Exodus 19, Luke 22 , Job 37, 2 Corinthians 7

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@March 8, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Exodus 19

Exodus 19:18–20 (ESV) 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

One can only imagine how overwhelming these events must have been. A mountain wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire, the sound of trumpets growing louder and louder, Moses speaking and God responding in thunder. Every sense would have been bombarded with stimulus at the awesomeness of God’s presence, eliciting a terrifying wonder among those in attendance.

Luke 22

Luke 22:25–27 (ESV) 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

Jesus’ disciples arose a dispute among them over who was the greatest, but Jesus gave instruction that they were not to be like the Gentiles in their exercise of lordship. Jesus told them that there was to be an inversion of roles in which the greatest becomes the youngest and the leader was to serve. However, it was Jesus modeling this role Himself as the one among them who serves that seemed most compelling in today’s reading. Jesus’ exalted heavenly status and His lowly earthly status spans a length we cannot begin to fathom. No illustration or analogy would do justice to the distance Christ had to cover in order to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Job 37

Job 37:14–17 (ESV) 14 “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. 15 Do you know how God lays his command upon them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? 16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge, 17 you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind?

Elihu breaks from his description of God to confront Job directly, that he would consider the wondrous works of God. While its original context is Elihu challenging Job on God’s power and character, these are questions we would benefit in asking these questions of ourselves. Do we stop enough to consider the splendor of God? Do we acknowledge the wondrous works of His creation? Do we often deeply ponder the One who is perfect in knowledge?

2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 7:9–10 (ESV) 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Paul’s rejoicing was in a godly grief among the Corinthians that produced repentance and led to salvation without regret. Godly grief is juxtaposed against worldly grief that produces death. This descriptive passage provides for us an opportunity for self-examination, to go to the Lord in prayer and ask which kind of grief we most often exhibit. Do we have sorrow for the things that bring Him sorrow or are we bitter over loss with regard to comfort, prosperity or selfish ambition?

Carson on Luke 22

Someone has said that the four most disputed words in the history of the church are “This is my body.” Without entering the lists on all that might be said about this clause, surely we can agree that one of its functions, as it is repeated in the ritual that Christ Jesus himself prescribed, is commemorative: “Do this in remembrance of me” (22:19). It is shocking that this should be necessary, in exactly the same way that it is shocking that a commemorative rite like the Passover should have been necessary. But history shows how quickly the people of God drift toward peripheral matters, and end up ignoring or denying the center. By a simple rite, Jesus wants his followers to come back to his death, his shed blood, his broken body, again and again and again.

Carson rightly points out just how shocking it is that the commemorative right of the Lord’s Supper is even necessary. How easily we forget but how wonderful is our Lord in knowing our fickle nature that He would enact such an institution to always remember who He is and what He has done.

Justin Houtz