1. "Habakkuk claimed in chapter one that the Babylonians were catching all in their net. But he doesn't see that the Lord is in fact the master fisherman, his net set everywhere. The Babylonians day is coming. Those they catch today will rise up tomorrow."

2. "The sport may push you physically, but your opponents seem to target your mind, hoping they're in to get an advantage. If they can distract you with their taunts, they gain an edge."

3. "The Babylonians had built their kingdom by accumulating possessions from other nations, and their treasure was gained on the backs of others. But one day soon, this conquest would end. Those the Babylonians subjugated would come calling. By plundering many, the Babylonians amassed a debt too great for them or anyone to pay."

4. "Much of what we spend our lives on may pass away, but the Lord is going to use it all. He's using it even now for your sanctification. He's using it for the good of his people. He's using it to accomplish his purposes in the world."

5. "Left to ourselves, we're all glory thieves. We want glory for ourselves and we think often we can find that most by defeating others."

6. "For those above the waters, all would be at peace. But for those under the waters, all hope would be lost. They wouldn't see the surface again. Through both outcomes, though, knowledge of his glory fills the earth as the waters cover the sea."

7. "Idolatry occurs when we mistake the gift for the giver. Your temptation to idolatry may not be as pronounced or, again, as visible as the Babylonians, but the temptation is the same, though yours may be more subtle and in fact more dangerous, because others don't see it."

8. "Often we fail to see our idols until they're destroyed, until they're taken from us. So here, don't settle for the gift, brother or sister, when the giver is available to you, don't mistake the blessings of God for his presence."

9. "Though the earthly temple would be destroyed, the heavenly dwelling remained unconquered. Though the nations may rise and fall, and even now other nations may rise, and they may fall, it may seem now that violence fills the earth. But one day soon all that will stop, the nations will no longer rage. It will all end. Then all the earth will be silent before the Lord."

10. "What we've begun to hear now - the murmurings of a kingdom in a distant land, a kingdom where we have an inheritance - will one day become sight. What will that sound be like then? All will be clear and it's that day that we look forward to with hope and anticipation now."

Observation Questions

1. In Habakkuk 2:6-8, what specific accusation is made against Babylon regarding their accumulation of wealth, and what is prophesied to happen to them?

2. Looking at Habakkuk 2:9-11, how did the Babylonians try to secure themselves, and why does the text say this strategy would fail?

3. In Habakkuk 2:12-14, what contrast is drawn between human labor and God's ultimate purpose for the earth?

4. According to Habakkuk 2:15-17, how had the Babylonians treated their neighbors, and what reversal would they experience?

5. What specific characterization of idols is given in Habakkuk 2:18-19, and how does this reveal their futility?

6. In Habakkuk 2:20, what stark contrast is drawn between the Lord and the idols mentioned in previous verses?

Interpretation Questions

1. The sermon mentions that Babylon had "amassed a kingdom of dirt." How does this metaphor help us understand the temporary nature of worldly power in light of God's judgment?

2. How does the image of waters covering the sea (Habakkuk 2:14) help us understand both the extent and nature of God's judgment and glory?

3. Why is it significant that the passage moves from addressing national sins to personal sins like drunkenness and idolatry?

4. What does the repeated phrase "for the blood of man and violence to the earth" (verses 8, 17) tell us about God's view of oppression and injustice?

5. How does the final call to silence before the Lord (verse 20) serve as both a warning to the proud and a comfort to the faithful?

Application Questions

1. When was the last time you discovered an idol in your life? What events or circumstances exposed it?

2. What specific things do you currently look to for security instead of trusting fully in God?

3. How has God used difficult circumstances in your life to reveal where you've been building on temporal rather than eternal foundations?

4. In what specific ways have you recently found yourself seeking glory by diminishing others, whether through words or actions?

5. When you consider that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord," how should this shape your response to current struggles or opposition?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Psalm 37:1-11 - Provides wisdom about how to respond when the wicked prosper, connecting to Habakkuk's struggle with Babylon's apparent success.

