Certainly joy and celebration are appropriate responses to the grace of God revealed in the gospel. But no less essential is the fear of God rooted in the recognition of His majesty and holiness. We must be careful that our emotions and physical displays in times of worship are conscious expressions of gratitude, awe, love, and devotion, rather than an unconscious reaction to the mood or rhythm of the music.
Sam Storms

Woe To The Wicked Hab 2220

Woe To The Wicked Hab 2220

HABAKKUK 2:9-20
WOE TO THE WICKED

INTRODUCTION:

  1. Habakkuk had complained (1:4)
    1. “The law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth:”
    2. “The wicked doth compass about the righteous;”
    3. “Wrong judgment proceedeth.”
  2. God had pointed out that:
    1. One should never compare his situation with another’s
    2. God has promised FINAL not IMMEDIATE judgment
    3. God has promised HELP and HOPE
      1. Help with present trials
      2. Hope of future rewards
      3. WOE TO THOSE WHO PUT THEIR TRUST IN TEMPORARY THINGS (9-11)
  3. Is all covetousness evil? (c.f. 1 Cor. 12:31)
  4. The Hebrew “covet” means “plunder, dishonest gain”
  5. Condemnation on those who cheat in business (Ja. 5:1-6) (cf. Pr 16:8; 21:6; 22:16; Je 17:11; 22:13; Ez 22:13)
  6. Is “featherbedding” a sin? (cf. Pr. 6:6; 10:5; 12:11; Pr. 13:11; 20:13; Ro. 12:11)

II. WOE TO THOSE WHO USE INIQUITY TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL (12-14)

  1. “Unjust” practices (even if they seem to prosper)
  2. Current teachings that “end justifies means” and that “morals are relative” are condemned
  3. People work for nothing (v. 13, cf. Hag 1:6; Am 4:6-11)
  4. The reason it is wrong: knowledge of God (future?)

III. WOE TO THOSE WHO DECEIVE IN ORDER TO POSSESS THINGS (15-17)

  1. WHY is drinking a sin?
  2. Is it wrong to drink a glass of wine at home alone?

IV. WOE TO THOSE WHO WORSHIP THE FALSE GODS OF MANKIND (18-20)

  1. Ex. 20:4, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
  2. What is an idol? (cf. Is. 42:8; Deu. 11:16)
    1. Photographs?
    2. Statues?
    3. Paintings?
  3. Is an idol infectous? (1 Cor. 8:4)
  4. Is an idol infectous? (1 Cor. 8:4)

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