Habakkuk 1:10-The Babylonian Army Mocks and Laughs at Kings and Their Fortified Cities

Habakkuk 1:1 The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: 1:2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, “Violence!” But you do not intervene! 1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife. 1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted. 1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 1:6 Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.” 1:7 They are frightening and terrifying; they decide for themselves what is right. 1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. 1:9 All of them intend to do violence; every face is determined. They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. 1:10 They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps and capture them. (NET)

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. (My translation)

In Habakkuk 1:2-4, we noted that the prophet Habakkuk on behalf of himself and the faithful remnant of Judah complains that the Lord had failed to judge the unrepentant, apostate individuals in the southern kingdom of Judah.

However, in Habakkuk 1:5-11, the Lord responds to these complaints by asserting that He will send the Babylonians as His instruments to judge these unrepentant, apostate individuals in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Now, here 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.

This assertion advances upon and intensifies the previous description of the Babylonian army in Habakkuk 1:9, which asserts that a multitude of the faces of this army from the east indeed are characterized as gathering prisoners of war like sand.

Therefore, a comparison of these two assertions indicates that not only did the Babylonian army gather prisoners of war like sand but they also for their own enjoyment mocked their kings, which was a shocking disrespect for the rulers of other nations.

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).

Yadin lists several methods at the disposal of a besieging force (Yadin, Art of Warfare, 313–28): • Psychological warfare by means of propaganda. In 2 Kings 18, Rabshakeh of Assyria tried to connect with anyone listening to him. For example, he mentioned that Hezekiah was an uncaring selfish tyrant, and that the Assyrians would provide great personal prosperity to anyone who surrendered. • Infiltrating the city by a few spies and establishing cooperation with some residents who were dissatisfied with the present regime. This is meant to create a faction in the city that is opposed to the king and might cooperate with the invaders. • Cutting off food supplies and water to the city. • Assaulting the target with projectiles, such as arrows, slings, or javelins. However, defenders on the walls could use projectiles against the besieging army as well. • Scaling the walls using ladders. The first few men who had climbed over the wall would probably not survive the group of city soldiers waiting to greet them, so it would take an influx of more than one man at a time to make the use of ladders practical. • Breaching the wall or creating a hole in the wall for the invading soldiers to enter. Initially, soldiers could use maces, axes, and spears for this purpose. Later, battering rams were used. • Removing the gate. Invading armies often attempted to unhinge the gate, hack through it, or set it on fire—anything to weaken the gate. Such practices required that the warriors be protected, frequently by men carrying oversized shields. • Tunneling under the city walls. This was a standard practice, though how many times it seriously contributed to a victory is not known. Xenophon reported that the Persian victory over the Babylon was made possible by diverting the water of the Euphrates, thereby drying it out where it flowed through Babylon. Thus the Persians were able to slip through the gap between the bottoms of the walls and the bottom of the riverbed as well as through the formerly under-water gates (Whitcomb, Darius the Mede, 76–79).

J. D. Currid writes “Recent archaeological work at the site of Ashkelon reveals the destructive might of the Babylonian army.[1] Nebuchadnezzar, who later destroyed Judah and sent many of her people into exile, devastated the seaside site of Ashkelon. He employed his finest military commanders and the most advanced siege craft of the day against the town. The latter included dikes and ramps on which were stationed weapons such as battering rams. But he also used the great tactic of siege warfare—that is, famine. Those violent tactics brought Ashkelon to its knees.”[2]

Kenneth Barker writes “One method of defeating a walled city or fortress involved making a ramp of dirt[3] the attackers would climb and then overtake the city. The Romans took Masada with this strategy. The Babylonians followed the practices developed by the Assyrians in besieging a city. After building a ramp or a causeway, the attackers constructed war machines mounted on four or six wooden wheels. From these, warriors could shoot directly at the defenders on the walls, or the machine could be used as a battering ram. At the same time, the walls of the besieged city would be undermined by digging a tunnel. At the appropriate time the full-scale assault would begin, led by heavily armed infantry scaling tall ladders. Archers then increased the attack with their arrows, which served to protect the infantry.[4] No wonder the Chaldean attackers scoffed at kings. No one seemed able to stand before them.”[5]

These five descriptions of the Babylonian soldiers here in Habakkuk 1:10 reveals their great pride and arrogance.

Pride is often emphasized as the cardinal sin of the nations, resting in their own power and opposing Yahweh (e.g., Isa 14:13–15; Jer 48:29; Ezek 28:1; compare note on Isa 2:12–18).[6]

In the Scriptures, pride is a great evil because it involves pretending to a greatness and glory that belongs rightly to God alone.

It is condemned as evil (1 Samuel 15:23; Proverbs 21:4; James 4:16; cf. Mark 7:22-23; Romans 1:29-30; 2 Corinthians 12:20; 2 Timothy 3:1-2; 1 John 2:16) and is a characteristic of Satan (Ezekiel 28:2; 1 Timothy 3:6; cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the antichrist).

There are warnings about pride in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 16:5, 18; cf. Proverbs 3:7, 34; 6:16-17; 11:2; 25:6-7, 27; 26:12; 27:1; 29:23) as well as elsewhere in Scripture (Psalm 119:21; cf. Leviticus 26:19).

God is said to be opposed to the proud (1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34).

Arrogance is an attitude of the heart (Mark 7:21-22; cf. Job 35:12; Psalm 10:2-11; 73:3-12; 86:14; 94:3-7; Malachi 3:15; Romans 1:28-31).

It arises from self-confidence (Isaiah 9:9-10; Daniel 4:29-30; Revelation 18:7; cf. Exodus 15:9; 1 Kings 20:11; 2 Kings 14:10; 2 Chronicles 25:19; Isaiah 28:15; Ezekiel 16:49; Hosea 12:8; Habakkuk 2:4-5; Luke 18:9; Acts 8:9-10; 2 Peter 2:10-12).

Arrogance expresses itself in words (Psalm 17:10; 119:51; James 3:5; cf. 1 Samuel 2:3; Psalm 31:18; 119:69; 123:4; Proverbs 17:7; 21:24; Jeremiah 43:1-2).

Arrogance is essentially rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 1:43; 1 Samuel 15:23; cf. Nehemiah 9:16-17,29; Job 36:8-9; Psalm 5:5; 119:85; Hosea 5:4-5; 7:10; Zephaniah 3:1-4) and may even be found in the church (2 Corinthians 12:20; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:18; 1 Timothy 6:17).

The Christian should reject arrogance (Proverbs 8:13; Jeremiah 9:23-24; cf. Jeremiah 13:15; Romans 11:20; 1 Corinthians 1:28-31; 4:7; 13:4; Ephesians 2:8-9).

God punishes the arrogant whether they are a believer or a non-believer (Isaiah 2:17-18; Exodus 18:11; 1 Samuel 15:23).

There are several examples of pride in the Bible and the most notable are Satan (Ezek. 28:11-19; Is. 14:12-14), and Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4).

[1] L. E. Stager, ‘The Fury of Babylon: Ashkelon and the Archaeology of Destruction,’ Biblical Archaeology Review 22 (1996), pp.56–69, 76–7.

[2] Currid, J. D. (2009). The Expectant Prophet: Habakkuk Simply Explained (p. 53). Darlington, England: EP Books.

[3] The Hb. term for “earthen” is עָפָר, “dust.”

[4] J. W. Weavers, “War, Methods Of,” IDB, 804–5.

[5] Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, p. 308). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[6] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ob 3). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.