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Habakkuk
Chapter Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK 2
This
chapter contains an answer from the Lord to the expostulations, pleadings, and
reasonings of the prophet, in the name of the people. The preparation of the
prophet to receive this answer is described, Habakkuk 2:1 then
follows the answer itself, in which he is bid to write and make plain the
vision he had, that it might be easily read, Habakkuk 2:2 and a
promise is made, that vision should still be continued to the appointed time,
at which time the Messiah would come; and this the righteous man, in opposition
to the vain and proud man, is encouraged to live in the faith of, Habakkuk 2:3 and
then the destruction of the enemies of the people of God is threatened for
their pride, ambition, covetousness, oppression, and murder, Habakkuk 2:5 which
would be unavoidable, Habakkuk 2:13 and
issue in the spread of the knowledge of the glory of God in the world, Habakkuk 2:14 and
also the ruin of other enemies is threatened, for drawing men into apostasy,
and for their violence and idolatry, Habakkuk 2:15 upon
which would follow an universal silence in the earth, Habakkuk 2:20.
Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to
see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.
YLT
1On my charge I stand, and I
station myself on a bulwark, and I watch to see what He doth speak against me,
and what I do reply to my reproof.
I will stand upon my watch,.... These are the words
of the prophet: so the Targum introduces them,
"the
prophet said;'
and
this he said in character as a watchman, as all the prophets were: as a
watchman takes the proper place he watches in and looks out, especially in time
of danger and distress, if he can spy anyone bringing tidings, that he may
receive it, and notify it to the people that have appointed him a watchman; so
the prophet retired from the world, and gave himself up to meditation and
prayer, and put himself in a waiting posture; looking up to the Lord, and
expecting an answer to his expostulations with him, concerning the success of
the enemies of God's people, and the calamities that were like to come upon
them, that he might report it to them; see Isaiah 21:8,
and set me upon the tower; a place of eminence,
from which he could behold an object at a distance: it signifies a strait
place, in which he was as one besieged; and may be an emblem of the straits and
difficulties he was in, which he wanted to be extricated out of: the thoughts
of his heart troubled him; he had a great many objections that rose up in his
mind against the providences that were like to attend his people; he was beset
with the temptations of Satan, and surrounded with objectors to what he had
delivered, concerning the Chaldeans being raised up by God to the destruction
of the Jewish nation; and, amidst these difficulties, he sets himself to
reading the word of God, and meditation on it, to pray to God for instruction
and information in this matter; as Asaph, in a like case, went into the
sanctuary of the Lord, where he got satisfaction, Psalm 73:2 as well
as it may be expressive of the confidence he had in God, in his covenant and
promises, which were as a fortress and strong tower to him; in short, he kept
his place, he was found in the way of his duty, in the performance of his
office, and was humbly and patiently waiting on God, to know more of his mind
and will, and acquaint the people with it.
And will watch to see what he will say unto me; or "in
me"F14בי "in me", Pagninus,
Montanus, Drusius, Tarnovius, Van Till, Burkius. ; that is, what the Lord would
say unto him, either outwardly by an audible voice; or inwardly by impressing
things upon his mind; or in a vision by the Spirit of prophecy, as Kimchi; so
David, "the Spirit of the Lord spoke by me", or "in me", 2 Samuel 23:2 he
was determined to wait patiently for an answer, and to continue in the present
posture, and constantly attend to every motion and dictate of the Spirit of
God, and take particular notice of what should be suggested to him:
and what I shall answer when I am reproved; either by the
Lord, for using so much freedom and boldness in expostulations and reasonings
with him, who is under no obligation to give an account of his matters unto the
children of men; or by others, how he should be able to satisfy his own mind,
and remove the scruples, doubts, and objections, that arose there against the
providence of God, in prospering the wicked, and afflicting the righteous, and
repel the temptation he was under to quarrel with God, and arraign his
proceedings; and how he should answer the objections that his people made, both
against his prophecies, and the providence of God, for which they reproved him;
or, however, he expected they would. The Targum is,
"and
what will be returned to my request.'
Habakkuk 2:2 2 Then the Lord answered
me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may
run who reads it.
YLT
2And Jehovah answereth me
and saith: `Write a vision, and explain on the tables, That he may run who is
reading it.
And the Lord answered me,.... As he does his
ministers and people sooner or later, in one way or another, when they call
upon him with humility and reverence, with faith and fervency:
and said, Write the vision; which the prophet now
had from him, concerning the coming of the Messiah, and the destruction of the
enemies of the church and people of God: and this he has orders to
"write"; not only to tell it to the people then present, for their
particular information and satisfaction; but to write it, that it may be read
over and over, and that it may remain, and be of use in times to come:
and make it plain upon tables, engrave it in
plain legible letters on tables of wood; on box tree, as the Septuagint
version; on which they used to write before paper was found out and used.
Writing tables are of ancient use; they were used in and before the times of
Homer, for he speaksF15 γραψας εν
πινακι πτυκτω, &c. Homer. Iliad. 6. of writing very
pernicious things on a two leaved table; wherefore Josephus must be mistaken
when he suggestsF16Contr. Apion, l. 1. c. 2. that letters were not
found out in the times of Homer. These tables were made of wood, sometimes of
one sort, and sometimes of another; sometimes they were made of the pine tree,
as appears from EuripidesF17In Hippolito. but, for the most part, of
boxF18"Ergo tam doctae nobis periere tabellae, Non illas fixum
charas effeceret aurum, Vulgari buxo sordida cera fuit. Propertius. Buxa
crepent cerata------" Prudentius. , according to the Greek version as
above; and consisted sometimes of two leaves, for the most part of three or
five, covered with waxF19Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 30. ,
on which impressions were easily made, and continued long, and were very
legible; and these impressions or letters were formed with an iron style or
pen; see Jeremiah 17:1 this
the Greeks and Tuscans first used, but was afterwards forbidden by the Romans,
who, instead of it, ordered an instrument of bone to be usedF20Isidor.
Originum, l. 6. c. 8. : hence these tables were wont to be called
"wax", because besmeared with it; and so, in wills and testaments
written on them, the heirs are said to be written either in the first wax, or
in the bottom of the waxF21"In ima cera", Sueton. in Vit.
Jul. Caesar. c. 83. "in extrema cera", Cicero in Verrem, l. 3. Vid.
Alex. ab Alex. ib. l. 1. c. 1. , that is, of the will, or in the lowest part of
the table, or what we should call the bottom of the leaf or page: and it was a
custom among the Romans, as CiceroF23De Oratore, l. 2. sect. 34.
relates, that the public affairs of every year were committed to writing by the
Pontifex Maximus, or high priest, and published on a table, and set to view
within doors, that the people might have an opportunity and be able to know
them; yea, it was usual to hang up laws, approved and recorded, in tables of
brass, in their market places, and in their temples, thatF24Taciti
Annales, l. 11. c. 14. they might be seen and read; the same we call annals. In
like manner the Jewish prophets used to write and expose their prophecies
publicly on tables, either in their own houses, or in the temple, that everyone
that passed by might read them.
That he may run that readeth it; may run through the
whole without any difficulty, without making any stop, being written in such
large capital letters; and those cut so well, and made so plain, that a man
might run it over at once with ease, or even read it as he was running; nor
need he stop his pace, or stand to read. The Targum is,
"write
the prophecy, and explain it in the book of the law, that he may hasten to
obtain wisdom, whoever he is that reads in it.'
Habakkuk 2:3 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But
at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because
it will surely come, It will not tarry.
