For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
The proverb writer tells us to imitate the example of ants. They do not have a boss over them to make sure they work. Yet they labor hard when the weather allows in order to gather food and supplies for when times are more difficult. Let us learn to do the same.
The psalm contains a prayer which we can be sure has already been answered:
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,…
We know that God has already done this. The only question is whether or not we have chosen to accept His teaching and to follow the path He has shown us.
I am glad that the parable of the vineyard workers is in the same days reading as Jesus’ response to the request from the mother of James and John. The latter story clarifies the meaning of the parable and the parable amplifies the meaning of Jesus’ answer. At the end of the parable Jesus tells us that the last will be first and first will be last. In the parable, those who were hired early in the day get paid last and receive no more than those hired later in the day. I have always heard this explained that those who accept Christ early in life will receive the same reward as those who accept Him late in life.
I do not think that is wrong, but, in light of what Jesus says at the end of today’s passage, I don’t think that is His primary point. To the worldly, those with power, the leaders, are those who get to satisfy their own wants and needs by telling others what to do. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the powerful, the leaders, are those who use what power they have to satisfy the needs and wants of others. If you want to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, you must serve the needs of others before your own needs. The most interesting part of this is paradoxical. One of those needs that you must serve is the need to serve others.
In the plagues we read about yesterday, the passage told us that Pharaoh became stubborn after the plague was lifted and refused to let the Israelites go. In the plagues we read about today, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he refused to let the Israelites go. This is a warning to us that each time we refuse to turn from our sins it will become harder to do so, and the consequences of not doing so will become more severe.