Exodus 5, Luke 8, Job 22, 1 Corinthians 9

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@February 22, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Exodus 5

Exodus 5:22–23 (ESV) 22 Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

By command of Pharaoh, the taskmasters laid a heavier burden on the Israelites, withholding provision of straw to create bricks while keeping the same requirement of production. The people blamed Moses for making them stink in the sight of Pharaoh and Moses in turn blamed the Lord for doing evil to the people, questioning God for his being sent. Moses came to the Lord in obstinacy because his focus was aligned with the people on the immediate downturn of conditions rather the larger plan of God. As we look on this—privy to the ultimate outcome of God bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—we know that Moses’ complaints are unfounded. And yet, we do the very same thing, letting our obedience be swayed by circumstantial influence. Let us instead learn from Moses’ failure and trust in our Lord with unwavering faith.

Luke 8

Luke 8:15 (ESV) 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

There is so much that one could unpack in the sequence here in Parable of the Sower. First, that the Word must be heard before anything else. There is no loving the Word without knowing the Word through hearing the Word. Next, the Word must be held fast in an honest and good heart. This purity of heart is a working of the Spirit to continuously sustain and drive desire to grasp tightly to the truth we behold in the gospel. All of this to bring about the bearing good fruit with patience. Listening and holding fast to the Word yields patience, a rest in the Lord that He is faithful to complete every work and fulfill every promise.

Job 22

Job 22:21–22 (ESV) 21 “Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

Eliphaz is pleading for Job to repent and telling him that peace will come to him if he does so. While the original context is an admonition of one thought to have transgressed God, these words are steeped in the type of posture we are to have toward the Lord. Peace—real, transcendent peace—comes through our agreement and obedience to Him. We are to lay up the instruction we receive from the Lord in our hearts in order that, by His Spirit, we would be transformed and conformed to the image of His Son.

1 Corinthians 9

1 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV) 15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

Paul previously explained his right to receive provision for ministry along with the other apostles. However, he forgoes this right for the sake of the gospel, that his ground for boasting not be deprived. Paul shows his unflinching centrality of gospel, to let no hinderance stand between himself and its proclamation, even unto death. This leaves us to ask ourselves where are we in relation to Paul’s ardent disposition. Do we have any obstacles preventing us from sharing the hope of Christ with the lost and wayward? If so, are we confessing these to the Lord and pleading for their removal? Is our desire to make Him known beyond the safety or keeping of our own lives?

Carson on Luke 8

Jesus insists that those closest to him, those he “owns” as his, those who have ready access to him, those who are part of his real family, are henceforth not his natural relatives, but “those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (8:21). Unlike many rulers, Jesus showed no interest in a natural dynasty. Nor was his ultimate focus on his tribe, clan, or nuclear family. He came to call into permanent being the family of God—and they are characterized by the obedient hearing of God’s word.

This is such a wonderful exposition on the family of Christ. Earthly bloodlines and progeny are of no consequence in the kingdom of God. The calling of God’s children cuts across and circumvents every manmade boundary. Every soul that hears the Word of God and responds in repentance and faith will be adopted as sons and daughters of the King.

Justin Houtz