2. Isaiah 47:1-15 - A prophetic word specifically about Babylon's fall, showing how God judges those who exalt themselves in pride.

3. 1 John 5:19-21 - Addresses the theme of idolatry in the New Testament context, helping us identify and avoid modern forms of idol worship.

4. Revelation 18:1-8 - Depicts the ultimate fall of worldly systems that oppose God, echoing the themes of judgment found in Habakkuk.

Sermon Main Topics

The Story of the Grandfather and the Strategy of Taunting

The Lord’s Judgments Repeal the Powerful (Habakkuk 2:6–14)

The Lord’s Judgments Reprove the Proud (Habakkuk 2:15–20)

The Cosmic Silence Before the Lord and the Call to Faithful Anticipation

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Detailed Sermon Outline

My grandfather used to tell the most amazing stories. When I was young, I was enthralled by him. I would hang on every word. Some stories held profound lessons, lessons that have stuck with me to this day. Some stories were meant more to spark much laughter.

Some stories stretched the truth. Some stories, as many do, changed as he aged. But one story remained constant over the years, and that was the story that he told of his days as a high school basketball athlete. Now, to understand where the story goes, you have to understand a little bit about my papa. He wasn't the tallest or the most athletic, but somehow he still made the team.

And the reason he told me that he made the team was because he had a way with words. He had a way of using words to get under people's skin. You could say he was a taunter, or he was well refined in the art of smack talk. He was the captain of taunting the other team. And the way that he would tell me the story is that his role when it came to any game was singular.

His job was to find the best player on the other team often told by his teammates or coaches, and to try to get in a verbal altercation with him so that both of them would be thrown out of the game. So my papa's team would lose the worst player and the opponent's team would lose their best player. And so you see the advantage that my papa's team was looking for.

Now, how true the story was, I don't know. But it was a fascinating story. The strategy, as he told it, was foolproof. But the effect was unclear. Now, in my experience, every team has a smack talker.

There are those that many of us know who are well-versed in the art of taunting others.

They may not be appointed like my papa was, but every team has a person whose words can quickly get under the skin of their opponents. And indeed, in some sports, even this is considered to be part of the game. The sport may push you physically, but your opponents seem to target your mind, hoping therein to get an advantage. If they can distract you with their taunts, they gain an edge. Well, our passage this morning comes as a series of taunts.

But however far from the courts of sport, these statements mock a once great empire, and they offer a series of astounding reversals. This morning we're back in the book of Habakkuk. You can go ahead and turn there. It's on page 786 if you're using the Red Pew Bibles, and we're going to be in Habakkuk 2. If you have trouble finding it, please use the table of contents.

It's one of those very small books towards the end of the Old Testament. If you're new to the Bible as we look at this passage together, the big numbers are the chapter numbers and the small numbers are the verse numbers. So far in this book, Habakkuk has made his complaint to the Lord and the Lord has begun to answer Habakkuk starting in chapter 2. Last week, we considered the first part of the Lord's answer there in verses 2 to 5.

And this week we're considering the rest.

In our passage, we'll see that the nations who were subjugated to Babylon, that's the Chaldeans from chapter 1, is also the Babylonians, the nations who were subjugated to this violent regime now are raising up, they're rising up to mock their once violent oppressors. And they're showing, they're foreboding what's to come. The basic message of our passage is this: the Lord's judgments confound the world. The Lord's judgments confound the world. When these words were spoken, when Habakkuk received them, when he wrote them in this book, Babylon was still in power.

Its might was great. Its terror throughout the known world at that time. Theirs was a kingdom, though, made of sand, and the storm of the Lord's judgment was coming. How would it come? And that's what we're seeing in this passage.

