Habakkuk 1.9-11-Twelve More Descriptions of the Babylonian Army (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)
Doctrinal Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 3, 2023
Habakkuk: Habakkuk 1:9-11-Twelve More Descriptions of the Babylonian Army
Lesson # 9
Habakkuk 1:9 They all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. (NIV84)
Habakkuk 1:9 Each and every one of them is characterized as seeking to commit acts of violence. A multitude of their faces from the east indeed are characterized as gathering prisoners of war like sand. (Pastor’s translation)
In Habakkuk 1:9 we have three more descriptions of the Babylonian army, which brings us to a total of fifteen descriptions of the Babylonians which are contained in Habakkuk 1:5-9.
The first description of the Babylonian army in verse 9 appears in the first assertion and solemnly states that each and every one of them is characterized as seeking to commit acts of violence.
Of course, these acts of violence are committed by the Babylonian soldiers against the citizens of the various nations located in the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions of the world in Habakkuk’s day which would be the seventh century B.C. and specifically in 605 B.C.
The second and third descriptions of the Babylonian army in Habakkuk 1:9 appear in the second assertion, which solemnly states that a multitude of the Babylonian soldiers’ faces from the east are indeed characterized as gathering prisoners of war like sand.
The second description of the Babylonian army emphatically states that there is a multitude of their soldiers and they are from the east and of course, Babylon was located geographically to the east of Judah and the Mediterranean region of the world.
The third description asserts that the Babylonian soldiers are characterized as gathering prisoners like sand.
Therefore, in this description, we can see that the Lord God of Israel is comparing the Babylonian army gathering prisoners of war with sand which is uncountable and thus, this description is asserting that the Babylonians have innumerable number of prisoners of war from their conquests.
Therefore, Habakkuk 1:5-11 brings into view the spiritual law or principle called “the law of retribution.”
This law or principle means that because of enormity of the violent acts committed by the unrepentant, apostasy citizens of the kingdom of Judah and because of God’s holy character, the judgment that will be executed against these apostate citizens of Judah will be multiplied.
Habakkuk 1:5-11 is also expressing the biblical concept of lex telionis (cf. Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; Prov. 12:14; 19:17; Ezek. 35:15; Hos. 4:9; Joel 3:4-8; Jer. 50:15, 29).
This means that the people of the unrepentant, apostate citizens of the kingdom of Judah would be treated in the same cruel manner as they demonstrated toward their fellow citizens and other nations by the cruel Babylonians.
Therefore, these verses teach that God not only holds individuals accountable for their conduct but also nations.
Habakkuk 1:10 They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. (NIV84)
Habakkuk 1:10 Indeed, for their own enjoyment, they repeatedly mock their kings so that rulers are an object of laughter for their enjoyment. They laugh at each and every fortified city while they build siege ramps and then they capture them. (Pastor’s translation)
In Habakkuk 1:10, the Lord through the prophet Habakuk presents five more descriptions of the Babylonian soldiers which brings us to a total of twenty descriptions of the Babylonians which are contained in Habakkuk 1:5-10.
The first description asserts that for their own enjoyment, the Babylonian soldiers repeatedly mock the kings of those whom they had taken prisoner.
The second description of the Babylonian soldiers in Habakkuk 1:10 presents the result of the first and asserts that rulers are an object of laughter for the enjoyment of the Babylonian soldiers.
Therefore, this indicates that the Babylonian soldiers for their own enjoyment laughed at the rulers of those whom they had taken as prisoners of war as a result of repeatedly mocking them for their own enjoyment.
The third description of the Babylonian army in Habakkuk 1:10 solemnly states that the Babylonian soldiers laugh at each and every fortified city.
The fourth is a temporal clause occurring simultaneously with the third and asserts that the Babylonian soldiers build siege ramps.
The fifth and final description of the Babylonian soldiers presents the next chronological sequence after the event described by the third and fourth assertions and states that the Babylonian army captures these fortified cities.
Therefore, a comparison of these three assertions indicates that the Babylonian soldiers laugh at each and every fortified city while they simultaneously build siege ramps and then capture these cities (cf. 2 Sam. 20:15; 2 Kings 19:32; Jer. 32:24; Ezek. 17:17).
The Scriptures and secular historians tells us that the Babylonian military were experts at siege warfare (e.g., 2 Sam 20:15; 2 Kgs 19:32; Jer 32:24; Ezek 17:17).
These five descriptions of the Babylonian soldiers here in Habakkuk 1:10 reveals their great pride and arrogance.
Habakkuk 1:11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty men, whose own strength is their god. (NIV84)
Habakkuk 1:11 Indeed therefore, they characteristically sweep through like a destructive wind and then characteristically move on. However, they are guilty. Those whose own military power is their god. (Pastor’s translation)
Habakkuk 1:11 contains four statements and thus four more descriptions of the Babylonians.
The first statement asserts the Babylonian army characteristically sweeps through a nation or kingdom like a destructive, high velocity wind and then moves on to another nation or kingdom to conquer and subjugate to themselves.
This assertion presents in an emphatic terms an inference from the previous descriptions of the Babylonian army in Habakkuk 1:6-10.
This interpretation is supported by the fact that the Babylonian army sweeping through like a destructive wind corresponds with the idea in verse 6 that their horses were faster than leopards and were fiercer than wolves.
This verse also describes their calvary as traveling great distances and swooping down swiftly like a vulture devouring its prey.
The second statement in Habakkuk 1:11 is intimately connected to the first since it presents the next sequential event that takes place after the event described by the first.
This second statement asserts that the Babylonian army characteristically moves on to another geographical location to conquer and subjugate another nation or kingdom to itself after conquering a nation or kingdom.
The third and fourth statements in Habakkuk 1:11 are also intimately connected to each other since the fourth presents the reason for the third, which asserts that the Babylonians are guilty while the fourth is a relative pronoun clause which asserts that the Babylonians’ god is their own military power.
Therefore, these two statements assert that the Babylonians are guilty whose own military power is their god.
The obvious implication is that the Babylonians are guilty because their own military power is their god.
Together, they present a contrast with the preceding descriptions of the Babylonian army in Habakkuk 1:6-10 and the first one here in verse 11.
Therefore, the contrast is between the destructive military power of the Babylonians and God judging them because their awesome military power was their god.
Now, the Lord’s condemnation of the Babylonians here in Habakkuk 1:11 contradicts what history tells us about the Babylonians, namely, that they worshiped Marduk, who was a storm god and the patron god of Babylon who was head of the Mesopotamian gods.
The Mesopotamians regarded Marduk as the supreme god who was the absolute ruler of creation and he was also consistently portrayed as a warrior god who led the Babylonians into battle.
Therefore, when they were victorious, they credited Marduk with their victory.
Thus, based on these factors, it would appear that the Lord’s condemnation of the Babylonians for worshipping their military power as a god, could very well be a veiled reference to the worship of Marduk.
However, it would be best to take the Lord at His Word when condemning the Babylonians for worshipping their military power here in Habakkuk 1:11.