Habakkuk 2

God is just. Those who live unjust lives and build wealth at the expense of others will reap what they have sown. Their misdeeds will come upon their own heads. They will have no one to blame but themselves. Unless man sees the evil of his ways and ask for forgiveness He will not escape God's wrath. God does not show partiality. We need to examine ourselves and then judge others. Are we doing the same things that we accuse them of? Do we expose their sins that we may feel better about ourselves? We are made in God's image to give Him the glory and honor due Him. How do we represent Him?

2 I will stand my watch

And set myself on the rampart,

And watch to see what He will say to me,

And what I will answer when I am corrected.

2 Then the Lord answered me and said:

"Write the vision

And make it plain on tablets,

That he may run who reads it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

4 "Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But
the just shall live by his faith.

5 "Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,

He is a proud man,

And he does not stay at home.

Because he enlarges his desire as hell,

And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,

He gathers to himself all nations

And heaps up for himself all peoples.

6 "Will not all these take up a proverb against him,

And a taunting riddle against him, and say,

'Woe to him who increases

What is not his—how long?

And to him who loads himself with many pledges'?

7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?

Will they not awaken who oppress you?

And you will become their booty.

8 Because you have plundered many nations,

All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,

Because of men's blood

And the violence of the land and the city,

And of all who dwell in it.

9 "Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,

That he may set his nest on high,

That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!

10 You give shameful counsel to your house,

Cutting off many peoples,

And sin against your soul.

11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,

And the beam from the timbers will answer it.

12 "Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,

Who establishes a city by iniquity!

13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts

That the peoples labor to feed the fire,

And nations weary themselves in vain?

14 For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

As the waters cover the sea.

15 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,

Pressing him to your bottle,

Even to make him drunk,

That you may look on his nakedness!

16 You are filled with shame instead of glory.

You also—drink!

And be exposed as uncircumcised!

The cup of the Lord's right hand will be turned against you,

And utter shame will be on your glory.

17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,

And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,

Because of men's blood

And the violence of the land and the city,

And of all who dwell in it.

18 "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,

The molded image, a teacher of lies,

That the maker of its mold should trust in it,

To make mute idols?

19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!'

To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!'

Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

Yet in it there is no breath at all.

20 "But the Lord is in His holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silence before Him."

The NKJV Study Bible says this: An appointed time speaks of a determined time in God's eyes. God knows His plan and the outworking of all things in accordance with His purposes. The godly are responsible to study and proclaim His revelation while awaiting its fulfillment. The fulfillment of the vision would not take any longer than God had planned. True righteousness before God is linked to genuine faith in God. A proud person relies on self, power, position, and accomplishment; a righteous person relies on the Lord. A woe oracle is an oracle of judgment consisting of two parts: a declaration of the wrong and a notice of impending judgment. The judgment usually applies the principle of the law of retaliation: a wrong would come back to haunt the wrongdoer. The Law prohibited lending for the purpose of charging interest . The practice of pledging something as a guarantee for repayment was permitted under the Law, but with limitations to ensure the humane treatment of people. Gaining property through extortion and the abuse of power was strictly prohibited in the Law of Moses. As a bird builds a nest far away from people and wild animals, so the rich work hard at avoiding threats to their fortune. The word meek frequently refers to the poor or oppressed. But it also signifies strength of character in enduring suffering without resentment. Such character is rooted in a strong faith in God and His goodness and a steadfast submission to the will of God. The whole structure of Israel's society called out for justice; every part reverberated with the need for righting wrongs. Micah also spoke against the leaders of Judah, who were developing the city and kingdom at the expense of humane treatment of others, and of justice. God's future kingdom on earth will feature a reign of righteousness. All humanity on the renewed earth will know the Lord and live in accordance with His will. The structures of human systems, adequate as they are for the present, will fall under God's judgment because they encourage a spirit of independence from Him. The glory of the Lord speaks of the full manifestation of His person, significance, presence, and wonder. The true knowledge of God in the time of His kingdom on earth will be like the waters—all-embracing, inescapable, and fully enveloping. The Lord is sovereign and holy. He looks at the nations and holds them accountable.