What will we find as we read from Exodus, Leviticus, John, 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 24, 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.
Well, March Madness is going on, the annual college basketball tournament. Even if you don’t like college basketball, March Madness is always great because for most high school students, the first week of March Madness falls at more or less the halfway point between Christmas break and summer break. Hang in there and finish well!
This week, we’ve got some great chapters of Scripture to read. We’ll be looking at:
- Exodus 35–Leviticus 1
- John 14–20
- Proverbs 11–17
Let’s talk about what we can expect to learn this week.
First, we’re going to read the final chapters of Exodus; Exodus 35–40 and Leviticus 1. The final chapters of Exodus are interesting because they describe, in great detail, the construction of the tabernacle. We’re going to read a basic building plan for the tabernacle, and then descriptions of Bezalel making the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altar, constructing the court, making all the garments for the priests and then, finally, in chapter 40, assembling all of it for the first time. These chapters are going to feel very familiar because we’ve been through all this before in chapters 25–30. In those chapters, God told Moses: here is what I want you to do. Here in chapters 35–40, Bezalel actually makes everything according to the plans that God gave to Moses. Why do you think Moses wrote it this way? It would have been easier—and the book would have been about five chapters shorter—if Moses had just written, “so then, we built the tabernacle in the way that God said to make it.” This seems awfully repetitive.
Well, it gets easier to see the reason for the repetition if we remember what the tabernacle is. This is the place where God is going to live. It is his dwelling place with man on earth, the one location on the planet where his presence is tangibly concentrated in an on-going way. And what is God like? He is holy, perfect in every way. And so, it is very important that this gets done right. So we have these chapters as a way for Moses to demonstrate: we did it right; we built the tabernacle exactly the way God wanted us to. And the last paragraph proves that they did it right, because there, the Holy Spirit moves in. It’s one of my favorite paragraphs in the Bible and we’ll talk about it more on Friday.
Next, we’ll also be reading from John 14–20. Have you noticed how the timeframe of the gospel of John has slowed way, way down? The first 11 chapters of John cover Jesus’ entire life and most of his public ministry. About 33 years of time, or a lot more if you count the first few verses that describe Jesus’ pre-existence with the Father. But then, chapters 12–24 cover the last week of Jesus’ life. That’s a very disproportionate use of space! Part of the reason for that is the chapters we’ll read today and over the next few days. Yesterday, with chapter 13, we started what is sometimes called “The Upper Room Discourse” or “The Farewell Discourse.” It covers chapters 13–17, it is almost all red letters—meaning, it is almost all Jesus speaking, and it is the record of Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples. It is the longest continuous speech that we have recorded from Jesus and as you read it, I think you get the sense that it is eye-witness testimony. John was there. It is a little bit repetitive, so watch for key themes that keep showing up, especially the Holy Spirit, the priority of love among the followers of Jesus, and how the world will reject the followers of Jesus but how God will keep them safe.
And of course, in these chapters 18, 19, and 20, we’ll read about the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. These are powerful chapters. Again, be on the lookout for small details that confirm that John was there as an eyewitness.
Finally, we’ll be reading Proverbs 11–17. This week and next week we will be reading the heart of the book of Proverbs. Remember that we talked about how Proverbs can be divided into two sections: chapters 1–9 make up the Book of Instruction, which is basically an introduction to the entire book. Then chapters 10–31 make up the Book of Sayings. The Proverbs in these chapters are so great. Almost all of them are simple, two-line sayings where the second line normally elaborates upon or illustrates the first line in some way. One of the keys to reading Proverbs well is to discern the relationship between the first and the second line.
Proverbs are also full of dramatic imagery, which is sometimes kind of humorous. For instance, today we will read in Proverbs 11:22, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” This is a striking proverb because it doesn’t go the direction you think it will. “Like a gold ring…” Gold rings are beautiful in color and luster, attractive in shape, they adorn the hand of the wearer. Hmmm… in what pleasant scenario will we find this gold ring? Keep reading… in the snout of a pig! Ha! It’s the most incongruous thing: this doesn’t fit! Why would someone put a gold ring in a pig’s snout when the pig is just going to root around in the mud? What is going to happen to that gold ring? It’s a ridiculous image. And what is it supposed to teach us? That there is something just as ridiculous: a beautiful woman without discretion. In other words, if a woman is blessed with beauty but lacks discretion—she talks about herself all the time, or selfishly draws attention to herself—her beauty is wasted, just like the beauty of a gold ring in the snout of a pig. There’s a lot we can learn in all these chapters.
One more thing that is important about reading Proverbs: these are general observations on life. Proverbs are true, but not categorically true. Maybe it is better to call them truisms. In other words, they are not promises that are always true no matter what, like when Jesus says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Instead, proverbs are observations about how the world tends to work. A good example is the verse right before the one about the gold ring and the pig: Proverbs 11:21 says, “Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.”
This is a wonderful verse, but if you live long enough and see enough of the world, there may be some point where you think to yourself: it really seems like these evil people are going unpunished. Or: why isn’t God delivering this righteous person? It is important to remember that Proverbs are not always fulfilled in the timeline that we expect. Sometimes they describe things that are ultimately true—they will prove true in the long run, even if they aren’t obviously true right now.
Well, there is a lot to think about here, and this week, we’ll get some great opportunities to learn to be careful and attentive readers of our Bibles.
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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!