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MAY 1
13 A merry heart makes a cheerful
countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit
is broken. 21:1 the treasury.Thirteen chests with funnel-
shaped openings stood in the court of the
Luke 21:1–19
women. Each was labeled for a specific use,
And He looked up and saw the rich put- and donations were given accordingly.
21 ting their gifts into the treasury, and He
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saw also a certain poor widow putting in two 21:5 donations. Wealthy people gave gifts of
mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this gold sculpture, golden plaques, and other
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poor widow has put in more than all; for all treasures to the temple. Herod had donated a
these out of their abundance have put in offer- golden vine with clusters of golden grapes
ings for God, but she out of her poverty put in nearly 6 feet tall. The gifts were displayed on
all the livelihood that she had.” the walls and suspended in the portico. They
5 constituted an unimaginable collection of
Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it
was adorned with beautiful stones and dona- wealth. All of these riches were looted by the
Romans when the temple was destroyed (v.6).
tions, He said, “These things which you
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see—the days will come in which not one
stone shall be left upon another that shall not there will be fearful sights and great signs
be thrown down.” from heaven. But before all these things,
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7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but they will lay their hands on you and persecute
when will these things be? And what sign will you, delivering you up to the synagogues and
there be when these things are about to take prisons. You will be brought before kings and
place?” rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn
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8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be out for you as an occasion for testimony.
deceived. For many will come in My name, say- 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to med-
ing, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ itate beforehand on what you will answer; for
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Therefore do not go after them. But when you I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all
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hear of wars and commotions, do not be terri- your adversaries will not be able to contradict
fied; for these things must come to pass first, or resist. You will be betrayed even by par-
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but the end will not come immediately.” ents and brothers, relatives and friends; and
10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise they will put some of you to death. And you
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against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But
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11 And there will be great earthquakes in vari- not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your
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ous places, and famines and pestilences; and patience possess your souls.
DAY 1: Contrast the pagan god of the Philistines and the living God.
In Judges 5:2, Dagon is mentioned. Ugaritic literature identifies this deity as a god of grain or
vegetation, whose image had the lower body of a fish and upper body of a man. Dagon seems to
have been the leader of the Philistine pantheon (Judg. 16:23) and is noted to be the father of Baal.
The placing of the ark of God in the temple of Dagon was supposed to be a sign of Dagon’s power
and Yahweh’s inferiority, a visual representation that the god of the Philistines was victorious over
the God of the Hebrews.
The next morning the Philistines found Dagon had “fallen on its face” (1 Sam. 5:3). Ironically,
God Himself overturned the supposed supremacy of Dagon by having Dagon fallen over, as if pay-
ing homage to the Lord. The same thing happened the next morning, but this time the “head…
hands were broken off”(v.4).The first display of God’s authority over Dagon was not perceived.God’s
second display of authority,the cutting off of Dagon’s head and hands,was a common sign that the
enemy was dead (Judg.7:25;8:6;1 Sam.17:54;31:9;2 Sam.4:12),and was to be understood as God’s
divine judgment on the false idol.Because the head and hands of Dagon fell on the threshold,super-
stition developed that it was cursed; therefore, the Philistines would not tread on it (v. 5).
In contrast to the hands of Dagon being cut off, symbolizing his helplessness against the
power of Yahweh,the Lord was pictured to be actively involved in judging the Philistines.“The hand
of the LORD was heavy”on the people (v.6).The imagery of God’s hand is found throughout the ark
narrative (4:8; 5:6,7,9,11; 6:3,5,9). It has been suggested that “tumors” refers to the sores or boils
caused by an epidemic of the bubonic plague carried by rats (6:4,5).The spread of the disease and
its deadly effect (5:6,9,12; 6:11,17) make this a likely view.

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