This passage shows us that the net that the Babylonians had set for the peoples that Habakkuk complained about in chapter 1 would soon break. Their bonds were not eternal, but the Babylonians would soon be caught in the Lord's net. The kingdoms of the earth, as we'll see, would rage. They would rage in Habakkuk's day. They rage in our day.

But God's purposes remain. The passage that we're about to survey serves as an announcement. The Lord will judge the Babylonians. What the Lord says will happen as His judgments are true. So if you look there, just let your eyes look before we read the passage, look over chapter 2, verses 6 to 20.

Our passage offers five taunting statements. You see it start there about halfway through verse 6, verse 9, verse 12, verse 15, and then in verse 19. So there's five taunting statements, but these can be broken down into two major sections where each are concluded by a particular insight of what who the Lord is and what are his purposes in the world. So in our time together this morning, we're gonna look at each of these statements individually, but we're considering them largely under two points. So as we do, I pray that you'll better know what it means to revere the Lord as we consider his judgments that confound the world.

We'll see that in two ways. By asking the question, how do the Lord's judgments confound the world? First, we'll see that they repeal the powerful. The Lord's judgments repeal the powerful. And second, we'll see that the Lord's judgments reprove the proud.

Repeal the powerful, reprove the proud. The opening series of taunts demonstrate that the Lord will repeal the powerful. He'll roll back the fortunes of the mighty. What does it look like? Well, our passage shows it in the first three of these statements.

Look at there, starting in verse 6.

Shall not all these take up their taunt against him with scoffing and riddles for him and say, 'Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own for how long and loads himself with pleasures? Will not your debtors suddenly arise and those who awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoiled for them. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnants of the peoples shall plunder you. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to the cities and all who dwell in them.

In this first taunt, in this first ironic statement, we see that the plunderers will become the plundered. That those who once pillaged God's people and many nations will now themselves be pillaged. The Babylonians had built their kingdom by accumulating possessions from other nations, and their treasure was gained on the backs of others. But one day soon, this conquest would end. Those the Babylonians subjugated would come calling.

By plundering many, the Babylonians amassed a debt too great for them or anyone to pay. And the peoples that they once conquered would now conquer them. For all their work, this reversal shows that they had amassed a kingdom of dirt and the nations would come and haul it away. But the nations wouldn't just do so swiftly. You would see that it wouldn't just come and go, but it would strike terror in the Babylonians.

Many would plunder them. And just one note about these passages that we're looking for together. These woes, there's other ways that this has been translated. It's like, Aha! Look, this is what's happened.

It's a surprise. It's meant to be shocking. So what Babylon was trusting in now is becoming unveiled, now is becoming reversed. So what they built up is now coming down. Verse 8 tells us why this will happen.

For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to the cities and all who dwell in them. The refrain in verse 8 is repeated in verse 17. The Babylonians simply, their time was coming. The Lord saw their guilt. And there would be a time for them to pay for their wicked ways.

Such judgment for the Babylonians would be set in history. The plunderers would be the plundered.

What Babylon treasured would all be taken away. What they looked to would all come to ruin. As we mentioned a moment ago, when Habakkuk received these words, the Babylonians were living large. They had amassed power and prestige. But how is this word of the prophet to be taken?

There were no signs then that this great empire would fall. It looked dramatically different. What Habakkuk wants his readers to see and us is that for those who take pleasure in their plunder, all of that will pass away. The Lord's judgment reverses the fortune of those who have accumulated their wealth unjustly. Such statements like this remind us today to treasure what's of eternal value, to not look to amass for ourselves things in this life that will one day pass away.

As Jesus reminded his disciples, Store up treasure in heaven where worldly things cannot get at them or moth or rust or rust, or invading armies can't destroy. The Babylonians were about to learn that worldly gain meets a worldly end. Heavenly treasure, however, is eternal. So from this, it's worth asking, what are you pursuing? What are you setting your life to?

Riches stored in heaven can't be plundered. And the next two statements continue on this same theme. So let's look at verses 9 to 11. So we see that in the first statement, plunderer will be the plundered. In 9 to 11 we see that the fortified will be forfeited.

