Exodus 16, Luke 19, Job 34, 2 Corinthians 4

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@March 5, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Exodus 16

Exodus 16:4 (ESV) 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

After only a month in the wilderness, the people were grumbling and their hearts were ungrateful. The LORD told Moses that He would “rain bread from heaven” (manna) to give them a daily portion and to test whether they would walk in His law. God would supply their need for food but they would only be able to gather day’s portion at a time (except for the double portion on sixth day for the Sabbath). The people failed the test by leaving some until morning and it bred worms and stank, angering Moses (Exod. 16:7).

We see in this narrative both God’s faithfulness to provide and man’s rebellious and fickle nature. He has given us all we need in Jesus—salvation, restored eternal relationship and His Spirit to guide us daily—and yet we continue to grumble as though we do not have enough. Let this be for us an opportunity to be refreshed in His faithfulness and repent of any revealed ingratitude in our hearts.

Luke 19

Luke 19:24–26 (ESV) 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

In Jesus’ parable of the ten minas, one of the men laid away his mina out of fear of the nobleman because he was a severe man. The angered nobleman then took the man’s mina and gave it to the man who had ten, telling him that more will be given to the one who has and from the one who has not, what he does have will be taken. Looking on this, we should see how the fearful squandering of possessions will lead to no good end. Everything we have has been given to us by God and through our proper stewardship His glory is magnified.

Job 34

Job 34:7–9 (ESV) 7 What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, 8 who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men? 9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’

Elihu deals with Job in harsh rebuke, that Job has said that it does not profit a man to take delight in God. The quote of Elihu resembles Job’s previous statement about the wicked, however Job was implying that the wicked seem to prosper apart from God’s judgment. Job’s accusers are an an anti-model for us as they berate Job with teaching of God’s perfect justice without seeking to fully understand the context.

2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (ESV) 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

It is incredible to think that our afflictions are so purposeful that they are actually preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Our fleshly propensity hinders us from thinking on these terms, but such as it is written. Christ was crushed for our iniquities and our calling as His followers is to share in His suffering so that by this we also will share in His victory.

Carson on Exodus 16

Why should people who have witnessed so spectacular a display of the grace and power of God slip so easily into muttering and complaining and slide so gracelessly into listless disobedience? The answer lies in the fact that many of them see God as existing to serve them. He served them in the Exodus; he served them when he provided clean water. Now he must serve not only their needs but their appetites. Otherwise they are entirely prepared to abandon him. While Moses has been insisting to Pharaoh that the people needed to retreat into the desert in order to serve and worship God, the people themselves think God exists to serve them.

Very helpful insight from Carson here on how the people expected God to serve them on their terms. How often our hearts proceed in the very same way. Though it manifests differently at different times, the root is always sin and rebellion, functionally operating as if we are here to serve ourselves rather than God. The faithful are those who repent and take up their cross daily in order live in full servitude of the Most High God.

Justin Houtz