YLT
3For yet the vision [is] for
a season, And it breatheth for the end, and doth not lie, If it tarry, wait for
it, For surely it cometh, it is not late.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time,.... Not the
present vision only, but vision or prophecy in general: it was a doubt that
arose in the minds of the prophet and other good men, upon the notice given
that the Chaldeans would be raised up to the destruction of the Jews; that then
the law of God would cease, his worship would not continue; vision and prophecy
would be no more; it would be all over with the doctrine of the law and the
prophets: now in answer to this, and to remove this doubt, they are assured
that vision or prophecy should "yet", or still, continue, and even
"to the appointed time"; the time fixed for the continuance of it,
notwithstanding the people of the Jews should be carried captive into another
land: and accordingly so it was; there were prophets, as Daniel and Ezekiel, in
the time of the captivity; and, after it, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; yea,
the law and the prophets were until John; for vision and prophecy were to be
sealed up by the Messiah, and not before; see Luke 16:16 it was
true indeed with respect to the present vision or prophecy concerning the
Messiah, that that was not to be fulfilled presently; there was some
considerable time first to elapse; there was a time appointed for the
accomplishment of it, and it would remain till that time, and then be most
surely fulfilled; which would be before the sceptre departed from Judah, while
the second temple was yet standing, and when Daniel's seventy weeks, or four
hundred and ninety years, were come; which were the limited, determined, and
appointed time for the Messiah's coming, the time appointed of the Father, the
fulness of time; so there was an appointed time for his coming to take
vengeance on the Jewish nation, for their rejection of him, to which the
apostle applies these words, Hebrews 10:37 and
also for his spiritual coming, to visit his people in a gracious way; there is
a set time to favour Zion and her children; as well as there is a day fixed for
his second coming, or coming to judgment.
But at the end it shall speak, and not lie; or rather,
"he shall speak"F25ויפח
"idque ille loquetur", Castalio. ; and so in the following clauses it
should be rendered, not "it", but "he"; and so the apostle
has taught us to interpret it of a person, and not a thing, Hebrews 10:37 that
is, "at the end" of the time appointed, or at the end of the Jewish
state, both civil and ecclesiastic, the Messiah should appear, as he did, which
is called the end of the world, 1 Corinthians 10:11
when a new world began, the world to come, the Gospel dispensation, of which
Christ is said to be the Father, in the Greek version of Isaiah 9:6 see Hebrews 2:5 and
being come, he shall "speak"; or, as it may be rendered, "at the
end thereof" shall be "the speaker", or "preacher"F26"Praeco
erit in fine", Cocceius; "et praeco aderit in fine", Van Till. ;
that shall publish and proclaim the glad tidings of the Gospel; and this agrees
with Christ, the Logos, or Word of God, the great Prophet that should be raised
up in the church, the teacher sent of God, the Wonderful Counsellor, and faithful
witness; who spoke out the whole mind and will of God; published the
everlasting Gospel; delivered out the doctrines of grace and truth; and spoke
such words of grace as never man did, and with such power and authority as the
Scribes and Pharisees did not. Some render the words, "and he shall break
forth as the morning"F1
και ανατελει, Sept. ; so the word is used in Song of Solomon 2:17
and so the Septuagint version, "he shall arise at the end"; like the
rising sun: this agrees with Christ, the day spring from on high, and whose
coming is said to be as the morning, Luke 1:78 and when
he should thus appear, and exercise his prophetic office, he should "not
lie"; this is the character of God himself, as opposed to a mere man, who
is subject to lying and deceit; and suits well with Christ, who is truly God,
and not a mere man; and answers to his character in prophecy and fact, that
there was no guile in his mouth and lips, Isaiah 53:4 and
fitly describes him as a preacher, who is truth itself; taught the way of God
in truth; spoke the word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation; and no lie is
of the truth; and who is infallible in all his doctrines, and does not and
cannot deceive any; all his words are to be depended upon as faithful and true.
Though it tarry, wait for it; or "though he
tarry, wait for him"; not that he really would or did tarry; but he might
seem to do so, not coming so soon as the Old Testament saints expected, and as
they wished for and desired; it was a long time from the first promise of him;
and sometimes the saints were ready to give it up, and their hearts to sink and
faint, because it was seemingly deferred. This shows that this prophecy does
not respect the Babylonish captivity; for that had no seeming delay, but, as
soon as ever the seventy years were up, there was a deliverance from it; but
the Messiah's coming was long expected, and seemed to be deferred, and the
patience of the saints was almost wore out; but they are here encouraged, when
this was the case, still to wait for him, as good old Simeon and others did,
about the time of his coming; and so his spiritual and second coming should be
waited patiently for, though they may seem to be delayed.
Because it will surely come, it will not tarry; or "for
he that is to come", or "is coming, will comeF2כי בא יבא
"quia veniens veniet", V. L.; "veniendo veniet", Pagninus,
Montanus, Cocceius, Van Till, Burkius. , and not tarry"; beyond the
appointed time. This is a periphrasis of the Messiah; for, being so often
spoken of as to come, it became a description of him, "he that is to
come"; see Matthew 11:3 and as
it was foretold he would come, so assuredly he would come, and not stay a
moment longer than the time appointed of the Father; in which fulness of time
God sent him, and he came, Galatians 4:3. The
person here prophesied of is not Jeremiah, as Jarchi, but the Messiah; and this
is acknowledged by some Jewish writers, ancient and modern; and removes the
doubt and objection that might arise from the Chaldeans coming upon the Jews,
and carrying them captive, as if the promise of the Messiah would fail, whereas
it would not. In the TalmudF3T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 2. , they
say,
"God
does not renew his world till after seven thousand years; another says five
thousand. R. Nathan says, this Scripture penetrates and descends into the
abyss; i.e. fixes no particular time; "the vision is for an appointed
time", &c.; not as our Rabbins, who inquire the meaning of a time, and
times, and half a time; what then is meant, "but at the end it shall speak",
and "not lie?" Let them burst that compute the times, who used to say
when the time comes, and he cometh not, he will never come; but wait for him,
as it is said, "if he tarry, wait for him": perhaps you will say, we
wait, but he does not wait; this may be an instruction to you what he says,
"therefore the Lord waiteth to be gracious", &c.'
Maimonides
saysF4In Pocock. Porta Mosis, p. 176. , their twelfth fundamental
article of faith is, the days of the Messiah; that is, to believe, and be
firmly persuaded, that he will come, nor will he tarry; "if he tarry, wait
for him": though, he observes, this Scripture does not fix the certain
time; nor is it to be so expounded, so as to gather from thence the exact time
of his coming. This they do not choose to own, though it does, because the time
is long ago elapsed. AbarbinelF5Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 64. 1. owns
that this vision is different from that in the preceding verse Habakkuk 2:2, which
concerns the second temple, but this another redemption; and would have it that
the words may be explained thus, he that shall come will come at the time
appointed, which is mentioned; and, after his coming, the King Messiah shall
not tarry from coming to redeem you; which, though a wrong sense, shows his
conviction of the prophecy belonging to the Messiah. So AbendanaF6Not.
in Miclol Yophi in loc. Vid. Caphtor Uperah, fol. 6. 4. & 45. 1. 2. says,
our Rabbins understand this, "at the end it shall speak", of the end
of our redemption from this captivity in which we now are; and in this way it
appears right to explain it, for the prophet was complaining of the prosperity
of Nebuchadnezzar; and the Lord answers him, that he should write the vision of
the destruction of Babylon, which should be at the end of seventy years; and
said, do not wonder that I prolong to Babylon seventy years, for "yet the
vision is for an appointed time": as if he should say, yet there is a
vision for times afar off, "and at the end it shall speak": in all
which there are plain traces of the sense the ancient synagogue put on this
text, though now perverted, to favour their hypothesis of the Messiah being yet
to come and save them.
Habakkuk 2:4 4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But
the just shall live by his faith.
