Episode 7: Worshipping What? (2:18-20)
This episode paused to dwell on just three verses, but they expose the root cause of the Babylonian behaviour, and so the reason for the formidable judgement that has been described in the previous verses.
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How would you summarise the problem seen in these three short verses?
How is idolatry a prevalent problem for us, as much as them?
How can we be guarding our hearts against idolatry in our everyday lives?
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This episode is sponsored by 10ofthose.com. 10ofthose.com hand pick the best Christian books that point to Jesus and sell them at discounted prices. The more you buy the cheaper they get! Check them out at 10ofthose.com.
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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Sarah: Hello, everyone. This podcast is sponsored by 10ofthose.com 10of those handpick the best Christian books that point to Jesus and sell them at discounted prices. The more you buy, the cheaper they get. Check them out after the episode at 10ofthose.come . Hello, everyone.
Felicity: Welcome to word fuelled hearts. I'm felicity and I'm in America. And this is Sarah.
Sarah: Hello.
Felicity: And she is in the UK. What's in your cup today, Sarah?
Sarah: I'm so glad you asked that question. So my friend Danielle popped around yesterday. She didn't pop into my house. It's okay, we just went for a run. But she gave me a box of Yorkshire tea. But it's not just Yorkshire tea today, Christie. It's malty biscuit brew. And it says on the packet, tastes like tea and biscuit. What?
Felicity: I didn't even know there was such a thing. Genuine Yorkshire tea.
Sarah: I will just show you the packet and I know our listeners can't see the packet, but it is Yorkshire tea, and I've got it in my cup here. And it's very interesting, this, because it smells like biscuits, but it tastes like tea.
Felicity: Interesting. I mean, enjoyable or a grower, maybe?
Sarah: Enjoyable.
Felicity: Very good.
Sarah: And it should be sweeter than it is. I don't like sweet tea and this is fine. It's not sweet, but it smells sweet when you smell it smells like a biscuit.
Felicity: It's genius. It sounds like it's literally made for this podcast. I know.
Sarah: It's a surprise that they're not sponsoring us, really, isn't it?
Felicity: Yeah. Explore that option. Just on one. Just a quick matter. We've had a couple of people engage with us on the matter of cups and mugs. We actually come from a household. Our family, our parents are very particular about the cup that they drink their tea out of. I'm fairly sure I've made a cup of tea for our dad and had it rejected because it's been in the wrong cup. Could you just clarify what is a good cup for you?
Sarah: Well, it's interesting, isn't it? You said I think it's such a subjective thing, but I think we might need to clarify why our parents are so particular. They have owned gift shops for, what, decades, selling mugs of all. So they're very specific because they only drink out the ones that they sell. My perfect mug, I have about three or four that I would generally drink out of at home. This one is fairly small and it's a thin rimmed mug. What about you? What have you gone for today?
Felicity: Yeah, well, I've actually got just pure Earl Gray today, actually. Just a tea bag. I haven't gone to the upper echelons of, like, tea leaves and all that. No. But I do have a relatively thin lipped mug my husband and I were talking yesterday about. We just need a few more builders mugs. You know, the slightly thicker rims. That's where his choice would be. Anyway, there's a whole range of mug possibilities out there, aren't there?
Sarah: I know, but even more exciting than the mugs is we've got a big announcement this week, haven't we? And that is we have a giveaway. We are very excited to be doing our first giveaway. Big thanks to ten of those who are providing a wonderful lot of books for us. Tell us, how do we win this giveaway?
Felicity: Well, in order to win it, you need to head over to our social media. So Instagram, Facebook and there'll be instructions there. It basically involves engaging with us on those platforms and then we are just so excited to give away I think we're going to give away two of these, one for Facebook and one for Instagram, aren't we? And it's a big package of books. I'm excited by the choices in there.
Sarah: Yeah, it's amazing. There's things on prayer. We've kind of themed it around habitat. So there's books on prayer and growing in that. There's books on growing in how to read your Bible and get really stuck into it. We've got a lovely journaling Bible. We've got some lovely journal notebooks as well. And a few other things as well. I would have loved this giveaway. Head over to our social media and follow us if you're not already. And then in this coming week that giveaway will appear.
Felicity: Yes. And do share with others. They can be very much in with the chance as well if they get following and get listening.
Sarah: Absolutely.
Felicity: We should exactly what I was going to say.
Sarah: Exactly.
Felicity: Now we are in chapter two versus 18 through to 20. A bit of a smaller section today, but it comes at the end of the rows that we were in last week, but we thought we should just kind of pause here in order to consider root causes of the Babylonian issue. Is that about right?
Sarah: Yeah, it kind of comes at the end of it's kind of the finale to the section of chapter one and chapter two, isn't it? Yeah. The next section is going to be beginning of Habakkuk's Prayer and song. And this is the kind of I guess it's like the full stop, but you're right, it's only three verses. But there's a lot as ever as we're finding there's a lot to dwell on in these verses.
Felicity: Do you want to read it for us?
