Knowledge of the Glory of the Lord Habakkuk 2:14 - Equipped for Battle

In the book of Habakkuk the adversaries to Israel have had free reign to conquer. Their own pride and greed and their insatiable desire to have more and more of anything they desired has caught the attention of God. His rebuke of the Chaldeans has been centered around them giving credit to themselves for their accomplishments rather than giving glory to the Lord. In the book of Proverbs in chapter sixteen and verse eighteen Solomon wrote, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The fall for the Chaldeans has come and in the place of their own glory, the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. Habakkuk wrote in chapter two and verse fourteen:

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Imagine a time on the Earth where it “shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.” When we look around us today, we may find that our world is similar to the world in which the Chaldeans lived. The people were filled with pride, and they believed themselves to be “in the know.” They were reluctant to listen to wisdom because they thought themselves not in need of instruction. They felt themselves to be impervious to any outside knowledge and therefore could not be educated. God's response was to repeal the temporal thinking of the Chaldeans and replace the glory they gave to themselves with His own. The glory of the LORD and the knowledge of it would fill the Earth.

Let's also notice the widespread coverage of this knowledge, “as the waters cover the sea.” The reaction of God would be worldwide and no place would find the knowledge of His glory uncovered. God's reaction to the behavior of Chaldeans was to be known by everyone, and such is God's intention today. God appeared to Habakkuk in the beginning of this book to be aloof, distant, and possibly uncaring, but God has shown Himself to be globally involved. In order for injustice to be conquered, there must be one greater to succeed. The Heavenly Father places Himself as the absolute authority and he installs Himself as the only one who deserves the glory. As waters cover the sea, so does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread throughout the Earth.

Where do we attribute the glory for our accomplishments? Do people around us know who deserves the glory when we succeed? Do we point people to the Heavenly Father as being the source of our victories when we win, or do we take credit for ourselves? If we are used to taking credit for our achievements, perhaps we should rethink our positions lest we become like the Chaldeans whose own glory was replaced with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.

Next time we will look at the fourth “woe” that God gives to the Chaldeans, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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