YLT
4Lo, a presumptuous one! Not
upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him,.... This and
the following clause describe two sorts of persons differently affected to the
Messiah, and the promise of his coming. Here it points at such as were
"incredulous", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; that
disbelieved his coming, and mocked and scoffed at the promise of it; as well as
those that did not believe in him when he came, though he had all the
characteristics of the Messiah; and damnation was the certain consequence of
their unbelief. The proud and haughty Scribes and Pharisees are here plainly
described, whose minds were elated with themselves; whose hearts were like
bubbles, blown up, full of wind; whose souls swelled with pride and vanity, and
a high conceit of themselves; of their merit and worth; of their holiness and
works of righteousness; and treated those they thought below them in these
things with the utmost disdain and contempt; and trusted in themselves, and to
their own righteousness, to the great neglect of the true Messiah and his
righteousnessF7So Kimchi and Ben Melech observe the word has the signification
of haughtiness of heart, and of pride; and Jarchi of impudence; and the Arabic
word "muthaphilin", in Schindler, is rendered "despisers".
. The word for "lifted up" has in it the signification of a hill,
mountain, fortress, or tower; see Isaiah 32:14 as
Aben Ezra observes. So R. Moses Kimchi interprets the passage,
"he
whose soul is not right in him places himself in a fortress or tower, to set
himself on high there from the enemy, and does not return to God, nor seek
deliverance of him; but the righteous has no need to place himself on high in a
fortress, for he shall live by his faith.'
Ophel
was part of the hill of Zion, on which the temple was built; and Cocceius
thinks there is a reference in the words to Mount Moriah, on which the temple
stood: and in this sense the words aptly agree with the pharisaical Jews, who
boasted of their temple, and gloried in it, and trusted in the service and sacrifices
of it; and betook themselves to the observance of rites and ceremonies, and the
traditions of their elders, and to their moral works of righteousness, for
their justification and salvation, as their tower of safety, and place of
defence; neglecting the Messiah, the Rock of salvation, the Rock of Israel, the
munition of rocks, the strong hold and tower, where only safety and salvation
are. The apostle, following the Greek version, renders the word in Hebrews 10:38,
"if any man draw back", &c. and De DieuF8So according
to Castel is "neglixit", Act. vi. 1. "substraxit se", Judg.
xx. 36. and so it is used in the Alcoran, Surat. Joseph. ver. 13. and in the
Arabic version of Psal. xxviii. 1. Matt. xxiii. 23. Heb. xii. 5. observes, that
the word in the Arabic language signifies to neglect or withdraw the mind from
a person or thing; and may be fitly applied to the same persons who neglected
Christ, and the great salvation by him; hid their faces from him; would not
look at him, nor converse with him, nor attend his ministry, nor suffer others
to do it; they withdrew from his apostles and ministers, and the Christian
churches, and persecuted them both in Judea and in the Gentile world; and many
of the Jews that did make a profession, and joined themselves to Christian
churches, after a time separated from them; being sensual, and not having the
Spirit, went out from among them, not being truly of them, and forsook the assembling
of themselves together with them; and to these the apostle applies the words in
the aforementioned place. Now of every such person it may be said, "his
soul is not upright in him"; either "in himself", as the Vulgate
Latin version, and so Kimchi; he is not a just man, not truly upright and
righteous, though he may think he is, and may be thought so by others; yet he
is not in the sight of God; his heart is not sincere; he has not the truth of
grace in him; a right spirit is not created and renewed in him; he never was
convinced by the Spirit of God of sin and righteousness, or he would not be
thus elated with himself: his soul is not upright towards God; he seeks
himself, and his own applause, in all he does, and not the honour and glory of
God, and the magnifying of his grace and goodness; he has no right notions of
the righteousness of God, and of his holy law; nor of Christ, his person, and
offices; nor indeed of himself. Or "his soul is not right in him"F9לא ישרה נפשו
בו "non recta (est) anima ejus in eo",
Montanus, Calvin, Drusius, Burkius. ; that is, in Christ, who was to come, nor
when he was come; that is, he is not rightly, sincerely, and heartily affected
to him; he has no true knowledge of him, real desire unto him, hearty affection
for him, or faith in him, or regard unto him, his Gospel and his ordinances;
all which was most clearly true of the carnal Jews, and is of all
self-righteous persons. The apostle, in Hebrews 10:38 seems
to understand it of the soul of God, that that, or he, was not affected to, and
pleased with, persons of such a character and complexion; see Luke 14:11.
But the just shall live by faith; the "just" man
is the reverse of the former; he is one that believed in the coming of Christ,
and believed in him when come; who has no overweening opinion of himself, and
of his own righteousness; nor does he trust in it for his justification before
God, and acceptance with him; but in the righteousness of Christ imputed to
him, from whence he is denominated a just man: and such an one "shall
live", not merely a corporeal life, for righteous men die as well as
others; nor an eternal life, though such shall live this life, and have it now
in some sense, for this life is enjoyed not by faith, but by sight; but a
spiritual life, begun in regeneration, and maintained by the Spirit and grace
of God; such live a life of justification on Christ, of sanctification from
him, and of communion with him; they live cheerfully, comfortably, and
delightfully, a life of peace, joy, and comfort; which is greatly the sense of
the word here, as in Psalm 22:26 and
this is "by his faith"; his own faith, and not another's; which
though for its kind is the same in all, alike precious faith, yet as to its
actings is peculiar to one, and is not another's: or by the faith of God; that
is, by that faith which is the gift of God, and of his operation, and has him
for its object; such live by faith upon a promising God, and so live
comfortably: or by the faith of Christ, promised to come in the preceding verse
Habakkuk 2:3; by
that faith, of which he is the object, author, and finisher: just men live not
upon their faith, but by it on Christ, as crucified for them, as the bread of
life, and as the Lord their righteousness; and so have joy and peace in
believing. There is a different accentuation of this clause. Some put the stop
after "just", and read the words, "the just, by his faith shall
live"; that is, he who is a just man, in an evangelical sense, he shall
live by his faith, in the sense before explained; not that he is a just man
that lives righteously and unblamably before men; but who lives a life of faith
on Christ, and whose hope of eternal life is not founded upon his holy life and
conversation, but upon the righteousness of Christ, which he by faith lives
upon; for neither eternal life, nor the hope of it, are to be ascribed to faith
in itself, but to the object of it. But the most correct Hebrew copies unite,
by the accent "merca", the words "by his faith", to the
"just man"; and so they are to be read, "the just by his faith,
he shall live"; that is, the man who is just, not by the works of the law,
but by faith in the righteousness of Christ, or through the righteousness of
Christ received by faith; for it is not faith itself, or the act of believing,
that is a man's justifying righteousness, or is imputed to him for
righteousness, or denominates him righteous, but the righteousness of Christ he
lays hold on by faith; and such a man shall live both spiritually and
eternally. And this manner of accenting the words is approved of by WasmuthF11Vindiciae
Hebr. par. 2. c. p. 322. , and by ReinbeckF12De Accent. Hebr. p.
488, 489. So Boston. Tract. Stigmologic. p. 33, 34. . Burkius, a late annotator
thinks, it might be safest to repeat the word that is controverted, and read it
thus, "the just in" or "by his faith": "in" or
"by his faith he shall live"; which takes in both senses, and either
of which rightly explained may be admitted. Junius, with whom Van Till agrees,
is of opinion that respect is had to the example of Abraham, of whom we read Genesis 15:6 and
"he believed in the Lord", and "he counted it to him for
righteousness"; not his faith, but the object of it, or what he believed,
the promised seed. And so the ancient Jews compare this faith with Abraham's;
for, mentioning the text in Genesis 15:6, say
theyF13Shemot Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 107. 3. ,
"this
is the faith by which the Israelites inherit, of which the Scripture says,
"and the just by his faith shall live".'
And
they have also a sayingF14T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 24. 1. , that the
law, and all the precepts of it, delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, are reduced
by Habakkuk to one, namely this, "the just by his faith shall live";
which is true, if rightly understood; for the righteousness of Christ, the just
man becomes so by, and which by faith he lives upon, is answerable to the whole
law. The apostle produces this passage three times to prove that the
righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel is to faith; that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God; that the just man shall live, and not
die; shall not draw back to perdition, but believe to the saving of the soul, Romans 1:17 which
shows that it belongs to Gospel times and things. The Targum of the whole is,
"behold,
the wicked say all these things "shall not be", but the
righteous shall remain in their truth.'
