5-11 October (Exodus, Luke & Psalms)

5 Oct

Bible Reading Plan

Monday: Exodus 15:22-16:36
Tuesday: Exodus 17:1-18:27
Wednesday: Exodus 19:1-20:21
Thursday: Luke 8:1-56
Friday: Luke 9:1-50

Fluid (fit in any time): Psalm 15:1-5

Note: Italicised question are introduced at advanced level

Reflection and Discussion Questions

Monday (Day 1): Exodus 15:22-16:36

How important is water for life? Does the Old Testament emphasise this at times? In Scripture, does Moses liken himself to being like water? What about God?
Do you think the passage of Yahweh providing water at Marah (Exod. 15:22-27) has a symbolic connection to Jesus, his death, message, life or anything else?
Does the discourse in John have relevance to the three days followed by 22-26 or 27?
Were the numbers 12 and 70 significant? If anything, what would they have meant to the Jewish people? How important are numbers in Jewish writing? Share your thoughts and findings online.
In Exodus 16:3 do you think the Israelites are accurately remembering what they left in Egypt? Why?
How many times do you see a word equivalent to grumble/grumbled/grumblings used in the first 12 verses of Exodus 16?
- What was Yahweh’s response?
  - Were people obedient? What does it tell us about people?
Did they gather manna on the Sabbath?
Did Gid provide quail for the Israelites in the same way as manna? How often was quail provided? How often was manna provided?
Do you see any correlations in Jesus’ ministry of the New Testament between the manna spoken about during the exodus in the Old Testament?
Do you think that manna is mentioned or remembered anywhere outside of Exodus?
Regarding Exodus 16:33-34, Carpenter (2016) gives the following translation and comment. Do you agree with his analysis? Do you find anything particularly interesting or enlightening?

33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar129 and place an omer130 of manna in it and place131 it before Yahweh to preserve for your future generations.” 34 Just as Yahweh had commanded Moses, so Aaron deposited it before the covenantal declaration132 for safekeeping. (p. 581)

This verse may refer to a later time when the priesthood was set up, or it may refer to a more ancient time when “placing it before Yahweh” referred to a location situated “before Yahweh” (cf. 33:7–11). The word translated “jar” (צִנְצֶנֶת) is unique, but it clearly refers to some kind of container and is usually translated as “jar.”137 After the tabernacle was set up, this manna was placed in the holy of holies in front of the ark itself. The final resting place for the container of manna was before the “covenantal declaration” (לִפְנֵי הָעֵדֻת). It reminded Israel that keeping Yahweh’s Torah was the key to being fed by him—with normal food or with food provided by Yahweh himself in some miraculous manner. (p. 583)

Tuesday (Day 2): Exodus 17:1-18:27

Did the Israelites continue to grumble?
Where did Moses find water in Exodus 17:6?
Why do you think God made Israel more successful against the Amalekites in Exodus 17 when Moses' hands were raised?
Do you think Exodus 17:12 meant that Moses’ hands were literally very heavy? What is meant here?
Who initiated the fight between Israel and the Amalekites? Do you think Deuteronomy 25:17-19 is relevant to the battle in Exodus 17:8-16?
Do you agree with Ryken and Hughes (2005) who state:

Israel’s encounter with the Amalekites is a picture of the church in its spiritual warfare. This battle is another Old Testament type—a Biblical event that shows the pattern of our life in Christ. The attack was a historical event that pointed to a higher spiritual reality. We have been delivered from the Egypt of our sin, and now we are heading for the land of glory. Our ultimate victory is certain because Jesus won the crucial battle when he died on the cross….

But the real battle is not visible—it is invisible. The troubles we see in the world are only skirmishes in the cosmic spiritual strife between God and Satan.

