The Woe’s of the Wicked
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Last Sunday as we looked at the “Pitfalls of Pride”, we need to remember that this is all part of God’s second response to Habakkuk’s prayer and complaint.
When God told him to write down the vision on a tablet, not only did God tell Habakkuk to quit whining and to “live by faith”, but God also gives Habakkuk “The Woe’s of the Wicked”.
Woe- lament, sorrow and grief due to death; cry of alarm over coming judgment and destruction.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
The pitfalls of pride put the prideful person in a dangerous situation, destruction and fall!
This is often a reminder to me when I look at the wickedness of this world, to read the end of the Book [Revelation], and realize that God is not done!
Habakkuk’s vision is not done yet so lets read about “The Woe’s of the Wicked”
Text; Habakkuk 2:6-20
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.”
There are five “woes” pronounced against the Chaldeans for their pride. These five “woes” show the misery of the person or a nation that thinks it can do without God!
1. Woe of Extortion; 6-8
1. Woe of Extortion; 6-8
Extortion- is the crime of taking money or something of value of another’s by abusing one’s office or authority;
The Chaldeans had taken what was not theirs. They abused nations and stole/plundered all the valuables. They were ruthless in their ways and cared less about the outcome of the people.
Today the same happens in what I call “credit, political, and religious extortion”
Lending practices today use deceptive marketing to lure people into buying what they don’t need nor afford, all to pad their pockets. And many people over extend themselves and go into personal bankruptcy.
Politicians promise what they can’t deliver, all to gain votes to benefit themselves to hold power and not to the benefit of their constituents.
Pastors and charlatans extort money from unsuspecting little old ladies without any remorse at all.
Matthew 23:14 (NKJV)
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
But God does not forget the evil that men do. Neither individuals nor nations get away with wrongdoing. God will exact the appropriate punishment, through the appropriate means, at the appointed time.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
2. Woe of Coveting Wealth; 9-11
2. Woe of Coveting Wealth; 9-11
Covet- yearning/lusting to possess something belonging to another
Coveting is always with evil intentions for evil gain.
The Chaldeans coveted what others had [valuables/wealth] to use to build their empire and secure their nation. They thought that wealth builds security. [Bigger palaces, more chariots, bigger walls/fortresses, bigger treasuries, greater prominence]
Unfortunately, too many people today, including christians, think that wealth builds security and controls destinies. [Build bigger homes, buy best vehicles, want bigger bank accounts, all these are our fortresses of security]
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
There is nothing wrong with having wealth, the problem comes when wealth has you!
3. Woe of Practicing Violence; 12-13
3. Woe of Practicing Violence; 12-13
We have already noted the violent, brutal, ruthless ways of the Chaldeans. They murdered to get what they wanted and enslaved the nations they conquered to build their palaces and fortified cities.
There is nothing wrong in building great things, but it’s the desires and motivation behind the building itself that can be wrong.
Two examples;
First, The Democratic Progressives have tried to build a new society in America based upon their beliefs through violence; BLM, ANTIFA, illegal immigration, sanctuary cities, defund police, anti-semitism and the race card.
But now you see those cities in shambles, crime is excessive, violence is common, homelessness is overwhelming, drug problems are increasing. Smart people are leaving them and even many liberals are concerned there is no hope for recovery.
Second, a church can be built by the violence of secular means instead of preaching truth!
You can use good PR and marketing and you can fill the pews. All you have to do is find out what the people want and give it to them. [Gym, business classes to make money, exercise classes, entertainment, recreation fields, soothing sermonettes]. And above all, never confront your congregation in wrong nor hold them to the standards of the Scriptures!
11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
He who achieves power by violence does not truly become lord or master.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
4. Woe of Shaming Others; 15-16
4. Woe of Shaming Others; 15-16
I told you last week that alcohol is an addiction and how it can influence your mind to do foolish and unrighteous things.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
What’s worse than alcohol is the one who uses it to take advantage of others through seduction and bringing shame upon them.
Our world today has lost all thoughts of what love is between a
man and a woman because of lust. The wicked man who is not satisfied in all his other failures [extortion, coveting, wealth] now seeks security in sex and he uses seductive immoral ways to obtain it.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
5. Woe of Idolatry; 18-19
5. Woe of Idolatry; 18-19
The definition of idolatry, according to Webster, is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.”
In the context we see idolatry as that of a carved image and worshiping it. But idolatry is more than this.
Idolatry is actually the oldest sin in scripture! Because idolatry is excessive devotion to self. That’s exactly what happened in the Garden. Eve was more devoted to self than God!
Idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Matthew 22:37–38 (NKJV)
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
We might not physically bow down before wooden images or carved idols today, but when we place anything or anyone above God on the throne of our heart, we are idolaters!
Close;
There are two verses I did not expound on this morning, vs. 14 & 20.
14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.
20 “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
These verses speak of God’s sovereignty then, now and in the future.
Verse 14 speaks of a time in the future, the Millennium Kingdom and rule of Christ on earth throughout eternity!
Verse 20 speaks of then and now. Regardless of the circumstances in life, God has never abdicated His throne! He reigns!
We have a choice to make today!
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”