Kimchi
interprets the former part of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar his son; and the
latter part of the Israelites carried into captivity with Zedekiah; but very
wrongly.
Habakkuk 2:5 5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is
a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as
hell,[a] And he is
like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And
heaps up for himself all peoples.
YLT
5And also, because the wine
[is] treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath
enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth
gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the
peoples,
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,.... Or
rather, "how much less" or "moreF15ואף כי "quanto magis",
Calvin, Drusius, Tarnovius, Cocceius, Van Till, Burkius. , wine dealing
treacherously": or "a man of wine", as Aben Ezra supplies it;
that is, a winebibber, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: and the sense in
connection with the preceding verse Habakkuk 2:4 is, if
a Jew, elated with his works of righteousness, his soul is not right in him,
"how much less" a drunken, treacherous, proud, and ambitious heathen?
if the Scribes and Pharisees, who expected the coming of the Messiah, yet
withdrew from him, and opposed themselves unto him when come, "how much
more" will such persons set themselves against him and his interest, thus
described? by whom are meant, not the Babylonian monarchs, Nebuchadnezzar and
Belshazzar and the Chaldeans, as usually interpreted, though there are many
things in the account applicable to them; but this is breaking the thread of
the prophecy, which carries on the account of the enemies of Christ, and of his
kingdom, from his first to his second coming; whereas to interpret this
prophecy of the Chaldeans is to go back to times before the first coming of
Christ; nor does it seem necessary to say anything more concerning them, since
the people of God might be satisfied that these would be in their turn
destroyed, and they delivered from them; and that they, the Jews, could not be
cut off as a people, since the promise of the Messiah, as springing from them,
is firmly established; and it is so strongly asserted, that he should come at
the appointed time, and not tarry: after which the prophet goes on to observe
two different sorts of people among the Jews; one sort proud and vain glorious,
who opposed themselves to Christ when he came; the other sort true believers in
him, who lived by faith upon him: so things would stand among the Jews when
Christ came, and so they did; there was a separation among them on his account:
next the prophet proceeds to observe another sort of enemies to Christ and his
interest among the heathens, which was not to be wondered at, and therefore
introduced by a comparative particle, "how much more" or
"less"; and who must be removed to make way for his kingdom and glory
in the latter day, manifestly pointed at in Habakkuk 2:14 now
who can these be but the Romans, both Pagan and Papal in succession? and with
these and their rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, do the characters given as
well agree as with the Babylonian monarchy, and the Chaldeans, or better and
therefore, after Cocceius and Van Till I shall choose to interpret the whole of
them; and it is well known that several of the Roman emperors were greatly
given to luxury and intemperance, the first character they stand described by
in the text. Tiberius was greatly addicted to this vice; and, because of his
greediness after wineF16Suetonius in Vita Tiberii, c. 42. , used to
be called Biberius Caldius Mero, instead of Tiberius Claudius Nero; his
successor Caligula spent the immense riches Tiberius had gathered together in
less than a year's time in luxury and intemperanceF17Ib. Vita
Caligulae, c. 37. ; and Claudius, that succeeded him, scarce ever went out of
his doors but he was drunkF18Ib. Vita Claudii, c. 33. ; and Nero,
who came after him to the empire, was of unusual luxury and sumptuousness, as
the historian saysF19Eutrop. Hist. Rom. l. 7. ; he used to keep on
his banquets from the middle of the day to the middle of the nightF20Suetonius
in Vita Neronis, c. 27. ; to say nothing of Domitian, Commodus, and other
emperors that followed after them: and these men were deceitful and
treacherous, both to their friends and enemies; and it is no wonder that such
as these should oppose themselves to the kingdom and interest of Christ, as
they did. Kimchi interprets this of Nebuchadnezzar; and Jarchi of Belshazzar;
and most interpreters think it refers to his drinking in the vessels of the
temple, Daniel 5:2,
he is a proud man; the Roman
emperors were excessively proud, like the unjust judge, neither feared God, nor
regarded man; nay, set up themselves for gods, and required divine worship to
be given them. Caius Caligula claimed divine majesty to himself, and set
himself up to be worshipped among his brother gods; he built a temple to his
own deity, and appointed priests and sacrifices; and placed a golden image of
himself in it, and clothed it every day with such a garment as he himself woreF21Suetonius
in Vita Caligulae, c. 22. ; he also set up his own image in the temple at
Jerusalem. Nero suffered himself to be called lord and god by Tiridates king of
the Armenians, with bended knees, and hands lift up to heaven. Domitian and
Aurelianus took the same titles as Nero did; and Dioclesian would be worshipped
as a god, and called himself the brother of the sun and moon; and no marvel
that such men as these should be enemies to Christ, and persecutors of his
people:
neither keepeth at home; or "dwells not in
the fold"F23ולא ינוה
"qui non habitat; quod de mansionibus ovium imprimius dicitur",
Cocceius; "qui non inhabitat grata", Van Till. ; in the sheepfold of
Christ, in his church, being none of his sheep, an alien from the commonwealth
of Israel; and so it denotes a infidel, an heathen; a fit character for the
Pagan emperors, who had no habitation in the house of God. Kimchi interprets it
of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom not being continued; or of his being driven from
his habitation, his palace, from among men, to live with beasts; but it is the
character, and not the punishment, of the person that is here pointed at:
who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and
cannot be satisfied; death and the grave, though such vast numbers are continually
slain by the one, and laid in the other, yet are never satisfied; see Proverbs 27:20.
This describes the insatiable thirst of the Roman emperors after honour,
riches, and universal monarchy; who were never satisfied with what they
obtained:
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all
people; that is, subdued them, and made them provinces of the Roman
empire, and tributary to it, even almost all the then known world; hence the
Roman empire is called the whole world, Luke 2:1 so
Agrippa, in his orations to the Jews, mentions all nations as subject to the
RomansF24Apud Joseph de Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. .
Habakkuk 2:6 6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And
a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What
is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?[b]
YLT
6Do not these -- all of them
-- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And
say, Wo [to] him who is multiplying [what is] not his? Till when also is he
multiplying to himself heavy pledges?
