Hab 2:2-20 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Hab 2:2-20: 2:2-20 God responds to Habakkuk’s second complaint (1:12–2:1 ) without explaining why he chose to use the Babylonians. Rather, he assures Habakkuk that all violence and injustice will be punished. Summary for Hab 2:2-5: 2:2-5 Habakkuk’s mission was to make it clear to people that even if God’s justice seems slow in coming , it will come. 2:2 God instructs the prophet to write the message (literally vision ) plainly so that it will be understood, preserved, and shared with others.

Summary for Hab 2:2-20: 2:2-20 ^a God responds to Habakkuk’s second complaint (1:12–2:1 ^b) without explaining why he chose to use the Babylonians. Rather, he assures Habakkuk that all violence and injustice will be punished.
Summary for Hab 2:2-5: 2:2-5 ^c Habakkuk’s mission was to make it clear to people that even if God’s justice seems slow in coming, it will come. 2:2 ^d God instructs the prophet to write the message (literally vision) plainly so that it will be understood, preserved, and shared with others.
2:3 ^e will surely take place: In a set future time known only to the Lord, he will intervene in earth’s history and bring it to a proper culmination, vindicating the righteous and judging the wicked. God’s people must wait patiently, knowing that the divine plan is on schedule (see Heb 10:35-38 ^f).
2:4 ^g God is aware of the self-centeredness of the proud. Their crooked lives demonstrate their unrighteousness; they refuse God’s instruction and gratify their own desires (Prov 12:15 ^h; 21:8 ⁱ, 29 ^j; 29:27 ^k). In contrast, the righteous enjoy proper judicial standing before God. They make God’s righteous standards their own and reproduce them in their lives.

• faithfulness: Hebrew ’emunah. In Genesis, the same Hebrew root (’mn) describes Abram’s trust in God (Gen 15:6 ^l). God transforms the hearts of those who trust him so they can faithfully follow God’s holy standards. See also Rom 1:16-17 ^m; Gal 3:11 ⁿ; Heb 10:37-39 ^o.
Summary for Hab 2:6-20: 2:6-20 ^p Five taunt songs (2:6-8 ^q, 9-11 ^r, 12-14 ^s, 15-17 ^t, 18-20 ^u) portray God’s future judgment of the Babylonians (and others who, like the Babylonians, indulge in violence and injustice). God allows them to seal their own doom. Those who suffer will be able to repeat these taunts when the wicked come to judgment (see 1:14-17 ^v). Each taunt contains a pronouncement of sorrow, a judgment, and the reason for God’s judgment.
Summary for Hab 2:6-8: 2:6-8 ^w In the first of Habakkuk’s taunt songs, he condemns the Babylonians for despoiling the nations.

• thieves ... extortion: The imagery compares the Babylonians to creditors whose oppressive measures cause their debtors to rise up against them. Greed can easily mar an individual’s or nation’s spiritual fiber (Luke 12:15 ^x; Eph 5:3 ^y).
Summary for Hab 2:9-11: 2:9-11 ^z In the second taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their dishonest dealings. Since the Babylonians obtained the means to build big houses through deceit and dishonesty, they forfeited their lives.
Summary for Hab 2:12-14: 2:12-14 ^aa In the third taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for the murder and corruption of human life and society that brought wealth to build their cities. God would make their apparent gain prove to be a total loss.

• earth will be filled: The antithesis of violence and ill-gotten wealth is the awareness of the glory of the Lord, which God promises to make as pervasive as water in the ocean (Isa 11:9 ^ab).
Summary for Hab 2:15-17: 2:15-17 ^ac In the fourth taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their disgraceful acts against people, animals, and the environment. They are like a man who seems to be hospitable, but after getting his neighbors drunk, strips them of everything. However, the Babylonians will be disgraced after drinking from the cup of the Lord’s judgment (see Jer 25:15-17 ^ad; cp. John 18:11 ^ae).
Summary for Hab 2:18-20: 2:18-20 ^af In the fifth taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their devotion to idolatry. Whether idols are carved or cast by the hand of man, they can neither save nor teach their worshipers (Isa 42:17 ^ag). Only the Lord truly deserves our worship (Hab 2:20 ^ah; Exod 20:2-6 ^ai; cp. Eccl 5:1-2 ^aj).
2:20 ^ak The taunt songs close with a declaration: The one who is sovereign over all nations is not a Babylonian idol (2:18-20 ^al) but the Holy God. Unlike the lifeless Babylonian idols, the living God indwells his holy Temple. God’s presence fills his heavenly sanctuary (Isa 6:1-5 ^am)—and in Habakkuk’s time, it filled the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 8:10-11 ^an). God controls all the earth and expects people to worship him in humble submission (Ps 63:1-4 ^ao; Jer 10:1-10 ^ap; Mic 7:16 ^aq; Zech 2:13 ^ar).