[0:00] Habakkuk chapter 2, I will read the full chapter. This is the word of God. I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower! And look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
[0:22] And the Lord answered me, write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to the end. It will not lie.
[0:34] If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
[0:46] Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol. Like death, he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects all as his own, all peoples.
[1:01] 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?
[1:12] And loads himself with pledges? Will not your debtors suddenly arise and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be a spoil for them. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnants of the peoples shall plunder you.
[1:27] For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm.
[1:42] You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples. You have forfeited your life. For the stone will cry out from the wall and the beam from the woodwork responds.
[1:53] Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity. Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire and nations weary themselves for nothing?
[2:06] For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink. You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness.
[2:21] 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.
[2:34] The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
[2:47] What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols.
[2:59] 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.
[3:13] But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. Amen. You may be seated. Last night, Casey and I were going back through pictures from this year.
[3:30] And we came across one with three of our boys in it. And they were outside playing in the mud. They had gloves on, gardening tools. It was sunny.
[3:42] It looked very beautiful with the green grass and flowers around. What a contrast from the beauty of the white winter land that we have outside this morning.
[3:55] We have another great contrast that's set before us as well in our text. We have this contrast. It's simple, but it's stark here in verses 6 to 20.
[4:07] We have the godlessness of Babylon and we have the glory of the Lord. So we're going to look at each of these contrasts and see just how stark indeed they are.
[4:19] So let's begin by looking at the godlessness of Babylon or the ungodliness of Babylon, which is most of our passage. And we see it in the form of these five woes.
[4:33] Now, if you remember when we first began this sermon series through Habakkuk, we outlined the general structure of the book. There were these two back and forth exchanges between Habakkuk and God.
[4:45] These question and answer exchanges. And then we come now to the five woes. That's our text this morning. And we see beginning in verse 6 that these five woes are pronounced running all the way through verse 20.
[5:01] Now, children, just to be sure that you understand, these aren't good woes. These aren't like when you wake up in the morning and perhaps it's the first snowfall of the year and you open the curtains and you say, Whoa!
[5:15] It snowed outside. Or your friend does a cool trick on his bike or his scooter and you say, Whoa! That was awesome. That's not the kind of woes that we're looking at today.
[5:27] These aren't good woes spelled W-H-O-A. These are bad woes spelled W-O-E. They are exclamations, but they're not exclamations of joy and delight.
[5:41] They are exclamations of rebuke and of warning. Throughout God's word, we find woes. And they communicate two things. They declare wrongdoing and then they pronounce judgment that is sure to come for that wrongdoing.
[6:00] Here is your sin and here is the coming judgment. Jesus, he pronounced seven woes on the scribes and the Pharisees in the book of Matthew.
[6:13] And how did he finish delivering those woes? Well, listen to his words beginning here in verse 33 of Matthew 23. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
[6:31] Therefore, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify. And some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.
[6:41] So that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth. From the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
[6:56] Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Well, much like Jesus, now Habakkuk, the book of Habakkuk, we have these woes and they too are saying divine judgment is coming.
[7:14] And it's coming to Babylon. This conquering kingdom that God had promised to send as his own instrument of judgment. Well, now it too would be judged.
[7:26] And for the same reason that Judah was experiencing God's judgment. For its wicked ways. For its rebellion against the Lord. For its abuse and its torment of the weak and the vulnerable.
[7:40] So Babylon will be punished. So each woe that we hear today, it spells out Babylon's sin. And then it repeatedly reminds us that punishment is sure to come.
[7:53] Now, who is it here exactly? That is pronouncing these woes. Well, it's the nations that Babylon has conquered. We see that here 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.
[8:16] These are the nations that Babylon has conquered. Or to use the language of verse 5. The nations that Babylon has gathered for himself. The nations that Babylon has collected for his own.
[8:29] Or taken captive as his own. Remember back to chapter 1. These nations Babylon had caught like a fisherman.
