For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who search for wisdom will find it. Wisdom is not fickle, if you love her, she will love you back. Wisdom was the first of God’s creations. It is the thing which ties everything else together.

    The psalmist comes to the conclusion of this psalm. Yes, he felt isolated and alone, but he trusted in God and God came to his rescue. He reminds us that God has stored up goodness beyond measure for those who fear Him and come to Him for protection. We do not need to panic because God will protect us, yet if we do, He will come to our rescue. The Lord protects those who loyally serve Him and rely on Him. However, He will allow those who think they can stand on their own two feet to suffer the consequences of their arrogance.

    I used to think that Jesus just told the disciples to go into town and when they met a person who filled certain criteria, that person would be willing to allow them to use a room he had for Jesus and the disciples to celebrate Passover. As I have read the account over and over I have come to realize that it had been prearranged with the man to celebrate Passover in a room that man had. Jesus was merely telling the disciples to go talk to the man in order to find out where the room was.
    When Jesus said that one of the twelve would betray Him, they each asked, in turn, if they were the one. What has always struck me was that when Jesus answered Judas by saying, “You have said it,” none of the other disciples appears to have taken notice. Perhaps that was because they did not truly take Jesus’ prediction of His coming death seriously. I think their failure to take Jesus’ talk about His impending death explains both their braggadocio (especially Peter’s) and their later reaction to His arrest. When Jesus had told them it was going to happen, they did not really believe Him. It did not fit into their perception of what would happen with the Messiah.

    This passage gives detailed instructions for the ordination of priests. I am glad that we do not follow a similar ceremony in order to ordain pastors in the Church today. As I think about it, I wonder whether our practice of ordaining pastors is a mistake. While the pastor fills a special role in the Church and has additional responsibilities, the connection between pastor and priest which ordination creates (or has the potential to create) is the wrong message to send about the role of pastors. A priest was an intermediary between the common man and God. We now have Jesus as our intermediary and are no forbidden from seeking to put greater distance between ourselves and God.