Tag Archives: Babylonians

HABAKKUK – GOD’S FIRST DISCLOSURE – 2

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Habakkuk 1:5-6 NLT
[5] “The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. [6] I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.”

Well now, God, how is that for a solution!

“If you think things are bad now,” God said, “they are going to get a whole lot worse!” God’s answer to Habakkuk’s accusation was as startling as it was terrifying. An army well trained, relentless, and ruthless, was on its way to decimate the nations including Judah, the little, non-descript remainder of what was once David’s mighty Israel.

Habakkuk 1:7-11 NLT
[7] They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. [8] Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. [9] On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. [10] They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! [11] They sweep past like the wind and are gone”…

God takes pains to describe to Habakkuk the nature of this tool He is about to use to refashion His people. So powerful a military force was coming that nothing and no one would be able to resist them. They would sweep over the surrounding nations like locusts, devouring everything in their path.

Imagine Habakkuk’s horror at this disclosure. Was this God talking or some sadistic impersonation of the God he knew and served? Why would God resort to this means of confronting His people?

Let’s stop and examine the background to this extreme situation. Although God had claimed them as His own, from its inception as a nation Israel was bent on rebellion. They rejected God’s rule over them. They opted for idol worship to be like the surrounding nations. They chose human kings to rule over them in place of God despite the evil influence many of these kings had on them.

God had warned them of the consequences. Their own history bore witness to God’s anger at idolatry. Their ancestors were God’s tool to destroy the Canaanite idolators under Joshua so that they could possess the land, a bit of land they now precariously clung to after the Assyrians had conquered and overrun the northern kingdom of Israel.

Their stubborn rebellion against God was lodged deep in their hearts. God sent prophet after prophet to warn them but no amount of preaching, teaching, or warning shifted them from their chosen path.

A few of their God-fearing kings led the people of God back to a temporary semblance of obedience but, come another rebel king on the throne, they were soon back to their idolatrous ways.

God knew that it would take very drastic action to shift them from rebellion to obedience. The consequences He warned them about didn’t scare them until He did what He said He would do if they refused to repent and change their ways. He had to dispossess them of their beloved land, and send them into exile to live among the idolators they do loved to follow. This was the only way to change their minds about the God they had chosen to abandon.

You see, God never treats anyone as a puppet. He gave the whole human race the gift of self-determination and did not remove it when Adam fell. Adam chose to go it alone and God let him go, despite the consequences because he had made the choice.

Jesus honoured people’s right to choose in His dealings with them. If anyone chose against Him, He did not force His will on that person. He let the rich young ruler go when he chose his wealth over following Jesus.

God’s way of leading people to the right way is by allowing them to feel the pain of their disobedience so that they will repent and choose His way. They must change on the inside by their own choice.

God never forces His will on anyone. He wants people to love and serve Him by their own free will. He uses and guides through circumstances so that people will recognise and be convinced that His way is the right way.

He knew that the only solution was to apply pressure on His people so drastic that they would begin to loathe the rebellion that got them into the situation.

Within the disclosure of His plan to Habakkuk, God inserted an ominous warning concerning the perpetrators of Judah’s punishment,

“But they (the Babylonians) are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

The destructive power of the Babylonian army would be temporary because God would not tolerate their idolatry either. He would use them to achieve His purpose with the people of Judah and then discard them as worthless because they failed to honour Him.

God’s disclosure of His plan made Habakkuk’s head spin. God’s response was so puzzling that it aroused a new dilemma.

To be continued…

GOD IS RAISING UP THE BABYLONIANS

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GOD IS RAISING UP THE BABYLONIANS

Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am doing something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour . . . (Hab. 1: 5-7).

Imagine that! God – raising up the Babylonians! As if things weren’t bad enough within the country so that the ordinary people were being harassed and oppressed by their own overlords, now God tells the prophet that He is raising up oppressors who would be even worse than those within the country.

He proceeded to describe the Babylonians to Habakkuk, as though the prophet were not already fully aware of how cruel, ruthless and greedy the new threat was. And God said He was doing it?

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand (Hab. 1:8-9).

Invincible and unstoppable! It’s as though Habakkuk could see this horde in his imagination – like wild animals preying on the weak and helpless, swooping down, snatching and devouring at will. The Babylonians was hungry for power and greedy for the plunder they could seize after each victory, enriching themselves on the possessions of their conquests.

Their army was well trained and well equipped. They had the most modern of the war machinery of their day and they used every piece with skill and accuracy. They had the best horses and horsemen and, most of all, there were no rules as far as the enemy was concerned. Whom they did not kill they enslaved and took captive to Babylon.

They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on – guilty people whose own strength is their god (Hab. 1: 10-11).

This nation had no respect for authority and were unhindered by the puny efforts of their targets to defend themselves. They wanted what they wanted and they stopped at nothing to get it.

“Babylon” stood for everything greedy, immoral, vicious and ungodly in the ancient world. Babylon stands for the anti-Christ system that still operates in the world today. Babylon is the counterfeit bride of Revelation, the scarlet woman who masquerades as the “bride of Christ” – the false church that is in bed with the world system and embraces the same ambitions as the Babylonian Empire which God was raising up in Habakkuk’s day, greed for wealth and power. Babylon is the ruler within the hearts of those who repudiate God’s rule in their hearts.

