21-27 September 2026 (Exodus, Luke, Psalms)
Bible Reading Plan
Monday: Exodus 2:11-4:31
Tuesday: Exodus 5:1-7:7
Wednesday: Exodus 7:8-10:29
Thursday: Luke 3:1-4:13
Friday: Luke 4:14-5:16
Fluid (fit in any time): Psalm 13:1-6
Reflection and Discussion Questions
Monday (Day 1): Exodus 2:11-4:31
What caused Moses to flee to the land of Midian?
Who was Moses’ wife, and who was her father?
What did the Israelites do in Exodus 2:23-24? What did God do in Exodus 2:25?
How does “the angel of Yahweh” or “the angel of the LORD” present to Moses in Exodus 3? Why is the word “lord” sometimes upper case and sometimes lower case?
What does the term “theophany” mean?
Why did Moses have to remove his sandals in Exodus 3:5?
Did Moses show reverence and fear towards God?
Does Moses appear confident in his speaking ability?
Do you relate to Moses in his fear of speaking?
How might you look to overcome a fear of public speaking?
Is it speech or judgement that we fear?
Are some people more talented at public speaking than others?
Do we need to be the best speaker to have something worth saying? Similarly, should we judge a speaker purely on their homiletical and oratory skills?
Who was Aaron?
Bailey notes that the second sign shown to Moses in Exodus 4:6-8 does not appear again except in Miriam’s case of leprosy (Num 12:1–16), which probably harkens back to this event.3” (p. 90) He also observes, however that all ten of the plagues come back to the three signs (Staff → Snake; Healthy → Leprosy; and Water → Blood).
Tuesday (Day 2): Exodus 5:1-7:7
In Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh states, “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to His voice….” Do we hear similar hard-hearted arrogance today?
Have you heard such messages in education, the media, business, politics, etc.?
What are some areas that you have heard people dismissive of Yahweh?
To strike a sensitive cord, do we ever hear similar words or reasoning from those within the church?
If so, is this a flaw of the faith or of the person and their failure to grasp the religion?
In Exodus 4:21 Yahweh says to Moses that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart. How do you see the hardness of Pharoah’s heart in this passage?
Below are a couple of comments that help explain why straw was necessary for the making of bricks, and situation that had befallen upon the Israelites:
Straw serves as a bonding agent in the brick as it is heated. Without sufficient straw or with poor-quality stubble, the bricks would not form as easily and a higher proportion would fall apart, thus making the quota harder to achieve. Quotas found in Egyptian literature often do not clarify the number in the crew or the time period involved, but we do know that the quotas were often not met. (Matthews, Chavalas, & Walton, 2000, electronic ed., Ex 5:6–14)
Pharaoh devastated the spirits of the beleaguered masses of Heb. slaves with his commands but did not harden their hearts. Straw, provided by the state before, was replaced by stubble as straw. The Israelites would have to gather this for themselves for making bricks (וְקֹשְׁשׁוּ). The verb indicates that they gathered “stubble” that was scattered around in the land, which was far inferior to the straw they had been given. This inferior material now replaced their straw (תֶּבֶן; cf. 5:12). This incident foreshadows the mention of stubble when Yahweh, in anger, destroys the Egyptians like stubble (15:7). (Carpenter, 2016, p. 24)
How do you imagine you would feel if you were one of these Israelites?
How did God inspire confidence, vision, obedience and camaraderie in 7:1-7?
Wednesday (Day 3): Exodus 7:8-10:29
How do you think today’s passages contribute to the confidence, vision, obedience and camaraderie (or unity) of the people of Israel? Does it help our faiths when we see action and miracles? Is it more difficult when we don’t?
Was the wonder that Moses and Aaron performed in Exodus 7:10-12 superior to that of the wise men and sorcerers, the magicians of Egypt?
What were the ten plagues?
What do you find most interesting about the ten plagues?
Are there any particular plagues that you find most interesting or intriguing?
Thursday (Day 4): Luke 3:1-4:14
What role did Tiberius Caesar hold? What about Pontius Pilate and Herod?
What does John mean in Luke 3:8 where he calls for the production of “fruit worthy of repentance”? Do you think this is an issue to be addressed in the church today? Why (or why not) or how so? (Consider the context, looking at the rest of the verse as well as surrounding verses)
Did people ever wonder if John the Baptist was the Messiah? What was John’s response to those wondering? Why was Jesus so great?
Is it harder to share with others when we feel there is peace and an excess of goods, or when it is tight and competitive? Should it matter? Why or why not? What needs to be on our hearts as Christian believers? Do you think our actions should serve as a witness to others?
Why was John the Baptist imprisoned?
About what age was Jesus during his ministry?
What differences do you see between the genealogy of Jesus presented in Luke and that presented in Matthew?
Luke 4:1-13 emphasises how Jesus was victorious over temptation. What two sources did he rely on to sustain him?
Friday (Day 5): Luke 4:14-5:16
What two passages from Isaiah does Luke 4:18-19 conjoin? Do you think it was misleading for the author to join two different verses? Why or why not?
What is or was a synagogue? Was it like what a church building is for Christians?
Do you think demons and unclean spirits are real? Why?
Why did Jesus look to silence the demons who were acknowledging him as Christ and Son of God? (Lk 4:41)
Was Jesus praying in Luke 4:42?
How do you think the people of Capernaum received Jesus?
What qualities do you see in the attitude and behaviour of the leper who addressed Jesus in Luke 5:12-13? Do you think these are relevant to us in how we should address God in prayer, and show love and respect to God in and through our lives?
What offering required under the law of Moses was Jesus referring to in Luke 5:14?
How was leprosy viewed in Jesus’ time and through the Law? What was leprosy? How did Jesus change the lives of those with ailments such as leprosy and epilepsy both in the time of his ministry and afterwards (i.e. through the teaching of his ministry)?
Psalm 13:1-6
Any thoughts or experiences to share regarding Psalm 13?
References
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.
Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed.). InterVarsity Press.
Pink, A. W. (1962). Gleanings in Exodus. Moody Press.
