What will we find as we read from Exodus, Luke, John, Job, and Proverbs this week?
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is March 10, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is a preview of what we’re going to read this week. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
It’s Spring Break here in Louisville! Not only are we enjoying some time off of classes, it looks like spring may finally be here with some warming temps and some blooming trees. If your Spring Break isn’t here yet, I hope it will be soon!
This week, we’ve got some great chapters of Scripture to read. We’ll be looking at:
- Exodus 21–27
- Luke 24–John 6
- Job 39–Proverbs 3
Let’s start with Exodus. This week we’ll be reading Exodus 21–27. Yesterday was Exodus 20, where we read about the Ten Commandments, which is one of the high points of the book of Exodus and of the entire Bible. The thing to remember here is that the Ten Commandments are not the entirety of the Law, but really just a very concise summary of what the Law teaches; the rest of the book of Exodus and most of the book of Leviticus contain the Law that God gave to Israel.
Let’s keep the setting in mind: The Israelites are still encamped at the base of Mt. Sinai. In the chapters this week, we are going to read about a variety of laws for things like slavery, justice, and Sabbath observance. Chapter 24 is an important chapter because there, God will confirm the covenant with Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel. Then, in chapter 26, God will begin describing plans for the tabernacle. The word tabernacle is a fancy word for tent, but it makes sense to use a good word for it, because this isn’t just any tent: this will be the one physical place on earth where God’s presence is concentrated and manifested as he dwells with his people. The very last paragraph of Exodus will be one of the most dramatic things we’ve read so far, as God moves into his new house.
However, these chapters can be a little tedious. It seems like a lot of detail, describing everything from the bases and curtains to the utensils and pots and of course, to the ark of the covenant. But all of this detail is important because of who is going to live in the tabernacle. God lives there. God is holy and he cannot stand the presence of sin and must punish any sin that comes into his presence. So having God living in the middle of their camp is very dangerous for the Israelites. If you want to know just how dangerous it is, jump forward to Leviticus chapter 10 and read about how things worked out for Nadab and Abihu.
As you are reading these chapters, try to get a picture in your mind of the tabernacle and the various components that God is directing them to build. A good study Bible should have some helpful diagrams.
Next, this week we’ll be reading Luke 24–John 6. Today, we finish Luke’s gospel and tomorrow we begin John. We’ll talk about John 1 in a lot more detail tomorrow, but let’s think for a minute about finishing the gospel of Luke.
Do you have any reflections on reading Luke’s gospel? Think for a minute about how it compares to Matthew and Mark? Did you notice any major differences? It is longer than Mark and has a few different stories from Matthew, but they feel pretty similar. I’m sure you noticed that Luke is very attentive to details and he has often been praised by Bible scholars for his accuracy with people, dates, and places. But there is no denying that Matthew, Mark, and Luke do feel very similar. In fact, these three gospels are sometimes called the synoptic gospels—synoptic is a word that means “seen together.”
One of the first things you’ll recognize about John’s gospel is that it is different in many ways. The tone is different, John takes a very lofty view, helping us to see the deity of Jesus Christ. There are no parables, no extended speeches to large crowds, more personal interactions with individuals and small groups.
There are also the famous “I am” sayings in John: I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Vine, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and so on. There are seven of them—one of John’s favorite numbers. Maybe as we read through John’s gospel over the next three weeks, see if you can find all seven of these. Maybe start a list in your Bible and see if you can memorize all seven of the I am statements, with their locations, by the time we finish the book.
Finally, we’ll be reading Job 39–Proverbs 3. We’re coming in for a very dramatic landing in the book of Job. Yesterday we read the beginning of God’s response to Job and to Job’s friends. Job never got the chance to respond to Elihu’s extended speeches in chapters 32–37. It’s as if God has had enough, he clears his throat, and begins to set the record straight.
I think chapters 38–41 are some of the best reading in the entire Bible, if you want to expand your view of God. God begins questioning Job and asking Job questions that Job could not possibly answer. And that is exactly the point. God uses the grandeur and glory of the created world to put Job in his place: God describes the creation of the world—from its deepest foundations to the constellations in the heavens above—and then gives a tour of a kind of divine petting zoo, describing creatures that Job could not possibly understand or tame.
In chapters 40 and 41, God describes Behemoth and Leviathan—mysterious and dangerous creatures that only God can subdue. In all of this, God is making the point: he knows much that Job can’t even imagine. His ways are higher than Job’s ways, so it is not fitting for Job to question God but rather for him to trust and obey. And to his credit, that is what Job does in chapter 42. And of course, at the very end of the chapter, we will read about the restoration of Job’s fortunes.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we’ll make our way into the book of Proverbs. I’ll talk more about this on Friday, but for now, let’s think about what this book is. It was written by the great Solomon, the second wisest man ever to walk the earth. And he wrote it for his sons, to prepare them to be kings of Israel. And those kings were supposed to be model citizens in Israel. So the book can be considered a training manual for young people to know how to live in the fear of the Lord. We’ll talk more tomorrow about how we know this is the big idea of the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs is notoriously difficult to outline on a chapter and verse level, but the big picture is that it breaks into two parts. Chapters 1–9 make up the Book of Instruction, where Solomon puts his hand on his son’s shoulder and wisely guides him through all sorts of life’s perplexities. Chapters 10–31 make up the Book of Sayings. These chapters are mostly a collection of short, memorable, dense, pithy sayings that describe what life is generally like in a fallen world. As we read, we’ll learn to look carefully at how these chapters use parallelism—pairs of similar statements—to make important points, and how the imagery of these proverbs adds to their meaning and significance.
It’s going to be a great week of Bible reading, everybody, and I’m glad we get to do it together.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!