[8:39] Catching fish with a hook in their mouth. Or using his net to drag in a great haul. Well, now the tables have turned. Babylon at one time.
[8:51] It would rejoice and be glad over its great haul. Well, now the great haul of nations. They will rejoice and be glad in their own way.
[9:03] Taunting Babylon with scoffing and riddles for him. Saying woe to him. Now again, a woe is a warning. A woe says that divine judgment is coming.
[9:17] Some translations, instead of saying woe, simply say, you're doomed. You're doomed, Babylon. Babylon, you're done for. It's like they're saying, aha!
[9:28] They laugh at the great reversal. This very public shaming. This is like when Psalm 2 says, God sits in the heavens and laughs at the nations that rage against him.
[9:45] This is like when Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. When they were trying to get the attention of their false god, Baal. Elijah said, cry aloud, for he is a god.
[9:57] Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself. Or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened. God puts the proud to shame.
[10:09] He embarrasses the proud. Here we see the same kind of scorn being heaped now upon Babylon. And while these woes are coming from the mouths of the people conquered by Babylon, well, who will ultimately bring this judgment?
[10:28] It is God. The nation that was so powerful. The nation that none could resist. It had for so long exerted its will to destroy.
[10:38] Now it is the object of sure destruction by God. And God is saying so in his word. Now why is Babylon destroyed? Well, many reasons are given.
[10:51] Many sins of Babylon that the nations here point out. This is indeed the godlessness of Babylon being put on display. So we see the first woe beginning in verse 6.
[11:06] We see greed. We see theft. Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own. For how long? Well, there we see that word again, that phrase again.
[11:17] For how long? He loads himself with pledges. Verse 7. Will not your debtors suddenly arise and those awake who will make you tremble?
[11:29] Then you will be spoiled for them because you have plundered many nations. All the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
[11:42] So this first woe, it exposes how the Babylonians stole from other nations, heaping up what is not his own, plundering nations that they had conquered.
[11:55] And verse 6 talks about loading up on pledges. Now, in themselves, the taking of pledges was not necessarily sinful under God's own law.
[12:06] In the Old Testament, God addressed this practice where one person would loan money to another person. And to ensure that the borrower would repay the lender, the borrower would give the lender a pledge.
[12:23] Often, it was his cloak that was given. Or the example in the Old Testament was one of a cloak. So the borrower would give his cloak to the lender to signify that he would be faithful to repay the debt.
[12:38] His cloak was important to him. In those situations, often the borrower was impoverished. So this wasn't a situation where he was taking out a loan to remodel his kitchen.
[12:49] This wasn't to take out a loan to get a fancy sports car. This loan was needed to meet his basic needs. And at the end of the day, the fact of the matter was his cloak, which had been given as pledge, too, was a basic need.
[13:04] God actually addressed this in Exodus 22. He said this beginning in verse 25. If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
[13:21] If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body.
[13:34] In what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. So even in the lending of money, God had very specific laws to prohibit greediness and unjust gain, the taking advantage of the poor.
[13:53] Why is that? Because God is compassionate. Babylon was not. What did Babylon do? He loads himself with pledges.
[14:03] He puts many in debt to him, and he's heaping up what is not his own. Babylon ignored God's laws, scoffed at God's laws, like a wicked lender heaping up the cloaks of his borrowers and never returning them before the sun went down.
[14:25] Greedy for gain. We see this same sinful theme in the second woe as well. Look with me, beginning 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.
[14:44] You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples. You have forfeited your life, for the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.
[14:57] Again, greedy for gain. Getting that gain unjustly, by evil means. So there's the declaration of the wrongdoing in the first and the second woe.
[15:09] But we also see the coming judgment. We see that Babylon had indeed plundered nations, and now what was to happen? Why the nations would plunder Babylon.
[15:20] Babylon had stripped nations of all that they had, but now other more powerful nations would come along and do the same to Babylon. He had put many in debt, and now his own debtors will rise up against him and overpower him, and he will be destroyed.
