For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The proverb writer spends a lot of time reminding us of the danger of co-signing a loan (or otherwise guaranteeing someone else’s debt). Do not guarantee someone else’s debt if you cannot afford to pay it off.

    When we as a people turn away from God He will bring trouble upon our land. Trials and tribulations will be all around. However, in the midst of that trouble, He will raise a banner for us to rally around. Are we prepared to rally around God’s banner at a time when all around us are fighting against Him? Will we make our way through hostile forces in order to make a stand with the people of God?

    Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem each year for Passover. That would probably be a three day trip each way. As I think about it, it strikes me that it was probably an approximately two week vacation each year. Which suggests that the trip to Jerusalem was probably a pretty big deal for Jesus. It is also interesting that He spent four days in the Temple without His parents. Where did He get food during that time? Where did He sleep? Someone, probably more than one someone, clearly shared meals with Him. Were the religious teachers in the Temple that absent minded that they did not notice this twelve year old boy spending all of this time in the Temple? Or maybe it was not that uncommon for young men to spend time listening and learning? Luke tells us that what stood out to the people in the Temple was His understanding. Do we encourage our young people to spend time learning about God the way the people in the Temple clearly encouraged Jesus?

    I always struggle to find something useful in passages like this one. I skimmed through this, then I read through it, then I read through it again. The first thing that struck me was that the tribes were all divided into clans. The next thing that struck me was that the second largest tribe, Dan, consisted of just a single clan. I am not sure if there is any significance to these facts, but they are what struck me.
    Another thing which struck me as I read this, (it was something I had known, just never thought about) was that when you count the two tribes descended from Joseph as full tribes, and you only count the “warrior” tribes, there are twelve tribes of warriors. When you add in the tribe of Levi, you get thirteen tribes. What struck me was the connection to Jesus and His Twelve Disciples. The tribe of Levi were the intermediaries between the rest of Israel and God, just as Jesus is the intermediary between the Twelve and God (and between all of us and God). I am not sure there is significance to that, but it struck me as I read this passage.