What will we find as we read from Exodus, Luke, and Job 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 3, 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.
First, did you know about the seven plants that were aligned in the sky at the end of last week? Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were all lined up, although only Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were visible with the naked eye. Even if you missed it, Venus has been super bright in the evening sky to the west for an hour or so after sunset. You can’t help but think of Psalm 19:1–4, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (Psalm 19:1–4).
Psalm 19 is not one of our chapters this week; I just threw that in there for free.
This week, we’ve got some great chapters of Scripture to read. We’ll be looking at:
- Exodus 14–20
- Luke 17–23
- Job 32–38
We’re going to take a couple minutes to preview what we’ll be reading this week.
First, we’ll be reading Exodus 14–20. We’ve made it past the plagues that God sent on Egypt, but there is still a lot of drama in these chapters. In fact, some of our favorite stories in the Bible are in these chapters.
Chapter 14 is the crossing of the Red Sea and chapter 15 is the Song of Moses. Then we’ll read about some sins and failures while Israel is on the way to Mount Sinai: There are two kind of sad stories in chapters 15 and 17 about the Israelites complaining about water. Wedged in between those two stories is chapter 16: bread from heaven, about the giving of manna. The Israelites get their first taste of war in chapter 17, with the famous battle against Amalek. Chapter 18 depicts a family reunion as Jethro—Moses’s father-in-law—comes to visit. Then, in chapter 19, the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai, where in chapter 20, they receive the 10 Commandments. These are all really important chapters because they describe the beginning of God’s people living under God’s rule. God’s people don’t do that perfectly; they sin and complain in many ways, but God remains very gracious to them.
There are a lot of important details in every one of these chapters, so as you are reading, think about: what is Moses trying to communicate in the way he tells the story? Most of these are never-to-be-repeated episodes of God’s grace and provision to his people. As you read, try to imagine: what would it have been like to be there? What do you think it would look like, sound like, even smell like?
What about our readings in the gospel of Luke? This week, we’ll be reading Luke 17–23. As you read these chapters, notice the different kinds of people that Jesus interacts with, and how he interacts with them. He cleanses lepers, challenges Pharisees, cares for a rich young ruler and goes to dinner with Zaccheus. Then, in the second half of chapter 19 comes the Triumphal Entry: Jesus enters Jerusalem. From there, the story moves quickly towards the crucifixion, which we’ll read about on Sunday. There is actually a lot that happens during the week that Jesus spends in Jerusalem between the Triumphal Entry and the Crucifixion. More teaching, more challenges from the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and of course, in chapter 22, the sequence of the Last Supper, the Mount of Olives, and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus.
As you read these chapters, remember that Luke has put his story together very carefully. Last week we read a verse that is one of the most important in Luke’s gospel, but could easily slide right past without you noticing it. Luke 9:51 says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” That was a pivot point in the book; everything prior to that point was setting the stage for Jesus’ ministry. Everything after that is moving steadily—relentlessly, even—towards Jerusalem and towards Jesus’ death on the cross.
To read these chapters well, keep asking yourself: what does this story teach me about Jesus? Some of these stories teach us about his character: his compassion for the lost or his heart to heal or to save. Other passages depict his actions: teaching, healing, casting out demons—all these are different aspects of his saving power.
And when we get to chapter 23 on Sunday, and read about the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, don’t rush through that chapter. Take time to think carefully about the fact that it was our sins that led to his suffering and death. That’s sobering, but it will help us to feel the weight and seriousness of our sin and thus, appreciate the gift and glory of the gospel.
Finally, we’ll be reading from Job 32–38. We’re done with the speeches by Job and his three friends, but we’re not done with speeches. In fact, Job 32–37 is a six-chapter series of speeches by a new character we haven’t met yet. Here’s a guy named Elihu and he just kind of shows up in the story. Job gives us a little bit of his background in 32:1–5. He is a younger man, so fittingly, he waited to speak up because he wanted to let older men go first as a sign of respect for their experience and maturity.
But notice that Elihu also seems to be a hot-headed guy. Four times in just these five verses, it says that he “burned with anger.” Twice in verse 2, he burned with anger towards Job. In verse 3, he burned with anger towards Job’s three friends. And again in verse 5, again, he burns with anger towards Job’s three friends. Fun fact: when it says he “burned with anger,” the phrase in Hebrew could be translated literally: “he got hot in the nose.”
But why was he “hot in the nose?” Elihu is an interesting guy: he seems to take issue with Job’s insistence that he is innocent and he rebukes Job in several of these chapters and he seems to say a lot about the greatness and glory of God. He is angry at Job’s three friends because they cannot provide a meaningful answer to Job. But is he right? Well, there are good reasons for his speeches. His criticisms of Job are mostly warranted. One Bible scholar said of Job, “The three friends said that Job was suffering because he sinned. Elihu said he sinned because he was suffering.” In other words, Elihu seems to be mostly challenging Job’s claim that God’s treatment has not been fair and that God was unjust to not provide an answer. You could think of these chapters as the ramp up to the much more serious correction that Job will receive from God himself in chapters 38–41. Read these chapters and evaluate for yourself: what do you think of Elihu’s critique of Job?
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!