Bible in One Year · Day 121 of 365

Day 121 reading

Friday, May 1 — Psalm 74:1–10 · Luke 19:34–48 · Judges 1

Read the whole Bible this year

Three short readings a day — a Psalm or Proverb, the New Testament, and the Old Testament — about 15 minutes. Day by day, you’ll read every book.

WisdomPsalm 74:1–10New TestamentLuke 19:34–48Old TestamentJudges 1
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WisdomPsalm 74:1–10

1Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture? 2Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell. 3Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed. 4Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs, 5like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees 6and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks. 7They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name. 8They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land. 9There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last. 10How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?

New TestamentLuke 19:34–48

34“The Lord needs it,” they answered. 35Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it. 36As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. 37And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 45Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. 46He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. 48Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

Old TestamentJudges 1

1After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” 2“Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.” 3Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, “Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory.” So the Simeonites went with them. 4When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. 8Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. 9Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills. 10Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). 12And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.” 13So Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage. 14One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?” 15“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. 16Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people. 17Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah. 18And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory. 19The LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron. 20Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak. 21The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites. 22The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz), 24and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.” 25So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. 26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day. 27At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely. 29Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer. 30Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers. 31Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. 32So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out. 33Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers. 34The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the plain. 35And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor. 36And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.

Reflect

What did today’s reading show you about who God is?

Life is short. Where are you going?

You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?

The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?

Are you a good person?

Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):

  1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
  2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
  3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
  5. Honor your father and mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness.
  10. You shall not covet.

Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).

That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.

But God made a way

“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10

What will you do with Jesus?

“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).

If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.

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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.