So look there at verse 9. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm. You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples. You have fortified your life, for the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. These statements here call how the Babylonians have built their empire.

They had deceived and taken dishonestly. Notice this statement even points out the reason that they've sought this. They were building security for themselves. They might have thought even that their ends pillaging people, deceiving people, defaming the Lord and his temple, all served good ends: the peace of their empire, the security of their people. It's amazing what lengths many will go to for security, what we'll look to to provide some buffer for the world when it seeks to assail us.

But this, as Habakkuk calls, as these nations call out, would all be turned on its head. The walls that they thought secured them would become the instrument of their undoing. The security that was found in deceiving and destroying other nations would soon be revealed and Babylon would be brought to shame. Here is pictured the very armies when it speaks of the walls crying out and the beams responding. It's speaking of the very armies that Babylon had conquered, how they amassed their fortress.

And fortunes, those are the things that are going to fall. Those are the things that are going to come undone. And what would be the result of this? Babylon and all who trusted in these worldly securities like them would be left exposed where they thought they were covered. They would learn the all too common lesson that might does not make right.

Temporal power doesn't equate to moral superiority. Those they conquered would pay homage for now, but Babylon's conquering and conquest did not change hearts. It granted a temporary allegiance. Their power may have resulted in some temporary ceasing of hostilities, but peace was far away. Babylon did not establish it.

Their ill-gotten gains would vanish. As their security would vanish. Their fortified lives would be forfeited. So again, this begs the question for us, what is it that you look to for security? Considering these matters nationally, as the work of nations is one thing, but these passages begs these things to be considered personally.

What about for you? What do you look to today to secure your standing? Do you tear others down to build yourselves up? Before you think of how someone else may do this, consider the temptation in your own life. Friends, such measures will not bring you the peace that you're looking for.

Though the scale may be smaller, this is exactly what the Babylonians did. They fell prey to the same temptation. They tore down others to build themselves up. They thought the way to amass their prestige was to destroy others. If that's a temptation for you, confess it.

Confess it to someone else and ask them to pray for you. Friends, we live in a world and a culture that's characterized by this speech that thinks the only gain to be had is by tearing others down. Left to ourselves, we're all glory thieves. We want glory for ourselves, and we think often we can find that most by defeating others. Friend, turn to the Lord here.

Instead of seeking to build yourselves up based on your own knowledge or by destroying the reputation of someone else, be built up by the Lord. Be built up by His Word. Find your security in the more permanent things of the Lord, His Word, His Spirit, and the fellowship of His people.

Don't seek to fortify your life in ways that will result of it being forfeited in the end. Next, we see in verses 12 to 14 that the Lord will repeal the powerful as the violent will become the victim. Look with me in verses 12 to 14. Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity. Behold, it is not from the Lord of hosts that the people labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Well, as we've already seen, the Babylonians constructed their empire by violence. Their whole experiment with empire was built on iniquity. But this violence soon will cease. For those that had experienced it, what comfort it must have been to know that these marauders, these armies that were amassing to the north to soon conquer land that was promised to God's people, that one day their violence would end. They may not have known all the details that we know now, but the promise was sure.

The nations would rise up, the violence that they committed would one day cease. But here the mocking nations point to the Lord's plan. They do recognize God's sovereignty and control over all things. That phrase there, labor merely for fire, is one of deep irony. The nations are saying, For all that makes the great kingdoms great, all their works and wonders will be met with fire.

They will come to an end and they weary themselves for nothing. And I do think here there is a warning for us. Some of us in this life are inclined to put too much hope in our work. As Walton let us in praying about earlier, we're inclined to look to our work or look to the work of our hands to save us.

But friends, the Bible pierces our illusions of grandeur. It brings us down. It helps us see that but for the Lord, but for laboring to Him, but for seeking to do all things and honoring Him, everything else will come to ruin. Our effort and toil in this life, unless it's blessed, unless it's rendered to the Lord, will not last.