[15:38] Habakkuk is drawing on many biblical proverbs in the pronouncement of these woes. Like Proverbs 22.16, whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth or gives to the rich will only come to poverty.
[15:57] Or even worse than poverty. Proverbs 1.19 says, That's exactly what Habakkuk is prophesying about Babylon.
[16:16] By cutting off many peoples, what have you done? You have forfeited your own life. But it's not just the sin of theft or greedy gain that these woes address.
[16:28] We see in the third woe the violence and the brutality of Babylon. And so we read in verse 12, Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity.
[16:44] You see the importance of the foundation here. Building a city, it's a good endeavor. Building a town, founding a town, a good endeavor. But on what foundation?
[16:55] Babylon here with blood. Babylon on iniquity. You see Babylon was building its kingdom by destroying others and shedding their blood.
[17:09] The blood of these nations was on the hands of Babylon. And again Habakkuk, he's drawing on the Proverbs. Proverbs 14.34, So Babylon was seeking to live out the reverse of that proverb.
[17:28] Seeking to exalt itself through unrighteousness. Through the shedding of blood. But that wouldn't lead to its exaltation. No, that would lead to its downfall.
[17:40] In judgment, Babylon would be made a reproach. And we see that judgment declared in verse 13. Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire and nations weary themselves for nothing?
[17:58] Again, Habakkuk is talking about how Babylon will be destroyed. This nation that had destroyed so many others would be brought to ruin itself. It had labored. It had worked hard to build its empire.
[18:12] It wearied itself building its empire with blood. But it's all for nothing in the end. God would destroy it. It's as though Habakkuk is saying, Babylon, he's going to burn your kingdom to the ground.
[18:28] A town built with blood. An empire built with blood will be raised by God. We see this in the fourth woe as well. But Habakkuk shifts the way that he speaks.
[18:42] Not about building or laboring, but about drinking. Yet it's a description of the same violent, brutal treatment of the nations.
[18:53] Beginning in verse 15. Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink. You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness.
[19:05] 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.
[19:16] And utter shame will come upon your glory. The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you. As will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
[19:32] So metaphorically speaking, yet again, metaphorically speaking, Babylon made these nations to drink. We're familiar with this kind of terminology. Drinking the cup of one's wrath.
[19:44] And in doing that, Babylon made the nations. They put them to shame. To this open, public shame. They embarrassed them. They dishonored them as they defeated them.
[19:56] And so what will come of Babylon? Yet again, same pattern that Habakkuk is repeating for us. The great reversal. Babylon, you made the nations to drink the cup of your wrath.
[20:07] Well, now who will make you to drink a cup of wrath yourself? God will. Now the Lord will make you to drink that. Babylon, you put the nations to shame.
[20:18] Well, now Babylon, you will be put to shame. Over and over, we see Babylon held accountable for its transgressions. There will be justice.
[20:31] We see that repeated phrase. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. Twice Habakkuk says this. Verse 8. And again in verse 17.
[20:43] There will be justice. Habakkuk, rest assured. There will be justice. People of God, rest assured. There will be justice. Babylon would be plundered.
[20:56] Babylon would be destroyed. Justice would be served by God. The living God. The true God. And that brings us to the fifth woe. The last woe.
[21:06] And it centers on the idolatry of Babylon. Verse 18. What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it?
[21:17] A metal image, a teacher of lies. For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols. Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, awake!
[21:29] To a silent stone, arise! Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.
[21:41] But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. Idols are silent.
[21:52] Idols are inanimate. They can't do anything. They can't say anything. Idols are speechless. There is such folly that God is bringing out in this passage.
[22:05] Such folly in turning to anything other than God. Trusting in anything but God. And yet, this is exactly what Babylon was doing. Trusting in idols.
[22:16] Thinking that the very images they had made from wood and stone were worthy of their worship. And would bring them success. Remember in chapter 1, verse 16, Therefore he sacrifices to his nets.
