Five Woes

Triumphant Faith - Message 5 - Five Woes. Habakkuk struggled to understand how a Holy God could use an unholy nation (Babylon) to bring holy judgment against His people Judah. As the Lord gives him an answer, the vision was introduced as God compared the proud and the righteous. The proud are puffed up. They are not upright. In fact, they cannot be righteous because true righteousness comes from God and not from ourselves. Continuing in His answer, God gives Habakkuk a taunt song. Taunting one's enemy is not new. Habakkuk 2:5-20 is a hymn of taunting toward the Babylonians as God gives the prophet 5 stanzas of 3 verses each, each stanza describing a woe, or a curse, on the Babylonians. In other words, Habakkuk is given a song that describes how and why God will also judge the Babylonians, though we learn that their judgment is much worse than the discipline that Judah will endure. The first woe in verses 6-8 show us that Babylon is charged with extortion. The second woe in verses 9-11 describes the exploitation of others by the nation because of their covetousness. The third woe in verses 12-14 reveals their ruthlessness. They labored to build luxurious palaces by means of violence and forced labor from catpives. The fourth woe in verses 15-17 brings a charge of debauchery, that is they are full of shameful behavior. The fifth woe in verses 18-20 is a judgment for their idolatry. We in the church need to heed the warnings of these five woes. We need to see why God was taunting the Babylonians and we need to be careful not to chase after the same lusts. What or Who do we turn to for safety and security in these uncertain times?