(Calvin. Commentaries on the Prophet Habakkuk. Part 7)
... Continued from Part 6
Lecture One Hundred and Twelfth.
Habakkuk 2:7
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that
shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
The Prophet proceeds with the subject which we have already
begun to explain; for he introduces here the common taunts against
the king of Babylon and the whole tyrannical empire, by which many
nations had been cruelly oppressed. He therefore says that enemies,
who should bite him, would suddenly and unexpectedly rise up. Some
expound this of worms, but not rightly: for God not only inflicted
punishment on the king when dead, but he intended also that there
should be on earth an evident and a memorable proof of his vengeance
on the Babylonians, by which it might be made known to all that
their cruelty could not be suffered to go unpunished.
The words, Shall not they rise suddenly, are emphatical, both
as to the question and as to the word, "peta", suddenly. We indeed
know that interrogations are more common in Hebrew than in Greek and
Latin, and that they are stronger and more forcible. Our Prophet
then speaks of what was indubitable. He adds, suddenly; for the
Babylonians, relying on their own power, did not think that any evil
was nigh them; and if any one dared to rise up against them, this
could not have been so sudden, but they could have in time resisted
and driven far away every danger. They indeed ruled far and wide;
and we know that the wicked often sleep when they find themselves
fortified on all sides. But the Prophet declares here that evil was
nigh them, which would suddenly overwhelm them. It now follows -
Habakkuk 2:8
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the
people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and [for] the
violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
The Prophet here expresses more clearly why the Babylonians
were to be so severely dealt with by Cod. He shows that it would be
a just reward that they should be plundered in their turn, who had
previously given themselves up to plunder, violence, and cruelty.
Since, then, they had exercised so much inhumanity towards all
people, the Prophet intimates here that God could not be deemed as
treating them cruelly, by inflicting on them so severe a punishment:
he also confirms the former truth, and recalls the attention of the
faithful to the judgement of God, as a main principle to be
remembered; for when things in the world are in a state of
confusion, we despond, and all hope vanishes, except this comes to
our mind - that as God is the judge of the world it cannot be
otherwise but that at length all the wicked must appear before his
tribunal, and give there an account of all their deeds; and
Scripture, also, is wont to set God before us as a judge, whenever
the purpose is to allay our troubles. The Prophet now does the same
thing: for he says, that robbers should soon come upon the
Babylonians, who would plunder them; for God, the judge of the
world, would not at last suffer so many plunders to be unpunished.
But it was everywhere known that the Babylonians had, beyond
all bounds and moderation, given themselves up to plunder, so that
they spared no nations. Hence ho says, because thou hast plundered
many nations; and on this he enlarges; because the Babylonians had
not only done wrongs to a few men, or to one people, but had marched
through many countries. As, then, they had taken to themselves so
much liberty in doing evil, the Prophet draws this conclusion - that
they could not escape the hand of God, but that they were at length
to find by experience that there was a God in heaven, who would
repay them for their wrongs.
He says also, Spoil thee shall the remnant of all people. This
admits of two expositions; it may mean, that the people, who had
been plundered by the Chaldeans, would take revenge on them: and he
calls them a remnant, because they were not entire; but yet he
intimates that they would be sufficient to take vengeance on the
Babylonians. This view may be admitted, and yet we may suppose, that
the Prophet takes in other nations, who had never been plundered; as
though he had said - "Thou hast indeed spoiled many nations; but
there are other nations in the world whom thy cruelty could not have
reached. All the people then who remain in the world shall strive to
outdo one another in attacking thee; and canst thou be strong enough
to resist so great a power?" Either of these views may be admitted;
that is, that in the wasted and plundered countries there would be
still a remnant who would take vengeance, - or that the world
contained other people who would willingly undertake this cause and
execute vengeance on the Babylonians; for God would by his secret
influence fulfil by their means his purpose of punishing them.
He then adds, on account of man's blood; that is, because thou
hast shed innocent blood, and because thou hast committed many
plunders; for thou hast not only injured a few men, but thy
daringness and cruelty have also extended to many nations. He indeed
mentions the earth, and also the city. Some confine these words to
the land of Judea and to Jerusalem, but not rightly; for the Prophet
speaks here generally; and to the land, he joins cities and their
inhabitants.
