Habakkuk 2:6-20 Turn About
God gives Habakkuk a little peek into what, and why, will happen to Babylon. Turn about is fair play, so they say. Babylon will receive what she gave, in due time.
Babylon will be God’s instrument of judgment for Israel, but its rise to power doesn’t stop there. Babylon will become an empire built on the backs of those they conquered. And God says it will be their downfall.
Babylon had three phases of power throughout history. This included varying degrees of being a world power; empire. The city and its people had about 2,000 years of history. But the Babylon/Chaldeans that God used to judge Israel had about 100 years of power. At the end of THAT fall, Babylon would be no more.
I don’t know much about the earlier Babylonian, First Babylonian Empire, or the Kassite and Elamite rule period. I am NOT a student of history. I have to confess that my main source of history is my bible. We don’t see the full picture of the world from it, but it is what I cling to and turn to first for answers about history. I know that there were more kings of Babylon than just Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s account introduced several of them to us. Daniel’s time is when Babylon was at its zenith; greatest power. And also, when it fell from history.
God told several of His prophets that He was “raising up a nation” to judge Israel and Judah for her sins. I find it interesting that the height of Babylon’s power lasted little longer than Judah’s captivity. Israel’s captivity was far longer but it was under Assyrian rule in the beginning. Israel also melted into the people whom had conquered them. They were lost, swallowed up by their captivity.
GOD raised up Babylon as a powerful nation for His plans. And they lasted just long enough to complete Judah’s ‘lesson plan’. And in the process of being raised up, Babylon conquered and subjugated MANY other nations. And their resources were taken by Babylon, including their people and fighting forces. These were then used to conquer and subjugate even more nations.
This would prove to be Babylon’s downfall. Their power stood on the backs of all those they conquered. They had no separation like the Egyptians did. The Egyptian people were vastly outnumbered by the Hebrews they kept as slaves. Their reliance on their OWN army as enforcers kept the two nation separate and maintained lines of distinction. Babylon didn’t do that, as far as I can tell.
God said that the conquered people of Babylon would rise up against them. Apparently, the conquered people stopped supporting their conquerors. Those fragments of conquered people would rise up against the one who conquered them. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that those disenfranchised people actually helped the Persian Empire when they came knocking on Babylon’s walls. The army of Babylon was already defeated in the battle of Opis, so I doubt the army was much help when the Assyrian’s took Babylon itself.
‘Foundation’ matters! Babylon’s ‘foundation’ was built on the backs of the people she had conquered. A beaten people and probably ones filled with anger and despair. When lumped together, they didn’t form a strong foundation. It crumbled under the pressure of a king who paid them no mind, beyond what he could get from them.
God says to build your house on His foundation. It is a FIRM foundation that will NEVER wash away or crumble. That foundation if Jesus and the salvation He purchased on the cross. EACH aspect of God’s foundation is bathed and coated in His love. That is the ONLY ‘foundation that will stand the test of time. It is also what binds the hears of those who are His body to one another. Without His love, ALL would fall.
Thank You Father God for Your love. It is the ONLY thing holding MY life together! I can’t imagine where I would be without Your love. Or more like, I can’t imagine where I would be without You. I don’t even want to try!
