April 7-11
[M] Judges 7-8; Luke 22
[T] Judges 9-11; Psalm 17; Luke 23
[W] Judges 12-16; Psalm 146; Luke 24
[T] Judges 17-18; Psalm 21; Acts 1
[F] Judges 19-21; Acts 2
Dwell Plan Day 71-75 | CSB | Digital PDF | Printable PDF
Notes from Jon & Chris
Monday
Judges 7 gives us a striking principle: God doesn’t operate the way we expect him to. From our sinful, culturally shaped perspective, so much of what He does seems backwards. Really think about it—what military logic is there in shrinking your army before a major battle? But in verse 2, God explains exactly why he does it: Lest Israel boast over me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.” He wanted to make it clear that the victory belonged to Him, not to their strength.
That same pattern runs through the entire story of redemption. God doesn’t just help us get saved—He saves us entirely. It’s not 99% God and 1% me. It’s all God, from beginning to end. Just like He stripped Gideon’s army down to show that the victory was His, He makes salvation entirely His work so that we can’t boast in ourselves.
Look at how Paul puts it: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9) God chose what is low and despised in the world… so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:28–31)
Judges 8:27 | The conclusion of Gideon’s story is a stark warning for us all. Despite his many faithful deeds in service to the Lord, he ended up fashioning an idol that led the people away from YHWH. This teaches us that we require the same measure of grace and sanctification during times of prosperity as we do in times of hardship—those moments of peace and comfort can be just as vulnerable to the enemy’s influence.
Luke 22:15 | It seems odd that Jesus talks about what He most wants here. You can see the original Aramaic that Jesus spoke (Aramaic is a later dialect of Hebrew, common in Jesus’ time) in the grammar. It literally says that Jesus “desired, desired” just like that, repeating the word. This repeated word construction is not Greek syntax. This little repetition, used all the time in Hebrew, means a perfect version of whatever the word is. “Peace, peace” becomes “perfect peace.” Here “desired, desired” means the most powerful and perfect desire. And what is Jesus desiring? This last supper, this meal that he shares with them before His death on the cross, this meal that He instructs them to keep having, to keep doing and remembering Him and what He’s doing at that cross. Wow. Do you approach communion with such an all consuming desire to feed on Jesus? To have our God? Jesus’ perfect desire is everything the communion meal teaches and illustrates. Jesus loves sinners and comes to rescue them. Praise Him.
Luke 22:54-62 | How do we know these details about Peter’s denials? It was just Peter standing there, warming himself by the fire, waiting to see what might happen to Jesus. What this implies is that Peter told everyone what he did. That may seem like a small detail, but it’s wildly important. The apostles lead us in two ways: by their lives and by their words. What we learn and see in their lives is humility. They tell the truth about their failures and weaknesses; they own their mistakes and even point them out for you. Why? Because there are no heroes but Jesus, and there is no righteousness except Jesus’, and there is no strength outside of Jesus. Peter knew that his failures would preach Jesus to you, so he made sure you knew them. This unleashes God’s power in the world: when we don’t look to our strength and glory and reputation but only to Jesus’. As we read both the Old and New Testaments, we see this strange emphasis—it isn’t about any human accomplishment or a particular person’s heroic story. Everyone is shown with their warts and pimples. And this reveals just what kind of slobby, warty, pimply people our God came to save.
Tuesday
Judges 9:56 | After Abimelech’s death, the author steps in with a clear editorial note: it was God who brought justice, using even the unlikely means of a woman with a millstone to do it.
This chapter reveals two powerful truths. First, humanity is deeply sinful. What we see in Abimelech and the people of Shechem is not an anomaly—it’s a snapshot of the human condition throughout history. Second, God is a God of justice. He doesn’t overlook sin; He responds to it with righteous wrath.
Both of these truths are essential to understanding the gospel. You’re not meant to see yourself as the hero in this story—you’re meant to see yourself in Abimelech: self-centered, power-hungry, and under judgment. And that should lead to fear—unless you know the gospel.
Abimelech suffered a shameful death under the justice of God. So did Jesus. But Jesus didn’t die for His own sin—He died for yours. He took the punishment we deserved, and He did it out of love. Through Jesus, our sin is atoned for, and God’s justice is fully satisfied. That’s the hope of the gospel.
Judges 11:34-40 | This is insane. And this particular form of insanity is important for us to notice. At times in the Bible, folks will be described as having a lot of zeal or passion. And at times that is a passion that is uninformed by complete biblical truth. Jephthah has a real passion for God—but he doesn’t seem to really know the law, because he makes a rash vow before God and follows through in sacrificing his own daughter as a burnt offering. This was never God’s intention or desire or command. But ignorance wins the day, which it seems to win often. Biblical literacy isn’t much better in our day, and this same chaos—of uninformed or misinformed passion for God—still destroys families and communities and faith. We live in a time a lot like the time of the judges now. Pray against the insanity of this age for the glory of Jesus.
