Habakkuk 2:9  Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
10  Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11  For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

It is important to note that all the nations are at God’s disposal. God has put a conscience inside every person. As we look at the Bible we know that all people are descendants of Adam and Eve. We know that Cain killed his brother Abel and his descendants followed his wicked ways.
At the end of Genesis 4 we read that Eve conceived and bare another son to Adam and his name was Seth. In verse 26 of that chapter we read that Seth had a son named Enos and that men began to call upon the Lord again. God has made Himself known to each generation. Sadly, too often people like Cain’s descendants hardened themselves against the truth and busied themselves with earthly things at the expense of knowing the true God.
The Babylonians were the descendants of Nimrod. They were rebels against God. They knew there was a God but they did not know Him. They wanted to reach heaven through self-effort. God confounded the language of the people and they scattered. Confounding their languages did not make them saints. They still had their wicked hearts, but God slowed down their ability to mount a strong rebellion against Him.
God is not afraid of man. He is not afraid that man will overpower Him. Man could never do that. God is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish and He makes it possible for every generation to reconsider their course and a few will turn to the true God in repentance and trust in His promise of salvation and eternal life. God knows that one wicked person will encourage another wicked person to be wicked. One wicked person can also encourage another person to become more wicked.
In the Old Testament times the few believed the promises of God and looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. They brought their sacrifices in faith, looking forward to the promised Messiah Who would come and lay down His life and shed His blood to remove their sins. They were saved by faith, not by works.
There were many Old Testament Jews who brought sacrifices, but they never accepted the true purpose of them. They assumed they could find favour with God through self-effort. That never works.
In our text, God told Habakkuk to write about the second woe against the Babylonians. The Babylonians were a greedy people. They were not satisfied with what they had. Lost people are looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. They are willing to trample on others to get what they think they want, but never find.
The Babylonians coveted what others had. They wanted to be the super power of the nations. God told Nebuchadnezzar that his empire would be the head of gold in the image that he saw. Nebuchadnezzar assumed he was a great man. He assumed he had amassed a great empire with his own strength and wisdom. He assumed that he could fight his way to a place of blessing.
In verse 10 we read that they consulted an evil covetousness. They deliberated among themselves as to how they would expand their territory and be that superpower they wanted to be. The people of other nations were just pawns for them to use to get to where they wanted to be. In the book of Daniel we find that the king commanded that they should take captives from Judah that would help him to advance his agenda. He did not want just average people. He did not want to see people become strong and self-sufficient. He wanted people that he could break and use for his own selfish purposes. Daniel and his three friends were more than Nebuchadnezzar bargained for. They were quite necessary for his empire, but he did not plan on that type of a benefit. God changed the plans of the king and showed him the need to stop and consider the true God.
God pointed out that the Babylonians had sinned against their own soul. As we mentioned, every person has a conscience. Every person has a basic understanding of right and wrong. Most ignore that conscience and they follow their own evil plans. We see that in our current government. We also see that in the opposition parties. The parties talk about what the people want, but they never stop to listen to what the people actually need. They each have their own brand of greed and pursuit of power. Without knowing God, people cannot make wise decisions.
In verse 11 we read that even the inanimate objects like the stones and the timbers would testify against Babylon. The blood, sweat, and tears that were put into making the many walls and buildings that the king of Babylon wanted in his empire, would speak out against him. He assumed that he would find satisfaction in looking at all the things he had. However, true happiness would not be his to know. In Daniel chapter 5 we read that Belshazzar threw a massive party to try to celebrate what he had. He needed alcohol at that party to try to drown out his guilt. God would not let him get away with his sin. As a drunken man, he could see that hand writing on the wall. He was terrified and became like a weak man as he witnessed this strange phenomenon. Daniel was finally called in to tell the king what was happening. That very night the king was killed and Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians.
A nation that wants to build itself without knowing the true God cannot succeed. If we look at the amount of taxes our governments collect and we look at the hopelessness that is spreading across this land, we can see that the governments do not know how to govern wisely. The millions of tax dollars they waste is a crime. It never gets judged that way, but God is not finished.
Israel is not a crime free place today. They do not have safe and secure borders. They cannot guarantee safety for their own citizens. They still welcome tourists into that land because that is an avenue of revenue for them. I visited Israel a number of years ago and when we were there we were warned to stay out of certain parts of Jerusalem. We were told it was not safe to go there on our own. The reason for that is that Israel is not submissive to the God Who made them a nation. They have enemies living within their boundaries. That instability will continue until they acknowledge the Prince of Peace as their God and Saviour.
In our text, the Babylonians would fall to the Medes and Persians. The philosophy of the Babylonians lives on and will be destroyed in God’s time. God warned of the dangerous philosophy they were living under. It did not stop them from pursuing their evil plans. However, they would not be able to accuse God of not warning them. They would not be spared His judgment.
This is a warning to all who want to pursue a path of wickedness. The pleasures of sin only last for a season. There is eternity to face. Without knowing the true God, that will be a terrible time. God told Habakkuk to write and warn the Babylonians of the danger that was ahead for them. The Jews also needed to be warned of the judgment of God. We also need to be reminded that God holds us accountable for our actions. God warned that the lost will be judged according to their works. Those who want to argue that they are saved by works, will be shocked to find themselves at the great white throne judgment.
Salvation is a gift of God. It is essential to know the true God and serve Him faithfully.
Pastor Bartel