Justin Houtz

Exodus 31, John 13

DateVersionReading Plan
March 22, 2025ESV (2016)OT/NT Plan 2025 – 2027

Exodus 31

Observation

Exod. 31:1-11 – The LORD called Bezalel of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan, giving them ability and intelligence that they may make all that He commanded. The BBC summarizes well God’s assignment of these two men:

God appointed gifted artisans, Bezalel and Aholiab, to construct the tabernacle … and all its furniture. They supervised other workers in this holy task (v. 6b). The repetition of “I” in this paragraph shows that with the divine command there is divine enablement. The Lord appoints His workers, endows them with ability and talent, and gives them a work to do for His glory (v. 6). The work is all the Lord’s, but He accomplishes it through human instrumentality, then rewards His agents.

Exod. 31:12-17 – The LORD told Moses that he was to speak to the people and tell them that, above all, they were to keep the LORD’s Sabbaths. It was to be a sign between the LORD and His people throughout their generations that they may know that He is the LORD. The Sabbath was to be kept because it is holy. Anyone who profaned the Sabbath was to be put to death and whoever did work on the Sabbath was to be cut off from his people. Work was to be done for six days but the seventh day reserved for solemn rest, a sign that the LORD made heaven and earth in six days but on the seventh He rested and was refreshed.

Exod. 31:18 – The LORD gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. These were the “The two tablets of the testimony [which] contained the Ten Commandments and were to be placed inside the ark in the most holy place in the tabernacle to remind the people of the covenant that the Israelites had promised to keep (25:16).” (CSB Notes)

Application

This chapter provides a needed reminder of the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy as conveyed by the LORD to Moses and one we should be refreshed regularly. It is to be a day of solemn rest and remembrance of who God is and what He has done. In our busy, accomplishment-oriented, Western culture, we can so readily de-prioritize the Sabbath day at a practical level. Even as we go to church, we can do so while being mentally absent, mindful of the concerns of the moment rather than laying everything aside to focus exclusively on our LORD who is worthy of all worship and praise. May this text convict our hearts to keep the Sabbath day holy, a day gifted to us by God to rejoice in HIs splendor and majesty.

John 13

Observation

John 13:8 – Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet but Jesus told him that if he did not wash his feet that he would have no share with Jesus. The CSB Notes helpfully points out that “Peter [had] failed to realize…the humiliating nature of Jesus’s mission to be our Savior.”

John 13:34-35 – Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment to love another and that this would be the means by which all people would know that they are His disciples. The CSB Notes provides clarity on this commandment:

Love must be the distinguishing mark of Jesus’s disciples. Jesus’s new command closely resembled the Mosaic commands to love the Lord (Dt 6:5) and one’s neighbor as oneself (Lv 19:18; cp. Mk 12:28–33). Elsewhere Jesus said we must love even our enemies (Mt 5:43–48). While the command to love God and one’s neighbor was thus not new, Jesus’s example (as I have loved you) was unparalleled, as was his insistence that we should love our enemies.

Application

The saints are called to love as Jesus loves. This is not unconditional affirmation but service and sacrifice, declaring in word and deed the immutable truths of the gospel. It is true love and entirely distinctive from the love of this world. It is a love that is rooted in God’s Word and one that considers the hearts of others from an eternal perspective. It is a love of steadfast willingness to die to self so that others may be built up in faith. It is a love that suffers long, a love that pours out in faithful response to greatest act of cruciform love ever demonstrated. This is the love that shows the world that we are disciples of Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that You have given Your people a day to gather, rest and celebrate Your goodness and faithfulness. Father, by Your Spirit, guide Your church to properly rest on this day You have graciously granted to worship You in every manner of being. Father, thank You for Your great love and that, by our love for each other, we can express our belonging to You. Help us to do this well, to love that is obedient to our calling, that it may reflect Your love for us in the sending and sacrifice of Your Son.

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