Psalm 17:8 | Practice the beauty of asking God to keep you as His favorite, or as the Hebrew literally says “watch over me like I’m the pupil in your eyeball.” You’re allowed to ask God to make you His favorite! The scriptures have always applied the same remedy for sinners: seek intimacy of relationship with God, and look for Him to make that intimacy happen. Seek first the kingdom.
Luke 23:9 | Like a sheep standing in front of a butcher, He didn’t say a bleat. This is Christ’s grandeur, because it fulfills a prophecy, but it’s also a picture of His majesty. Pilate is using Jesus to win points with Herod. Herod is questioning Jesus because he’s curious, like he was curious about John the Baptist. But Christ is no victim, and Christ plays no games. What majesty and poise Jesus has here! Jesus does the worst thing He could do: He bores the tyrant and isn’t afraid. Jesus invites us into His majesty and poise by the Holy Spirit, so that when we face moments of testing and trial, we can have an answer. Or know not to answer. What a savior we have in Jesus.
Wednesday
Judges 13-16 | The story of Samson is not a biblical version of a comic book hero—a man with super strength defeating villains with a little help from God. Instead, it’s the story of God’s relentless faithfulness to work through a deeply broken and sinful man. Samson’s life is not one of consistent obedience or noble character; rather, it’s a testimony to God’s ability to bring about deliverance even through human weakness and failure.
On the positive side, Samson’s story intentionally echoes elements of Christ’s: Both have miraculous births announced by angels. Both are set apart from the womb and called to save God’s people. Both are empowered by the Spirit, rejected by their own, and both achieve a kind of victory through their deaths. These parallels are not accidental—they point forward to Jesus as the greater deliverer.
But the contrasts are just as important, if not more so. Where Samson failed, Jesus triumphed. Samson was a moral disaster, breaking every part of his Nazirite vow. Jesus was perfectly obedient, fulfilling every requirement of God’s law. Samson lived for himself—driven by lust, pride, and revenge. Jesus lived for others—marked by humility, purity, and self-sacrifice. Samson was a man of violence, ruled by impulse. Jesus was a man of peace, ruled by love. The story of Samson shows us our need for a better Savior. And in every way Samson falls short, Jesus shines all the brighter.
Psalm 146:1 | One thing the Biblical poets teach us is how to talk to ourselves. Talking to yourself like this is an action, a proclamation to your own mind and consciousness. It’s different from “listening to yourself” which is more passive, something we experience often. When we listen to ourselves, we often act impulsively and reactively, making choices out of fear or a sudden desire. We hear thoughts, doubts, complaints, and excuses like a constant echo chamber in our souls. It can be a bit noisy in our thoughts at times. What can we do? Talk to yourself the way the Bible teaches you to! Look at how the poet starts with a command directed at his own being—praise the LORD! He tells himself what to do. No excuses or options are presented. This is self talk from God for us. This grabs God’s promises and hopes in Him through self talk. Use it.
Luke 24:27 | We used to joke in seminary, “How many credit hours do you think you could get if you had been one of the disciples on the way to Emmaus?” The answer was always zero—Jesus sought the accreditation of no man! But kidding aside, it’s a true “wow moment” in the Bible.
We all now know that from Moses all the way through the prophets you can find stuff about Jesus: predicting Jesus, describing Jesus, anticipating Jesus. The funny thing is that no details of the conversation are given to us! Why? How will we ever know what’s about Jesus and what isn’t?! That’s why we’re doing this whole Bible reading plan to begin with. It isn’t to make you more religious. It’s to show you, as much as we can, it’s all about Jesus. And this little note from Luke invites us to do lots of thinking, reading, and studying to figure it out for ourselves!
Thursday
Judges 17:6 | Two times in this book (here and the very last words of the book, Judges 21:25) we will come across this expression from Deuteronomy 12:8)—where God very plainly and directly tells his people, don’t do what is right “in your own eyes.” This is a social, religious, spiritual, and moral condition where everyone decides their own standards. This whole book, with all of its many stories, isn’t even clearly chronological. It’s chaos, and it often reads chaotically. Each story in the book describes a new cycle, often in a very different part of Palestine. It reveals the moral and spiritual chaos of God’s people all across the twelve tribes of Israel, a universal failure that seems inevitable time after time. There should be no surprises when we look at the modern church after reading this book; or perhaps it is better to say, we should always be delightfully surprised by those times when God’s people seek Him and His holiness.