The war is raging all around us, but more frightening is the way that it rages inside us. Our real enemy is not other people, whether outside or inside the church. If we see them as our spiritual opponents, then we will end up demonizing them, and we will also fail to sense our own great danger of falling into sin. Our real enemy is Satan himself, with all his unholy helpers. Even after we are saved, they keep attacking us in the hope that we will do something to dishonor God and thus rob him of his glory. (pp. 458-459)

Recalling the words of Exodus 14:13-14, what do you think the Israelites were supposed to feel? Do you think they got the message? Do you see correlation between passages such as Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 2:15 and what we are seeing here in Exodus, where the victory is God’s to claim, and while we are the beneficiaries (or winners) we are still in the middle of a spiritual battle or war?
What insights have you gained from considering the story of the Amalekites battle with the Israelites?
Did the Amalekites pick a fight with Israel, Yahweh or both? Do you think Moses in Exodus 17:15-16 elevates the identity of the people by the nation of Israel or their affiliation with Yahweh? Do you think this relevant to us today and the battles and challenges we face?
Bailey (2007) comments:

The text pictures Jethro as “another Melchizedek, the paradigm of the righteous Gentile,”2 who instructs the lawgiver Moses relative to the administration of Yahweh’s law to Israel. To a lesser degree comparisons may be made with the “wandering/sojourner” motif: Cain (Gen 4:16), Ishmael (Gen 16:1; 21:21), Isaac and Ishmael (Gen 25:11–18), Keturah’s sons vs. Isaac (Gen 25:6; 28:1–5), and Jacob and Esau (Gen 33:12–18; 35:5–15). (p.198)

What parallels or similarities do you see between the correspondence of Abraham and Melchizedek (Gen. 14-15) and Moses and Jethro (Exod. 18-19)?
What interests you about Exodus 18?
Do you think Exodus 18 is a transition chapter, which serves as a bridge to the Sinai sections of Exodus? Explain why or why not.
What role do you see Moses playing in Exodus 18:13-17?
What attributes do you see from Moses in listening to his father-in-law? How important is humility in life, and in growing wisdom and understanding? Is humility still important for us today? How so?
As we read through Exodus, do you see trying circumstances for Moses, and an exhaustion with life and the duties he has been given? Give an example. Do our duties stop, or does life necessarily get easier, when we get exhausted or reach what we see as ‘our limit’? I have heard the phrase that “God doesn’t push us further than what we can handle.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not? In your opinion, was Moses pushed beyond what he could handle? Is there such a thing? Your thoughts and opinions.
Thinking of Moses and Jethro, how important is it to listen and learn from the lives, experience and wisdom of others? How do we do this, and how do we know what wisdom we can or cannot trust? Thoughts?

Wednesday (Day 3): Exodus 19:1-20:21

How was what we see in Exodus 19 like or unlike ancient Near Eastern treaties of the time?
Would this have been an awesome and/or surreal experience for the people of Israel in Exodus 19? How do you think you would feel if you were one of them?
Describe the meaning of the symbolism and theophany we see used in Exodus 19:16-20.
We see that Yahweh comes down to the top of the mountain and speaks to Moses in Exodus 19:20. We later see that Elijah in 1 Kings 19 also comes to Mt Horeb/Mt Sinai. What comparisons can you make between the two accounts, and do you think this is of any relevance to why they both appear in the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1–13; Mk. 9:2–13; Lk. 9:28–36)?
Does Yahweh present as a God to be feared? How is Yahweh’s holiness emphasised in Exodus 19:20-25?
What do you find interesting about Exodus 19-20?
Can you remember the Ten Commandments?
How important were the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people? Do we see an awareness of them in the New Testament?

Thursday (Day 4): Luke 8:1-56

What three women does Jesus single out? Who had seven demons gone out of? Were there any other women? Was it socially unusual for Jesus to have women as followers and serving in his ministry? (cf. Jn 4:27) What do you think they did to assist Jesus’ ministry?
How do we know if we are ‘good soil’ (cf. Lk 8:8)? Sometimes we do not feel fruitful, and it is not obvious, and yet, sometimes it is. How do you think we should see the Parable of the Sower (Lk 8:4-8)? What is the meaning of Luke 8:15?
Marshall (1978) states “V. 18 should probably be taken as the closing statement of the whole section 8:4–18” (p. 327). Do you agree?
Jesus encourages a closeness between Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you think Christians in your own country typically show the closeness, love and care Jesus intended for his church? If so, great! If not, what do you think is different? Give some examples of things to blame, and what might be some options for overcoming some of the stumbling blocks?
Do you think it was likely surprising to Jesus that his disciples did not expect that Jesus could control the wind and the waves? In asking them “where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25) do you think Jesus was offended, angry, teaching, enlightening and/or enquiring of his disciples?
Why would the people surrounding the region of the Gerasenes ask Jesus to depart from them? Why would they be afraid? (cf. Luke 8:37)
Why were there pigs in Decapolis if Jews considered pigs unclean, and they should not be eaten (cf. Lev. 11:7-8; Deut. 14:8)
If the man was formerly demon-possessed, and was now made perfectly well after Jesus’ exorcism of Legion.
Nolland (1989) gives the following comments on Luke 8:38-39:

