Articles
Whoa or Woe
Late in the history of Judah, the prophet Habakkuk wondered aloud to the Lord, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?” (Hab. 1:2). He had witnessed violence, injustice, and abundant sin amongst his Jewish brethren and wondered — as a righteous man might be expected — if God had even taken notice or if He would act to preserve the faithful (Heb. 1:3, 4).
Contrary to Habakkuk's thinking, the Lord did notice and He was about to do something about it — just not in the way Habakkuk likely anticipated or desired. God told him that He was “raising up the Chaldeans” to bring judgment on the unrighteous Israelites, and that judgment would be such that Habakkuk would not believe it when told (Hab. 1:5-11). This only caused Habakkuk to ask another question: “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” (Hab. 1:12-17). Implied in this and the earlier question was a question of how the faithful would survive.
God did not explain Himself on this [nor did He owe an explanation], but simply told Habakkuk, “it will surely come, it will not tarry…But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:2-4). God basically told Habakkuk, and any other faithful ones, to not be concerned for the coming punishment on the nation, but to simply keep living righteously.
With the words that followed, God gave multiple reasons why they were about to be punished so severely. These words should serve as a warning to all men today, too, for what was displeasing to God then is still displeasing to God.
The One Who Gains By Theft and Oppression. (Hab. 2:6) The warning is clear: “Woe to him who increases what is not his…and to him who loads himself with many pledges.” While the oppressor may temporarily gain material wealth and comfort, it will be short-lived, and the day would come when those whom he oppressed would come calling and seek repayment. God's warning was that the oppressor would, in the end, be oppressed by the very ones he had wronged (Hab. 2:7, 8).
Let us not ignore this warning; though it was not meant to be directly applicable to us, the principle is still true that this kind of behavior is unacceptable to God, and always has been. The wise writer said this: “He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches…will surely come to poverty” (Prov. 22:16). God does not ignore or overlook men who make life difficult for others for the sake of personal gain. The psalmist reminds us, “The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed” (Psa. 103:6). James likewise warned the rich, who gained their riches at the expense of others, “Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (Jas. 5:1-6). Their day will come — if not here, in the final Judgment. Woe!
The One Who Does Whatever He Can To Make Himself ‘Comfortable’ and ‘Safe.’ (Hab. 2:9) The means may be the same as the previous point, but the motivation for the oppression of others is part of the condemnation: “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!” It seems some will make life as uncomfortable as possible for others that they might be comfortable, and terrorize and instill fear in others that they might feel ‘safe’; these people are particularly despicable to God!
The foolishness of this mindset is that the oppressor does not consider that he will not be able to escape the eye of God, and neither will he escape the punishment he deserves. Do we remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), where the rich man “was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day,” while Lazarus desired “to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table”? Do we remember the end of each man when they died? All the riches in the world will not shield us from God's just judgment (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10).
The One Who Builds Up His Homeland By Bloodshed. (Heb. 2:12) The warning of the Lord was clear: “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a city by iniquity!” While some commentators point to Babylon as the offending city and people, let us not forget that the same accusations were leveled against God's people. To Ezekiel, God said, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity” (Ezek. 9:9). What added to their abominable behavior was that, as they did this, they told themselves, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!”
If you know your Bible history, you know just how foolish that thinking was, and how foolish that thinking is today, too. God knows and sees all, and let us not forget the words of the wise writer when he spoke of the “six things the Lord hates,” with “Hands that shed innocent blood” one of those things (Jer. 6:16, 17). Let us not seek to excuse the bloodshed of innocent ones who have been killed in the execution of military action, either, all in the name of preserving our freedoms [making us ‘comfortable’ and ‘safe’] or in the pursuit of freedom for others. If a city was condemned for shedding innocent blood, how much more guilty a nation!
The One Who Contributes to the Fall and Shame of His Neighbor. (Hab. 2:15) Commentators do not agree as to whom this applied [Judah, Babylon, or Egypt], but I believe the principle certainly applies to any or all of them, as well as to us today. Imagine having a ‘neighbor’ who portrayed himself as your best friend and help, only to find out later [the hard way] that he put you in a vulnerable position where others took advantage of you, and all he did was stand by and laugh at your misfortune! Some friend! Some ‘neighbor’!
God's people were commanded, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18); I am positive this is not the way we would treat self! Jesus showed, in the telling of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, that our ‘neighbor’ is any and every man, and that loving our neighbor means doing good and showing mercy — quite the opposite of contributing to their fall and/or their shame.
The One Who Values Anyone or Anything More Than God. (Hab. 2:19) In this immediate context, God was condemning the worship of idols (see also Hab. 2:18), but let us not think we are exempt just because what we value most is not some lifeless statue. An idol can be anything we consider more valuable than God, or, as the dictionary defines it, "any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion." That could be a famous musician or movie star, a race, a nation, a state, a city, an athlete, a family member, any material possession, or even a political ideology or party. It could even be the unhealthy desire for possessions or material gain — covetousness (Col. 3:5).
Just as these nations — including Israel and Judah— fell because of their idols that didn't look like ours, don't think we are in any less in danger when we exalt anyone or anything above God, or even to the same level as God. He is deserving of far more honor than any material thing or any person.
If we find that we are guilty of any of these things, we need to stop; if we do not, we can only expect a "Woe" from God. —— Steven Harper
