QT 8/9/2022 Hab 2:9-11, Let God build your house

Habakkuk 2:9–11 (ESV) —

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.

 

NOTE: The first phrase "gets evil gain for his house" is communicating the idea of an unjust gain that he uses to increase his house. So an example would be a measure that is slightly off, but allows the seller to increase his profit against the buyer. Over time, his unjust gains are invested into making his house bigger. But his house is built upon shame, taking advantage of others in order to increase his holdings. God says that the even the inanimate objects will witness against you in judgment. While the verses are directed against Babylon, it is not just Babylon, it was Israel too, and it is us today. We must do the right thing in all circumstances even if it seems to cost us or affect our next promotion. God is our judge, not our boss or our neighbors or our self. We seek to please God. And our witness is affected by our honesty.

 

PONDER:

1. When was the last time I blurred the truth for my own gain?
2. When was the last time I failed to speak up for fear of a greater cost upon my finances?

 

PRAYER: Father, speak to us today and in life. Show us where we are telling white lies or hiding truth in order to gain financially. May we be honest in all of our doings. And may we trust you to build our house not us.

 

Psalm 127:1 (ESV) —

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

 

We want you to build our house. Help us to stop laboring in vain.