March 5: Exodus 16; Luke 19; Job 34; 2 Corinthians 4 - a podcast by Crossway

Exodus 16(Listen)

Bread from Heaven

16 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”8 And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.11 And the LORD said to Moses,12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”

13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”¹For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer,²according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’”17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.”20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,23 he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.”34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept.35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.36 (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)³

(ESV)

Luke 19(Listen)

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through.2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”9 And Jesus said to him,“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.12 He said therefore,“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.13 Calling ten of his servants,¹he gave them ten minas,²and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!³Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,30 saying,“Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”40 He answered,“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,42 saying,“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,46 saying to them,“It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

(ESV)

Job 34(Listen)

Elihu Asserts God’s Justice

34 Then Elihu answered and said:

2   “Hear my words, you wise men,
    and give ear to me, you who know;
3   for the ear tests words
    as the palate tastes food.
4   Let us choose what is right;
    let us know among ourselves what is good.
5   For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,
    and God has taken away my right;
6   in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
    my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
7   What man is like Job,
    who drinks up scoffing like water,
8   who travels in company with evildoers
    and walks with wicked men?
9   For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
    that he should take delight in God.’
10   “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
    far be it from God that he should do wickedness,
    and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11   For according to the work of a man he will repay him,
    and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
12   Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
    and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13   Who gave him charge over the earth,
    and who laid on him¹the whole world?
14   If he should set his heart to it
    and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
15   all flesh would perish together,
    and man would return to dust.
16   “If you have understanding, hear this;
    listen to what I say.
17   Shall one who hates justice govern?
    Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18   who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
    and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19   who shows no partiality to princes,
    nor regards the rich more than the poor,
    for they are all the work of his hands?
20   In a moment they die;
    at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
    and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
21   “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,
    and he sees all his steps.
22   There is no gloom or deep darkness
    where evildoers may hide themselves.
23   For God²has no need to consider a man further,
    that he should go before God in judgment.
24   He shatters the mighty without investigation
    and sets others in their place.
25   Thus, knowing their works,
    he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26   He strikes them for their wickedness
    in a place for all to see,
27   because they turned aside from following him
    and had no regard for any of his ways,
28   so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,
    and he heard the cry of the afflicted—
29   When he is quiet, who can condemn?
    When he hides his face, who can behold him,
    whether it be a nation or a man?—
30   that a godless man should not reign,
    that he should not ensnare the people.
31   “For has anyone said to God,
    ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
32   teach me what I do not see;
    if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33   Will he then make repayment to suit you,
    because you reject it?
  For you must choose, and not I;
    therefore declare what you know.³
34   Men of understanding will say to me,
    and the wise man who hears me will say:
35   ‘Job speaks without knowledge;
    his words are without insight.’
36   Would that Job were tried to the end,
    because he answers like wicked men.
37   For he adds rebellion to his sin;
    he claps his hands among us
    and multiplies his words against God.”

(ESV)

2 Corinthians 4(Listen)

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,¹we do not lose heart.2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice²cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants³for Jesus’ sake.6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self⁴is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

(ESV)