Habakkuk 2:15-The Fourth Woe Spoken by the Lord Against the Babylonians
Habakkuk Chapter Two • Sermon • Submitted • 1:08:02
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Habakkuk 2:15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!” (NIV)
Habakkuk 2:15 “Disaster to the one who is characterized by forcing his neighbor to drink wine when pouring out his rage which characterizes him. Yes indeed, for the purpose of forcing them to be intoxicated in order to gaze upon their genitals.” (My translation)
Habakkuk 2:15 presents the fourth of five woes that appear in Habakkuk 2:2-20 and the first appeared in Habakkuk 2:6.
This is the fourth time in Habakkuk chapter two that we have seen the interjection hôy (Hab. 2:6, 9), which we noted in our studies of Habakkuk 2:6, 9 and 12 indicates dissatisfaction and discomfort and occurs entirely in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament with one exception (1 Kings 13:30).
It can be translated “woe, alas” but in today’s English a better translation would be “disaster” since the word pertains to a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction.
As was the case when the word was used in Habakkuk 2:6, 9 and 12, the word here in Habakkuk 2:15 is expressing the idea of the Lord promising that disaster would strike the Babylonians.
The contents of the verse 15 reveals that this disaster will come against the Babylonians because they repeatedly caused their neighbor to drink wine while repeatedly pouring out their rage in order to make them intoxicated in order to gaze upon their genitals.
Habakkuk 2:15 contains four statements.
The first solemnly asserts that the Babylonians repeatedly forced their neighbor to drink wine.
The second is a temporal clause that took place simultaneously with the first and asserts that the Babylonians were pouring out their characteristic rage on their neighbor by repeatedly forcing them to drink wine.
The third is an emphatic purpose clause which presents the purpose of the second and asserts that the Babylonians forced their neighbor to become intoxicated with wine as a result pouring out their rage on them.
The fourth and final statement presents the purpose of the third and asserts that the purpose for which the Babylonians forced their neighbor to be intoxicated was in order to gaze upon their genitals, both male and female.
In context, the referent of the noun rēaʿ (רֵעַ), “neighbor” in Habakkuk 2:15 would be the citizens of the various nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world who were conquered and plundered by the Babylonians at the end of the seventh century B.C. and the beginning of the sixth century B.C.
Therefore, these four statements are figurative language describing the Babylonians’ cruel imperialistic and humiliating treatment of the citizens of the various nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world at the end of the seventh century B.C. whom they had conquered.
The Babylonians’ cruel, harsh treatment of the citizens of these nations is compared to intoxicating wine which the Babylonians forced these nations to drink so that they could humiliate them (cf. Rev. 14:10).
Therefore, the fourth woe in Habakkuk 2:2-20 is directed at the Babylonians for their cruel treatment of the citizens of the various nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world which they conquered at the end of the seventh century B.C.
It is directed against them because of their unrepentant, sinful conduct in relation to the various nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world at the end of the seventh century B.C.
Many commentators take Habakkuk 2:15 as figurative language but I believe that this verse should be taken literally.
The passage is saying that the Babylonians characteristically forced their prisoners of war to drink “when” pouring out their rage which characterized them in order to get them intoxicated so as to gaze at their genitals.
In other words, the Babylonians expressed their rage by forcing their prisoners of war to become intoxicated with wine in order to gaze at their genitals with the implication of sexually abusing them.
The reference to genitals in Habakkuk 2:15 not only refers to male genitalia but also female.
Thus, the Babylonians not only sinned by forcing others to become intoxicated with wine which characterized them as a people but also they were involved in the sins of drunkenness and sexual sins such as adultery, fornication and homosexuality which again is indicated by the reference to gazing at genitalia.
So as we noted Habakkuk 2:15 asserts that the Babylonians who were characterized by drunkenness also forced others to be intoxicated as well.
There was a problem with drunkenness in the ancient world just as there is a problem with drunkenness today in the twenty-first century.
In fact, there were actually believers that were getting drunk at the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11:20-21)! The Scriptures warn against drunkenness many times (Proverbs 20:1; 23:20-21; 23:29-35).