But this verse contains a truth which applies to all times. Let
us then learn, during the licentious success of tyrants, to raise up
our minds to heaven's tribunal, and to nourish our patience with
this confidence, that the Lord, who is the judge of the world, will
recompense these cruel and bloody robbers, and that the more
licentious they are, the heavier judgement is nigh them; for the
Lord will awaken and raise up as many to execute vengeance as there
are men in the world, who by shedding blood will inflict punishment,
though they may not intend to fulfil his purpose. God can indeed (as
it has been often observed) execute his judgements in a wonderful
and sudden manner. Let us hence also learn to restrain our evil
desires; for none shall go unpunished who will allow themselves to
injure their brethren; though they may seem to be unpunished for a
time, yet God, who is ever the same, will at length return on their
heads whatever they have devised against others, as we shall
presently see again. He now adds -
Habakkuk 2:9
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he
may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of
evil!
Habakkuk proceeds in exciting the king of Babylon by taunts;
which were not scurrilous jests, but contained serious threatening;
for, as it has been already said, the Prophet here introduces indeed
the common people, but in that multitude we are to recognise the
innumerable heralds of God's vengeance: and hence he says, Woe to
him who coveteth, &c.; or we may say, Ho! for it is a particle of
exclamation, as it has been said: Ho! thou, he says, who covetest an
evil covetousness to thy house, and settest on high thy nest: but
what shall happen? The next verse declares the punishment.
The clause, Woe to him who covets an evil covetousness to his
house, may be read by itself, - that this cupidity shall be
injurious to his house; as though he had said, "Thou indeed wouldest
provide for thy house by accumulating great riches; but thy house
shall find this to be evil and ruinous. So the word "ra'ah", evil,
might be referred to the house; but the verse is best connected by
reading the whole together; that is, that the Babylonians not only
provided for themselves, while they with avidity plundered and
collected much wealth from all quarters; but that they wished also
to make provisions for their sons and grandsons: and we also see,
that avarice has this object in view; for they who are anxiously
bent on the accumulation of riches do not only regard what is
needful for themselves to pass through life, but also wish to leave
their heirs rich. Since then the avaricious are desirous of
enriching for ever their houses, the prophet, deriding this madness,
says, Woe to him who covets an evil covetousness to his house; that
is, who wishes not only to abound and be satiated himself, but also
to supply his posterity with abundance.
He adds another vice, which is almost ever connected with the
former - that he may set, he says, his nest on high; for the
avaricious have a regard to this - to fortify themselves; for as an
evil conscience is always fearful, many dangers come across their
minds - "This may happen to me," and then, "My wealth will procure
for me the hatred and envy of many. If then some danger be at hand,
I shall be able to redeem my life many times;" and he also adds,
"Were I satisfied with a moderate portion, many would become my
rivals; but when my treasures surpass what is common, then I shall
be as it were beyond the reach of men; and when others envy one
another, I shall escape." So the avaricious think within themselves
when they are ardently bent on accumulating riches, and form for
themselves a great heap like a nest; for they think that they are
raised above the world, and are exempt from the common lot of men,
when surrounded by their riches.
We now then see what the Prophet means: Woe, he says, to him
who wickedly and intemperately covets. And why does he so do? To
enrich his posterity. And then he adds, to him who covets that he
may set his nest on high; that is, that he may by wealth fortify
himself, that he may be able to drive away every danger, and be thus
exempt from every evil and trouble. And he adds, that he may deliver
himself from the power of evil; he expresses now more clearly what I
have said - that the rich are inebriated with false confidence, when
they surpass all others; for they think not themselves to be
mortals, but imagine that they have another life, as though they had
a world of their own, free from all dangers. But while the
avaricious thus elevate themselves by a proud confidence, the
Prophet derides their madness. He then subjoins their punishment -
Habakkuk 2:10
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people,
and hast sinned [against] thy soul.
