Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
The 1aoracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.Is 13:1; Nah 1:1
2 O LORD, ahow long will I call for helpAnd You will not hear?I cry out to You, “Violence!”Yet You do bnot save.Ps 13:1, 2; 22:1, 2Jer 14:93 Why do You amake me see iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?For bdestruction and violence are before me;cStrife continues and contention arises.Ps 55:9-11; Jer 20:18Jer 20:8Jer 15:104 Therefore, the alaw is ineffective and ignoredAnd justice is never upheld,For the wicked bsurround the righteous;Therefore, justice becomes cperverted.Ps 58:1, 2; 119:126; Is 59:12-14Ps 22:12; Is 1:21-23Is 5:20; Ezek 9:9
5 The LORD replied, “aLook among the nations! See!Be astonished! bWonder!For I am doing csomething in your days—You would not believe it if you were told. Acts 13:40, 41Acts 13:41Is 29:9Is 29:14; Ezek 12:22-286 “For behold, I am araising up the 1Chaldeans who rule in 2Babylon,That fierce and impetuous nationWho march throughout the earthTo btake possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them. 2+@Kin 24:2The Chaldeans were the dominant people in Babylonia. Originally from a small part of southern Babylonia near the head of the Persian Gulf, they were an aggressive tribe and completely controlled the country after 625 B.C. Babylon was their capital city and became the scholarly and scientific center of western Asia. The words “Chaldean” and “Babylonian” are used interchangeably.“Babylon” was the name of the magnificent capital city of Babylonia, and the name of the city was commonly used to refer to the entire area which was located at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent. Both the plain of Shinar and Chaldea (land of the Chaldeans) were part of ancient Babylonia.2 Kin 24:2; Jer 4:11-13Jer 8:107 “The Chaldeans are dreaded and afeared;Their bjustice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.Is 18:2, 7Jer 39:5-98 “Their ahorses are swifter than leopardsAnd keener than hungry bwolves in the evening,Their horsemen come galloping,Their horsemen come from far away;They fly like an ceagle swooping down to devour.Jer 4:13Zeph 3:3Ezek 17:3; Hos 8:19 “They all come for violence;Their horde of afaces moves eagerly forward,They gather prisoners like sand.2 Kin 12:17; Dan 11:1710 “They amake fun of kingsAnd rulers are a laughing matter to them.They bridicule every strongholdAnd cheap up rubble for earth mounds and capture it.2 Chr 36:6, 10; Is 37:13Is 10:9; 14:16Jer 32:24; Ezek 26:811 “Then they will sweep by like the awind and pass on.But they will be held bguilty,They and all men whose own cpower and strength is their god.”Jer 4:11, 12Jer 2:3Dan 4:30; Hab 1:16
12 Are You not from aeverlasting,O LORD, my God, My Holy One?We will not die.O LORD, You have bappointed the Chaldeans who rule in Babylon to execute Your judgment,And You, cO Rock, have established them to correct and chastise. Deut 32:4Deut 33:27; Ps 90:2; Mal 3:6Is 10:5, 6; Mal 3:5Deut 32:413 Your eyes are too apure to approve evil,And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.Why then do You blook favorablyOn those who act ctreacherously?Why are you dsilent when the wicked edestroyThose more righteous than they?Ps 11:4-6; 34:15, 16Jer 12:1, 2Is 24:16Ps 50:21Ps 35:2514 Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler and are helpless against their enemies?15 The Chaldeans abring all of them up with a hook,And bdrag them away with a net,And gather them together in their fishing net;So they rejoice and are glad.Jer 16:16; Amos 4:2Ps 10:916 Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their netAnd burn incense to their fishing net;Because through athese things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,And their food is plentiful.Jer 44:1717 Will they continue to empty their anetAnd mercilessly go on bdestroying nations without sparing?Is 19:8Is 14:5, 6