Judges 17:6 | In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. | This verse sums up the spiritual and moral decline that defines the book of Judges—a people rejecting God’s rule and replacing it with self-rule. The theme appears repeatedly, showing how Israel’s rebellion leads to deeper cycles of chaos and suffering (Judges 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Each time we hear that “there was no king in Israel,” we’re reminded that without God’s authority, people define right and wrong on their own terms. The result isn’t freedom, it’s disorder and destruction. But this longing for a true king points us forward to Jesus, the righteous King who brings peace, justice, and order to those who submit to His reign.
Psalm 21 | The psalm speaks of a king who receives length of days forever and ever (v. 4). This promise finds its perfect fulfillment in Jesus, the risen and reigning King who lives forever. In Him, we receive eternal life as co-heirs of His victory.
Acts 1:8 | This is the most important verse in the book of Acts. Just before His ascension, Jesus gives His disciples a final word—not a farewell, but a commission. Acts 1:8 is more than just a promise of power; it’s a roadmap for the mission of the church. In this single verse, Jesus outlines the entire flow of the book of Acts: the gospel starts in Jerusalem, spreads to Judea and Samaria, and then goes to the ends of the earth.
But notice the pattern: the Spirit comes first, and then the mission begins. Jesus never sends His people out in their own strength. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead now empowers the church to carry the message of life to the world. And that mission hasn’t ended—it continues with us.
Your church in San Francisco is part of this unfolding story. You’re not a footnote in the mission of God—you’re a continuation of Acts 1:8. The gospel that started in Jerusalem has reached you, and now you carry it to your city, your neighbors, and beyond. San Francisco may not look like Judea or Samaria, but it is very much one of the “ends of the earth” where Christ’s name must be proclaimed.
And, let’s be honest, San Francisco isn’t always easy soil. The spiritual climate can be hard. The culture is often indifferent—or even hostile. But that’s exactly why Jesus doesn’t just call us—He empowers us. The Holy Spirit is not a relic of Pentecost; He is the ever-present fuel of the mission. You are filled with the Spirit to bear witness to Jesus—right where you are.
Acts 1 | Here is a link to one of my (Jon) favorite sermons of all time. It’s by Tim Keller and it’s about the ascension of Jesus. If you have time, give it a listen.
Friday
Judges 19 | Quick literary/study note: This chapter mirrors Genesis 19 (the story of Sodom), highlighting that Israel has become as depraved as the nations God once judged.
Judges 20:13 | Civil war is erupting in Israel because of this obscene thing that the tribe of Benjamin did. They have become like Sodom. But the most chilling moment is right here. When confronted, they just won’t listen. This creates an enormously bloody and sad conflict, with brother killing brother by the thousands. One of the things that divides the people of God is holiness, and sometimes that division is from God. Parts of God’s kingdom in His church will sometimes fall into complacency and compromise. They lack the will or strength to deal with wrongdoers in their communities. They protect themselves rather than humble themselves and admit there’s something wrong, and this creates the worst sorts of conflict. This story plays itself out again and again in individual churches and whole denominations. When those divisions are holy, they must happen for the sake of righteousness.
But this brings up a New Testament reality that is consistent with this experience. Paul warns the Ephesians that after he leaves wolves would rise up both inside the church and come from the outside to deceive. We will always be a kingdom in conflict; that’s a promise from Christ himself. At times that conflict is with the world. At times it’s with the parts of the church that have been seduced by the world. We must be ready for these things. The Scripture is consistent in its warnings. Don’t over-idealize the church or romanticize community. We are a kingdom in conflict until He returns.
Acts 2:3–4 | As the disciples gathered at Pentecost, something astonishing happened—tongues of fire appeared and rested on each of them. This wasn’t random or merely symbolic. It was a powerful declaration that God’s presence had moved.
In the Old Testament, fire was a visible sign of God’s presence. When the tabernacle was dedicated, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, and the glory of the Lord filled the tent (Leviticus 9:24). Later, when Solomon dedicated the temple, fire again fell, and the glory of God filled the house (2 Chronicles 7:1). In both cases, the fire meant the same thing: God had moved in.
But now, in Acts 2, the fire doesn’t fall on a building—it falls on people. Tongues of fire rest on each believer, and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The message is unmistakable: God no longer dwells in temples made by human hands. He now lives in His people. The church has become the new temple, and every believer is a living sanctuary of His presence.
This is both an incredible privilege and a sober calling. The same holy fire that once filled the tabernacle now burns within you. You carry the presence of the living God. So walk in holiness. Live with boldness. And remember: the fire of God is not behind a veil—it’s alive in you.