For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Refusing to listen to instruction will lead to frustration and failure, respecting commands given by those in positions of authority results in success and rewards. Seek advice and instruction from those who are wise, by doing so you can avoid taking actions with dangerous consequences.
Let us come to God by day and by night. Let us pray all of the time. Every time I read the last line of this psalm I am reminded of the song by Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence.” That song begins with the line, “Hello darkness my old friend…” Further in the song refers to “people hearing without listening.” That song so reminds of how people react to the words of God. They hear, but they do not listen. They would rather bow to the “neon god they have made.” Let us listen to God when He speaks to us. Let us seek Him out when times are good, so that He does not need to do drive our friends away to get our attention. I will not wait until times are bad to seek God both day and night.
Am I willing to act as the owners of the colt acted in this passage? Will I surrender the use of my possessions because, “the Lord needs it?” Look what resulted from their willingness to allow Jesus to use their colt. As Jesus rode along, the people began to shout and sing His praises. There was such an outpouring of joy and worship that Jesus said if the people did not cry out, the very stones would have done so. Have you ever been filled with praise for God such that you felt that if you did not cry out the rocks and trees would do so?
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, He wept over the city. He wept because He knew that the people of the city had rejected their opportunity to be saved from the coming destruction. God had offered them an opportunity for salvation and they did not accept it. Do we feel a similar passion for bringing salvation to those we meet? Do we weep over the possibility that they will miss their opportunity to be saved?
The passage lays out how the land not yet conquered was to be allotted among the tribes which had not yet received and allotment of land. The passage ends with the designation of the cities of refuge. These were established so that those who had caused the death of another could receive a fair and just trial. Those who caused the death of another could escape to one of these cities and request a trial to establish that they had done so by accident. The authorities of these cities were obligated to protect them from being killed in revenge until they had received such a trial.