Sarah: So? I'd love to do that. Let's read. So, chapter T 18 of what valley is an idol carved by a craftsman or an image that teaches lies for the one who makes it trusts in his own creation. He makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him, he says. To would come to life or to lifeless stone. Wake up. Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver. There is no breath in it. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.
Felicity: Thank you. It's worth just noting, isn't it, that in chapter one, verse eleven, we get an echo of this same kind of the root behind the Babylonian behavior. And he says in chapter one, verse eleven, this guilty people whose own strength is their God. So when we get our verses this week, actually, we know this is the second time we're hearing that actually this idea of worshiping your own strength or worshiping something other than God, that is the issue kind of behind the Babylonian way of life. Really.
Sarah: Yeah. Although interestingly, in one verse 16 we get he sacrifices to his neck and burns incense to his dragon. So we talked about that a bit, didn't we? And how that related to back to the strength. Essentially what we've seen so far through habitkuk is the Babylonians have no regard outside of themselves. They sweep away nations as though they're just at the crumbs under the table. What we're seeing, what we have seen is that at the heart of that is themselves, isn't it? Their idol is them. Would you say that?
Felicity: It does seem to be, doesn't it? He says here, for the one who makes it trusts in his own creation, he makes idols that cannot speak. And in some ways the fact that they kind of are making their own strength, or they're assuming that they're making their own strength, they are attributing all that they can do. And all this power, horrific power, they're attributing it to themselves. And I think the key word is this word trust, which is very different to the trust of God's people that Habakkuk has been talking about, isn't it? So we have a kind of a contrast between those who are waiting on the Lord and those who are waiting essentially on themselves and their own strength.
Sarah: Yes. So let's dig into the language here. These three verses, what I found striking is just the way that an idol is described. The question of what value does it have? It's an image that teaches lies. That's very pointed, isn't it? There's no beating around the bush there that is very pointed in how it's describing an idol. It cannot speak.
Felicity: Yeah.
Sarah: It's lifeless, it's covered with gold and silver. There's no breath in it. It's a real contrast to what we've seen so far of who God is.
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. And there seems to be an element in it, the idea that the idol seems to be sort of teaching lies or kind of passing on untrue wisdom. And this kind of idea in verse 19, can it give guidance? The idea that you would be looking to the idol for guidance. So I wonder whether if we were to kind of define idolatry and a habit of AK kind of way, it would be this kind of trusting in a man made silent lifeless that you're looking to for guidance. It just seems to be quite a thing here in a habitat kind of way. And so then, obviously the contrast, that just wonderful contrast that we have had a speaking God all throughout Habakkuk and then we're sort of shown here silent idols who are lifeless, who have nothing to offer.
Sarah: Yeah. And the consequence is we've got the final woe, haven't we, in verse 19. Woe to him. So we've had four of those before. As the judgment has been declared on the Babylonians, how God describes, he is going to kind of perfectly judge them according to their deeds. And then the final way comes here. And it's the judgment of folly, isn't it, on the foolishness of what they're doing. So whether it's wood, whether it's stone, whether it's gold or silver, or whether it's their own strength or themselves, woe to Him who seeks guidance, who says come to life. He says, wake up. Who seeks to make this thing the center of.
Felicity: An idolatry or worshiping someone or something other than God is a common theme throughout the whole Bible, isn't it? So it's no surprise to have it spoken of here. But it does seem to be quite a particular kind of angle on it. And the judgment, as you say, it does come within this pattern of woes, the precise, terrifying judgment that's coming in. So there's no doubt that this is a wrong path to take. And as the Babylonians and anyone else looks to idols rather than God, and that's a serious you're just going down the wrong path. It's all going to go wrong in a horrible Woe like fashion. The fact we're only looking at two verses, actually within these two verses, it's just kind of bosh like that's it, this is the deal.
Sarah: I think that's right. I think in light of the context of what we've just seen with the other ways, this is very sharp and pointed, isn't it? Because it's essentially saying of what use is your idol in light of the judgment that's coming, in the context of the judgment that we're seeing of what's going to happen. This is crazy. This is crazy. You are trusting in idols.
Felicity: Yeah, that's so true. And so when we put this back into the context of the whole of Habakkuk, then it is all the more foolish. Absolutely. And then you just have this wonderful verse 20 day. I love this. The Lord is in his holy temple. I just love the present tense of that. I love the Lord yahweh relational god the God of his people. And he is present tense, living active in his holy temple. In the temple. The whole purpose of the temple is really to be having a relationship with his people. It's just such an extreme opposite to the idols of 18 and 19.
Sarah: That's very helpful twisty. When I was thinking about this this week, I didn't dwell on that and I dwell on the sentence after it, or the bit after it saying, let all the earth be silent before Him. But that contrast is super helpful. I'm really glad you pointed that out, but I've been really struck by actually this is talking about the Babylonians, but then suddenly it says, let all the earth be silent before Him. So the response to God being in his holy temple, we all deserve this judgment, the only response is silence. And that goes to the whole earth because actually, as you were saying earlier, idolatry is a theme throughout the whole Bible, because it's a theme in man's heart from the beginning of time to cling onto something other than the living God.