38 As he reports the man’s request Luke once again moves away from the verb used for the demons’ request. The imperfect ἐδεῖτο, “he was begging,” prepares us for the request to be turned down. Curiously, Luke replaces Mark’s p 413 ὁ δαιμονισθείς, “the one having been demon-possessed,” which he has himself introduced in v 36. The man is described as in v 35, but with ἀνήρ instead of ἄνθρωπος for “man” and with a perfect tense rather than an aorist. Luke speaks not of a refusal but of a dismissal: the man is not turned down but redirected.

39 Luke’s use of ὑπόστρεφε, “return,” establishes a parallel between Jesus’ return to Jewish Palestine (v 37) and what this man is to do. Mark’s mention of the man’s family is trimmed away. This has the effect of leaving quite general the directive to tell people what has happened. The man who returns now to his house is the man unable to stay in a house in v 27. Luke uses here διηγοῦ, “tell,” a verb which he replaced in v 36 with the verb that Mark has at this point (ἀπαγγέλλειν): διηγεῖσθαι seems for Luke to be preferred for believing report. Luke has “God” for Mark’s “Lord”: “Lord” for Luke tends to mean Jesus himself, and here God as the power source behind Jesus is intended (cf. 5:17). Luke speaks simply of what “God did,” whereas Mark has “the Lord has done and has had mercy on you.” Luke uses the verb “to have mercy” only in the fixed expression “have mercy on me/us” (16:24; 17:13; 18:38, 39).

Luke also abbreviates the rest of the verse. Notably, he takes Mark’s “in the Decapolis” not generally but as referring only to the specific city (the καθʼ ὅλην, “through the whole,” is surprising as Luke elsewhere uses καθʼ ὅλης for this). Luke omits Mark’s account of the amazement of all: for Luke the people’s response to these events has already been given earlier and culminates in v 37. The man is called to demonstrate his faith, but the report of what he does also provides echoes for the coming missionary endeavor to the Gentiles. (pp. 412-413)

Which of Nolland’s points do you find particularly interesting
What do you find interesting about the passage of the demon-possessed Gerasene (Lk 8:26-39)?
Luke 8:41 states that Jairus was “ruler of the synagogue.” What does this mean? What role is this?
How would the health conditions of the woman in Luke 8:42b-38 affect the life she lived?
- How are other people affected by health conditions? Does our understanding of – or coming to terms with – a problem fix it, or are there still difficulties to contend with? What people do you know with health difficulties that may need more love, care, resources, or other assistance?
Have you ever seen God do the unbelievable in your life?

Friday (Day 5): Luke 9:1-50

Who did Jesus give power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases? (cf. Lk 9:1)
What did Jesus send the Twelve to do? What were they to bring with them, and what were they to do if people did not welcome them? (cf. Lk 9:2-5)
- Should this message also apply to us in our ministry and evangelism today? Why so, or why not?
Is Herod the Tetrarch the same as Herod the Great or Herod Antipas? How many different Herods were there?
Does Luke state that Jesus give the Twelve the capability to create food as he did when feeding the 5000?
Black (1995) gave the following comments on Luke 9:10-17:

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is found in all four Gospels and therefore was seen as very important to all four writers.9 Why is this? The miracle is spectacular, but certainly not more so than the reader has already seen. Rather, it is the symbolism of this miracle which makes it such a crucial one for Luke to tell. Jesus is “in a remote place” (literally, in a “desert place”) with thousands of Israelites who have nothing to eat, and so Jesus miraculously feeds them. The similarities to Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness are so striking that they could not be missed by first-century Jews looking for the Messiah. Jesus shows here that he is the new (and better) Moses, who will deliver the people from those who oppress them.10 Peter also understands, as the next episode implies that this story leads to the great confession. Jesus must be the coming prophet Moses spoke about, the Messiah of God. Herod’s question in 9:9 is answered.

