Habakkuk 2:16-The Babylonians Will Experience Shame Rather than Honor Because of the Lord’s Judgment
Habakkuk Chapter Two • Sermon • Submitted • 1:08:01
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Habakkuk 2:16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. (NIV)
Habakkuk 2:16 “You will as a certainty experience shame to its fullest extent instead of honor. All of you drink so that all of you expose your uncircumcision. The cup from the Lord’s right hand will be coming against you resulting in shame to replace your honor.” (My translation)
The Lord here in Habakkuk 2:16 continues His response to Habakkuk’s argument against His choice of the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry of the southern kingdom of Judah and which argument is recorded in Habakkuk 1:12-17.
This response began in Habakkuk 2:2 and ends in Habakkuk 2:20.
Habakkuk 2:2-20 presents the Lord’s decision to judge the Babylonian empire in the future for their unrepentant sinful behavior.
Specifically, He will judge them because of their evil treatment of those nations they conquered in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world at the end of the seventh century B.C. and at the beginning of the sixth century B.C.
Habakkuk 2:16 also continues to describe the fourth of five woes that appear in Habakkuk 2:2-20.
Like the first three, this fourth woe 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.
Now, Habakkuk 2:16 contains two prophetic statements and two commands, which were all fulfilled in human history through Medo-Persia and her allies conquering Babylon and absorbing her people and customs into its empire in 539 B.C.
These two commands are sandwich between the two prophetic statements.
In the first prophetic statement, the Lord God of Israel solemnly asserts that the Babylonians will as a certainty experience shame to its fullest extent instead of honor.
The noun qā·lôn (קָלוֹן), “shame” describes the future state of Babylonians experiencing as a nation a state of dishonor, ignominy, infamy among the nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world.
Thus, the word speaks of the Babylonians possessing a low status among these nations and public disgrace with the associated feelings of shame.
The noun kā·ḇôḏ (כָּבוֹד), “honor” pertains to the Babylonians experiencing a state of being highly respected or revered among the nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world.
Thus, the word speaks of the attribution of high status to the Babylonians as a people.
However, the prepositional phrase mikkābôd (מִכָּב֔וֹד), “instead of honor” marks a contrast between the citizens of the Babylonians experiencing shame to its fullest extent as nation and experiencing glory or honor as a nation.
Thus, it indicates that although they experience honor among the nations in Habakkuk’s day at the end of the seventh century B.C. in approximately 605 B.C., this will not be the case in the future but rather they shall experience shame instead.
Now, this first prophetic statement in Habakkuk 2:16 is followed by two commands from the Lord.
The first command is emphatic and required that the Babylonians drink.
What the Babylonians were to drink from is not explicitly mentioned in the command.
However, the prophetic statement which follows it, namely tissôb ʿālêkā kôs yĕmîn yĕhwâ (תִּסּ֣וֹב עָלֶ֗יךָ כּ֚וֹס יְמִ֣ין יְהוָ֔ה), “The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you” indicates that the Lord wants the Babylonians to drink from the cup of His right hand which speaks of experiencing the Lord’s wrath.
This is indicated by the fact that the cup is used in Scripture for experiencing God’s wrath, which speaks of His righteous indignation.
The God of Israel’s wrath refers to His righteous indignation, which refers to His legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature.
The reference to the Lord’s “right hand” here in Habakkuk 2:16 is often used in Scripture for His divine omnipotence, which is one of the characteristics of the divine essence (Father: Mark 14:36 and Luke 1:37; Son: Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3; Spirit: Rom. 15:13).
Therefore, the first command in Habakkuk 2:16 required that the Babylonians experience the Lord’s righteous indignation by means of His divine omnipotence, which would manifest itself through the exercise of the military power of the Medo-Persians and her allies.
Now, the second command in Habakkuk 2:16 presents the result of the first and required that the Babylonians literally expose the fact that they are uncircumcised in contrast to the Jews who are circumcised.
Thus, they were to experience shame as a result of exposing the fact that they are uncircumcised.
In other words, it indicates that the Babylonians will literally experience the shame of being naked before their enemies just as they forced their enemies to experience the shame of being naked when they conquered them.
The second prophetic statement in Habakkuk 2:16 solemnly asserts that the cup from the Lord’s right hand will be coming against the Babylonians resulting in shame to replace their honor.
The word for “cup” is the noun kôs (כּוֹס) which is used here in a figurative sense speaking of the Babylonians experiencing the Lord’s wrath which again speaks of His righteous indignation and as a result experiencing judgment from the Lord.
This use of the cup in Scripture is found in many other places in both Old and New Testament (cf. Is. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15, 17, 27-28; 49:12; Matt. 20:22; 26:39, 42; Rev. 14:10; 16:19).
The Lord’s “right hand” is the noun yā·mîn (יָמִין), which is used in a figurative or metaphorical sense for the Lord’s omnipotence.
Therefore, this second prophetic statement is solemnly asserting that the cup from the Lord’s right hand will be coming around to and against the Babylonians so that they experience His wrath just as the nations they conquered experienced His wrath through their military power.
This use of the “right hand” for God’s omnipotence appears in both the Old and New Testaments (cf. Ex. 15:6, 12; Ps. 63:8; 89:13; 98:1; 110:15-16; Is. 62:8; Lk. 22:69; Rev. 1:16-17, 20; 5:1, 7).
So therefore, notice in Habakkuk 2:16 that the first prophetic statement and the second contrast honor and shame.
They both emphasize with Habakkuk and the rest of the faithful remnant of Judah in 605 B.C. at the end of the seventh century B.C. that the honor that the Babylonian people enjoyed among the nations of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world would be replaces by shame.
The Babylonians received honor among these nations because they were conquered by them.
However, the Lord is predicting that the Babylonians would experience shame among these exact same nations in the future.
These two prophetic statements and commands in Habakkuk 2:16 were all fulfilled by the Babylonians being conquered by the Medo-Persians and her allies in 539 B.C.
In fact, all of the prophetic statements which appear in Habakkuk 2:6-17 were fulfilled in history when the Medo-Persian Empire invaded Babylon and overthrew Belshazzar as recorded in Daniel chapter five.
The Babylonian Empire was plundered by the Medo-Persian Empire and her allies.
The fall of Babylon was sudden as predicted in Habakkuk 2:6-17. Daniel chapter five records the sudden defeat of the Babylonian Empire.
The Lord used the Medo-Persian Empire to destroy Babylon.
History states that Babylon fell on the sixteenth day of the Jewish month Tishri which corresponds to either October 11 or 12 539 BC.
Daniel chapter five states that Belshazzar was the ruler of the Babylonian Empire when it was defeated by Medo-Persia.
The prophecy in Habakkuk 2:4-20 of Babylon’s demise was first published in 605 B.C. and fulfilled in 539 B.C.
Therefore, the fulfillment of the prophecy did not take place until approximately 66 years after Habakkuk received this prophecy from the Lord.
In 539 B.C. the Babylonian Empire was conquered, plundered and absorbed by Medo-Persia and her allies.
The fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:2-20 demonstrated that what Babylon did to other nations, was done to her and Babylon’s punishment corresponded to the crimes they committed against other nations.
In other words, the punishment of the Babylonians fit their crimes they committed against God and other nations and this principle is called lex telionis and the law of retribution.
Therefore, Habakkuk 2:2-20 teaches that God not only holds individuals accountable for their conduct but also nations.