Felicity: Yes, I think you're right that as we read that second half of the verse and there is a kind of trembling, reverent fear in that, that is a right response to the mighty God who we see judge and we see very much living inactive and ruling. And that is what the Babylonians have most definitely not taken note of.
Sarah: Yeah. So what do we do with that then? So we are part of all the earth silent before Him, but what do we do with these verses for our own hearts then? Where does that lead us?
Felicity: Yeah, it's a good question because we're not the Babylonians as we've been reading HabitatUK, I think we've been encouraged all the more to be those who are waiting on the Lord with Habakkuk. We want to be like him and as we're following Jesus, we are safely kind of with Habakkuk in that. So actually, Sarah, you had a really good way of explaining this, as you were telling me earlier. Are you able to explain that for us?
Sarah: So the way I've kind of picked it apart this week and seen it is that it is right that we are silenced before God in this. Like we should be trembling in terms of seeing our sin and seeing our heart problem here. But we also know that we do not need to fear this judgment because of Jesus. And so what we've seen in chapter two, the rest of chapter two is we've seen that the righteous will live by faith and Jesus is the only one who has ever done that perfectly. He is the ultimate righteous person. He's the one who's done that holy and perfectly, but he's also the person who's fulfilled. Where is it? Verse 16, the cut from the Lord's right hand is coming round to you. And we talked about that last time, the fact that it is Jesus who's taken that full cup of rough from us and has taken that judgment on the cross. So as we look at this, it is right to tremble. And I'm going to talk in a minute about what it looks like to kind of think about our hearts. But actually we don't need to fear this judgment because we're in Jesus and therefore we look to Jesus and go, wow, you've done everything for us here. Again, this should cause us to it's a wow moment of Jesus.
Felicity: Yeah, that's so helpful. To work it through like that. Really what you're saying is that our hearts are by nature tended towards this kind of idolatry, but because of Christ, we are safe and we're secure. And that is just what a wonderful, as you say, wow, truth. But we still need to guard our hearts against kind of running the Babylonian way, don't we? What kind of things have you been I've been dwelling on this this week as well. I was thinking just how easy it is to look for guidance elsewhere other than God. I wonder whether I can be a bit compartmentalized. Right. I read my Bible and I'm studying my Bible and I'm even teaching the Bible, and then functionally in other areas of my life, I maybe look elsewhere for some guidance, some advice, some wisdom to go, man, Google has really taken top spot in our kind of oracle of life.
Sarah: I see that in the way that my kids will say, well, look it up on me. That's just a natural response. Well, we don't know the answer, so look it up.
Felicity: Yeah, type it in.
Sarah: Yeah, I think that's really helpful. Just like actually Google, it can be an idol, can't it? Can be what? We're going to where's my heart going with this? This week? I think I've been profoundly challenged on where my head space is and where my time goes. So what am I most likely to be thinking about and what am I most likely to be doing when I just need a bit of downtime or a bit of I need to rest, but actually, where am I going with that rest? What am I choosing to do with my head and heart in that? And I've been very challenged with my smartphone, I've been very challenged with just user devices in that this week, which they're ultimately they're lifeless. Ultimately, it cannot do what the Lord Jesus has done for me. This should make us go, wow at Jesus, that he's taking everything we don't need to fear, and it should make us think, wow, I need to guard my heart and I need to really recognize my heart problem over and over again and go back to Jesus as we're wrapping up.
Felicity: Maybe just worth thinking, just what does it look like then, to not be running like the Babylonians, to not doing this? Well, probably listening to God first and obeying Him. So kind of actually functionally listening, reading and doing, accepting that guidance, accepting that advice, choosing his strength and his wisdom over mine every time. And I don't know about you, but I need to pray about that all the time to do that so much as ever.
Sarah: We've covered three verses and I feel like we've only just scratched the surface, but hopefully that will kind of be as fuel for thought as people dwell on this for the rest of their walks or their cup of tea, whatever it is. Christine would you pray for us as a reference?
Felicity: Absolutely. Heavenly Father, we praise you so much that you are living and active and relational. And that as we come before you through Jesus, we know you to be our God, to be wise, and to be all knowing. And Father, we pray that we really would be those who run to you first. Please guard our hearts. Please guard us from idolatry. And please would we be those who worship you, listen to you, and obey you. And so would we. Joyfully be following you. And we pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sarah: Amen. Well everyone, thank you so much for tuning in again. Do remember to go and follow us on social media and Facebook to be in a chance of giveaway win this week. And we look forward to seeing you next time.
Felicity: Yeah, see you next time. Bye bye bye.
Sarah: You've been listening to words fueled hearts. This podcast is sponsored by Tenovose.com, an online retailer of the best Christian books at discounted prices. Check them out now at tenovo's. Com.
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