Daily Reading Passages

Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.  Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.

Coaching Comments

Our Old Testament reading today is Exodus 17:8 - 19:15. There's a lot packed into these verses leading up to the encounter at Mount Sinai.

We start with Israel camped at the site where God provided them water from the rock. Here Israel faces its first military test. They are ill prepared. Untrained for war, unorganized. They were set up for a massacre. But Moses stood above the battle praying, and as long as he prayed with arms raised, Israel was victorious.

Next came a visit from Jethro. Apparently some time earlier Moses had sent his family out of harms way, back to live with his wife's family. Having heard of the miraculous deliverance, Jethro brought the family back and came to see Moses. They had a great chat catching up. The next day, Moses took his usual seat as a judge, offering mediation to the people who were having conflict. Jethro saw this, and saw how many people there were, and knew that Moses needed a different leadership strategy. To handle all of this work by himself would keep him from his primary tasks, and would completely wear him out. Jethro suggested a system of judges responsible for small groups of people, delegating the responsibility out to many trustworthy people. Moses agreed. Good lessons on leadership and on receiving counsel.

Finally, the people arrive at Mount Sinai, the appointed place where they would worship God. The fifteen verses in this chapter are all the instructions God gave Moses, and Moses gave the people, about preparing for God's appearance. They were to prepare themselves, get all distractions and impurities out of the way, and be ready, fo something monumental was about to happen. In the course of this conversation, God reiterates His covenant with this people and states explicitly His purpose for them: they are to become a nation of priests, acting as priest to the entire world.

We get three teachings today in our New Testament reading, Matthew 22:34 - 23:12. First, the Great Commandment. Another questioner comes, hoping to get Jesus to stumble. After all, if He picks one law as the greatest, He will alienate people who disagree. But Jesus gives one of the most profound answers. He quotes from the shema, the central Jewish prayer, and reminds those listening that everything in the law is really an expression of one thing - love. This love flows in two directions: to God, and to the people around us. Everything else is just explanation of that.

Now Jesus turns the tables and asks a question of the Pharisees. In this case they were wanting to answer that the Messiah was a normal person who just happened to be in the royal lineage of David, and thus the heir to the throne of Israel. Bu Jesus pointed out the supernatural aspect. Why would David call his own son, "Lord?" There was some kind authority in the Messiah that superseded even the authority of the king.

In response to all these interactions, Jesus makes some comments to the crowds about the Pharisees and religious leaders. He tells the people to obey them, since they are in authority, but not to follow their example, because they are hypocrites. Everything they do is for outward approval. But this runs counter to the culture of this new Kingdom. In this new kingdom, people will not exalt themselves, or try to show how great they are. In fact, those that try to do so will be humbled.

Over in our Psalm reading for today, Psalms 27:7-14, we finish up the 27th Psalm. David continues praying, in what feels like an intimate passage from his private journals. The passage ends with a strong note of encouragement, another great passage to memorize: "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

The Proverbs reading, Proverbs 6:27-35, today continues with the warnings against adultery and sexual sin. This time around the emphasis is on avoiding the shame that will come, and the vengeance of the husband. With due respects to our different perspectives today, this passage is basically built on the principle of property ownership. (Sorry, women.) Sleeping with another man's wife is essentially taking something that doesn't belong to you. Do it, and you will pay the consequences.

2007 Cohort Comments