Exodus 27, John 6, Proverbs 3, Galatians 2

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@March 16, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Exodus 27

Exodus 27:20–21 (ESV) 20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

Instructions for the construction and use of the Tabernacle components continue in this chapter. An interesting note in the CSB Study Bible notes is that “pure beaten olive oil” (crushed and pressed rather than ground in a mill) would have given bright light with little smoke.

John 6

John 6:26–27 (ESV) 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

The people were seeking Jesus, but it was not out of genuine faith. Rather, it was because they had eaten their fill of the loaves. Jesus confronts this sentiment, setting the priority on the food that endures to eternal life—Himself as the bread of life—rather than food that perishes. This is not to say that we should not work for physical sustenance, but that it should not be our primary pursuit. More than our bodies need food, our hearts need daily refreshment in the Word of God.

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3:5–8 (ESV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

It has been crushing these past few months to see just how much I lean on my own understanding rather that trusting in the LORD. No more destructive effects have I seen from this than in my relationships. Instead of simply loving my neighbor and trusting Him with the rest, I try to control the path and health of relationships myself. This has led to so much hurt and pain I have only recently come to realize. I am so thankful for this season of God’s grace in revealing these things, that I may bring it all to Him and plead for His work of redemption.

Galatians 2

Galatians 2:15–16 (ESV) 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Paul makes clear that he and his group are indeed Jews but that there is no justification through trying to keep the law. It is only through faith in Christ that will one be justified. The purpose of the law was to expose sin and to demonstrate man’s complete inability to merit restored relationship with God on his own. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Rom. 3:20)

Carson on John 6

[Bread and fish] were the staple foods of Galilee; [Jesus] provided what was needed to sustain life. But in this gospel the evangelist points out that Jesus’s miracles are not mere events of power, they are significant: they point beyond themselves, like signs. This miracle [of the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6:1-15] points to the fact that Jesus not only provides bread, but rightly understood he is bread. He is the staple apart from which there is no real life at all.

This somewhat relates to the previous note on John 6 in which we must see our Lord—the bread of life—as being of greatest value. Jesus is the bread of life, provided for us that we may feast and be filled with Him.

Justin Houtz