Page 202 - The MacArthur Daily Bible

TN_02_MacArthur_Bible_Feb.qxd 8/8/03 14:38 Page 183

FEBRUARY 24
depth of earth. But when the sun was up it 13 And He said to them, “Do you not under-
6
was scorched, and because it had no root it stand this parable? How then will you under-
7
withered away. And some seed fell among stand all the parables? The sower sows the
14
thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, word. And these are the ones by the wayside
15
and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on where the word is sown. When they hear, Sa-
8
good ground and yielded a crop that sprang tan comes immediately and takes away the
16
up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, word that was sown in their hearts. These
some sixty, and some a hundred.” likewise are the ones sown on stony ground
9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to who, when they hear the word, immediately
17
hear, let him hear!” receive it with gladness; and they have no
10 But when He was alone, those around Him root in themselves, and so endure only for a
with the twelve asked Him about the parable. time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecu-
11 And He said to them, “To you it has been tion arises for the word’s sake, immediately
18
given to know the mystery of the kingdom of they stumble. Now these are the ones sown
God; but to those who are outside, all things among thorns; they are the ones who hear the
19
12
come in parables, so that word, and the cares of this world, the deceit-
fulness of riches, and the desires for other
‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, things entering in choke the word, and it
And hearing they may hear and not becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones
20
understand; sown on good ground, those who hear the
Lest they should turn, word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
DAY 23:What does the parable of the soils warn us about our heart?
Jesus made it clear that as the sower sows his seed, some of those seeds fall to the “wayside”
(Mark 4:4)—either a road near a field’s edge or a path that traversed a field,both of which were hard
surfaces due to constant foot traffic. Other seed falls on “stony ground” (v. 5), where beds of solid
rock lie under the surface of good soil.They are a little too deep for the plow to reach,and too shal-
low to allow a plant to reach water and develop a decent root system in the small amount of soil
that covers them. Other seed falls among “thorns”(v. 7)—tough, thistle-bearing weeds that use up
the available space, light, and water which good plants need.
Jesus warns in vv. 13-20 that our heart may be hard, like the stony ground, and the “word of
God”never takes root in the soul and never transforms our life—there is only a temporary, surface
change. Bring along the suffering, trials, and persecutions which result from one’s association with
God’s Word and we fall away (John 8:31;1 John 2:19).Then there are the “cares of this world,”or “the
distractions of the age.”A preoccupation with the temporal issues of this present age blinds a per-
son to any serious consideration of the gospel (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15,16). And “the deceitfulness of
riches” come our way. Not only can money and material possessions not satisfy the desires of the
heart or bring the lasting happiness they deceptively promise,but they also blind those who pursue
them to eternal, spiritual concerns (1 Tim. 6:9,10).

February 24 shall be imputed to that man. He has shed
blood; and that man shall be cut off from
5
among his people, to the end that the children
of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they
Leviticus 17:1–18:30
offer in the open field, that they may bring
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle
2
17 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as
the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is peace offerings to the LORD. And the priest
6
the thing which the LORD has commanded, shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the
saying: “Whatever man of the house of Israel LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting,
3
who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the
4
who kills it outside the camp, and does not LORD. They shall no more offer their sacri-
7
bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meet- fices to demons, after whom they have played
ing to offer an offering to the LORD before the the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for
tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed them throughout their generations.” ’
183