CRITICAL NOTES.]
Habakkuk 2:5.] The thought further developed by a proverbial saying with special reference to the Chaldeans. They were given to wine and insatiable conquest. “Wine is treacherous; the haughty man stayeth not at home” [Hend.] (cf. Proverbs 30:1). Prond] Elated, haughty (Proverbs 21:24). Home] For he longs to go forth to destroy. Desire] Lit. soul; passions widen or enlarge the soul (Psalms 27:12; Psalms 41:2-3; Isaiah 5:14). Hell] Which is insatiable (Proverbs 30:15). Death] Which spares none, but swallows up every living thing (Proverbs 27:20). Gather] Lit. hath gathered. “He describes it, for the rapidity with which he completes what he longs for, as though it were already done” [Pusey].
HOMILETICS
WINE A DECEIVER.—Habakkuk 2:5
This verse not only developes the thought of the preceding, but adds another feature. Yea also, i.e. add to this that wine is treacherous [cf. Keil]. The general rule is applied to all oppressors, and especially to the Chaldeans, who were addicted to the sins here described.
I. Wine deceives in its nature. Its victims are mocked and grievously deceived. Wine promises pleasures which it cannot give. Strong drink is raging, not that “good creature” which some think it is. Intoxicating drinks abuse men, deceive, and lead them astray. They are overcome, beguiled, and befooled before they are aware. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
II. Wine deceives in its effects. “That it strengthens the system is a deception; chemistry has shown that it contains no nourishment for the body. That it enriches the national revenue is a deception. It is true that the taxes on alcoholic drinks bring millions annually into the national exchequer, but how much of the wealth of the nation does it exhaust by the pauperism and crime which it creates! Alcoholic drink is the great false prophet in England” [Dr. Thomas]. Prince and people, priest and prophet, have “erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way.”
“Ah! sly deceiver! branded o’er and o’er,
Yet still believed! exulting o’er the wrecks
Of sober vows” [Armstrong, I., M.D., 1744].
WINE AND ITS ASSOCIATES.—Habakkuk 2:5
Drunkenness itself is sin, and is the cause of other sins. Those who are given to wine are sensual and voluptuous. Wine never stands alone. We have here its associated evils.
I. Pride. “He is a proud man.” The proud man thinks too much of himself, despises others, and is arrogant in his conduct, “dealeth in proud wrath.” Pharaoh, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar are fearful examples of pride. Flushed with wine, Belshazzar and his princes desecrated the sacred vessels and insulted God. The drunkenness of the inhabitants enabled Cyrus to take Babylon, well provisioned and strongly fortified. Pride “is a vice,” says Hooker, “which cleaveth so fast unto the hearts of men, that if we were to strip ourselves of all faults one by one we should undoubtedly find it the very last and hardest to put off.” “A man’s pride shall bring him low.”
II. Ambition. “Neither keepeth at home.” Restless in spirit and in condition. Though home be a palace, to a discontented mind it is a prison. Drunk with ambition, as well as wine, the Chaldeans were not satisfied with their splendid kingdom, but sought to enlarge it. The world cannot fill the abyss of the soul without God. The man who treads others under his feet exalts his gate (Proverbs 17:19) above his neighbour, affects a style beyond his rank, and seeks destruction. Think of Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon. When Philip was thrown down in the games he saw the marks of his body, and said, “How little a parcel of earth will hold us when we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole world while living.”
III. Covetousness. “Who enlargeth his desire as hell,” &c. Covetousness and greed of wealth result from pride. Covetous men invade the rights and seize the property of others. One nation will not satisfy without another. The ambitious “gathereth unto him all nations and heapeth unto him all people.” This passion is never satisfied.
1. It is like Hades, which devours in its desire and act, and ever cries Give, give. “Hell and destruction are never full.”
2. It is like death, which has slain its millions and ready to take as many more. Death spares none but is terrible to all. “Hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Habakkuk 2:5-6. Desire. Could you change the solid earth into a single lump of gold, and drop it into the gaping mouth of avarice, it would only be a crumb of transient comfort, a cordial drop, enabling it to cry a little louder, “Give, give” [Royal Preacher].