Just imagine how horrified Habakkuk must have been at this astonishing disclosure! He must surely have anticipated a comforting revelation from God. “Don’t worry, Habakkuk. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll make it all right so that you can settle down to a comfortable and peaceful life together with your own people.” But it just does not work that way.

There is a Babylonian “invasion” in every nation and every life. It does not matter to which country we belong. The human race is rotten to the core and wickedness prevails everywhere. There is no escaping it, but God’s solution is by raising up the Babylonians. How else can He bring His people back to Himself? God works, not by forcing His standards on people from without but by causing people to think and make choices from within by tasting the consequences of rejecting Him.

He gives us what we want so that we can understand the outcome of our choices. The Israelites chose to worship idols, so He gave them what idolatry offered – death to many through war and captivity to the rest in a land where people lived like the idols they worshipped. This was the only way to teach His people where their idolatry was taking them – down the pathway to destruction.

What are the “Babylonians” in your life – those people who oppress you and whom you fear and hate, and those circumstances which you cannot change? God put them there, believe it or not, for a reason, not to destroy you but to awaken you to the consequences of worshipping and relying on any substitute for God. Allegiance to anyone or anything less that God will lead you to captivity and destruction.

Your “Babylonians” are a wake-up call from the Lord. He wants to rescue you, not destroy you, although His ways seem harsh. His goal is for your good. Like Jeremiah, He calls you to submit to His “Babylonians” because He has a restoration plan for you and it is good, but He must purge your heart of idols first before He can reign within you without a rival.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God Is Raising Up The Babylonians

Bible Study, , ,

GOD IS RAISING UP THE BABYLONIANS

Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am doing something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour . . . (Hab. 1: 5-7).

Imagine that! God – raising up the Babylonians! As if things weren’t bad enough within the country so that the ordinary people were being harassed and oppressed by their own overlords, now God tells the prophet that He is raising up oppressors who would be even worse than those within the country.

He proceeded to describe the Babylonians to Habakkuk, as though the prophet were not already fully aware of how cruel, ruthless and greedy the new threat was. And God said He was doing it?

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand (Hab. 1:8-9).

Invincible and unstoppable! It’s as though Habakkuk could see this horde in his imagination – like wild animals preying on the weak and helpless, swooping down, snatching and devouring at will. The Babylonians was hungry for power and greedy for the plunder they could seize after each victory, enriching themselves on the possessions of their conquests.

Their army was well trained and well equipped. They had the most modern of the war machinery of their day and they used every piece with skill and accuracy. They had the best horses and horsemen and, most of all, there were no rules as far as the enemy was concerned. Whom they did not kill they enslaved and took captive to Babylon.

They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on – guilty people whose own strength is their god (Hab. 1: 10-11).

This nation had no respect for authority and were unhindered by the puny efforts of their targets to defend themselves. They wanted what they wanted and they stopped at nothing to get it.

“Babylon” stood for everything greedy, immoral, vicious and ungodly in the ancient world. Babylon stands for the anti-Christ system that still operates in the world today. Babylon is the counterfeit bride of Revelation, the scarlet woman who masquerades as the “bride of Christ” – the false church that is in bed with the world system and embraces the same ambitions as the Babylonian Empire which God was raising up in Habakkuk’s day, greed for wealth and power. Babylon is the ruler within the hearts of those who repudiate God’s rule in their hearts.

Just imagine how horrified Habakkuk must have been at this astonishing disclosure! He must surely have anticipated a comforting revelation from God. “Don’t worry, Habakkuk. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll make it all right so that you can settle down to a comfortable and peaceful life together with your own people.” But it just does not work that way.

There is a Babylonian “invasion” in every nation and every life. It does not matter to which country we belong. The human race is rotten to the core and wickedness prevails everywhere. There is no escaping it, but God’s solution is by raising up the Babylonians. How else can He bring His people back to Himself? God works, not by forcing His standards on people from without but by causing people to think and make choices from within by tasting the consequences of rejecting Him.

He gives us what we want so that we can understand the outcome of our choices. The Israelites chose to worship idols, so He gave them what idolatry offered – death to many through war and captivity to the rest in a land where people lived like the idols they worshipped. This was the only way to teach His people where their idolatry was taking them – down the pathway to destruction.

What are the “Babylonians” in your life – those people who oppress you and whom you fear and hate, and those circumstances which you cannot change? God put them there, believe it or not, for a reason, not to destroy you but to awaken you to the consequences of worshipping and relying on any substitute for God. Allegiance to anyone or anything less that God will lead you to captivity and destruction.

Your “Babylonians” are a wake-up call from the Lord. He wants to rescue you, not destroy you, although His ways seem harsh. His goal is for your good. Like Jeremiah, He calls you to submit to His “Babylonians” because He has a restoration plan for you and it is good, but He must purge your heart of idols first before He can reign within you without a rival.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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