Shall not all these take up a parable against him,.... A
proverbial expression, a short sentence, a laconic speech, delivered in a few
words, which contains much in them concerning the vices of these emperors, and
imprecating judgments upon them for them; took up and expressed by the nations
brought into subjection unto them, and especially by the Christians in those
nations spoiled and persecuted by them:
and a taunting proverb against him; or, "whose
explanation are riddles to him"F25ומליצה
חידות לו "et
interpretationem aenigmata ei", Drusius, Burkius; "et interpretatio
erit aenigmata ipsi", Cocceius; "cujus explicatio illi erit
aenigmatum loco", Van Till. ; the proverb, when explained, would be a
riddle to him, which he could not understand, nor would give any credit to;
taking it not to belong to him or them, and in which they had no concern;
though afterwards would find they had, to their great mortification:
and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! substance or
goods, not his own, as the Targum explains it; which they had no right unto,
nor property in, but were another's; and therefore guilty of great injustice in
taking it from them, and might justly expect vengeance would pursue them for
it; such were the goods they spoiled the Christians of for not worshipping
their idols, and for professing and abiding by the Christian religion:
how long? that is, how long shall they go on increasing their substance by
such unjust and unlawful methods? how long shall they keep that which they have
so unjustly got? this suggests as if it was a long time, which, as Cocceius
observes, does not so well agree with the Babylonian as the Roman empire, which
stood much longer:
and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay: such is gold
and silver, no other than yellow and white dust and dirt; and may be called
clay, because dug out of the earth, as that; and as clay is defiling, so are
gold and silver, when ill gotten, or ill used, or the heart set too much upon
them; and as that is very ponderous and troublesome to carry, so an abundance
of riches bring much care with them, and often are very troublesome to the
owners of them, and frequently hinder their sleep, rest, and ease; and as clay
when it sticks to the heels hinders walking, so riches, when the affections are
too much set on them, are great obstacles in the way of true religion and
godliness; hence our Lord observes, "how hard it is them, that trust in
riches to enter into the kingdom of God", Mark 10:24 they are
even a weight, a clog to good men. The phrase seems to point at the meanness of
them, as well as the hurt that sometimes comes by them, and the contempt they
should be had in, in comparison of the true riches; hence, agreeable to this
way of speaking, a good man Drusius makes mention of used to call gold
"yellow earth": and a certain Greek writerF26 χρυσος τοι κονις εστι, και αργυρος,
Naumachius apud Grotium in loc. says gold is ashes, and so is silver. The word
used is a compound; and, as Kimchi observes, signifies an abundance of riches;
but our countryman Mr. FullerF1Miscel. Sacr. l. 5. c. 8. chooses
rather to render it an "abundance of pledges"; and thinks it has
respect to the many pledges which the person here spoken of, by whom he
supposes is meant the Babylonian monarch, had in an unjust manner took of
several nations, and heaped up like an usurer; and which should in due time be
taken from him, by those whom he had plundered of them: but this expresses the
greedy desire of the Romans after money, as well as the unlawful methods they
took to acquire wealth, and the vast sums they became masters of, so that they
were even loaded with it; but, getting it in an unrighteous manner, it brought
the curses and imprecations of the people upon them, especially those they
defrauded of it. Joseph Kimchi, as his son David observes, interprets it,
"he
shall make thick clay lie heavy on his grave;'
and
it was a custom with the Romans, as DrusiusF2Observat. l. 15. c. 18.
relates, that when one imprecated evil upon another, he used to wish a heavy
load of earth upon him, that is, when he was dead; as, on the contrary, when
one was wished well after death, it was desired he might have a light earth
upon him: so Julian the emperor, speaking of Constantius, saysF3Epist.
Hermogeni, Ep. 23. p. 141. ,
"when
he is become happy, or departs out of this life, may the earth be light upon
him;'
which
is wishing all felicity, and freedom from punishment; whereas the contrary, to
have a load of earth or thick clay, is an imprecation of the heaviest
punishment.
Habakkuk 2:7 7 Will not your creditors[c] rise up
suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their
booty.
YLT
7Do not thy usurers
instantly rise up, And those shaking thee awake up, And thou hast been for a
spoil to them?
Shall not they rise up suddenly that shall bite thee,.... Or,
"thy usurers", or "creditors"F4נשכיך "foeneratores tui, seu creditores
tui", Cocceius, Van Till. , as some render it; the Christians, whose
money, goods, and substance, they had spoiled them of, but now should be repaid
with great usury and gain; these, that is, their princes and emperors, as
Constantine and Theodosius, rose up suddenly, and conquered the heathen
emperors, and took away their power and authority from them, and their wealth
and riches, and gave them to the Christians, what they and those under them had
plundered them of:
and awake that shall vex thee, or "move thee"F5מזעזעיך "qui commoveant te", Pagninus, Vatablus;
so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 56. 1. "excutientes", Cocceius, Van
Till; "commoventes te", Burkius. ; the emperor, from the throne of
the empire; and other subordinate magistrates from their places of dignity,
trust, and profit; the priests out of their temples; and change the face of
things everywhere; and which is expressed in language agreeable to this, in Revelation 6:14,
and has respect to the same times and things, "and the heaven departed as
a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved
out of their place"; which is to be understood of the fall of the Pagan
Roman empire:
and thou shalt be for booties unto them? the wealth
and riches found in the Roman empire, as it fell into the hands of Constantine,
were converted to the use of the Christians for the building of their temples,
and the maintenance of their ministers, the relief of their poor, and for the
reparation of losses others had sustained under the persecutions: thus the
Christian emperors rose up at once, and exerted themselves; and who before
seemed to be asleep awoke, and seized upon the empire, and the riches of it,
and divided the spoil among themselves and their people.
Habakkuk 2:8 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the
remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the
violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.
YLT
8Because thou hast spoiled
many nations, Spoil thee do all the remnant of the peoples, Because of man's
blood, and of violence [to] the land, [To] the city, and [to] all dwelling in
it.
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the
people shall spoil thee,.... Those that survived the persecutions of the Roman emperors;
those that were left of the great numbers put to death by them; those under
Constantine rose up, and by just retaliation spoiled them of all their power
and wealth:
because of men's blood; the blood of the saints
and martyrs of Jesus, of those under the altar, whose blood cried for
vengeance, Revelation 6:9,
which was shed under the ten bloody persecutions: or, "because of the
blood of a man": of AdamF6מדמי אדם "propter sanguinem hominis", i. e.
"Christi, qui est secundus Adam", Cocceius, Van Till. , as it may be
rendered; the blood of Christ the second Adam, which, though shed at the
instance of the Jews, yet by the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor:
and for the violence of the land, and of the city, and of
all that dwell therein: that is, for the violence and injuries done to the land of
Israel and city of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants thereof, as the Targum, and
so Jarchi; and which were done by the Romans to those places and people, under
Titus Vespasian, when he invaded the country of Judea, and made it desolate;
besieged and took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire; destroyed great numbers of
its inhabitants, and carried them captive, and sent great multitudes of them to
the mines; as well as for what were done to the Christians in every country and
city where they dwelt; and to the city of the living God, the church, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and the citizens of it, who were used by them in a very
cruel and inhuman manner, and for which vengeance would be, and was, taken upon
them.
Habakkuk 2:9 9 “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he
may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!
YLT
9Wo [to] him who is gaining
evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand
of evil,
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house,.... The
bishops of Rome, being enriched by the donations of Constantine, were not
satisfied, but coveted more; these are the greedy dogs Isaiah speaks of, that
could never have enough, Isaiah 56:11 but
were still seeking and gaping after more for themselves and families, and for
their own house or church; which, from the time of their apostasy, became their
own house, in distinction from, and in opposition to, the house or true church
of God; and of those covetous bishops, or Rome Papal, are these and the
following words to Habakkuk 2:9 to be
understood:
that he may set his nest on high: in allusion to birds,
especially the eagle, which builds its nest in high places, that it may be
secure from any that would otherwise disturb it, or take it away: so these
covetous and ambitious bishops, getting great wealth and riches, and large
dominions into their hands, secular power and authority, as well as
ecclesiastical, set themselves up, and advanced their see and seat, not only
above all other bishops, but even above the kings and princes of the earth,
above all that are called gods, 2 Thessalonians 2:4
and by such means endeavoured to gain their point, the main thing they had in
view:
that he may be delivered from the power of evil; that they
might be safe and secure against all worldly power, and be out of the
jurisdiction of the princes of the earth, and in no danger of being
dispossessed or crushed by them.
Habakkuk 2:10 10 You give shameful counsel to your house, Cutting off
many peoples, And sin against your soul.
YLT
10Thou hast counselled a
shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful [is] thy soul.
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house,.... Instead
of bringing real honour and glory to their church, and that into the esteem of
men, by such covetousness, ambition, and arrogance, they brought it into shame
and disgrace, especially with all good men; and which they as effectually did
as if they had studied it, and as if this was the thing they had in view in all
their schemes and measures: this they procured
by cutting off many people; by making war with the
saints, and killing great multitudes of them with the sword, as the Waldenses
and Albigenses, and many of the Protestants by fire and faggot; and also by
cutting off all such they called heretics and schismatics, with their anathemas
and excommunications; neither of which were to their honour, but to their
eternal infamy:
and hast sinned against thy soul; and exposed
it to eternal damnation; that is, they sinned against the light and dictates of
their own consciences, which is an aggravation of their sin, and might justly
cause shame and confusion of mind.
