TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Exodus 17:8-19:15
Matthew 22:34-23:12
Psalm 27:7-14
Proverbs 6:27-35
Exodus 17:9 — This is the first mention of Joshua in the Bible. Joshua means “Jehovah is Salvation,” and when transliterated into Greek, it becomes Jesus.
Exodus 18:11 — Moses’ father-in-law wasn’t a believer but was reached as Moses shared what God had done. One day, the aged believer Jethro had wisdom for Moses (vs. 14, vv. 17-18). DesiringGod.org has an interesting observation on this passage:
Have you ever wondered why God, who gave Moses such detailed verbal instructions about things like the construction of the tabernacle and the keeping of the law, never instructed Moses on how he was to perform his role as judge in Israel? Instead he allowed Moses to struggle under an overbearing workload for a while and finally sends Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, to be an organizational consultant. (If you’re curious why God may have done this – finish the article!)
Exodus 19:4 — Maybe this reminds you of Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 91:4, a popular funeral song, the book or movie about the Ross Perot-organized rescue of Iranian hostages, or the 1949 rescue of 50,000 Jews from Yemen that involved Alaska Airlines (Code Name: Operation Magic Carpet)! Just a reminder that the Bible has a massive cultural influence, as well as its salvific power!
Exodus 19:5-6 — Israel left Egypt (Exodus 12) walked through the Red Sea (Exodus 14), rejoiced (Exodus 15), murmured (Exodus 16), fought (Exodus 17), organized the leadership (Exodus 18), and is now beginning to express its philosophy of government. Unlike our Preamble to the Constitution that begins with “We the people of the United States…do ordain,” Israel’s begins “We the priests of the holy nation…do covenant.”
Matthew 22:40 — Six hundred thirteen Old Testament laws of Moses were summarized in just two: Love God and Love others. But there are more commands than this in the New Testament! I’ll give you a sneak peak of a project to track all the Old Testament laws, the reiterations by the Prophets, and the New Testament Commands (843 is my latest count).
Psalm 27:14 — Patch the Pirate has a great chorus based on this verse (the lyrics come from Matthew 7:7 and James 4:2):
Proverbs 6:27-35 — A strong warning to those tempted to violate the Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:14).
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
