When God gives warning to
anyone, they should take heed. However, when He gives warning after
warning after warning, they should really be concerned. We have
already studied two of God's “woes” to the Chaldeans in Habakkuk
chapter two: “Woe to him that increases [that which is] not
his!”in verse six of chapter
two, and “Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to
his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered
from the power of evil!” in
verse nine. Today we will look at the third of five “woes” given
to the Chaldeans in verse twelve where Habakkuk wrote:
Woe to him that builds
a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
Although
God has used the Chaldeans as His instrument of judgment against
Israel, they now have taken credit and given glory to themselves for
their victories. This seems to be a natural tendency within people
who triumph as prideful behavior lies at their door. The Chaldeans
conquered town after town and nation after nation with bloody
annihilations, and they thought themselves exempt from anyone's
retribution. They forgot about God. He says to them, “Woe to him
that builds a town with blood.” Building a city with disregard
for the ones who gained the victory and contempt for the people one
is victorious against without giving honor to God was the downfall of
the Chaldeans.
Next God
says, “and establishes a city by iniquity.” When the laws
of God are disregarded and iniquity abounds, a city or nation is in
imminent peril. The Chaldeans were oblivious to the laws of God and
were apathetic to the consequences for breaking them. Rather than
seeking and knowing how God desired they live, they abounded in
iniquity. They believed themselves to be beyond the laws of God, and
they lived as animals who fulfilled every desire they wished. Their
city was established by iniquity, and their behavior and attitudes
caught the attention of an Almighty God.
What
about our nation today? Are their places where God would indict us as
being a nation who “builds a town with blood?” Would we be
those who “establishes a city by iniquity?” Could it be
that there is such a disregard and apathy toward the laws of God that
every person establishes their own standard for living and does what
is right in their own eyes? It is easy to sit back in judgment
against the Chaldeans and not consider our own lives or our own
country. It is quite another thing to let the mirror of God shine
upon ourselves. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians in First Corinthians
chapter eleven and verse thirty-one:
For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged.
May our
meditation today bring us before the throne of God to allow Him to
show us areas in our lives that may be like the Chaldeans.
Next
time we will continue God's thoughts toward the Chaldeans in this
area, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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