And far from depressing our work or bringing meaninglessness to our work, I think this actually helps us rightly value it. Many of you have jobs where you aim to do good. All of you seek to do good in your work, whether that's at home, whether that's on the hill, whether that's elsewhere in the city or around. We all aim to do work as we can. But friends, don't mistake the temporal things that we do for the eternal good.

We seek to serve that, yes. And we seek to expend ourselves for these things together. But our hope is not in the work of our hands. Our hope is in the God who intends and uses these things according to His purposes. That's the value even of the Babylonians.

That's the value of these nations. What was the value of what they did? Well, it was that they did the Lord's bidding. That the Lord was pleased to use him. So just don't miss this point.

Don't miss the providential hand of the Lord of using you or others to accomplish his purposes in this life with his pleasure. Those are two different things. How you see and receive the Lord's pleasure is by faith, by looking to him, by knowing him, by believing his word, by believing his promises. So yes, work hard. Lavor long, focus on what's good, and do good certainly where you can.

Much of what we spend our lives on may pass away, but the Lord is going to use it all. He's using it even now for your sanctification. He's using it for the good of His people. He's using it to accomplish His purposes in the world.

Much of what we judge to be significant now It may not be exactly that on the last day. We may not apprise things appropriately. But if we see by faith, if we trust the Lord in His plans, we can trust that what He has established in us and through us, that will endure. And that will look on one day with mutual satisfaction and delight. He will use your work to accomplish His purposes, but the result may surprise you.

The Lord frustrates the labor of the peoples and brings all human effort to an end. And what's the result? Well, we saw it there in verse 14. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Through all this activity, through the Babylonians rising and falling, through nations ascending and doling out the Lord's judgment on the people, verse 14 stands like a beacon of hope.

Not all will be lost. Knowledge of the Lord's glory will fill the earth. The enemies may come, but God's plans remain. Babylon may take the land, but one day the Lord will take them. One day His glory will return.

But how? And in what way? What's interesting in this verse is Also, the same phrase is in Isaiah 11:9. He uses the same phrase to speak of the good reign of the Davidic king. Isaiah 11, very famous chapter, especially around Christmas time, where we see about the root of Jesse coming and reigning to establish peace.

And this phrase is there, the earth being filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Of the sea. So there are certainly blessings and peace that come from this knowledge of the glory of the Lord. I think here Habakkuk wants us to look at another side of this reality. The words here are given in the midst of judgment. These words bring delight to some certainly, but Habakkuk would have us consider these with the backdrop of the Lord's fury in his judgment.

The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. I wonder, what's your first instinct when you read that? I think if you're like me, the first thing you think of is standing on the shore, looking out over the waters, and seeing as wide as the sea is and as we understand its depths that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth like that. All will be calm. All will be right.

When the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth. And that's true, an amen. But I do think here Habakkuk would have us consider the other side of that, as I mentioned. So I wonder how you've considered or if you've ever considered how your understanding of the sea may change based on your perspective of it. Well, for me, growing up near the coast, I was fascinated by all things that had to do with the water.

Anything that could put me on, in, or around water, I was game. You just had to ask the question and I was there. I was ready to go. I took every opportunity I had. When I was a teenager, I was certified to scuba dive.

The sea had fascinated me, hovering on the surface, looking down below. There was so much to explore. And I wanted to be able to explore the depths as best as I could.

Well, not long after that, I remember once my dad and I were diving, and we dove down to a depth where we could no longer see the surface. At first, I was disoriented. Light was coming from above. I could still see. It wasn't dark.

I was sure the surface was in that direction, but I doubted. Was it really there? I couldn't see it.

I was disoriented, but then I was terrified. What if something went wrong? There was no way I could swim to the surface that I only hoped existed by taking one breath. Suddenly, the weight of the sea above me began pressing down on me, and there it struck me. The matter that had long been one of curiosity and comfort for me as a child now terrified me.

