The Fourth Woe (Habakkuk 2:15-17). .
‘Woe to him who gives his neighbour drink,
Adding your wrath to him,
And makes him drunk as well,
In order that you may look on their nakedness.'
The fourth woe concerns the fact that Babylon led astray other nations besides herself. It is pictured in terms of wine and drunkenness.
This expands the thought in Habakkuk 2:5. Not only is the great king drunk with his sin, but he gives the same to his subjected peoples, that they might drink, and share in the wrath of God that will be poured out on him (Jeremiah 51:7; Psalms 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15-16). They are made drunk in sin as well as him. Thus all of them are revealed as naked before YHWH. (Habakkuk may especially have had in mind here Genesis 9:20-27, an incident of great shame revealing man's sinful weakness). The king has forced others into his own sinful and evil ways.
To ‘look on their nakedness' is to see them laid bare so that their sins and their shame and their mere humanity are openly apparent, so that they are seen to have no excuse. ‘All things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do' (Hebrews 4:13; compare Genesis 2:25; Isaiah 47:3; Micah 1:11; Nahum 3:5).
This is a reminder that we all need to consider what the effects of our actions might be on others. There is also a reminder here of the dangers of the misuse of strong drink.
‘You are filled with shame for glory.
You also drink and be as one uncircumcised.
The cup of YHWH's right hand will be turned to you,
And foul shame will be on your glory.'
But it is not only other nations that are affected. Jerusalem and Judah are included, for they are now addressed. They too have been affected, ‘they will become as one uncircumcised'. They who should have been glorious in YHWH will instead be filled with shame. Becoming like Babylon and the other nations they will forsake the covenant. Thus they will become as though they were not circumcised. For to them circumcision was the seal of the covenant. The result is that they too will drink of the cup of YHWH's right hand, that is, of His most powerful hand. And the glory that was Jerusalem's as the holy city will instead be replaced by foul shame.
Sadly this was indeed what they did descend into on the death of Josiah. The influence of Babylon soon manifested itself and resulted in many of the infamies described by Ezekiel in his prophecy (e.g. Ezekiel 8:6-18). Thus they too would drink of the cup of YHWH's right hand, His manifested judgment, which would finally result in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Babylon had a lot to answer for.
‘For the violence done to Lebanon will cover (or ‘overwhelm') you,
And the destruction of the beasts which made them afraid.
Because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land,
To the city and all who dwell in it.'
At the approach of the advancing Babylonian army Lebanon would suffer first. But what would be done to Lebanon was a picture of what would also be done to Judah and Jerusalem. They would suffer the same violence as Lebanon. (Lebanon came first as Nebuchadnezzar descended from the north in his conquest of the area). They will be ‘covered' or ‘overwhelmed'.
And Lebanon would be made especially afraid because of the huge slaughter of their cattle and sheep, which would demonstrate the savageness of Nebuchadnezzar's troops. The same would be true for Judah and Jerusalem. Little would be left to them. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar would certainly need provisions, and they would provision themselves by using whatever was available, but some of the slaughter was no doubt carried out to teach them a hard lesson for their rebellion, and was also for the very purpose of frightening them into submission. Men would be slaughtered as well, men's blood would be spilled, and so the fear would be multiplied, because of the shedding of men's blood, because of the destruction of cattle and sheep, and because of the violence done to the trees and vegetation (the violence done to the land). And on top of this was the destruction of their city and all who dwelt in it.
So God's chastening of His rebellious and sinful people would be fulfilled. To find the full extent of their sinfulness at this time we need to turn to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Society had become violent and corrupt, on top of being idolatrous. The two aspects went together.