Habakkuk 2:11-15

Habakkuk 2:11 (KJB)

For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

 

Joshua 24:27 (KJV) And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.  Just as Joshua used a stone to show the Israelites that God had indeed spoken to them, the same metaphor is used against the Babylonians that the stone in the walls of their houses will speak against them in the manner that as stones hold up a house, they will cry out by tumbling from the walls and just as a house is destroyed like that, so will Babylon be destroyed.  The beam of timber will do the same thing.  In ancient times architects used wood to unite and bind walls.  The beam in view would have been a cross beam which would answer the stones by themselves crumbling simultaneously with the stones thus making total destruction of the house.

 

Habakkuk 2:12 (KJB) Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

 

The next woe is a total indictment of Babylon by the way they had expanded their empire.  When they attacked a city or country, they would wreak total havoc on it by plundering the cities and homes along with murdering their citizens.  An empire built like this will not last a long time because from the very beginning of a policy like that, enemies will be made and eventually will challenge the conquering power.  All the fortunes which have been amassed will come to nothing and will wind up in the treasure cities of the Medes and Persians.

 

Habakkuk 2:13 (KJB)

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?

 

Jeremiah 51:58 (KJV) Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.  Jeremiah basically prophesied the same thing that Habakkuk is now prophesying.  It will be God himself who is going to bring about the utter destruction of Babylon.  When the walls and city of Babylon will be burning, the people will attempt to defend the city while the fires burn around them and will become weary when they try to extinguish those fires while they try defending the city.  Their attempts will be futile because their destruction has been decreed by God and cannot be turned back.

 

Habakkuk 2:14 (KJB)

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

 

This verse brings us a double meaning.  First, it will speak of the fact that all those in surrounding areas will see the destruction of Babylon and how it has been decreed by the Lord.  Then those surrounding people will know that the Lord has brought the destruction and will give glory to God for their deliverance from evil Babylon.  Secondly, this verse also looks into the future in the new heavens and the new earth when the glory of the Lord will permeate it like waters that cover the sea.  It will be a new universe of righteousness without a scintilla of sin.  We will then be qualified to see the Lord in all his glory because if we saw him in that way now, we would be consumed in a second.

 

Habakkuk 2:15 (KJB)

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

 

This woe is pronounced against the immorality and debauchery which was flagrant in Babylon.  They would have drunken orgies and large feasts.  They would use alcohol for the purpose of trying to seduce their neighbors.  It might also be referring to the fact that Babylon would invite the leaders of surrounding nations and getting them drunk, they would reveal all their treasures and their government secrets making it easier for Babylon to conquer them.  To look upon their nakedness may also refer to the fact that when these foreign officials were seduced and gave up all their secrets, it would be like leaving their country open and naked because there would be no surprised defense and the country could be easily taken.

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