Matthew Henry Commentary Habakkuk 2
Matthew Henry Commentary
Habakkuk 2
Matthew Henry Commentary
Habakkuk 2
"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint. And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith." — Habakkuk 2:1-4 (ASV)
When tossed and perplexed with doubts about the methods of Providence, we must watch against temptations to be impatient. When we have poured out complaints and requests before God, we must observe the answers God gives by His word, His Spirit, and His providences; what the Lord will say to our case. God will not disappoint the believing expectations of those who wait to hear what He will say to them.
All have a stake in the truths of God's word. Though the promised favor is long deferred, it will come at last and abundantly recompense us for waiting. The humble, broken-hearted, repenting sinner, alone seeks to obtain a share in this salvation. He will rest his soul on the promise, and on Christ, in and through whom it is given.
Thus he walks and works, as well as lives by faith, perseveres to the end, and is exalted to glory; while those who distrust or despise God's all-sufficiency will not walk uprightly with Him. The just shall live by faith in these precious promises, while their fulfillment is deferred. Only those made just by faith shall live, shall be happy here and forever.
"Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them? Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men`s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea." — Habakkuk 2:5-14 (ASV)
The prophet proclaims the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that weigh heavily upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares for people; and we find that the one who led Israel captive was himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we possess is to be considered ours than what we have acquired honestly.
Riches are merely clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those who travel through thick clay are hindered and dirtied in their journey; so too are those who go through the world surrounded by an abundance of wealth. And what fools are those who burden themselves with constant concern for it; with much guilt in acquiring, saving, and spending it, and with a heavy account they must give on another day!
They overload themselves with this thick clay, and thus sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. See what will be the end of this: what is obtained by violence from others, others will take away by violence. Covetousness brings restlessness and unease into a family; the one who is greedy for gain troubles his own household; what is worse, it brings the curse of God upon all its affairs. There is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a household; but what is acquired by fraud and injustice will bring poverty and ruin upon a family.
Yet that is not the worst: You have sinned against your own soul, have endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbors do much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with skill and cunning, the riches and possessions he has heaped together will witness against him. There are no greater drudges in the world than those who are slaves to mere worldly pursuits.
And what comes of it? They find themselves disappointed by it, and disappointed in it; they will admit it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of spirit. By staining and diminishing earthly glory, God reveals and magnifies His own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of it, as abundantly as waters cover the sea, which are deep and spread far and wide.
"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, [to thee] that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame, and not glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah`s right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men`s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." — Habakkuk 2:15-20 (ASV)
A severe woe is pronounced against drunkenness; it is a very dreadful pronouncement against all who are guilty of drunkenness at any time and in any place, from the stately palace to the paltry ale-house. To give a drink to someone who is in need, who is thirsty and poor, or a weary traveler, or ready to perish, is charity. However, to give a neighbor a drink so that they may expose themselves, disclose secret concerns, be drawn into a bad bargain, or for any such purpose, this is wickedness.
To be guilty of this sin, and to take pleasure in it, is to do all we can to murder both soul and body. There is woe to the one who does this, and a punishment corresponding to the sin. The folly of worshipping idols is exposed.
The Lord is in his holy temple in heaven, where we have access to him in the way he has appointed. May we welcome his salvation and worship him in his earthly temples, through Christ Jesus, and by the influence of the Holy Spirit.
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