Observation: Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem, wishing its people had "recognized the things that make for peace." He predicts that a great destruction will come upon the city because it has not recognized his ministry.
Application: To really know your Bible you need to also learn some history. There are a handful of historical events--you could really boil it down to four or five--that, once you know them, you read every single passage of scripture differently.
For instance, if you came to Luke 19 cold, with no knowledge of the context, and read Jesus' prophecy, you might think about some great supernatural smack down yet to be, decreed by God.
On the other hand, if you happened to know about the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 AD, in which Jerusalem was in fact beseiged and leveled by the Roman army, and the temple destroyed, leaving pretty much every Jew or Christian at the time traumatized...and if you knew Luke's Gospel was written maybe ten years later...that would really change things. You'd look again at Jesus' way of nonviolent faith-based resistance, for which he and all his early followers gave their lives, and think, "Huh. They really should have listened."
It's so important to know your history. The cliché that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, is a cliché for a reason. And for our wider society, which so often suffers from amnesia, sometimes people of faith, who bear witness to the many ways humans fall short, can be a communal memory.
Prayer: God, teach us our own story, again and again. But more importantly teach us yours. Amen.
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