For the convenience of readers, the presentation now includes the Readings and the Commentary.

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Reading

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So, the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous — therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

Commentary

Habakkuk is one the “Minor Prophets” – the 12 prophets whose works are much shorter than those of the “Major Prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and are found in a single scroll.

Because of the reference to the Chaldeans (Babylonians) in v.1:6, Habakkuk is generally considered a contemporary of Jeremiah. His prophesy – speaking for YHWH – is dated after 612 BCE when the Babylonians gained domination of the Middle East.

After the righteous and reforming king, Josiah, was killed at Megiddo in 609 BCE, Judea had a series of hapless kings until the first deportation of exiles to Babylon in 597 BCE. The book of Habakkuk reflected the difficulties that faced Judea during this 12-year period.

Today’s reading is structured as a dialogue between Habakkuk and YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters) in which the prophet asserts that YHWH is not listening (v.1). The prophet noted that the reforms of Josiah were not being followed (“the law [Torah] becomes slack” v.1.4) and – just as Jeremiah did – stated that injustice was prevailing.

In the omitted verses between the two parts of today’s reading, Habakkuk asserted that the Babylonians would serve as YHWH’s instrument of divine justice. In the second part of today’s reading, YHWH responded (v.2:4) that the “appointed time” would come and that the “righteous” (the Judahites) would survive in spite of the “proud” (the Chaldeans/Babylonians).

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Reading

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
Therefore, we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.

To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith,
so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Commentary

Thessalonica, a port city in northern Greece, was capital of the Roman province of Macedonia in the First Century. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest part of the Christian Scriptures and was written by Paul before 50 CE, about 20 years before the first Gospel (Mark) was written. A principal theme of both 1 and 2 Thessalonians was the return of the Lord Jesus in the end time.

In 2 Thessalonians, however, there was an emphasis on living in the present and warnings about forgeries of Paul’s writings. For these reasons, many scholars conclude that 2 Thessalonians was written by one of Paul’s disciples after Paul’s death in 64 CE.

In today’s reading, the salutation was identical to 1 Thessalonians, followed by a thanksgiving for the faith of the community and a reference to “persecutions and afflictions” (v.4). The omitted verses (5 -10) assert that God will afflict the persecutors and work vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

Today’s reading concluded with an intercessory prayer that God will make the people worthy of God’s call so that the Lord Jesus will be glorified in the believers’ lives.

After the death of the good King Josiah in 609 BCE, Judea went into a sharp decline, culminating with the Babylonian Exile, the first part of which began in 597 BCE and the second part of which began in 586 and lasted until 539 BCE. Josiah emphasized the Torah, but in the reign of his successors “the law became slack” (1:4). Habakkuk prophesied (spoke for Yahweh) from the time Josiah’s death to the first deportation of Judean leaders in 597 BCE. He was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah and his messages are similar to Jeremiah’s. In today’s readings, Habakkuk laments the destruction and violence in Judea and the lack of justice. In the verses between today’s readings, he speaks for Yahweh and says that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) will serve as the instrument of God’s justice to punish the Judeans. In the second part of today’s reading, Yahweh replies that divine justice will come “at the appointed time” because of the righteous (2:3-4).

2 Timothy 1:1-14

The Letters to Timothy and Titus are called “Pastoral Letters” because they concern the internal life, governance and behavior of the early Christian churches and their members. Most scholars agree they were written in the early Second Century in Paul’s name by some of his followers (Paul died in 64 CE). Writing something in someone else’s name was a common practice in the First and Second Centuries. By then, the Jesus Follower Community was more institutionalized and concerns about “heresy” and false teachings arose.

2 Timothy is more personal than 1 Timothy. The author, writing as Paul, treats Timothy as his “beloved child” and his spiritual heir. Today’s reading contains a typical “Pauline salutation” followed by a “thanksgiving” for Timothy’s faith (vv. 3-7). “Paul” emphasizes that his understanding of the gospel is the true one, and presents the gospel proclamation in shorthand form in verses 9 and 10. “Paul” asserts his status as a herald, apostle, teacher and sufferer (vv. 11-12) as a prelude to criticizing persons who “have turned away from me” (v.15).