Habakkuk 2:2  And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5  Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Habakkuk wanted to know what God was doing. He was going to stand in his watchtower and he would see what God would do. He expected the LORD to rebuke him for his attitude. He was doubting the LORD’s actions, but he also knew that was not the right thing to do.
The LORD now began to answer him. He was going to give him a vision and he was told to write that vision plain upon tables. This was not to be written in a scroll and put on a shelf for further study later. It was to be written on tables that would be plain to see even for those who are running by it. It would be similar to the billboards that we see on our highways today. It would be plain to see for anyone passing by that way.
In verse 3 the LORD — Jehovah God, told Habakkuk that the vision was for a set time. We need to remember that this was the self-existent God Who was speaking to Habakkuk. No one and nothing interferes with His plans. He has it all laid out and it will happen exactly on His time. Sometimes we become over confident about what we know. We become quite pushy with our ideas. We can be wrong. If we take God at His Word and follow Him, it is not we that are right, it is God that is right, we we are just following Him. If we develop our own ideas and push them as though they are absolute, we might regret it later.
We can see that in our government. They enacted the emergencies act a few years back and later the courts determined they were wrong in doing so. The government has not backed down, but that is because they think they are god and they think they make no mistakes. Dictators are brutal individuals. Their highest end is themselves. Their pride does not allow them to admit wrong.
God is not a dictator. He is the Creator of all things and He is in a class by Himself. He gave His Word to men and that Word is absolute. The sins of man are recorded accurately so that we can learn to identify those same characteristics in our lives. We can avoid that if we are saved and walking humbly with the Lord. God’s promises are also sure and a great blessing for man.
God did not give Habakkuk an exact time for this vision. He simply told him it would be for an appointed time. That time was known to God and would be revealed to Habakkuk and the nation of Judah when needed. Habakkuk needed to trust God to keep His Word.
There are men like James Ussher who spent much time studying Biblical history and looking at the time of different events and different people. Ussher dates Habakkuk’s years of ministry as beginning in 626 B.C. We have mentioned before that the Babylonians were led to three invasions of Judah. The first took place in 605 B.C. and the last took place in 586 B.C.
The point that God was making here is that this judgment was coming very soon. Habakkuk had complained about God’s dealings in chapter 1. He did not think God was doing things properly. God reminded him that He does not consult man with what He will do. Habakkuk needed to exercise patience and trust God.
In verse 4 the LORD warned of the proud person. It is never wise to be proud. This may have been a warning to Habakkuk. To complain about what God is doing is an expression of pride. We do not know better than God. Habakkuk did not know better than God either. He had stated that he would wait to see what God would say to him.
These words would also be fitting for the Babylonians. God sent them into Judah to destroy it. However, the Babylonians needed to understand they were given permission by the true God to do that. It was not their wisdom or power that gave them opportunity to invade. It was God Who opened the way for them to be able to attack successfully.
As a present example, Israel just received a large number of bombs from the U.S. They can have all the bombs they want, but if God is not guiding them, it will not save them. Israel has done much damage in Gaza. Yet Hamas is still there and they are still being very arrogant in holding hostages and in attacking the Jews wherever possible. Israel will continue to fight against its’ enemies until it is finally broken and repents toward God and accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as her Messiah, Saviour and King.
Man-made wars are very costly in munitions as well as in human lives. God recorded wars that king David fought where he lost very few men, but the enemy had massive losses. Even in the book of Habakkuk, the Jews lost many lives to the Babylonians, but the Babylonians did not lose many lives. The Babylonians were not God-fearing people, but God sent them into Judah to punish them. They needed to learn that He gave them permission and He gave them the victory. God would teach them that through Daniel and his three friends.
In our text, Habakkuk was also reminded that the just shall live by his faith. It is interesting to note that the just shall life by “his” faith. The just person has a different faith than that of the lost person. The Babylonians were trusting in themselves. They were counting on their king and their army commander to give them right instructions. The just person is the saved person who needs to live by his faith in the true God. Saved people do not always act in a just manner. Saved people can still battle with pride. It is sin and needs to be confessed. We need to learn to walk humbly with the Lord. The just person does not live by sight. Habakkuk needed to trust in God and not in his own reasoning. God knew what He was doing. Habakkuk simply needed to trust God.
Living by “his” faith does not suggest that we can all have a different faith and still be following God. The Charismatics have their faith as do the Mennonites and the United, etc. Their faith is not faith in the true God. The just person submits to God and there is a unity found, not by rejecting doctrine, but by submitting to Truth which is God’s Word. It is not the ecumenical union we have warned of often; rather it is the humble submission to the Truth.
Verse 5 is another warning for the lost. The saved person does not consume alcohol. We see here that the lost person ignores the truth. The Bible warns of the evils of alcohol. God shows us that the proud person ignores what God says and thinks he is wiser than God. The drunkard is also an unfaithful person. He loses his ability to see things properly and he becomes greedy. He enlarges his desire as hell. Hell is never satisfied. There is always room for one more in hell. Thousands upon thousands have already entered hell and thousands more will enter yet.
Death also is not satisfied. People are dying every day. Look at the obituary page at a funeral home and you will see people are dying. The Bible declares:

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Due to the fall of man, death is a sure thing for all. It does not matter whether a nation thinks it is wealthy and powerful like the U.S. or weak and poor like Canada, all people will die, whether in peace or in war.
The important factor again is to be a just person who lives by his faith. The only way to be such a person is to be saved. That is why this day is a very important day. This is the Lord’s Day. It is the first day of the week and it is the day in this dispensation where God has given all people the opportunity to stop their busyness and find a good church to attend. It is not the Christian Sabbath. It is the Lord’s Day. Jesus designed this day to be the day of the week where people go to God’s house, the true local church, to learn of Him and to worship Him. In past history we know that more people used to stop and attend a church, even if it was not teaching the truth. People were more interested in appeasing a god. In recent times, more people have rejected the true God and their god now takes them to the mall or to the golf course or some cruise, etc.
True saints should be following the standard that God established through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to remind the world of the importance of giving God His rightful place in our lives. When Christians become careless, we cannot help others to know the truth. If we are saved, we are saved to serve God. We do not set the terms of that service. God has already set them. We need to obey Him and know His blessing in doing so. Be sure to demonstrate His love in you by attending a good local church today. You will be blessed in doing so and you can also be a blessing to others in that way.
Pastor Bartel