[22:33] Here Babylon was powerful. They were enjoying success in their conquests. And so they were sacrificing, he says, to their nets. Which implies sacrificing to their gods.
[22:43] And believing their gods were blessing their nets. Yet again, Habakkuk turns the tables. You make speechless idols? But in reality, you yourselves should be speechless.
[22:57] Because God is in his holy temple. God is exalted above the heavens. He makes the earth to be his footstool. He reigns above and none can thwart him and his sovereign purposes.
[23:11] He is not speechless like these idols. Indeed, Psalm 50 says, The mighty one. The mighty one. God the Lord speaks and summons the earth.
[23:26] From the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty. God shines forth. Our God comes. He does not keep silent.
[23:39] Before him is a devouring fire. Around him a mighty tempest. So let all the earth keep silence before him.
[23:50] Let all the earth be quiet. You know, that's the proper response to authority. Especially when you're guilty of wrongdoing. And you're now being held accountable for your wrongdoing.
[24:03] We think of a courtroom setting. The defendant on trial. The verdict about to be announced by the judge. And there's a hush. Not just by the defendant. But by everyone in the courtroom.
[24:17] Perhaps children, you can relate. Maybe a sibling gets in trouble. And there's a hush that falls over the room. As we see wrongdoing is going to be addressed. While all the earth is in awe of this holy God who dwells in heaven.
[24:34] There's an anticipation building here. In the silence. As he prepares to exercise his authority. He's going to bring to pass his judgment of the wicked.
[24:45] So let all the earth be silent before him. This is as much for Habakkuk. And for us. As it is for Babylon. Yes, we're seeing the ungodliness of Babylon.
[24:58] We're seeing that Babylon's sin will be punished. But it's not just Babylon that should be silent before the Lord. No. Let all the earth.
[25:09] Us too. We should be silent before the Lord. When we consider who he is. We should be silent when we consider his perfect plans.
[25:20] His sovereign purposes. We should be in wonder and in awe of him. We should humble ourselves before him. Job had the appropriate response when he said, Behold, I am of small account.
[25:36] What shall I answer you? I lay my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once and I will not answer. Twice. But I will proceed no further.
[25:47] A right view of God. A right understanding of God. As the one true God who is the judge of all the earth. That should humble us before him.
[25:58] And it should cause us to marvel as well. That he would save sinners such as us. We have seen the godlessness of Babylon in this passage.
[26:10] But we cannot overlook our own godlessness. For we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. For we all once were dead in our trespasses and sins.
[26:23] We all once were by nature children of wrath. We were deserving of punishment ourselves. But God, being rich in mercy.
[26:34] Because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our trespasses. Made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.
[26:48] We deserved judgment. And yet God spared not his son. In order that we would be spared. Jesus Christ, he went to the cross.
[26:58] He suffered. He died. He bore God's wrath in his body on the tree. That we would be forgiven. We've been seeing the great reversals of this passage.
[27:11] The surprises. Babylon, you thought this. But in fact this. What a marvel that we were once sinful. Lost. Far from God. And yet he's brought us near.
[27:22] Through Jesus Christ. We deserved to go upon the tree. And Christ went on the tree in our place. So when we consider the godlessness of Babylon.
[27:33] We must also consider the grace of God to us. Because we too once were the ungodly. Just as Babylon was.
[27:45] Those woes that were directed at Babylon. They once applied to us. But the judgment that we deserved. It fell on Christ. And it fell on him in full.
[27:57] Babylon experienced judgment. But not like our savior. Babylon drank the cup of God's wrath. But not to the same degree as our savior.
[28:09] For as Isaiah 53 says. The Lord has laid on him. The iniquity of us all. All of the sin. Of all of his people.
[28:21] He bore in his body on the tree. And he experienced. All the wrath. Of his father. Forsaken. There on the tree.
[28:33] The father turns his face away. And the son of God experienced that dreadful suffering for us. For our wickedness.