I hadn't considered the might of the sea until I was under it. Never again would our view the ocean the same. Hamakiri has us consider those under the judgment of the Lord. For them, the waters of God's judgment would come, and as they flowed, the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would fill the earth. And like it did in the days of Noah, the waters would bring salvation for some, but judgment For many, some would safely pass over God's judgment, but others would be crushed under its roaring waters.

For those above the waters, all would be at peace, but for those under the waters, all hope would be lost. They wouldn't see the surface again. Through both outcomes, though, knowledge of His glory fills the earth as the waters cover the sea. If you're here and you're not a Christian, we're glad that you're here. You're welcome at any of our public services.

I wonder how this sits with you, that this God is a God of judgment, that this God, to glorify Himself, will judge those who oppose Him. Here Habakkuk captures the major messages of the Bible. There are simply two ways to live. One ends in God's judgment and eternal punishment in hell. The other leads to life in heaven.

The former receives the flood of God's wrath, the latter His mercy and love for all eternity. What separates the two now is simply this: agreeing with God that you're a sinner, that you need His grace. That he's provided a way for your sins to be forgiven through the person and work of Jesus.

What keeps you from looking to him now? It'd be a great thing to talk to a friend about after the service today or talk with one of us at the doors following this. We would love to talk to you about what this means. Consider simply what it means to live today no longer fearing the judgment of this God. Brothers and sisters, though, in a series of stunning reversals, the Lord is answering Habakkuk's complaint.

Habakkuk claimed in chapter 1 that the Babylonians were catching all in their net, but he doesn't see that the Lord is, in fact, the master fisherman. His net is set everywhere. The Babylonians' day is coming. Those they catch today will rise up tomorrow. The Babylonians' victory is short.

So is the victory of those that oppose God's people in this life. Those that oppose us now will soon be caught in God's net. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will soon cover the earth as the waters of the sea. And friends, we once were under God's judgment. Apart from His miraculous work in our life to reach down into the depths and pull us to the surface, we too would drown.

We too would be lost. But God, because of nothing good in us, has reached down to save you. He saved you by his own mercy. He saved you by his own power. And friend, because he did that, won't he deliver you from all that this life throws at you?

Won't he deliver you from the enemies that are allied against you? Hear of these words and see this reality. The knowledge of this God that you have begun to possess now will one day reach its fulfillment as this knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth. We've only begun to taste now what we will soon revel in later. So the Lord confounds the world by repealing the powerful.

When he does, all will see his judgment and the faithful will see his glory. The Lord confounds the world by repealing the proud. Oh, excuse me, repealing the powerful. Second, the Lord's judgments confound the world by reproving the proud. The Lord reproves the proud.

The Lord's judgments are wide. As we've just been considering, they topple kingdoms, and the Lord's judgments are specific. They pierce the heart. The nation's mockery now moves to the leaders of the people. These proud men lead their nation that lead their nations into ruin.

The Lord will reprove. He'll reprove them in their pride. How will he do it? Well, this passage shows us he'll do it in two ways. First, the indulgent will be exposed and the idolaters will be silent.

So first, let's look at verses 15 to 17 and see that the indulgent will be Exposed. Look there in verse, starting in verse 15, woe to him who makes his neighbors drink. You pour out wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness. You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink yourself and show your uncircumcision.

The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you and utter shame will come upon your glory. The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beast that terrified them. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. Here the indulgence of the Babylonians would in fact be exposed. The leaders of the Babylonians had manipulated their neighbors through their decadence.

The spoils of war and wealth were lavished on others. In a way of mocking their shame. The Babylonians' work wasn't only in vain, but their intentions were vain. They delighted in the downfall of their enemies. They were pleased to expose the shame of others.