The Prophet again confirms the truth, that those who count
themselves happy, imagining that they are like God, busy themselves
in vain; for God will turn to shame whatever they think to be their
glory, derived from their riches. The avaricious indeed wish, as it
appears from the last verse, to prepare splendour for their
posterity, and they think to render illustrious their race by their
wealth; for this is deemed to be nobility, that the richer any one
is the more he excels, as he thinks, in dignity, and the more is he
to be esteemed by all. Since, then, this is the object of almost all
the avaricious, the Prophet here reminds them, that they are greatly
deceived; for the Lord will not only frustrate their hopes, but will
also convert their glory into shame. Hence he says, that they
consult shame to their family.
He includes in the word consult, all the industry, diligence,
skill, care, and labour displayed by the avaricious. We indeed see
how very sagacious they are; for if they smell any gain at a
distance, they draw it to themselves, night and day they form new
designs, that they may circumvent this person and plunder that
person, and accumulate into their heap whatever money they can find,
and also that they may join fields to fields, built great palaces,
and secure great revenues. This is the reason why the Prophet says,
that they consult shame. What is the object of all their designs?
for they are, as we have said, very sharp and keen-sighted, they are
also industrious, and torment themselves day and night with
continual labour; for what purpose are all these things? even for
this, that their posterity may be eminent, that their nobility may
be in the mouth of all, and spread far and wide. But the Prophet
shows that they labour in vail; for God will turn to shame whatever
they in their great wisdom contrived for the honour of their
families. The more provident then the avaricious are, the more
foolish they are, for they consult nothing but disgrace to their
posterity.
He adds, though thou cuttest off many people. This seems to
have been expressed for the sake of anticipating an objection; for
it might have seemed incredible that the Babylonians should form
designs disgraceful to their posterity, when their fame was so
eminent, and Babylon itself was like an idol, and the king was
everywhere regarded with great reverence and also fear. Since then
the Babylonians had made such advances, who could have thought it
possible that what the Prophet declares here should take place? But,
as I have already said, he meets these objections, and says, "Though
the Babylonians shall conquer many enemies, and overthrow strong
people, yet this will be of no advantage to them; nay, even that
will turn out to their disgrace which they think will be to their
glory."
To the same purpose is what he adds, thou hast sinned against
thy soul. Some give this version, "Thou hast sinned licentiously" or
immoderately; others, "Thy soul has sinned," but these pervert the
Prophet's meaning; for what he intended was nothing else but the
evils which the avaricious and the cruel bring on themselves, and
which will return on their own heads. When therefore the Babylonians
contrived ruin for the whole world, the Prophet predicts that an
end, very different from what they thought, would be to them: thou
hast sinned, he says, against thine own soul; that is, the evil
which thou didst prepare to bring on others, shall be made by God to
fall on thine own head.
And this kind of declaration ought to be carefully noticed;
that is, that the ungodly, while they trouble all, and harass all,
while they torment one, plunder another, oppress another, do always
sin against their own souls; that is, they do not cause so such loss
and sorrow to others as to themselves: for the Lord will make the
evil they intend for others to return on themselves. He does not
speak here of guilt, but of punishment, when he says, "Thou hast
sinned against thy soul;" that is, thou shalt receive the reward due
to all thy sins. We now then see what the Prophet means. It now
follows -
Habakkuk 2:11-13
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the
timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a
city by iniquity!
13 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?
There is here introduced by the Prophet a new personification.
He had before prepared a common song, which would be in the mouth of
all. He now ascribes speech to stones and wood, of which buildings
are formed. The stone, he says, shall cry from the wall, and the
wood from the chamber; that is, there is no part of the building
that will not cry out that it was built by plunder, by cruelty, and,
in a word, by evil deeds. The Prophet not only ascribes speech to
wood and stone, but he makes them also respond one to the other as
in a chorus, as in lyrics there are voices which take up the song in
turns. The stone, he says, shall cry from the wall, and the wood
shall respond to it from the chamber; as though he said, "There will
be a striking harmony in every part of the building; for the wall
will begin and will utter its song, 'Behold I have been built by
blood and by iniquity;' and the wood will utter the same, and will
cry, 'Woe;' but all in due order; there will be no confused noise,
but as music has distinct sounds, so also the stones will respond to
the wood and the wood to the stones, so that there may be, as they
say, corresponding voices."