[28:44] For our ungodliness. So we've looked at the first half of the contrast. The godlessness of Babylon. And now we turn. We turn to the glory of God.
[28:57] We skipped a verse in this passage. Verse 14. For the earth will be filled. With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. As the waters cover the sea.
[29:09] This is a beloved verse in the Bible. It's repeated a few times in the Bible. In some form. Numbers 14. 21. Isaiah 11.
[29:20] 9. And Psalm 72. 19. Habakkuk 2. 14. It's the theme verse. For the Reformed Baptist Network. And we frequently see it on publications put forth by the network.
[29:32] It's why we link arms with other churches. In order to send out missionaries to proclaim the gospel. Because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
[29:43] As the waters cover the sea. So this is a wonderfully encouraging verse. It's a wonderfully motivating verse for missions. I can't wait for the day when it's fulfilled.
[29:54] When nations are no longer raging against the Lord. But rather they are streaming into the new Jerusalem. In the new creation. To worship the Lord.
[30:05] Just as Isaiah 2 prophesies. It shall come to pass in the latter days. That the mountain of the house of the Lord. Shall be established as the highest of the mountains.
[30:17] And shall be filled up above the hills. And all the nations shall flow to it. And many people shall come and say. Come let us go up to the house of the Lord.
[30:29] To the house of the God of Jacob. That he may teach us his ways. And that we may walk in his paths. Here we see this incredible future reality.
[30:42] All of God's people from all the nations. Flowing into the city of God. To worship him. To learn from him. To walk in his ways. And that day isn't just talked about in the Old Testament.
[30:55] It's talked about in the New Testament as well. Revelation 21. We see John given this glimpse of the new creation. The new heavens. And the new earth. And the city in that new creation.
[31:08] The new Jerusalem. And here's the observation that he makes. I saw no temple in the city. For its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it.
[31:23] For the glory of God gives it light. And its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk.
[31:34] And the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. And its gates will never be shut by day. And there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
[31:47] So that reality is what we look forward to. When God in his glory fills the earth. When God's glory gives light to the new Jerusalem.
[31:59] When swords are beat into plowshares. And spears into pruning hooks. When nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore.
[32:11] It's the home of righteousness. Where King Jesus rules and reigns forever. And there will be peace. And there will be security.
[32:23] And there will be joy everlasting. What a glorious day that will be. When the glory of God fills the earth. As the waters cover the sea.
[32:33] Just as Habakkuk 2 says. So this verse. It should fill us with hope. And with comfort. And with great expectation. When God comes to dwell with us.
[32:44] And to live with us. And we get to enjoy him forever. So we think of God's glory. And rightly so. We should think of that. That wonderful day of full, complete, final salvation.
[32:58] But salvation is not all that should come to mind. When we think of God's glory. We should also think of his judgment.
[33:10] Habakkuk 2.14. It's one of those verses that we may have known for a long time. But perhaps we haven't taken in the context of it. Because as we've seen this morning.
[33:22] The surrounding context of this verse. Is not focused on the glorious future salvation of God's people. No, it's focused on judgment. It's focused on Babylon's judgment.
[33:35] A judgment that came to pass in history. In 539 BC. Babylon was overthrown. Its kingdom was overtaken. Just as God had said.
[33:47] 50 years or so earlier. Through Habakkuk's prophecy. Because just as promised by God. Babylon. That great conquering nation.
[33:58] Was itself conquered. As all nations in history are. The Lord raises them up. The Lord makes them to fall. They're in his hand. So Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great.
[34:11] Of the Persian Empire. The very Cyrus. That Isaiah. Had prophesied about. God said of him in the book of Isaiah. He is my shepherd.
[34:23] And he shall fulfill all my purpose. And then again. Thus says the Lord to his anointed. To Cyrus. Whose right hand I have grasped.
[34:34] To subdue nations before him. And to loose the belts of kings. To open doors before him. That gates may not be closed. So yes. Habakkuk.
