“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with violence! Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts that peoples toil for fire, and nations grow weary for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:12-14).
The vision God commanded Habakkuk to write (Hab 2:2) is found in Habakkuk 2:5-20. In this vision, the nations that have been violently conquered by the Chaldeans take up five “woes” of divine judgment against their conquerors (Hab 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19).
Though directed against the Chaldeans, these woes also pertain to every person and nation that has advanced in this world through coveting, greed, violence, lust, and false worship (see 1 John 2:16). All such people toil for things that will, in the end, be burned up by fire. They weary themselves for dust in the wind (Hab 2:13; see Jer 51:58).
For just as the waters cover the sea, so every place where people live will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD.
But like a black cloth used to display a sparkling diamond, these woes provide the backdrop for a vision truly worth waiting for by faith (see 2:3-4). There is coming a day when the protection of police and armies will no longer be required. There will be no need for courts or jails. Hospitals will be completely emptied of patients and doctors. Pastors and evangelists will be forced to find new employment as well. For just as the waters cover the sea, so every place where people live will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD (Hab 2:14; 3:3; see Isa 11:9).
Because this vision is God’s direct answer to Habakkuk’s complaints in chapter 1 (see 1:2-4), the prophet breaks forth into a praise-filled prayer in chapter 3. And what does Habakkuk pray for? The very thing Yeshua taught us to pray for as well: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
