Many people today think they are not religious. They claim modern man has progressed beyond the need for religion. However, every person on earth has a belief system that guides them; therefore, every person has a religion. Today’s passage is about the absurdity of following a man-made belief system.
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Transcript:
Many people today think they are not religious. They claim modern man has progressed beyond the need for religion. However, every person on earth has a belief system that guides them; therefore, every person has a religion. Today’s passage is about the absurdity of following a man-made belief system.
The beginning of Habakkuk is a dialogue between Habakkuk and Yahweh in which Habakkuk asked Yahweh why He allows evil people to do evil things. Yahweh assured Habakkuk that eventually everyone will face justice.
Then Yahweh issued a couple woes. The first woe was against being greedy for evil gain. The second woe was about bloodshed and injustice. The third woe concerned using drink to victimize people. The fourth woe, found in today’s passage, regarded the irrationality of idols.
Hab. 2:18 ¶ “What profit is the graven image when its maker has engraved it,
Or a molten image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own making
When he fashions speechless idols.
These are rhetorical questions. Idols give no benefit because they are lifeless objects.
Notice the statement that those who make idols are trusting in their own creation. The implication is it is silly for men to trust in man-made gods.
Today, very few people in western civilization worship physical idols. In fact, many modern people claim to be non-religious. They believe they are enlightened and have progressed beyond religion.
However, everyone has a religion, even those who think they don’t. Their religion may be expressed in philosophical terms, but everyone has a system of beliefs that guides their life and values.
The people who made idols did so because they were following a belief system that was man-made. Today, anyone who isn’t a true Christian is following a belief system which is not Biblical, meaning they are following a man-made religion.
Just as it was silly for people in Habakkuk’s day to bow down to graven images, because they were lifeless and man-made, so too today it is silly for men to follow the tenets of a religion or philosophy system that is man-made because they are trusting in their own creation.
minor break
Habakkuk put a minor break after verse 18. Verses 18 and 19 are connected in that they both talk about idols, but the minor break creates a little separation between the verses. Verses 19 and 20 stand alone as a woe and a contrast between idols and Yahweh.
Hab. 2:19 Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
And there is no breath at all inside it.
Verse 19 is a woe against those who think wood and stone are alive. Another way to put it is it is a woe against those who think wood and stone idols are real.
Notice the question, “And that is your teacher?” This question mocks those who use man-made idols. The point is it is silly to believe that idols made of wood and stone can be of any benefit.
Likewise, a man-made belief system, including many belief systems followed today, cannot teach because it is limited by the human limitations of its human creators. It is silly to live life according to a belief system that was created by humans.
Hab. 2:20 But Yahweh is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Major Break
The first word of verse 20 is but. This creates a contrast. While man-made idols are dead and silent, Yahweh is not. Yahweh is alive. Yahweh is in His holy temple. When Yahweh speaks, all the earth should be silent.
Many people claim to be non-religious. However, every person on earth follows either the one and only true God, or a man-made religion. Just as it was foolish for people in Habakkuk’s day to worship man-made idols that were lifeless, so too today it is foolish for people to live life according to a belief system that is based on human philosophies.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”