Exodus 31, John 10, Proverbs 7, Galatians 6

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@March 20, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Exodus 31

Exodus 31:13–14 (ESV) 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

The Sabbath was to be kept for all generations to be as a covenant sign that the people knew it was the LORD who sanctifies them. The keeping of the Sabbath was for the sake of the people because it was a holy day for them. By the first century, this had been skewed by the religious elite of the day and we see Jesus reiterating the purpose of the Sabbath in Matt 2:27 when He says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

John 10

John 10:27–28 (ESV) 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gives eternal life to His flock, never to be snatched from His hand. His sheep are given the ability to be attuned to His voice and favor the tenor of His divine guidance amidst a cacophony of other sounds. At times, the members of His fold may wander or migrate in ways not entirely centered on Him, but He is faithful to regather them and ensure their heavenly trajectory.

Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7:16–18 (ESV) 16 I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love.

The guile of the adulterous woman is seductive and she has laid low many victims. She speaks of love, offering it to others to take their fill and delight in it with her, but this is not love. It is but a twisting of love that we see permeated throughout our world, a type of self-fulfillment and self-affirmation. To know true love is to know the Lord, a love made manifest in His ultimate sacrifice. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Galatians 6

Galatians 6:1 (ESV) 6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

As we see others enmeshed in sin, we are to confront them in a spirit of gentleness. The force and manner of approach are to be Spiritually-discerned, but the aim should be restorative, not condemning. However, Paul is keen to also point out that we must guard our hearts in this process, lest we succumb to temptation. As we bring correction to others, we must do so while remaining mindful of our own susceptibility to sin.

Carson on John 10

Jesus’s mission includes not only sheep among the Israelites, but other sheep that “are not of this sheep pen” (10:16). But if they are Jesus’s sheep, whether Jews or Gentiles, they “will listen to [his] voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (10:16). Here is the fulfillment of the promise that in Abraham’s offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And this is also why, in the last analysis, there can never be more than one head of the church — Jesus Christ himself.

This connection between Jesus as the Good Shepherd and as the one, true head of the church is compelling. I could see this being contested by the Catholic understanding of the papacy, but Scripture is clear in demonstrating Jesus as our Shepherd who leads and guides His flock. It is by His voice alone we hear our names called and thus it is by Him alone we are to be led.

Justin Houtz