Habakkuk 2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
God continued to condemn Babylon. Habakkuk has already shown he did not understand what God was doing. God wants all people to be saved.
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God was systematically exposing and deconstructing Babylon. He was warning Nebuchadnezzar and his people that they were in big trouble. This is now the third “woe” that God gave in this chapter. Nebuchadnezzar had built his empire with blood. He was a ruthless ruler. He did not care about people. He used them as stepping stones to what he wanted. He killed many in the places he conquered and he also took captives and brought them back for his advantage. We see that in Daniel 1. He wanted his captives groomed in the Babylonian religion and culture. He wanted the best of the captives in his cabinet. Yet he did not respect his “wise men”. When they could not tell him his dream, which no man could do, he wanted them all murdered. He would take out his “counsellors” and then he would have had a complete vacuum at the top level of his government. His secular counsellors were of no value to him and he knew that. He had just enlisted four new men into his realm of counsellors. These men, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were God-fearing men who would become the greatest asset to his government. He wanted to destroy them along with his worthless men. He certainly was not capable of governing his empire by himself. He was not a very wise man. He seemed to be a hothead who was very unstable.
God knew all about him. God cared just as much about the soul of Nebuchadnezzar as any other person. We do not fully understand the love of God. We also do not fully understand the drastic change that takes place in the heart of any person who is converted. New Evangelicalism has spit in the face of God and tried hard to make salvation something that is not that spectacular. The Charismatic arm of New Evangelicalism has elevated the person of the Holy Spirit to a place that He does not hold. Too many within the New Evangelical camp are willing to grasp at that false teaching because they crave signs and wonders, yet they reject the truth of the Gospel.
The true Gospel requires repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person comes to God on His terms, they are fundamentally changed. They do not need to be pampered and enabled in their sin. They need to be fed and taught the truth.
Not only did Nebuchadnezzar kill people at will and without any regard for humanity. He also established Babylon by iniquity. We see that as well in the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar appreciated Daniel’s ability to reveal his dream and the meaning of it. He accepted Daniel’s three friends for their association with Daniel. However, he did not recognize the need to throw out his paganism and sit down and listen to Daniel’s teaching on the true God. He tolerated Daniel, and he “heard” Daniel’s proclamation that there is only one true God. It would take some time for God to break Nebuchadnezzar to the place where he would finally acknowledge the true God as the only true God. God knew what He was doing. He still knows what He is doing today. He would strategically strip Nebuchadnezzar of all the things he was trusting in. He would come to see that he had nothing.
In verse 13 we see that the LORD’s will was not for people to labour in fire. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his people would suffer for their rebellion of the true God.
We do not know if Nebuchadnezzar was truly converted and saved. We do know that he was brought to the place of praising God. God knows his heart. We do not need to be dogmatic about things that are left in God’s hands. We do need to understand that Habakkuk stated that Babylon would be broken and would suffer greatly for their arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar was the king at this time. This judgment does not name the king, but it speaks generally about the Babylonian empire.
God was stating that all that Babylon was doing was vain. That empire would not survive. It would not survive because it was not grounded in truth. It was the first of four major empires. None of them would survive. All of them will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ in due time. It is foolish to trust in human government rather than in the true God. We would do well to consider this more carefully in our time as well. Christians need to take a much clearer position on the side of Christ than what we see for the most part. We cannot serve God and mammon.
In verse 14 God says that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge and glory of the LORD. God spoke of the reign of Christ during the Millennium and into eternity future. Notice that God says the earth SHALL be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. This is not a maybe. It is a fact.
We are not reconstructionists. We are not into replacement theology. We do not believe that Christians need to get into high places to overthrow the governments and bring in the kingdom of God. God does not need man to overthrow the government. Man will never overthrow the government. Those who are saved need to glorify God and trust Him to build His name in our time.
There is much unjust violence in Canada today. The murder of unborn children is unjust violence. Those involved in this violence are under God’s wrath. God is willing to forgive those who will turn to Him in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. The promotion of illicit drug use is unjust violence. Many are dying from drug overdoses. Many are being murdered by druggies who are out of control. The promotion of the sodomite agenda is unjust violence. It is hatred to be silent about this wickedness which is destroying lives in every age group. Canada is under the judgment of God. This should be very obvious to those who are saved. Our P.M. is blindly leading this nation further down the drain. The majority of the nation is following his lead. No, they did not vote for him, but they all have bought into the lie of man-made climate change. That is the primary mantra of our country. Nothing else matters. We have the blind leading the blind straight into the ditch.
The glory of God today is through the true local church. Those who want to claim to be serving God without being part of a true local church are missing the truth of God’s Word. We need bold men who will proclaim the Word of God without apology and give Him His rightful place in their own hearts and seek to help others to know Him as well.
Pastor Bartel