How many are like them? They reveled in their trickery and laughed at the shame of others. But their fortunes would be reversed. They poured out their cup to make others stammer, but the Lord would now pour out his cup on them and they would fall. The Babylonians filled their hearts with a glory that was only an illusion.

The Lord would cause their glory to turn into shame. They would be exposed as imposters and aliens to the covenant of God. The violence they committed now would return on them. They brought violence to the peaceful and ruined the land once beautiful. Their indulgence would be their ruin.

They were left exposed. Again, the nations restate in verse 8 and verse 17 citing the reasons for this judgment. But here, the heart of the man is the matter. Wherein the injustice of the Babylonians was revered previously, here the matter hits closer to the chest. It's the indulgence of the people that's the target.

The intentions of the Babylonians would be turned on their head and no one would be able to hide what's coming. No amount of drink could dull their senses. The cup that was coming would not be wasted. There was nothing to distract them. Their lives would no longer be given over to shameful pursuits.

Their indulgence would be exposed.

Often, when times are most difficult, it's then that we look for a distraction, don't we? It could be food or drink or something more sinister. Friends, be careful that when you're tempted to turn to these things, that you know what they're asking of you. Flee those things that draw you in and never let you go. Run from the cup that hardens your heart.

Be careful who you spend your time with when you're at your weakest. Entrust yourself to those who will help you endure when times are hard. Entrust yourself to those who will point you to these promises that the things of this life, that momentary pleasures are not worth exchanging your soul for. As Galatians 5:16 reminds us, Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the flesh.

Brothers and sisters, don't let your freedom in Christ cause you to give opportunities to the flesh. Your indulgence of it could spell your ruin. The Lord will reprove the proud by exposing the indulgence and by silencing the idolaters. Look there in verse 18 to 20. What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it?

A metal image or a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts its own creation when he makes speechless idols. Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, 'Awake; to a silent stone, 'Arise. Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him. This statement is unlike the four preceding it. It begins differently, which simply signals the end of these woes, these statements. Here things are coming to a close. Here the mockery, though, reaches its apex as it cuts right to the heart.

The foolishness of idolatry is exhibited. Idols here are seen as liars. They lie about both God and man. Idols are not worthy of worship. Further, the maker of the idol attempts to imitate God.

He takes earthen things, fashions them, and in vain seeks to call them to life. But his words are as impotent as the idols he's made. Man's words don't create life. Idols return no speech. They offer no promise.

He puts his finest materials to it, but there is no breath in it. The idol is lifeless. It is good for nothing. What Habakkuk is helping us see is that at the heart of this kingdom of Babylon is idolatry. Now, in our day, we may not make images of gold and silver, but our times are ripe with idols.

We can literally make an idol of anything. Idolatry is simply replacing the love that we should have for God for the things of this world or anything that he has given to us. We can make an idol of something that draws our hearts in. We can off and we often discover that where we're tempted to build idols are around the things that we value most in this life. For some it may be your family, your friends, your job.

For others, it may be this church. All of these things can be idols. We can love them inappropriately. We can love them at the expense of loving God. It may be harder to see, but the struggle, the presence is just as real.

Idolatry occurs when we mistake the gift for the giver. Your temptation to idolatry may not be as pronounced or again as visible as the Babylonians, but the temptation is the same, though yours may be more subtle. And in fact, more dangerous because others don't see it. Making idols, whether by hand in our hearts, lies about who God is. We falsely imitate him when we look to something outside of him to give us what only he can.

Often we fail to see our idols until they're destroyed, until they're taken from us. So here, don't settle for the gift, brother or sister, when the giver is available to you. Don't mistake the blessings of God for His presence. Pursue Him. Be happy when you receive His gifts.

When we have good things in this life, that's an occasion to praise Him, but not to look, not to settle for the things that He gives. The point in our passage, and even the whole book of Habakkuk, has been these many complaints. And how will the Lord answer? To this point, there's been so much noise. Habakkuk has started with a guttural complaint.

