I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
     My Old Testament reading today is the introduction to the Book of Judges. It gives a quick summary of Israel’s conquest of the promised land. It repeats a theme that was brought up in the Book of Joshua, the failure of the Israelites to completely drive out the people who were living in the land when they got there, as God had commanded. God sent a messenger to them telling them that He would no longer drive the people’s out of the land before them because the children of Israel had failed to follow His commands. The messenger told them that as a result the gods of those people would be a continuous temptation to the children of Israel. The people of Israel remained faithful to God while those who had seen His wonders in the desert and in the early days of settling in the land still lived. This passage is a reminder of the consequences of not being faithful in fulfilling the Lord’s commands.

     Today’s New Testament passage is Jesus’ concluding comments about His prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, Judas’ agreement to betray Jesus and the arrangements for the Last Supper. Jesus tells us that we must not become distracted either by our entertainments or by our worries about this life. We must stay alert and strive to follow God’s will in all aspects of our lives. We must continue in prayer that God will give us the strength to stand before Him in the face of these trials.
     All the passage tells us about Judas’ decision to betray Jesus is “Satan entered into” him. The best explanation I have seen for this is that Judas was trying to force Jesus to openly display His power to overthrow the Romans. Whatever the reason, Judas had decided that his own agenda was more important than that of God. It is certainly a common human failing to place our own priorities in the place of God’s.
     Finally, Jesus gives the disciples detailed instructions on how to find a place to prepare the Passover meal. Had Jesus made previous arrangements for this? Or did He divinely know that this man would be there and that the owner of the house he served would be willing to let Jesus and His disciples use his upper room? I do not know and apparently neither did the disciples, but they found things as Jesus had said and made the arrangements. They followed Jesus’ instructions without knowing if the owner was expecting them. We need to act similarly. When we feel the instruction of God we must act, whether we know if others are receptive or not.

The Psalm passage today reminds us of how short our lives are and that despite the sufferings we often experience that God is the source of our joy. It points out that we should fear God. God should inspire us with fear because of our sins. We do not deserve the mercy that He shows us. I struggle with this continually. I do not fear God as much as I should. As we continue to read, we are reminded that God is a shelter, a place of safety, to those who love Him. I fail Him so often, yet He continues to offer me forgiveness and His love. I cry out to the Lord that He direct me in the path He wishes me to follow.

     The proverb today is “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” I really like how this translation puts the second part of the proverb, “Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.” Discipline is a product of a parent’s love for their child. Parents who do not discipline their children are demonstrating a lack of love for their children. Children instinctively know this. Children who behave badly a lot are looking for their parents (or someone) to express love by disciplining them. Children who are confident in their parents’ love are well behaved. Many of the problems in our society are the result of parents who did not love their children enough to take the time to discipline them.