Habakkuk 2:1 NLT
[1] “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.”

Habakkuk declares his determination to get a satisfactory answer from the Lord. If God has chosen to use such a godless nation to discipline His own wayward people, and who knows how far He will allow the Babylonians to go, what about them? Will God let the Babylonians get away with their cruelty?

Habakkuk settles down to wait for God’s reply. However long it might take, he is determined to stay at his post until the answer comes.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 NLT
[2] “Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. [3] This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”

Finally, God speaks. So important and imperative is His answer that He instructs His prophet to write His reply on clay tablets to be delivered to the entire nation.

God pronounces so fundamental a principle that its truth applies to the end of time. What God had to tell His prophet was not only for the Jews but for all people, revealing the heart of the gospel and the vehicle by which God delivers all His mercy and grace to those He rescues from eternal destruction.

Habakkuk 2:4 NLT
[4] “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”

All humanity is divided into two groups, the proud and the righteous who trust in God.

“Aphal”, translated “proud” means “puffed up, inflated” with empty air. Such were the Babylonians who relied on their own military skill and might and were empty of any reliance on God. Such is any individual who has no need of God.

” Tsaddiq”, meaning just, lawful, or righteous, translated “righteous”, conveys the idea that they abide by God’s laws.

” Emunah”, meaning steadfastness, stability, fidelity, translated “faithfulness”, has the idea of a steadfastly righteous person who is faithful to God’s ways.

What is God saying? From groups of people…the Babylonian army, the nation of Israel, He narrows His attention to the individual. Yes, He treats people as nations but every nation is made up of individuals who are accountable to Him. Each individual belongs to one of God’s two groups, puffed up or faithful.

Every individual is either puffed up with the empty air of self or indwelt, guided and empowered by the Spirit of God. Those who are empty will perish. Those who are full of God will live…and this happens through faith in God.

This disclosute would surely reassure the prophet that God has everything under control. Yes, God will use drastic measures to discipline His people. Yes, difficult times are coming. No, God has not lost the plot. No, God is not sitting on His hands. As messy as things seem to be, from God’s perspective, everything is on track to purify His people from ungodly distractions, to prepare them for their eternal, heavenly existence. As for the rest, they have chosen their path to destruction and no amount of divine intervention will rescue them from their stubborn rebellion against their Creator.

God has finally brought His prophet to a personal assessment, “Habakkuk, are you full of air or full of God?”

For the rest of chapter 2, God says two things…first, the path of the ungodly, clearly described by their choices and actions, is a futile attempt to defy God. However, every evil action has a consequence. What they try to achieve in their arrogance and greed will backfire but… second, whether they like it or not, the knowledge of God’s glory will cover the whole earth as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:5, 13-14 NLT
[5] Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples…
[13] Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain! [14] For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.”

Finally, Habakkuk has the whole picture. For man, it’s all about money. For God, it’s all about His glory. Who wins in a no-brainer. Man’s wealth will perish with him but God’s glory will spread from shore to shore, covering the whole earth with the knowledge of the splendour of His being and His doings. That’s what it’s all about and no one can stop the process, not even the idols they live to worship.

Habakkuk ends this section with a solemn declaration…

Habakkuk 2:20 NLT
[20] “But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”

God is where He is supposed to be, in His throne room, the temple, in the place from which He rules and where He is worshipped. Despite appearances, no one has dethroned Him and no one ever will. The whole earth, every nation and every individual, is both “in His face” in their stubborn rebellion and disobedience, but also in His face “before Him” in His perfect knowledge of every individual. The whole earth, therefore, had better shut up and listen to Him. No one has anything to say in defense of his behaviour. Excuses don’t cut it with God. He has provided a way out of every determined path to destruction. He has provided forgiveness and new life through the death of His Son. If we don’t accept His salvation by faith in Jesus, we have nothing to say.

To be continued…