For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
People who fear the Lord avoid sin. However, the proverb writer tells us that the way to avoid sin is to fear the Lord. So, it is not just a matter of those who fear the Lord avoiding sin. Those who wish to avoid sin must learn to fear the Lord. The second proverb is similar. All too many people seek to live a life pleasing to God by being at peace with those around them. That is getting it backwards. The path to being at peace with those around you is living a life which pleases God. We cannot please God by seeking peace with those around us when that means compromising on what God asks of us. However, if we do what pleases God we will be at peace with those around us.
Even when we become exhausted waiting for God to rescue us from our distress let us remember, and keep, His commands. I will not abandon God’s instructions no matter what pressure my enemies bring to bear against me. I know that His word will sustain me with joy. God’s faithfulness will extend to each generation and His commands remain right and true, no matter what men may say to the contrary. Times may change, but God’s will does not.
I read this passage multiple times. Each time I did so it meant more to me than the last. I was hoping for something to hit me which gave me a theme. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The things that stuck out to me as I read this over and over were the following:
- Jesus did not pray just for those who believed in Him then, He prayed for all of those who would ever believe in Him
- Jesus prayed that those who believed in Him would have unity, as He and the Father had unity.
- Jesus prayed that God would keep those who believed in Him safe from the evil one.
There were other things I saw, but those stuck out to me. It is interesting because number one struck me on the first read through (and again each subsequent read through), number two on the second read through, and number three the third time through. None of these were new to me when I read this passage today. They were just the thoughts which stood out.
This story is the beginning of what goes wrong when a father fails to discipline his sons. First, he failed to discipline Amnon for raping his step-sister. David’s failure to discipline Amnon led Absalom to plot his own vengeance. Absalom getting away with killing his brother led to his rebellion, as we will read about tomorrow. Of course the starting point for discipline should have been before Amnon raped Tamar. Then that tragedy could have been avoided as well as the tragedies which followed.