HABAKKUK 1:1-4, 2:1-4
THE BACKGROUND
We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk, other than that he was a prophet to Judah during the first stages of Judah’s downfall to Babylon. The first two chapters of the book are a dialogue with God. The third is a psalm-like prayer.
THE DETAIL
- The first chapter, which is exemplified in verses 1-4, seems to challenge God with the question “Why, God, are you allowing these brutal Babylonian pagans to conquer your chosen people. As bad as we are, we are certainly more righteous than they are.” In verse 4, the “wicked” are the Babylonians, and the “righteous” are the Judeans. Habakkuk simply cannot figure God out. Habakkuk asks why would God allow this to happen?
- The second paragraph, from the second chapter, has Habakkuk shrugging, and taking his place on the ramparts. (More on ramparts in the Takeaway.) In faith, he will await God’s answer. And God does just that. God tells Habakkuk to write down the holy vision, and make it understandable even to a runner. (vv. 1-2)
- The vision calls for the people to be patient. God will make things right, but it will take time. Just wait for it. (v. 3)
- In the final verse, “the proud” are the Babylonians—their spirit is not right in them. “The righteous” are the Judeans. God’s chosen people are told to live lives of patient faithfulness. (v. 4)
THE TAKEAWAY
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of walking on the ramparts of an old castle in France. From the ramparts, the outer walls of the castle, I had a clear view of the surrounding countryside. It is a beautiful place to go, when you are in prayer. Or in Habakkuk’s case awaiting an answer to prayer.
We all know and believe that God answers prayer. But we often want immediate answers. God answers in his own time, and calls on us to be patient and faithful.
2 TIMOTHY 1:1-14
THE BACKGROUND
This is Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Paul is in a Roman prison. His hopes of being released are fading fast. In spite of this, Paul has words of strength and encouragement for Timothy. This reading can be grouped into three sections.
- The greeting, verses 1-2.
- Thanksgiving and personal remarks, verses 3-7.
- Words of encouragement, verses 8-14.
THE DETAIL
- In spite of Paul’s impending death, he writes of the “promise of life”. He is referring, of course, not to life on earth, but eternal life. (vv. 1-2)
- Paul is thankful for Timothy and his family, who have been pillars of the church. Paul would love to see him again, but probably knows that this will not happen. Perhaps this is the reason for the tears. (vv. 3-5)
- He reminds Timothy (and us) that through the Holy Spirit, we have the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. That’s quite a combination! We’ll see why we need all three in the next verses. (vv. 6-7)
- Timothy is encouraged to not be ashamed to stand up for Jesus or Paul. We sing a song about standing up for Jesus. It’s a fun and happy song. But back in Timothy and Paul’s day, Jesus was considered by many to be nothing more than a criminal who was executed by the Roman authorities. And now Paul is in jail and will surely die there. Both facts offer a lot of opportunity for embarrassment and shame. But Paul reminds Timothy of God’s grace—the loving grace that the Father had by sacrificing His only son for us. This is something to be proud of. (vv. 8-10)
- Paul goes on to say that this is why he preached the gospel, and is why he is suffering for it. He encourages Timothy to have the love, power, and self-discipline (remember verse 7?) to do the same. I love the beginning of verse 14—“Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit…” (vv. 11-14)
THE TAKEAWAY
We are blessed to live in a land where all are free to worship and practice their faith as they chose. We need to be committed to preserving this right for all people of faith, not just to those who believe as we do. Nobody should have to suffer for their faith like Paul and so many Christians of his day did.
FOOD FOR THOUHT
What is the “good treasure” that is mentioned in verse 14? How do we guard it?
LUKE 17:5-10
THE BACKGROUND
Earlier in Luke, chapter 14, Jesus warned the disciples of the cost of discipleship. In the four verses just ahead of today’s reading, Jesus warns his followers of being a stumbling block to other’s faith, and of being willing to forge others, even if they do it repeatedly.
THE DETAIL
- In response to all the above, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. Obviously, they recognized the need for more faith for the challenges that lay ahead. (v. 5)
- Next, Jesus tells them a parable. He uses the example of a slave/servant and his master. I’ll try to explain this in the Takeaway.
THE TAKEAWAY
There was a TV series that my wife and I loved, called Downton Abbey. It was about an English aristocratic family, their social circle, and the lives of the servants. We also watched a program called “The Making of Downton Abbey”. It was explained that it was not proper for the family to thank the servants each time they did a task to serve them. If the family did this, they’d be thanking everybody all day long. After all, it was the servants’ job to do what they did. No thanks was required or expected. We modern Americans are not accustomed to this, so Jesus’ parable might seem odd. Maybe knowing how servants and masters interact, we might better understand his parable.
By telling this peculiar parable, I think Jesus is telling them that it is not how much faith you have, but about the quality or strength of we have. Strength of faith comes from doing. It comes from teaching, healing, feeding, picking up those who stumble and from forgiving. It’s like spiritually pumping iron! But if you think about it, this is simply our job as Christians. We should not be looking for thanks, praise, or even for heavenly “brownie points”. It is simply what we should be doing as lovers of God, servants of our Lord. When you get to that point, you’ve got a strong faith.