He's crying out to the Lord, how long will you answer? Do you see the Lord has Habakkuk look upon the nations and see what's happening in Jerusalem is one thing. I'm raising up the Babylonians. I'm raising up this great nation who terrifies people. Who is loud, who is coming from the north.

And now these nations are rising up with even more noise. Have you noticed? We read it and often we read it in silence or we may read it in a room like this where one person reading, but notice all the language, all the people involved, the crescendo that's been building through the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk's question gets sharper as it gets louder. And the Lord answers, the nations have risen.

They're now mocking the Babylonians. The mockings, as we've seen, are brash. The mockings are loud.

But do you notice how our passage ends? It ends in silence.

And that silence is revealing. Years ago when Laura and I moved from Raleigh, North Carolina to Tallahassee, Florida, we moved from a busy neighborhood in the city to a quaint suburb. And the first night there, do you know what we noticed? We noticed the silence. It was so quiet.

Until then we didn't realize how accustomed we'd grown to the noise of a city. Cars passing by, sirens in the night, the sound of a highway, and just the general sound of a busy neighborhood. But that night, all was silent. And at first, the silence was deafening. We looked at each other thinking that something was wrong.

We had this move like stress us out so much that we lost our hearing. What happened? It was unnerving. But as we got used to it, over time, we noticed that this silence had a way of sharpening all our other senses.

When it's quiet, it's amazing what you can focus on.

Yet we still, even in silence, awaited something to break it. Silence, in our case, built our anticipation of what's to come. I wonder if you've thought about that as we use silence in our public services together.

As Alex mentioned just a few moments ago, let's take a moment of quiet as we prepare our hearts, as we anticipate hearing from the Lord in His Word. And we end our services with a moment of quiet reflection, as we both reflect on and anticipate the Lord's work in our lives. Well, here our passage ends with silence. But it's not just any silence. The silence here is cosmic.

It characterizes the earth. Just as the idols were silent before their maker, so all creation is now silenced before its Maker. The Lord reigns over all, and despite all the raging of the nations, He is still enthroned in His holy temple. Though the earthly temple would be destroyed, the heavenly dwelling remained unconquered. To him, all the earth, these mocking nations, the Babylonians, Israel, would all report.

In Habakkuk's day, the Babylonians may come and after them other nations may arise and even now other nations may rise and they may fall. It may seem now that violence fills the earth, but one day soon, all that will stop. The nations will no longer rage. It will all end. Then all the earth will be silent before the Lord.

Some will face the silence in dread, and others in joyous hope. The proud will be reproved, and the faithful will reign. Those who hear the Lord by faith now in quiet submission serve Him from the heart. Our soul, though our world isn't inwardly is silent before the Lord. It gladly submits to the Lord's plan.

Is that what characterizes you? Do you hear the Lord's word and desire to obey Him? The Lord's judgments will confound the world. He will repeal the powerful and reprove the proud. He'll bring all the murmurings, mocking, and, yes, smack talk of the world to an end.

He'll do it in His own time, in His own way, until then be wary of building your lives around things that will pass away. Friends, when that day comes, we'll know that all that we've heard before was just a prelude. The full concert awaits. What we've begun to hear now, what we've heard the murmurings of, a kingdom in a distant land, a kingdom where we have an inheritance, will one day become sight and we'll be there. What will that sound be like?

Then all will be clear. And it's that day that we look forward to with hope and anticipation now. Until then, the Lord's judgments will continue to confound the world. Until then, the Lord's in His judgment will repeal the proud.

He'll reprove the proud and repeal the powerful. So let's look to Him and hear His word until that day. Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you that your judgments are true, that we can see and hear your words and we can trust you. So, Lord, we do pray that you would help us to bear up under these many burdens, that you would help us to live lives that pursue you faithfully, that you would give us grace to do this, that you would bear with us when we fail, that you would help us to see clearly. And, Lord, that we pray that as we anticipate your coming, that you would have your way amongst us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.