Habakkuk 2 Study Notes

2:6-8 Even though God used Babylon to punish Judah, Babylon would not go unpunished. Five woes in conjunction with taunt (or “proverb”) are pronounced upon them. Babylon’s plunder from the nations is like a debt from creditors that they must eventually repay.

2:9-14 Babylon built its house (empire, v. 9) with stolen stones and its rafters from stolen lumber. This involved the bloodshed and injustice of slave labor. God in his glory would make it all fuel for the fire when Persia toppled Babylon in 539 BC.

2:15-17 Babylon’s shameless perversity foisted upon its neighbors such as Lebanon (whose famous forests provided much of the stolen lumber of v. 11) would come back in the form of violence against itself. By degrading and humiliating conquered peoples, the invaders sought to break their will and render them incapable of further resistance.

2:18-20 Though the Babylonians attributed their strength to their god Marduk (see note at 1:10-11), their god was only a lifeless idol, a piece of wood or stone, but the Lord lives and will have the last word. There is an allusion here (Wake up! . . . Come alive!) to Egyptian and Mesopotamian rituals that were used to consecrate new idols. Called the “opening of the mouth,” these rituals were supposed to prepare the idol for habitation by the god. These verses recall Is 46:1-7 and Jr 10:1-10