The stone, then, from the wall shall cry, and the wood shall
answer - what will it answer? - Woe to him who builds a city by
blood, and who adorns his city by iniquity. By blood and by iniquity
he understands the same thing; for though the avaricious do not kill
innocent men, they yet suck their blood, and what else is this but
to kill them by degrees, by a slow tormenting process? For it is
easier at once to undergo death than to pine away in want, as it
happens to helpless men when spoiled and deprived of all their
property. Wherever there is wanton plundering, there is murder
committed in the sight of God; for as it has been said, he who
spares not the helpless, but drinks up their blood, doubtless sins
no less than if he were to kill them.
But if this personification seems to any one strange, he must
consider how incredible seemed to be what the Prophet here teaches,
and how difficult it was to produce a conviction on the subject. We
indeed confess that God is the judge of the world; nay, there is no
one who does not anticipate his judgement by condemning avarice and
cruelty; the very name of avarice is infamous and hated by all: the
same may be said of cruelty. But yet when we see the avaricious in
splendour and in esteem, we are astounded, and no one is able to
foresee by faith what the Prophet here declares. Since, then our
dullness is so great, or rather our sottishness, it is no wonder
that the Prophet should here set before us the stones and the wood,
as though he said, "When all prophecies and all warnings become
frigid, and God himself obtains no credit, while openly declaring
what he will do, and when his servants consume their labour in vain
by warning and crying, let now the stones come forth, and be
teachers to you who will not give ear to the voice of God himself,
and let the wood also cry out in its turn." This, then, is the
reason why the Prophet introduces here mute things as the speakers,
even to awaken our insensibility.
Then he adds, Shall it not be, behold, from Jehovah of hosts?
Some give a wrong version, "Is not this," as though "hinne" were put
here instead of a pronoun demonstrative; but they extenuate and
obscure the beauty of the expression; nay, they pervert the meaning
of the Prophet: for when he says, "hinne", behold, he refers not to
what he had said, nor specifies any particular thing, and yet he
shows, as it were by the finger, the judgement of God, which he bids
us to expect; as though he said, "Shall not God at length have his
turn, when the avaricious and the cruel have obtained their triumphs
in the world, and darkened the minds and thoughts of all, as though
no account were to be given by them before the tribunal of God?
Shall not God sometime show that it is his time to interpose?" When,
therefore, he says, Shall it not be, behold, from Jehovah? it is an
indefinite mode of speaking; he does not say, This or that shall be
from the God of hosts; but, Shall it not be, behold, from Jehovah of
hosts? that is, God seems now indeed to rest, and on this account
men indulge themselves with greater boldness; but he will not always
remain still, Shall not God then come forth, who seems now to be
unconcerned? Something there will at length be from the God of
hosts. And the demonstrative particle confirms the same thing:
Behold, he says, as though he would show to the faithful as in a
picture the tribunal of God, which cannot be seen by us now but by
faith. He says, Behold, will not there be something from the God of
hosts? that is, Will not God at length stretch forth his hand, to
show that he is not unconcerned, but that he cares for the affairs
of men? In a word, by this mode of speaking is pointed out to us the
change, which we are to hole for, inasmuch as it cannot be soon
realised.
Hence he concludes, The people, then, labour in the fire, and
the people weary themselves in vain. To labour in the fire means the
same thing as to take in hand an unprofitable work, the fruit of
which is immediately consumed. Some say that people labour in the
fire, because Babylon had been built by a great number of men, and
at length perished by fire; but this explanation seems far-fetched.
I take a simpler view - that people labour in the fire, like him who
performs a work, and a fire is put under it and consumes it; or like
him, who with great labour polishes his own work, and a fire is
prepared, which destroys it while in the hands of the artifices. For
it is certain that the Prophet repeats the same thing in another
form, when he says, "bediy-rik", with vanity, or for vanity. We now
then apprehend his object.