Habakkuk 2:11 11 For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the beam
from the timbers will answer it.
YLT
11For a stone from the wall
doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall,.... Of their
own house; some from among themselves, that truly feared God, seeing the evil
practices done among them, and abhorring them, such as their covetousness,
ambition, murders, excommunications, and anathemas, should cry out against them
in their sermons and writings; such as were lively stones, eminent for religion
and godliness, as Bernard, Wickliff, Huss, and others:
and the beam out of the timber shall answer it; such as were
of eminent note in things civil, as beams and rafters in the house; emperors
and governors of provinces, who observed the complaints of godly ministers and
people, answered to them, and checked the evil bishops and clergy, and hindered
them in the pursuit of their schemes, and so brought them to shame and
confusion. Aben Ezra observes, that the word signifies the hard place in the
wood; or the harder part of it, the knotty part, or the knot in it; and which
is confirmed by the use of the word in the Arabic language, as HottingerF7Smegma
Orientale, l. 1. c. 7. p. 163. observes; and so may have respect to such
persons as were raised up at the beginning of the Reformation, who were of
rough dispositions, and hardy spirits, fit to go through the work they were
called to; such as Luther, and others, who answered and were correspondent to
the doctrines of those before mentioned, who preceded them: for not a beetle,
as the Septuagint version, which breeds, and lives not in wood, and so
represents heretics, as Jerom; much better, as some other Greek versions, a
"worm"; though rather the word may signify a brick, as it is used by
the TalmudistsF8T. Bava Metzia, fol. 117. 2. & Bathra, fol. 3.
1. for one of a span and a half, which answers well enough to a stone in the
former clause; nor is it unusual with heathen writersF9"----Secretum
divitis ullum Esse putas? servi ut taceant, jumenta loquentur, Et canis, et
postes, et marmora.----" Juvenal. Satyr. 9. to represent stones and
timbers speaking, when any criminal silence is kept; see Luke 19:40.
Habakkuk 2:12 12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, Who
establishes a city by iniquity!
YLT
12Wo [to] him who is building
a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a
city by iniquity! This is what the stone and beam should say, if others were
silent. The town and city are the church of Rome, mystical Babylon, the great
city, called spiritually Egypt and Sodom; the builder of this is the pope of
Rome, the bishops of it in succession, who built it with blood: the pope of Rome
received his title as head of the church from Phocas, that murdered the emperor
Mauritius; the foundation of the church of Rome is the blood of the saints,
shed in persecutions and wars; hence she is said to be drunk with the blood of
them, and to have the blood of prophets and saints found in her, Revelation 17:5 and
it is established by unjust exactions of tribute from all countries subject to
it, and by indulgences, processions, and various methods taken to extort money
from the people, to support its pageantry, pomp, and grandeur; but there is a
"woe" denounced against such that are concerned herein, and which
will take place in due time, nor can it be awarded, as follows:
Habakkuk 2:13 13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire,[d] And
nations weary themselves in vain?
YLT
13Lo, is it not from Jehovah
of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary?
Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts?.... That
which follows; the judgments of God upon the bloody city, which they that
labour to prevent labour in vain. So the Targum,
"lo,
strong and mighty blows or judgments come from the Lord of hosts;'
the
mighty God, the Lord of armies, whose hand when stretched out none can turn
back; he does what he pleases, and none can hinder him; when the decree is gone
forth from him, it is in vain to attempt to stop it:
that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people
shall weary themselves for very vanity? words of the same
import, and expressed in much the same language, were used of the destruction
of literal Babylon by fire, and of the vain attempts of the Chaldeans in
labouring and wearying themselves to quench it, Jeremiah 51:58 and
here of mystical Babylon, and the vanity of the people of it, in labouring to
support it by their wars, for recovering the holy land from the Turks, and
against the Waldenses, Hussites, and Bohemians; for, notwithstanding all their
successes, and the vast number of persons slain by them, yet they could never
prevail so as to root out the kingdom and interest of Christ: and their city
and state shall fall, and they will not be able to uphold it; and a
considerable blow and shock it received at the time of the Reformation; and
this great city Babylon will be destroyed by fire, which its best friends
cannot prevent; even the ten kings that have given their kingdom to the beast
will hate the whore, and burn her with fire; and those antichristian kings that
will continue friends to her, when they see her burning, will find it in vain
to attempt to help her, and will stand afar off lamenting her case, Revelation 17:16.
Kimchi begins here to see that this section and paragraph does not belong to
Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, but to the times of the Messiah; and
interprets it of the vengeance of God that shall come upon all the nations that
come along with Gog against Jerusalem in the latter day; but he is mistaken: it
designs what will come on mystical Babylon; so Abarbinel owns, that, from Habakkuk 2:12, what
is said belongs to the Roman empire, which he calls the kingdom of Edom.
Habakkuk 2:14 14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.
YLT
14For full is the earth of
the knowledge of the honour of Jehovah, As waters cover [the bottom of] a sea.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
the Lord,.... Of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ; of the glory of his
person, as the Son of God, and truly God; which is essential to him, and
underived; the same with his Father's, and what transcends the glory of all
created beings; and of the glory of his office as Mediator, which itself is
glorious and honourable: and this his glory lies in his fitness for it; in his
faithful performance of it, and the honour given him by his Father upon it; as
well as in the fulness of grace in him, which makes him appear glorious to his
people; and who are continually giving glory to him as the Lord their
righteousness, by exercising faith on his righteousness, and glorying in it;
and as their only Saviour and Redeemer, by looking to him, and believing in him
as such; and as the only Head of the church, by owning and holding to him; and
as the only Mediator between God and man, by making use of him for that
purpose, and not angels and saints; and as their Prophet, by hearkening to his
voice, yielding a subjection to his Gospel, and submission to his ordinances;
and as their Priest, by dealing with his blood and sacrifice for the atonement
and pardon of their sins; and as their King, by obedience to his commands; and
who will now take to himself his great power, and reign gloriously before his
saints; the glory of his kingly office will be now seen and known, when this
prophecy shall have its full accomplishment, and which seems greatly intended.
The "knowledge" of all this glory will not be a mere notional and
speculative one, but special and spiritual; an experimental knowledge,
accompanied with affection, approbation, confidence, and appropriation: and
"the earth will be filled with" this; that is, the inhabitants of it:
this had an accomplishment in part in the times of the apostles, when they were
sent into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature, and diffused
the savour of the knowledge of Christ everywhere; and had a further
accomplishment in the times of Constantine, when the whole Roman empire, or all
the world, became Christians; and again at the time of the Reformation, when
many nations, especially in Europe, were freed from Popish darkness by the pure
light of the Gospel; but will have its final accomplishment in the latter day;
and which will bring on the destruction of antichrist, and seems here intended;
since this is given as a reason why it will be all labour in vain to attempt the
prevention of it. It will be by means of the Gospel spreading the knowledge of
Christ everywhere that antichrist will fall; this is the brightness of Christ's
coming, with which he will be destroyed; hence the angel, with the everlasting
Gospel to preach to all nations, and with whose glory the whole earth will be
lightened, is represented as preceding the fall of Babylon, and as the means of
it; see 2 Thessalonians 2:8
and the great spread and large abundance of this knowledge communicated by the
preaching of the Gospel is thus illustrated and exemplified,
as the waters cover the sea; expressing the nature of
Gospel doctrines, revealing the glory of Christ and his grace, which, like
waters, refresh and make fruitful; and the force and power of them, bearing
down all before them, like an inundation of water when it breaks its banks; and
likewise the depths of them, these being the deep things of God; and more
especially the general spread and large abundance of them, and of the knowledge
conveyed by them; which will fill the earth, as the waters of the sea fill up
and cover the vast chasm prepared for them; see Isaiah 11:9.
