alcohol as a tool for seduction, for immoral purposes. It's a given that under the influence of alcohol, people say and do things they normally wouldn't think of. And God promises judgment to those who entice others to drink, so that they will lower their standards and throw their moral compass out the window. The very next verse says that "what goes around comes around:"

You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. (v. 16)

Babylon was known for using alcohol for illicit purposes, and that is one reason God cut them down.

The final "woe" was because of Babylon's idolatry.

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." (v. 19)

This is talking about the foolishness of idolatry. There's no life in stone. Or in carved wood. A person can pray to all the rocks they want to, even work themselves into a frenzy like the priests of Baal in competition with Elijah . . . . but it will do no good. The idol, whether stone or wood or any other material, can't hear. Can't answer. Can't help. Let's cut to the chase: it's a waste of time.

God has a long list against the Babylonians, doesn't He? He ends with this:

The Lord is in his holy temple;
    let all the earth be silent before him. (v. 20)

The commentaries that I read said that the verb there, "be silent," really means something similar to "hush!"  Seems like God said "hush" in two ways: first, to the nations clamoring and fighting and carrying on. He tells them to hush because He is just about ready to judge the earth. 

Second, it seems He says "hush" to Habakkuk . . . . Habakkuk, do you understand now? I am going to raise up Babylon to judge Judah. And then I will judge Babylon in my own timing and in my own way. So hush, stop complaining, and believe my answer. Have faith, my child.

I like to think that Habakkuk did quiet down and wait. 

Watch what came to pass: in 605 BC, Babylon looked invulnerable. But less than a century later, that empire had disappeared!

Babylon looked really good in all its glory. But then it was gone.

We hear the expression sometimes: "on the wrong side of history." As our culture changes and becomes more decadent, more immoral, it's hard to hold fast against the tide. No one wants to be seen as a bigot, or intolerant. No one wants to be thought of as narrow-minded, or be singled out for ridicule. No one wants to be on the wrong side of history. But (and this is important) the right side of history is ALWAYS God's side. If we line up with the cultural forces of today, we'll find ourselves out of step with God. 

Yes, choices have consequences.

We can side with Babylon, or we can side with God. Remember the old hymn, This is My Father's World?  It says "though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet."

God asks each one of us, "Will you wait for me? Have faith that I will answer?"

Have you made your choice?

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.