Habakkuk 2:18-20 – The Futility of Idols

BIBLE TEXT

Habakkuk 2:18-20

SUMMARY

Habakkuk contrasts inanimate idols with the living God.

ANALYSIS

Habakkuk, like other biblical writers, mocks those who worship idols made of wood and stone (cf. Psalm 115:4-8; Isaiah 44:9-20; 46:1-7; Jeremiah 10:3-9). These human-made objects cannot speak, move, or teach the one who worships them. The prophet finds it ludicrous that a man would trust in a “god” made by his own hands. The idol is nothing but a “teacher of lies.”

By contrast, the God of Israel, the LORD, “is in his holy temple.” God’s holiness and majesty are such that “all the earth” should “keep silence before him.” God is not made by human beings; it is the other way around.