Habakkuk 2:17

"For the violence done to Lebanon shah cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein."

This is a continuation of the prophet's statement of the reasons lying behind God's woes against Babylon. Here additional light is given upon a subject mentioned in Habakkuk 2:8, namely, that of violence done to the earth itself. The contrast here between "men's blood," and "the violence done to the land" leaves no doubt that the ruthless destruction of the earth's raw materials and natural resources constituted a major facet of Babylon's guilt. (See further comment under Habakkuk 2:8, above.)

Inherent in such a denunciation as this is the fact of the beasts of the earth also having rights which men should not violate. The slaughter of the vast buffalo herds that once roamed North America must ever stand as an act of the utmost contempt for God's creation. Babylon had done a similar wanton and irresponsible thing when they cut down the forests of Lebanon for the purpose of making for themselves palatial buildings, thus denuding the land and destroying the natural habitat for the wild creation.

WOE V

Against graven images. This woe, although not stated until Habakkuk 2:19, nevertheless begins with Habakkuk 2:18.