Habakkuk 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
God showed Habakkuk and us that He knows exactly what He is doing. Habakkuk needed to be more concerned about the sinfulness of the Jews, than about who God chose to punish them. God was not condoning any of the sins of Babylon by choosing them as His vehicle to punish Judah. He was showing the fact that those who want to rebel against Him lose all opportunity of pleading their cause before Him.
The nation of Israel was chosen by God to be His people. The people did not choose to follow Him. He chose Israel to be His people. He proved to them that it was well worth their while to follow Him. No other nation was blessed the way they were. Yet they despised all of that and wanted to play around with the devil. Adam already proved that this was not a wise thing to do. Cain also learned that choosing to follow the devil is not a good thing. Abel was murdered at the hands of his wicked brother, but Abel is resting in the Lord today and will receive his glorified body one day and he will continue to rest in the Lord for all eternity.
In our verses, God pronounced the last of the woes given to Babylon in this chapter. He continued to address the complete absurdity of idolatry. A person proves their lack of intelligence when they first carve out an idol from wood and then tell that idol to awake. They assume they have the power to make that piece of wood come alive.
God also addressed the matter of those who would take a dumb stone and carve it out to be an idol and then tell it to arise. Jesus stated that God has the power to make stones talk if He so chooses. He does not carve them into images first. He would do it as a rebuke to the false religionists if the Jews would not have cried out in worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only God has the power to take an inanimate object and give it life.
The Babylonians were not gods. They did not know the true God. They were not a world empire because they were connected to the true God. They were a world empire because God said they would be. As we see from the Bible Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians. Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild Babylon during his time as leader in Iraq. He was stopped by God. Yes, the U.S. invaded Iraq and they killed him, but God is still in charge. It is not time for Babylon to rise up out of the ashes of history yet. The apostle John was told to write about the rise of Babylon in the last days. The Catholics and the Muslims have characteristics that are described in the Babylon of the last days. We can see things moving together in our time, but we need to remember that there are no signs we are looking for that will tell us when the Rapture will take place. It will come suddenly, but not unexpectedly for those who are walking humbly with God.
In verse 20 God told Habakkuk to write a very important truth. It is very important for us to remember that God is not asleep. He is not off on a trip somewhere. He is in His holy temple. God is always aware of everything that is happening and He is also in charge of all things.
Good parents set up their lives and home in such a way as to help their children to be protected from harm as much as possible. Children will be children and they will get hurt at times. We do not want to set up a home so that it is not realistic. We do not want shards of glass scattered on the floor, etc. Even though parents can do their best to set up a safe environment for their children, they cannot protect their children from all harm.
God is all powerful and He could make people do exactly what He wants of them. We learn in the first chapters of Genesis that God did not do that. He made man with a will and with the ability to choose to obey Him. We also learn there that man chose to disobey God and that act made man a sinner. Death entered the world with the sin of man. God proved that He was in His holy temple at that time. He knew what Adam was doing. He reached out to Adam and gave him the opportunity to confess his sin but Adam chose to accuse God of causing him to sin. Eve followed her husband’s design as well. God was not swayed by this clear evidence of sin. He judged each one for their actions and He also cursed the serpent for his actions.
The LORD is in His holy temple. He is in charge and He limits man in his rebellion against Him. He has kept things going on this earth since He created it. Over the past six thousand years, man has been able to live and succeed physically on this earth. God has also given man the opportunity know Him in every generation. He shows us all that He is the true God. Psalm 19 states:
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
In our text, God states that the earth would be wise to keep silence before Him. As we go outside and look up into the sky, we would be wise to take note of what God has made. We can learn so much if we just let God show us His glory. Many parents want their children to go on to university or some type of college after high school. Society has told us that you cannot find a good job unless you get some higher training. Yet most parents care nothing about knowing God or teaching their children the need to know God. Thus we see the downgrade of our society. In spite of what our P.M. lies to us about, our country is not getting better. Financially we are in ruins. It is the WEF and China that are holding our massive debt. Morally we are in ruins. We have just witnessed a month of vile debauchery that should be an embarrassment to all people. The police turned a blind eye to absolute nudity in Toronto. Foolish parents took their children to the parade there and allowed them to be indoctrinated in wickedness. They will be accountable.
The wise person listens to the LORD and knows His peace and blessing. Habakkuk needed to be quiet and listen to God. God knew what He was doing. He always does. His ways are much higher than our ways. We can trust Him. It is always important to know Him and to trust Him. We have the completed Word of God and we can see how God worked in history in the past. We can also see how He is working today and how He will work in the future. The Bible is the book for all time. Know the LORD and walk with Him. Be sure to find a good church to join and serve Him with your time and life. He will never lead you astray. Jesus promised to build His church and to protect His church. He is still doing that today. Each saved person has an awakened conscience. A good church will be built upon the sure Word of God. There is no such thing as a perfect church. The pastor of any true church is a fallible man. However, the Word of God is infallible. God’s Word tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. You cannot assemble via the internet. Any true child of God will admit they do not have it all together either. As true saints come together and build their lives upon the One and Only True Foundation, God will guide and direct them. There will be a purifying effect over time. No Christian will ever claim to have “arrived” as long as he or she lives on this earth. The perfection will come when the true saint stands before the LORD. Until then, the true child of God desires to grow and serve God faithfully.
I Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Pastor Bartel