[34:45] Prophesying of Babylon. Coming as an instrument in God's hands. And following Babylon would come Persia. Another instrument in God's hands. God raised up Babylon as a judgment on Judah.
[34:57] Then God raised up the Persian Empire. Led by Cyrus. To be a judgment on Babylon. Babylon. God had used Babylon. To fulfill his purposes. God would use Persia.
[35:09] To fulfill his purposes. So this is indeed the justice of God. No sin will go unpunished. No nation that opposes God. No nation that ignores his word.
[35:21] Will be let off. All will give an account. In this life. In the life to come. And so Babylon. Babylon. That great conquering nation.
[35:33] Was conquered. Brought to ruins. Just as God had said. His word proved true. And indeed the nations that had once been oppressed by Babylon.
[35:44] Taunted his fall. The fall that happened in 539 BC. And Babylon was no more. And yet. Babylon.
[35:55] Shows up. In the New Testament. Not just talking about historical situations from Babylon. No. We hear of Babylon. Talked about in the New Testament.
[36:06] Very much in the present tense. As though Babylon is continuing to exist. As the New Testament authors are writing. Now why is that?
[36:17] Because Babylon became a symbol. A symbol of all evil. Rebellious. Governments. World powers. And of course those powers continue to exist today.
[36:31] When Babylon fell. Another nation. Another wicked nation. Arose in its place. And so by the time of the New Testament. Yes Babylon itself was gone. But another nation like Babylon.
[36:43] Was oppressing God's people. Another nation like Babylon. Was seeking to thwart God's purposes. And that was Rome. So the apostle Peter. As he's writing from Rome.
[36:56] Some 30, 40 years after Christ. Ascended into heaven. Perhaps longer. Peter sends greetings. From the church. There in Rome. To Christians. Who are scattered throughout the empire.
[37:08] The outer regions of the empire. And Peter says this. She who is at Babylon. Who is likewise chosen. Sends you greetings. Now she.
[37:19] That's the church. So he's again speaking in figurative language. The church. Who is in Rome. Or she who is in Babylon. Who is likewise chosen. Sends you greetings.
[37:31] So the Babylon of Habakkuk's day. Was long gone. But here's another Babylon. Just like it. Existed in Peter's day. The nations raged in Habakkuk's day. The kings of the earth.
[37:42] Plotted against the Lord. And his anointed. They continued to do the same in Peter's day. They continue to do the same. Today. Governments in our world. Very much united together in many ways.
[37:54] Very much plotting together. They now still shake their fist at God. And refuse to bow the knee. Clinging to the power that they hold. Power given to them by God.
[38:05] But in vain. They cling to it. And what do they do? Oh they want a world without God. They want to build their own tower like Babel. But not in an effort now to reach God.
[38:16] No it's very overt. This is an effort to prove that God doesn't exist. See we've reached the heavens and there is no God. But how wrong they are. And one day they'll realize it.
[38:28] When King Jesus. When the Son of Man returns on the clouds in glory. Every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
[38:43] Because on that day judgment will come. Just as judgment came for Babylon in Habakkuk's day. So too will judgment come for wicked nations. And the men of those nations on the last day.
[38:56] The day of the Lord. Revelation 14 gives us a picture of this. Beginning in verse 6 we read. Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead.
[39:08] With an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth. To every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice.
[39:19] Fear God and give him glory. Because the hour of his judgment has come. And worship him who made heaven and earth. The sea and the springs of water.
[39:32] Another angel. A second followed. Saying fallen. Fallen is Babylon the great. She who made all nations drink the wine.
[39:44] Of the passion of her sexual immorality. So Babylon of Habakkuk's day fell. Literally thousands of years ago. But Babylon's have always risen up in history.
[39:55] And every Babylon will fall. Every world power exalting itself. Shaking its fist at God. Ignoring his word and his ways.
