Reading for Today:

• Numbers 33:1 Chapter 33 1 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron. –34:29
• Psalms 35:9-16 9 And my soul shall be joyful in Jehovah: It shall rejoice in his salvation. 10 All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto thee, Who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, Yea, the poor and the needy from him that robbeth him? 11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. 12 They reward me evil for good, `To' the bereaving of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. 15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew `it' not; They did tear me, and ceased not: 16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth.
• Proverbs 12:2 2 A good man shall obtain favor of Jehovah; But a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
• Mark 15:1-24 Chapter 15 1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering saith unto him, Thou sayest. 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they accuse thee of. 5 But Jesus no more answered anything; insomuch that Pilate marvelled. 6 Now at the feast he used to release unto them one prisoner, whom they asked of him. 7 And there was one called Barabbas, `lying' bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. 8 And the multitude went up and began to ask him `to do' as he was wont to do unto them. 9 And Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 10 For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12 And Pilate again answered and said unto them, What then shall I do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 And Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. 16 And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17 And they clothe him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it on him; 18 and they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they smote his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the purple, and put on him his garments. And they lead him out to crucify him. 21 And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go `with them', that he might bear his cross. 22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 23 And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. 24 And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take.

Notes:

Numbers 33:56 I will do to you as I thought to do to them. If Israel failed to obey God, she would be the object of God’s punishment in exactly the same way as the Canaanites were.

Psalm 35:10 LORD, who is like You…? This had become a canonized expression of awe at the uniqueness of Israel’s great God (see Ex. 15:11; Mic. 7:18).

Mark 15:7 Barabbas. A robber ( John 18:40 40 They cried out therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.) ) and murderer ( Luke 23:18 18 But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: -- ,19) in some way involved as an anti-Roman insurrectionist. Whether his involvement was motivated by political conviction or personal greed is not known. It is impossible to identify the specific insurrection in question, but such uprisings were common in Jesus’ day and were precursors of the wholesale revolt of A.D. 66–70.

Mark 15:17 clothed Him with purple;…crown of thorns. “Purple” was the color traditionally worn by royalty. The “crown of thorns” was in mockery of a royal crown. The callous soldiers decided to hold a mock coronation of Jesus as king of the Jews.

Mark 15:21 Condemned prisoners were required to carry the heavy crossbeam of their cross to the execution site. Exhausted from a sleepless night and severely wounded and weakened by His scourging, Jesus was unable to continue. The Roman guards conscripted Simon, apparently at random, to carry Jesus’ crossbeam the rest of the way. Simon, from the North African city of Cyrene, was on his way into Jerusalem. The identification of him as “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Rom. 16:13) is evidence of Mark’s connection with the church at Rome.

DAY 18: What are some general, time-tested principles that will help rightly interpret Proverbs?

One of the most common characteristics of Proverbs is the use of parallelism—placing truths side by side so that the second statement expands, completes, defines, and emphasizes the first. Sometimes a logical conclusion is reached; at other times, a logical contrast is demonstrated.

The following tools will assist a student in gaining greater confidence as he or she interprets these Proverbs: 1) determine what facts, principles, or circumstances make up the parallel ideas in that proverb—what two central concepts or persons are being compared or contrasted; 2) identify the figures of speech and rephrase the thought without those figures—for example, restate the idea behind “put a knife to your throat”(23:1–3); 3) summarize the lesson or principle of the proverb in a few words; 4) describe the behavior that is being taught or encouraged; and 5) think of examples from elsewhere in Scripture that illustrate the truth of that proverb.

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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