We may here collect a useful doctrine - that not only the fruit
of labour shall be lost by all who seek by wicked means to enrich
themselves, but also that were the whole world favourable and
subservient to them, the whole would yet be useless; as it happened
to the king of Babylon, though he had many people ready to obey him.
But the Prophet derides all those great preparation; for God had
fire at hand to consume whatever they had so eagerly contrived who
wished to spend all their labour to please one man. He at length
adds -
Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
The Prophet briefly teaches us here, that so remarkable would
be God's judgement on the Babylonians that his name would thereby be
celebrated through the whole world. But there is in this verse an
implied contrast; for God appeared not in his own glory when the
Jews were led away into exile; the temple being demolished and the
whole city destroyed; and also when the whole easterly regions was
exposed to rapine and plunder. When therefore the Babylonians were,
after the Assyrians, swallowing up all their neighbours, the glory
of God did not then shine, nor was it conspicuous in the world. The
Jews themselves had become mute; for their miseries had, as it were,
stupefied them; their mouths were at least closed, so that they
could not from the heart bless God, while he was so severely
afflicting them. And then, in that manifold confusion of all things,
the profane thought that all things here take place fortuitously,
and that there is no divine providence. God then was at that time
hid: hence the Prophet says, Filled shall be the earth with the
knowledge of God; that is, God will again become known, when by
stretching forth his hand he will execute vengeance on the
Babylonians; then will the Jews, as well as other nations,
acknowledge that the world is governed by God's providence, as it
had been once created by him.
We now understand the Prophet's meaning, and why he says, that
the earth would be filled with the knowledge of God's glory; for the
glory of God previously disappeared from the world, with regard to
the perceptions of men; but it shone forth again, when God himself
had erected his tribunal by overthrowing Babylon, and thereby proved
that there is no power among men which he cannot control. We have
the same sentence in Isaiah 11: 9. The Prophet there speaks indeed
of the kingdom of Christ; for when Christ was openly made known to
the world, the knowledge of God's glory at the same time filled the
earth; for God then appeared in his own living image. But yet our
Prophet uses a proper language, when he says that the earth shall
then be filled with the knowledge of God's glory, when he should
execute vengeance on the Babylonians. Hence incorrectly have some
applied this to the preaching of the gospel, as though Habakkuk made
a transition from the ruin of Babylon to the general judgement: this
is a strained exposition. It is indeed a well-known mode of
speaking, and often occurs in the Psalms, that the power, grace, and
truth of God are made known through the world, when he delivers his
people and restrains the ungodly. The same mode the Prophet now
adopts; and he compares this fulness of knowledge to the waters of
the sea, because the sea, as we know, is so deep, that there is no
measuring of its waters. So Habakkuk intimates, that the glory of
God would be so much known that it would not only fill the world,
but in a manner overflow it: as the waters of the sea by their vast
quantity cover the deep, so the glory of God would fill heaven and
earth, so as to have no limits. If, at the same time, there be a
wish to extend this sentence to the coming of Christ, I do not
object: for we know that the grace of redemption flowed in a
perpetual stream until Christ appeared in the world. But the
Prophet, I have no doubt, sets forth here the greatness of God's
power in the destruction of Babylon.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so inclined to do wrong, that
every one is naturally disposed to consider his own private
advantage - O grant that we may confine ourselves by that restraint
which thou layest on us by thy Prophets, so that we may not allow
our coveting to break forth so as to commit wrong or iniquity, but
confine ourselves within the limits of what is just, and abstain
from what belongs to others: may we also so learn to console
ourselves in all our distresses, that though we may be justly
oppressed by the wicked, we may yet rely on thy providence and
righteous judgement, and patiently wait until thou deliverest us,
and makes it manifest that whatever the wicked devise for our ruin,
so cleaves to themselves as to return and recoil at length on their
own heads; and may we so fight under the banner of the Cross, as to
possess our souls in patience, until we at length shall attain that
blessed life which is laid up in heaven for us, through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
(Calvin... on Habakkuk)
Continued in Part 8...
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