Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
16 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.
17 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.
18 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?
Babylon was a vile place. A godless people have no moral compass. They cast off the conscience that God gave them. They follow the influence of wicked rulers. God commanded the kings of Israel to write a copy of His law and then read it and meditate on it daily. If they would do that they would not become a depraved people. However, Israel chose to reject God’s command and they sought counsel from wicked people and looked to the nations around them for guidance. The result of that was that they would fall into the hands of a nation that was even more depraved than they were.
We know that drunkenness was a major problem in Babylon. We read of that in Daniel 5. We have also noted that in our study of the book of Esther. That was during the Persian empire. We know in our country that drunkenness is also a huge problem. Our current P.M. has opened the flood gates even wider by legalizing the use of marijuana and seeking to further expand the decriminalization of harder drugs.
Judah was going to be put into a much darker place than they were in prior to their captivity. God pronounced a woe on a person who gives his neighbour drink. It is quite a common practice to go to the neighbour’s house and share a beer. That is the world’s way of showing hospitality.
We see the natural outflow of drunkenness in this verse. When a person starts to drink, they lose their modesty. Many people are never taught the importance of modesty in the first place. It is quite natural to see men and women stripped down to almost nothing in the summer months. Then when you add alcohol to the mix, you get into further trouble. It is much easier to become complacent to advances when you are under the influence of liquor. No one needs to experiment with this to know this. All we need to do is read the Bible.
God did not have to experience drunkenness to write about its effects. God knows all things. He knows what He designed grapes for. He knows what barley and other grains are supposed to be used for. He also knows the evil nature of fallen man and how he is always looking for some way to bury his guilt of sin. They claim a nice glass of wine or other liquor just calms a person down. It is so relaxing. A born again Christian that is walking humbly with the Lord does not need liquor to calm him down. He finds contentment and peace in drawing nigh to God.
Nakedness is for the bedroom of a married couple. It is not something that should be put on display for the whole house or for the world. Adding liquor to the mix just makes matters worse. God warned about this in the context of the sins of Babylon. There is application to any person here.
In verse 16 we see that this sin fills the person involved with shame. That shame is their glory. We see that in the liquor advertising. They try to show the “fun” people are having when they consume liquor. Then of course the officials come out and say a person should “drink responsibly”. The only responsible way to behave is not to touch the poison. The Bible says not to even look at it.
Babylon would open itself up to invasion due to its continuous drunkenness. In verse 16 God went into quite graphic description of drunkenness. It is not just a matter of stripping down, which is bad enough. It is further described in terms that any decent person would not want to talk of in public. However, God is describing wicked people. God is not wrong in what He is doing here. He is using graphic language to show what is really going on.
We are living in a time now where there is not much that shocks people anymore. The pornographic books being promoted in public schools, designed to desensitize children, is a good example. The suggestive advertising used in so many places is another. The language used in verse 16 describes what would be involved in an orgy. The LORD sees it all and He will deal with it accordingly. The Babylonians thought they were living the life. They would be reminded they were inviting judgment from God.
In verse 17 we see that Babylon would not stop with invading Judah. They would also take Lebanon with great violence. However, that too would come to backfire on them. Rather than invading Lebanon and gaining territory and wealth, they would be covered in the violence they had inflicted upon them.
Beasts can be rather vicious. A lion or a bear can rip a person apart and the pieces go flying. They eat what they want and get messy in doing so. It is not a pretty picture. Sin is never a pretty picture. God uses graphic language to shock the sinner into seeing sin as it truly is. Man likes to sugarcoat sin. God knows the disaster of sin.
In verse 18 God addressed the matter of idolatry. What is the value of an idol? The current pope is apparently quite sick. He is an idol worshipper. He promotes idolatry. Where has that taken him? As he lies there sick, where can he find help? His idols will not help him. He can call out to Mary all he wants and it will do him no good. He can have his favourite patron saint and it will not help him. His followers are just as lost as he is. The pope is a teacher of lies, not truth. He follows in the footsteps of the Babylonian system.
God is again very plain in His language here. Idols are dumb in more ways than one. They are made of wood or brass or gold or some other material. They cannot speak. They cannot move on their own. In our sophisticated world, they might be able to add electronics to them to make it seem as if they are able to do things. Any idol is designed by its maker. Satan may become more directly involved and he has certain powers. It does not matter, it is still a dumb idol. Yet the maker of the idol trusts in that evil thing. The purchaser of it is the same. They put their lives in the ‘hands’ of something that is worthless.
Yes, Babylon was a wicked empire. God knew that. He did not need Habakkuk to tell Him that. He was telling Habakkuk the effect of Judah’s rejection of Him. They were making themselves vulnerable to great wickedness because they did not want God’s hand of protection upon them.
Christians are placed in the Father’s hand. That is a place of safety. There are thousands of professing Christians who do not like it in the Father’s hand. They want to play in the world. God says those that are His will be chastened when they follow sin. Sadly there are many today who are indulging in sin and not being chastened. New Evangelicalism has redefined sin, but God has not changed. The fool accepts the New Evangelical changes to his own destruction. The wise person accepts the Bible and turns to God and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and then grows in the Lord. A true Christian does not look more like the world the longer he is saved. He looks more like His Master. Don’t be fooled by the flesh. Trust in the Lord and know His peace and blessing.
Pastor Bartel