Another interesting account in the background of this story is that of Elisha commanding a servant with twenty barley loaves and some ears of grain in his sack to “Give to the men that they may eat.” When the man replied that there was not enough food, Elisha said, “They shall eat and have some left” (2 Kgs 4:42–44). In light of Luke’s theme of the prophetic Messiah and his earlier mention of Elisha (4:27), such an allusion would not be out of place. Israel would know the “coming prophet” because he would look like the earlier prophets.

Do you agree with his above comments regarding the allusions to Moses and Elisha? What are your thoughts?
What do you think about Edwards (2015) comments on Luke 9:14b-17

14b–17 Everything now depends on Jesus. “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each,” he orders (v. 14). From the earliest days of the Christian movement, the feeding of the five thousand, the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels and an ever-popular story of the church, was interpreted with reference to “manna”: as Moses fed the crowds in the wilderness with heavenly food, so Jesus feeds the crowds with the bread of heaven that will satisfy their hunger forever.18 Luke doubtless affirms this typological connection, but he adds a unique and decisive clue in the phrase “fifty each.” The number “fifty” occurs 160 times in the Greek Bible, but “fifty each” (Gk. ana pentēkonta) occurs only once again in the Greek Bible. In 1 Kgs 18:13 Obadiah tells Elijah that he has supplied food and water to “fifty each” (ana pentēkonta) of the prophets of the Lord during the famine in the land and the pogrom of Ahab and Jezebel to exterminate them. The use of “fifty each” is yet another Lukan allusion to the prophet Elijah (and perhaps also to the miraculous feeding of Elisha, 2 Kgs 4:42–44) as a prefigurement of Jesus: the salvific care that God showed to the faithful remnant of Yahweh prophets will be shown to the disciples and crowd through Jesus’ ministry in the wilderness (see excursus on Elijah-Elisha typology at 7:15–17).

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, [Jesus] gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.” This verse is virtually verbatim in the three Synoptics (9:16; Matt 14:19; Mark 6:41) and nearly as close to the wording of John 6:11. It preserves the memory of the church with greater unanimity than perhaps any other single text in the four Gospels. The exactitude with which this verse was preserved in church tradition almost certainly resulted from the fact that the early church perceived a parallel between the accounts of the feeding of the five thousand and the Last Supper, both of which contain the fourfold word sequence: “took (bread)/blessed/broke/gave.”19 To be sure, the Passover significance of the Last Supper is absent in the wilderness banquet, and the two episodes differ in various details.20 Nevertheless, Jesus’ introduces the wilderness banquet in terminology that is unique to himself. The fourfold word sequence is absent from the common Jewish table prayer (“Praise be to you, O Lord our God, king of the world, who makes bread to come forth from the earth and who provides for all that you have created”),21 but it is present in the feeding of the Five Thousand (9:16), the Last Supper (22:19), and the banquet at Emmaus (24:30).22 In each banquet the theme of revelation and recognition is paramount. The wilderness banquet is sandwiched between Antipas’s question, “Who, then, is [Jesus]?” (9:9) and Peter’s declaration, “You are the Messiah of God” (9:20). In the Last Supper the fourfold liturgy of institution is repeated in the context of a Passover meal that inaugurates the new covenant of the kingdom of God (22:14–20). And at the fourfold liturgy during the Emmaus banquet “the eyes [of the disciples] were opened and they recognized [Jesus]” (24:30–31). Luke thus employs the formula “took/blessed/broke/gave” in three critical and calculated contexts, in each instance of which the breaking and dispensing of bread to the disciples is a revelatory symbol of Jesus’ self-giving for the church in his passion and resurrection, through which disciples recognize him (24:31) as the fulfillment of Scripture (24:32).

