1. Pray. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, that you might behold wondrous things out of his Word (Ps. 119:18). 

2. Read Sunday's passage. Feel free to read it more than once, or in another translation.

3. Review the sermon outline. Try to see how the points came out of the text.

4. Answer the questions below. Focus on personal application.

5. Pray. Praise and thank the Lord, then ask him to work in mighty ways. 

Remember, we live not by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God (Dt. 8:3; Mt. 4:4).

5 “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”

6 Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!” 7  Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. 8  Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.

9  “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! 10  You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. 11  For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.

12  “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! 13  Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? 14  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

15  “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! 16  You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! 17  The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.

18  “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! 19  Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. 20  But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Intro: We know the feeling of satisfaction when a great villain finally meets justice for his or her crimes. This is what we see today in our passage. God has answered Habakkuk's complaints by telling him that justice will come on His timing. And now he shows him how. 

I. At the right time, God will judge the wicked. (2:5–20). The nations whom the Babylonians have crushed will one day take up a taunt against their oppressors and proclaim five "Woes," or pronouncements of doom, in response to their sins. These five woes are against (1) Greed in v. 6–8; (2) A false sense of security achieved through injustice in v. 9–11; (3) Violence in v. 12–14; (4) Debauchery & the abuse of creation in v. 15–17; and (5) Idolatry in v. 18–20. Justice will come, but it will come on God's timing, so Habakkuk (and we) must learn to trust in God's sovereignty.  

II. God will judge the wicked by his Messiah, King Jesus. (2:14). Verse 14 is quoted from Psalm 72:19 and Isaiah 11:9. Both of these passages point to the rule of a righteous king, through whom God would bring justice to his people. Isaiah makes it clear that this king will be the Son of David, the Messiah. This points us forward to the work of Jesus Christ. By the death of Christ, sin has been punished, and all who believe in him are pardoned and counted righteous. And by the life and reign of Christ, the eventual defeat of every enemy is guaranteed. So in order to escape the justice we deserve for our own sins, and to be on the winning side when woes come to the wicked, believe in the Lord Jesus! 

III. Realize God is there, and He is sovereign. (2:20). Mute idols are nothing, but God is there, and he is sovereign. His plan of redemption through Christ is the only way justice will ever come to the earth. So remain faithful to the LORD! 

Conclusion: If you want to see justice, then look to Jesus and believe in him, for the righteous shall live by faith. 

1. At the right time God will judge the wicked.

- Which of the sins mentioned in Habakkuk 2 stands out to you? Why? 

- Do you think these Woes are limited to the Babylonians? Why or why not?

- Where do you see these kinds of sins in our culture today?

- Where do you see them in your own heart? 

- Why is it essential that we wrestle with our own sin, and not just point out the "Babylonians" around us? 

2. God will judge the wicked by his Messiah, King Jesus.

- Is justice possible apart from the work of God in Christ? Why or why not? 

- If every person got the justice he or she truly deserved, how would that go for us? 

- How does Christ's victory over sin and death give you hope in the cause for justice? 

- How can a person be among the taunters (the nations announcing woes), and not among the taunted (the Babylonians)?  

3. God is there. Trust in his sovereignty!

- What situations in the past have caused you to trust in God's sovereignty?

- What situations in the present––right now––are causing you to do the same?

- Why can God's sovereignty be trusted at all? 

- What does it look like to live by faith in Christ right now? 

1. Praise the Lord that the wicked will be judged for their sins, and justice will be established.

2. Praise the Lord that the judgment we deserved for our sins fell upon Jesus, and his righteous standing was given to us by faith.

3. Ask God to help us trust in his sovereignty, espeically in things we don't like or understand. 

4. Pray that we would not turn to any idols, but that we would realize God is there, and that we would be silent before him. 

Thanks for reading the Bible Study Guide! I pray it helps us "continue to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Tom Hansen, Senior Pastor