[40:06] Following the deception of the devil. All powers that be will one day be no more. And Jesus Christ will reign supreme. He will come to execute judgment.
[40:18] And he'll do it perfectly. That will be a glorious day. His glory will be known. Not only in the salvation of his people.
[40:29] But in the judgment of his enemies as well. You see that in our passage this morning. This is a passage all about judgment.
[40:40] The judgment of Babylon in Habakkuk's day. Pointing to a future day. A day when the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
[40:53] That glory comes through salvation. Yes. But that glory also comes through judgment. No nation will stand against the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords on the final day.
[41:06] And no individual person will either. All those great and small will stand and face God. The Almighty.
[41:18] And God will be glorified. The question is not if he will be glorified. No. The question is how. How will God be glorified through you and me?
[41:31] Will God be glorified through you in salvation? Or in judgment? Will God be glorified in bringing you near to himself in love on that day?
[41:41] Or will he be glorified in casting you far from himself in wrath in that day? Because God is glorified in judgment. He shows forth his purity and his holiness and his righteousness and his justice.
[41:59] Indeed, in Revelation 19. We have this sobering description of the return of Christ. This coming day of great wrath when Christ comes riding on a white horse.
[42:12] Revelation 19 says that he's called faithful and true. And in righteousness he makes war. In righteousness Christ comes to judge.
[42:25] Verse 15 says, From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
[42:41] And that will bring God glory. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth in that day. As he saves his people and brings them into their eternal home in the new heavens and the new earth.
[42:56] And as he punishes his enemies and casts them into outer darkness for all of eternity in hell. Two very different ends.
[43:08] Two very different ends that will both bring him glory. As he's shown to be merciful and gracious and kind and full of steadfast love.
[43:21] And as he is shown to be just and pure and holy and full of wrath. Glorified as all of who he is is put on display.
[43:34] The earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of God. So how will God be glorified through you? How will you and your life bring glory to God?
[43:48] Well the answer to that question depends entirely on your relationship to Jesus Christ. Those found in Christ will be received by God into their eternal home on that day.
[44:01] He will be glorified through their salvation. But those found outside of Christ will be cast away by God into eternal hell. And he will be glorified through their condemnation.
[44:14] So friend, if you are outside of Christ this morning, come to Christ. Repent of your sins. Turn away from your sins.
[44:25] And trust in Christ. That on that future day of final salvation, you will be received into God's presence to enjoy him forever.
[44:36] And for us who are already in Christ, you know we've experienced something of Habakkuk 2.14 already. That we've already been given this wonderful taste of this reality in the gospel.
[44:52] How so? Well listen to 2 Corinthians 4.6. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
[45:14] Where is the knowledge of the glory of God seen? In the face of Jesus Christ. All of us who know Christ, we have encountered the glory of God.
[45:26] All of us who are in Christ, God's glory has been shown to us. As we've beheld Christ, we've beheld God's glory. As we've seen Christ here in God's word, we have seen and experienced God's glory.
[45:43] We've been given this incredible glimpse of it to carry us through this life. We've seen God's glory in Christ. And one day, we will see his glory in all of creation.
[45:57] Sin and death will be no more. And we will glorify God and we will enjoy him forever. Let's pray together. Father, Father, it's hard for us to even conceive of what that day will one day be like.
[46:16] When we will enjoy you for all of eternity in your presence. When you will come to dwell with us. When the nations will flow into the new Jerusalem in order to learn of your ways and to walk in them.
[46:31] Father, we rejoice at the thought of that day as we are in Christ. Father, we pray that all of those who are outside of Christ, who hear his word, even this morning, that they would turn to him and find salvation in him.
[46:45] We pray your spirit would be at work in their hearts. Save the lost. That they might bring you glory on that future final day as you welcome them into the home of righteousness.
[46:59] Father, we thank you that you give us your word, that you reveal yourself to us. And we pray that you would be glorified through our lives in this day. And we pray this in Christ's name.
[47:10] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.