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I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Mark 13; Isaiah 13; Daniel 9; 11.
Mark 13:14-23
[Jesus is speaking] “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the word. It appears in the psalms. Selah. There is no certain translation for the Hebrew word. There are some theories though. One is that is an annotation for a musical interlude. Many of the psalms are sung, “to the tune of, ‘Do Not Destroy,’ or ‘Doe of the Morning,’” are two examples. “Selah” appears 71 times in the Psalms (and 3 times in Habakkuk), and while its precise meaning is uncertain, it is widely understood to be a musical or liturgical pause, possibly signaling a break for reflection or a musical interlude.
When I read the Psalms, I most often do not read outloud the word, “Selah.” If selah is a signal for a time of reflection, then the redaction in Mark 10:14 is a sort of New Testament selah. It certainly arrests me when I read “let the reader understand.” Understand what?
First of all, I see that Mark inserted that comment in the middle of Jesus’ words. There was something that caught Mark’s attention as he wrote those words of Jesus: “When you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be.”
Second – and thanks to the Bible Challenge readings today, I see the connection with today’s reading from Daniel 9. Jesus repeats a prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:27 about the desecration of the temple under the Seleucids (1 Macc 1:54–59). Jesus announces a new desolation and destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which will be carried out by the Romans in AD 70. This event will end all temple worship and sacrifice.*
I’m thinking Mark was trying to imagine the cataclysmic events that would have to happen when these words became reality. He wants the readers (you and me included) to recognize that this turn of events was like no other. And yet the end of all things will be far more catastrophic.
Look today at the temple site in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock sits there now. A monumental and impressive Muslim mosque stands where the very presence of God had been. Some may wish to replace that structure with a Jewish temple. Still others with a Christian church building. But the presence of God is in the hearts of his people. Kingdoms will rise and fall. Religious wars will be fought, lost, and won. False christs will arise. But we must not be deceived. We have been warned. We must indeed think about it, and recall that Mark wrote this after Jesus’ death and resurrection (let the reader understand: Selah!).
* Italicized portion above is an excerpt from The Lutheran Study Bible © 2009 Concordia Publishing House Scripture text © ESV Available in the App Store
David Bahn - Reflections 
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