Habakkuk 2:15 15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing[e] him to
your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness!
YLT
15Wo [to] him who is giving
drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order
to look on their nakedness.
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,.... Before
the full accomplishment of the above prophecy concerning the abundance of the
knowledge of the Lord in the earth, and before the utter destruction of
antichrist; between that and the Reformation, when it had its fulfilment in
part; the following practices inveighed against would be used, as we find they
are, and for which the man of sin and his followers will be punished: one of
which is expressed by a man's "giving his neighbour drink"; which is
a commendable action, when drink is given to a person in want to quench his
thirst, or in sorrowful and distressed circumstances to refresh and cheer him;
but when this is done to intoxicate him, and draw him into uncleanness, it is
an evil one; and which is the sense of the phrase here, as appears by the
"woe" denounced, and by what follows; and is to be understood, not in
a literal sense, but in a figurative one; and is expressive of the various
artful methods and alluring ways used by the Papists, especially the Jesuits,
after the Reformation, with the Protestants, to forsake their religion, and to
draw them into the superstition and idolatry of the church of Rome; and which
are in the New Testament signified by "the wine of her fornication",
with which the kings, nations, and inhabitants of the earth, are made drunk, Revelation 17:2
crying up the devotion and religion of their church, its antiquity, purity,
holiness, and unity; pretending great love to the souls of men, that they seek
nothing but their spiritual good; promising them great advantages, temporal and
spiritual, worldly riches and honour, and sure and certain salvation within the
pale of their church, without which they say there is none; and by such means
they have intoxicated many princes, kingdoms, and multitudes of people, since
the Reformation; and have drawn them off from the profession of the Protestant
religion, and brought them back to Popery again, as in Poland, Bohemia,
Hungary, Germany, France, and other places; and these methods they are now
taking in all Protestant countries, and in ours, and that with great success,
as is notorious, and time will more abundantly show; but there is a
"woe" lies against them for it:
that puttest thy bottle to him; giving him
not only a glass or cup at a time, but a whole bottle to drink off at once, in
order to inebriate him. The word is by some translated "thy gall", or
"thy poison"F11חמתך
"venenum tuum", Montanus; so some in Drusius, and R. Jonah in Ben
Melech. ; which fitly enough expresses the poisonous doctrines of the church of
Rome, which men insensibly imbibe, infused in her wine of fornication, or drink
in through the alluring and ensnaring methods taken. It properly signifies
"heat" or "wrath". The Targum is,
"that
pours it with heat, that he may drink, and be inebriated.'
The
Syriac version is,
"woe
to him that gives his neighbour to drink the dregs of fury.'
The
words may be truly rendered, "adding thy wrath"F12מספח חמתך "adjugenti, sive
adhibenti furorem tuum", Tigurine version. ; that is, to the alluring and
enticing methods before mentioned, adding menaces, wrathful words, and furious
persecutions: and this the Papists do where they can; when good words and fair
speeches will not prevail, and they can not gain over proselytes with flattery,
deceit, and lying, they threaten them with racks and tortures, with prisons and
galleys, and death itself in various shapes, to force men into their communion;
and which they have put in execution in many places, in Bohemia, Hungary, and
in France even to this day; and this is what in the New Testament is called
"the wine of the wrath of her fornication", Revelation 14:8,
and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their
nakedness! as Ham did on his father's nakedness when in such circumstances:
all the above methods are taken in order to intoxicate them, deprive them of
the use of their reason, as is the case of a drunken man; and so bring them to
believe, with an implicit faith, as the church believes; to believe things
contrary to reason; to give into the spiritual whoredom and idolatry of that
church, as men when drunk are easily drawn into uncleanness; to cast off their
profession of the true religion, as a garment is cast off, as men when drunk
are apt to do; and particularly to reject the doctrine of justification by the
righteousness of Christ, which is the only robe to cover the nakedness of men,
and receive the doctrine of merit and justification by works; in short, to
apostatize wholly from the religion they have professed, and join in communion
with the whore of Rome, that so they may look upon their apostasy, which is
their nakedness, with the utmost pleasure and delight.
Habakkuk 2:16 16 You are filled with shame instead of glory. You
also—drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised![f] The cup of
the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame
will be on your glory.
YLT
16Thou hast been filled --
shame without honour, Drink thou also, and be uncircumcised, Turn round unto
thee doth the cup of the right hand of Jehovah, And shameful spewing [is] on
thine honour.
Thou art filled with shame for glory,.... This is
said by the Lord to the man that gives his neighbour drink to intoxicate him,
that he may draw him into uncleanness, and please himself with it; who, instead
of being filled with the glory of the Lord, and the knowledge of it, as the
earth is before said to be, such are filled with shameful doctrines and
abominable practices, as those of the church of Rome are; and instead of
seeking the glory of God, and the honour of their neighbours, they are satiated
with the shameful spectacle of their apostasy, they have been the instruments
of; and yet, instead of taking shame to themselves, as they ought to do, they
glory in their shame; count it an honour they have been the instruments of
bringing them into such uncleanness and idolatry; and glut themselves with the
delightful sight; which in the esteem of God, was filling themselves with
shame, instead of bringing any glory to him, to themselves, or their
neighbours; and therefore should severely smart for it:
drink thou also: of another cup, the cup "of the wine
of the wrath of God"; as a just retaliation for giving to others "the
wine of wrath of fornication" to drink, and to intoxicate men with; which
will be given to mystical Babylon at the time she comes into remembrance before
God, or when the time to punish her is come, and to all the followers and
worshippers of the beast; see Revelation 14:10,
and let thy foreskin be uncovered; in retaliation for
uncovering the nakedness of others, and looking with pleasure on it; by which
it will appear that the men here spoken of, that take all the above methods to
draw or force others into the communion of their church, are no other than
heathens; their religion consisting greatly of Gentilism; or what has a very
great likeness to it; hence the Papists are sometimes called Heathens and
Gentiles; see Psalm 10:16,
the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee; who, in their
turn, shall drink of it, when his right hand, in which it is, shall reach it
out; for there is no resisting the power of that; when he gives the orders to
drink it, they must; and this cup in his right hand is a cup of red wine, of
the wrath, fury, and indignation of God, the dregs of which these wicked men
must wring out, and drink up; see Psalm 75:8. It is
no unusual thing in Scripture for the wrath, vengeance, and judgments of God to
be represented by a cup, as in Isaiah 51:17,
and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory: signifying
that they should be like a man intoxicated with wine, that vomits it up again;
and which, falling on his fine clothes, spoils the glory of them: so when this
cup of wrath and vengeance should be given unto them, and they be made to drink
of it, they should be so full of it, that all their glory should be covered
with shame; or all their glorious things should be spoiled, and they deprived
of all their riches and honours, their titles and grandeur; the magnificence of
their temples, altars, idols, and vestments, &c.
Habakkuk 2:17 17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover
you, And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, Because of men’s
blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in
it.
YLT
17For violence [to] Lebanon
doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's
blood, and of violence [to] the land, [To] the city, and [to] all dwelling in
it.