“They all ate and were satisfied.” The word “satisfied” (Gk. chortazein) recalls Luke’s second beatitude, “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied” (6:21). The word “all” is equally significant. Nowhere did Torah and oral tradition regulate Jewish life more prescriptively than at table. The effect of kosher was to ensure that proper foods, properly prepared, were properly eaten; unclean foods and unclean persons were necessarily excluded. At the wilderness banquet the ritual of kosher is abandoned in favor of an open invitation and inclusion of all people. “They all ate and were satisfied.” The meal provided by Jesus does not “tide the crowd over” until something more substantial can be had. The meal is so sufficient and satisfying23 that a basket of leftovers remains for each of the disciples.24 The “twelve baskets of leftovers” (v. 17) may symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, a conjecture that is strengthened by the emphatic placement of dōdeka, “twelve,” as the final Greek word of the miracle. If so, “twelve” is Luke’s final reminder that the bread offered by Jesus not only feeds and satisfies a crowd of five thousand, but all Israel. At the same time, “twelve” reminds the disciples how those sent in mission with a calculated deficit are not abandoned by Jesus but abundantly provided for. (pp. 266-267)

What importance do you see in Peter’s recognising that Jesus was “the Christ of God”? (cf. Lk 9:18-20)
How does the feeding of 5000 (cf. Lk 9:1-17) provide an appropriate background for Peter’s revelatory answer that Jesus was indeed “the Christ of God”? (Lk. 9:20)
Why did Jesus warn and command the Twelve to not tell anyone that Jesus was the Christ? (Lk. 9:21-22; cf. Lk. 9:36)
How do you understand and/or apply Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23-27?
Do you see any connections between Luke 9:10-20 and the Transfiguration in vv. 28-36? What important Old Testament figures, correlations and allusions do you see?
What was the Greek word for “departure” used in in 9:31? How is this relevant to the Old Testament and what Jesus was about to fulfil in Jerusalem?
Do the passages in 9:37-62 show the disciples more at their worst or best? How do you think their example is relevant to the reader?
What principle(s) do you think Jesus teaches in Luke 9:46-48?
What point do you think Jesus is trying to make in Luke 9:50?

Psalm 15

What are your thoughts, revelations and inspirations when reading, dwelling and meditating on Psalm 15?

Reference

Bailey, R. C. (2007). Exodus. College Press Publishing Company.

Black, M. C. (1995). Luke. College Press Pub.

Carpenter, E. (2016). Exodus (Vol. 1). Lexham Press.

Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 266–267). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.

Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text. Paternoster Press.

Nolland, J. (1989). Luke 1:1–9:20 (Vol. 35A). Word, Incorporated.

Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory. Crossway Books.

129 See textual notes. Cf. IBHS 251, where this usage is identified as an instance of a marked indefinite noun with the word אַחַת.

130 About 2.3 quarts.

131 Lit. “and put it there,” with שָׁמָּה emphasizing its location.

132 Heb. לִפְנֵי הָעֵדֻת, which undoubtedly refers to the Ten Words of Yahweh engraved on stone tablets and stored in the ark, representing both God’s presence and will for his people. Of course, this is looking forward to the future establishment of the tabernacle (Exod 25:8). The lxx reads ἐναντίον τοῦ μαρτυρίου (“before the witness”).

137 See HALOT 1039–40. Some translators prefer “basket,” but the context seems to militate against this interpretation.

2 Sailhamer, Pentateuch as Narrative, p. 281.

9 Mark (8:1–10), and Matthew (15:32–39) also narrate the feeding of the four thousand.

10 In John’s account of the story, the people respond to the miracle by saying, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world” (6:14). Then Jesus withdraws, knowing that “they intended to come and make him king by force” (6:15).

v. verse

18 Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Luc., Hom. 48.

Gk. Greek

19 See here Nolland, Luke 1:1–9:20, 446.

20 See the contrasts noted by Marshall, Luke, 361–62.

21 Str-B 1:685.

22 So too Tannehill, Luke, 155.