Habakkuk 2:18

The Message

“What’s the use of a carved god so skillfully carved by its sculptor? What good is a fancy cast god when all it tells is lies? What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker who makes gods that can’t even talk? Who do you think you are— saying to a stick of wood, ‘Wake up,’ Or to a dumb stone, ‘Get up’? Can they teach you anything about anything? There’s nothing to them but surface. There’s nothing on the inside.

Cross References

Psalm 97:7

All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry— And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods! On your knees, all you gods—worship him! And Zion, you listen and take heart! Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out: God has done it all, has set everything right.

Isaiah 42:17

But those who invested in the no-gods are bankrupt—dead broke.

Isaiah 44:12

The blacksmith makes his no-god, works it over in his forge, hammering it on his anvil—such hard work! He works away, fatigued with hunger and thirst.

Jeremiah 16:19

God, my strength, my stronghold, my safe retreat when trouble descends: The godless nations will come from earth’s four corners, saying, “Our ancestors lived on lies, useless illusions, all smoke.” Can mortals manufacture gods? Their factories turn out no-gods!

Amos 2:4

God’s Message: “Because of the three great sins of Judah —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer. They rejected God’s revelation, refused to keep my commands. But they swallowed the same old lies that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads. For that, I’m burning down Judah, burning down all the forts of Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 10:2

“Store-bought gods babble gibberish. Religious experts spout rubbish. They pontificate hot air. Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke. And so the people wander like lost sheep, poor lost sheep without a shepherd. I’m furious with the so-called shepherds. They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.” * * *