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee,.... Lebanon
was a mountain on the borders of the land of Israel, from whence cedar wood was
brought, of which the temple was built, and for that reason is sometimes so
called, as in Zechariah 11:1 and
so the Targum and Jarchi interpret it,
"the
violence of the house of the sanctuary shall cover thee;'
and
this was a type of the church of Christ, the violence of which is that which is
offered to it, and which it suffers; and designs all the injuries, oppressions,
and persecutions of it by the Papists; who shall be surrounded with the
judgments of God, and covered with his wrath and vengeance for the violence
done to his people, as a man is covered with a garment: or else the sense is,
that the same, or a like judgment, should come upon them, as did on Lebanon, or
the material temple of Jerusalem, which with great force and violence destroyed
it; as that was consumed by fire for the sins of the Jews in rejecting Christ
and persecuting his people, so shall Rome be burnt with fire for the opposition
of the inhabitants of it to Christ, and the injuries they have done to his
church and people:
and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid; or, "the
spoil of the beasts" shall cover thee, which "made them afraid";
we read of two beasts, one rising out of the sea, and the other out of the
earth; and both design the pope of Rome in different capacities, as considered
in his secular and ecclesiastical power; and the spoil he has made of those
that oppose him, the calamities of fire and sword he has brought upon them, are
what have greatly terrified the sheep of Christ; but for all the spoil and
havoc he has made, the judgments of God shall come upon him on all sides, and
utterly destroy him; the beast and false prophet shall be cast into the lake of
fire and brimstone; see Revelation 13:1,
because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the
city, and of all that dwell therein; the same that is said in
Habakkuk 2:8 and
here repeated, as respecting another body of men, guilty of the same or like
crimes: there Rome Pagan, concerned in the crucifixion of Christ, the
desolation of the land of Judea, and city of Jerusalem, and their inhabitants,
as well as in persecuting the saints, the citizens of the church of God; here
Rome Papal, where our Lord has been crucified again, and his blood, and the
efficacy of it, set at nought; the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus shed
in great abundance, and violent persecutions of the churches of Christ, and the
members of them; for all which the above judgments shall come upon them; see Revelation 11:8.
Habakkuk 2:18 18 “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve
it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should
trust in it, To make mute idols?
YLT
18What profit hath a graven
image given That its former hath graven it? A molten image and teacher of
falsehood, That trusted hath the former on his own formation -- to make dumb
idols?
What profiteth the graven
image that the maker thereof hath graven it,.... The graven images
the church of Rome enjoins the worship of; the images of the Trinity, of
Christ, of the Virgin Mary, of angels and saints departed, and which are still
continued since the Reformation; but of what profit and advantage are they?
they may be profitable to the graver, who is paid for graving them; and the
metal or matters of which they are made, if sold, and converted to another use,
may turn to account; but as deities, and worshipped as such, they are of no
profit to them that worship them; they can not hear their prayers, nor answer them;
can not bestow any favours on them, and deliver them out of any distress; and
particularly can not save them from the judgments before denounced:
the molten image, and a teacher of lies: nor is a
molten image any ways profitable, which is made of liquid matter, gold or
silver melted and poured into a mould, from whence it receives its form: it may
be profitable to the founder, and the metal to the owner, if put to another
use; but, as a god, is of no service; and both the graven and molten image, the
one and the other, each of then is "a teacher of lies", and so
unprofitable; if they are laymen's books, as they are said to be, they do not
teach them truth; they do not teach them what God is in his nature and
perfections; what Christ is in his person and offices; what angels are, who are
incorporeal; nor the saints, they neither describe the shape and features of
their body, nor express their characters, minds, or manners; they teach men to
believe lies, and to worship false deities, as they are. So the Targum renders
it, a false deity; which imposes on men, and therefore cannot profit them: or
this may be understood of an idolatrous priest, as Aben Ezra; as the idol
itself cannot profit, so neither can the priest that teaches men such lies as
to worship the idol, and put trust in it:
that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? or,
"whilst making dumb idols"F13לעשות
אלילים אלמים "faciendo
idola muta", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Vatablus. ; which is great
stupidity indeed! that while a man is graving an image, or casting an idol,
which are lifeless senseless things, that can neither move nor speak, yea, are
his workmanship, yet puts his trust and confidence in them, that they can do
him service he needs, help him in distress, and save him out of his troubles;
what profit can be expected from these, though ever so nicely framed, when he
considers they are of his own framing, and that they are idols, which are
nothing in the world, as the wordF14אלילים
"dii nihili", Drusius. here used signifies; and dumb ones, which can
give no answer to the requests of their votaries? The Targum is,
"idols
in whom there is no profit.'
Habakkuk 2:19 19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone,
‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it
there is no breath at all.
YLT
19Wo [to] him who is saying
to wood, `Awake,' `Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid
-- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst.
Woe to him that saith to
the wood, Awake,.... That saith to a wooden image, let him go by what name he
will; saint such an one, or such an one; awake, arise, exert thyself on our
behalf; deliver us from present danger; save us from our enemies; or pray and
intercede for us, that we may be delivered and saved, as the Papists do;
addressing a block of wood as they would God himself, or as his people do, Psalm 44:23. This
must be very displeasing and detestable to God, and therefore a woe is
threatened to such idol worshippers: who also say
to the dumb stone, Arise; to the idol of stone, as
the Targum; the stone statue, an image made of stone, such as the Papists have
even of wood, and of stone, as well as of gold, and silver, and brass, Revelation 9:20 and
so stupid as to say to such stocks and stones, arise, stand up, and help us:
it shall teach; the stone itself would teach them better,
would they but consider what it is, look upon it, and handle it, when they
would find it to be a mere stone, and no deity: or, "shall it teach?"
so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; no, it cannot teach any true doctrine, or
direct to right worship; it cannot teach men their duty, or where they may have
help; it is a dumb idol; it cannot teach men the nature of God, and the
knowledge of him; or instruct in his mind and will; or inform of things secret
or future:
it is laid over with gold and silver; it is made of
stone, and covered with gold and silver; how should it teach?
and there is no breath at all in the midst of it; or, "no
spirit"F15רוח "spiritus",
Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Burkius. ; so
far from having the spirit of divinity in it, or the Spirit of God, that it has
not the spirit of a man in it, nor even the spirit of a brute creature; it has
not so much as animal breath, and so no life, motion, or activity in it; and
therefore must be quite unprofitable to the worshipper of it; incapable of
teaching those who apply to it; and they must be stupid that do it, and most
righteously bring themselves under the displeasure and wrath of God, and expose
themselves to the woe here denounced against such persons.
Habakkuk 2:20 20 “But the Lord is in His
holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
YLT
20And Jehovah [is] in His
holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
But the Lord is in
his holy temple,.... Not in graven and molten images; not in idols of wood and
stone, covered with gold and silver; but in heaven, the habitation of his
holiness, the place of his residence, where he is seen and worshipped by the
holy angels and glorified saints; and from whence he surveys all the children
of men, and their actions; observes the folly and stupidity of idol
worshippers; and hears and answers the prayers of his own people: or this
intends his church, which is his temple, sanctified by him, and set apart for
his service, worship, and glory: here he grants his gracious presence to those
who worship him in spirit and in truth; and here he will appear as King of
saints, in a most glorious manner, when these several woes before mentioned
have taken place; as on Rome Pagan already, and in part on Rome Papal at the
Reformation, so completely on it, and all worshippers of images hereafter. The
word היכל, here used, signifies that part of the
temple, called the holy place, as distinct from the holy of holies; which was
the proper seat of the divine Majesty, and a figure of heaven, as the holy
place was of the church; and so he was, as it were, removed from the one to the
other; hence the more observable and remarkable, and the greater reason for
what follows; and this serves to illustrate and confirm the sense given:
let all the earth keep silence before him; stand in awe
of him, and reverence him; be subject to him, and silently adore him; as all
the inhabitants of the earth will when the above enemies of his are entirely
removed out of it; there will be no more clamours and objections against the
Christian religion by Jews and Mahometans, on account of image worship, which
will be no more; no more wars, or rumours of wars, but a profound peace
everywhere; no more persecutions of the saints; no more will be heard the cry
of violence and oppression, all their enemies being destroyed; no more repining
and murmurings among the people of God, through impatience and unbelief, all
afflictions being at an end; there will be an entire silence of this kind
everywhere; only the voice of the Gospel, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving,
will be heard. This is not the case now, nor was there ever as yet such a time
on earth; this shows that the prophecy regards time to come.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)