The Bible has a lot to say about alcohol and its abuse and proper use.
A number of passages warn against the dangers of drunkenness since it causes people to stagger (Ps. 107:27; Prov. 23:34), it makes them sick (Is. 28:8; Jer. 25:27), it makes the eyes red (Prov. 23:29), it puts a person into a stupor (Jer. 51:39, 57), it makes a person poor (Prov. 23:21), it interferes with a leader’s work (Prov. 31:4f).
The foolishness of drunkenness is shown by the examples of Noah (Gen. 9:21), Lot (Gen. 19:31-38), Nabal (1 Sam. 25:36-39), David (2 Sam. 11:13), Absalom (2 Sam. 13:28) and Belshazzar (Dan. 5:2).
The Bible does “not” prohibit drinking alcohol but it “does” prohibit drunkenness (cf. Ephesians 5:18).
Believers are not to associate with believers who are alcoholics (1 Cor. 5:9-11).
Drunkenness is a manifestation of the old Adamic sin nature (Gal. 5:19-21).
Daniel chapter five records Belshazzar throwing a drinking party for his nobles, wives and concubines on the night Babylon was captured and he was killed by the Medo-Persian army.
The apostle Paul in Romans 13:13 exhorts the Roman believers to unite with him in conducting their lives properly as those who exist in the day, not by means of drunken parties, licentious promiscuity and jealous contention.
Romans 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. (NASB95)
In Ephesians 5:18, the apostle Paul prohibited the Ephesian Christian from being intoxicated with wine and commanded them instead to be filled or influenced by the Spirit instead.
Ephesians 5:18 And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit. (My translation)
Paul taught in 1 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 1:7 that one of the qualifications which must be met in order for the man with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher to become an overseer is that he must not be an alcoholic and this is one of the qualifications for a deacon.
Now, as we noted, Habakkuk 2:15 asserts that the Babylonians forced their prisoners of war to become intoxicated with wine in order to gaze upon their genitals, which we noted is a reference to not only male genitalia but also female.
Thus, they were involved in not only heterosexual sins such as fornication and adultery but also homosexual sins.
Paul in Romans 1:27 taught that God not only gave heathen Gentile women over to lesbianism for their rejection of Him but also He gave the men over to homosexuality for the same reason.
The Greco-Roman society of Paul’s day tolerated homosexuality and viewed it as superior to heterosexuality but in Jewish culture, it was considered an abomination since the Mosaic Law condemned and prohibited it (See Leviticus 18:22; 20:13).
In the Greek New Testament, Paul teaches that practicing “homosexuals” will not inherit the kingdom of God meaning they will not receive their eternal inheritance (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-10).
Lesbianism and homosexuality is a manifestation of the old Adamic sin nature (See Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Ephesians 5:3-5).
We must remember that God hates the sin of homosexuality but loves the sinner (Jn. 3:16-17) as manifested by the fact that Jesus Christ died for the homosexual in order that they might be saved and be freed from the bondage of homosexual sins.
In Colossians 3:5, Paul taught the Colossian Christian community that they must put off sexual immorality, sexual impurity and sexual lust.
Colossians 3:5 Therefore, I solemnly charge each and every one of you to put to death the members of that which belongs to your earthly nature with regards to the practice of sexual immorality, sexual impurity, sexual lust, evil desire as well as that which is greed which is, as an eternal spiritual truth characterized as idolatry. (Author’s translation)
“Sexual immorality” refers to the practice of sexual immorality of any kind or sexual sin of a general kind which includes many different behaviors and denotes any type of sexual activity outside of marriage including fornication and adultery and even prostitution.
“Sexual impurity” refers to the practice of all types of sexual sins such as pre-marital sex (Gen. 1:18-24; 1 Cor. 7:2), adultery (1 Sam. 21:5), rape (Gen. 34:5), homosexuality (Lev. 18:20), and other sexual deviations (Lev. 18:6-30) and denotes the state or moral impurity in relation to sexual sin.
“Sexual lust” pertains to the practice of an uncontrolled sexual passion, lustful desire and evil craving.