M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 6[a]
Gideon’s Call.[b] 1 The Israelites once again did what is evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of Midian for seven years. 2 The hand of Midian weighed heavy upon Israel, and because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared refuges for themselves in mountain caverns, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites sowed their crops, the Midianites, the Amalekites and other peoples from the East would attack them. 4 They camped against them and devastated the produce of the land all the way up to Gaza. They did not leave a living thing in Israel, not a sheep, nor an ox, nor a donkey. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. They and their camels were impossible to count; they invaded the land and laid it waste.
6 The Midianites oppressed Israel so terribly that the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent the Israelites a prophet[c] who said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought you up from the land of Egypt, bringing you forth from the land of your slavery. 9 I delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, out of the hands of everyone who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, “I am the Lord, your God. Do not show reverence to the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” But you did not listen to my voice.’ ”
11 The angel came and sat under the oak in Ophrah[d] that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. It was there that Gideon, his son, was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide his activities from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared, he said, “The Lord is with you, O mighty warrior.” 13 Gideon said to him, “O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in your might and rescue Israel out of the hands of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” 15 But he said to him, “O Lord, how can I save Israel. My clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s household.” 16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you,[e] and you will strike down the Midianites as if they were only one man.” 17 He answered him, “If I truly have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you speaking to me. 18 Please do not leave here until I return to you, bringing my offering that I will set before you.” He said, “I will wait here until you come back.”
19 Gideon went off and prepared a kid goat and unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to lay them down under the oak, presenting them to him. 20 The angel of God said, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, then pour out the broth.” He did these things. 21 The angel of the Lord stretched forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, touching the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire rose up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized that it had been the angel of the Lord, he said, “Alas, O Lord God, for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid; you will not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it, “The Lord is peace.” It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites up to the present.
25 [f]Now that same night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s spare ox, the ox that is seven years old. Break down the altar to Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it. 26 Build a proper altar to the Lord, your God, on top of this rock. Offer up the spare ox as a burnt offering, using the wood from the Asherah you cut down.”
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the Lord had told him to do. Because he was afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it during the day; he did it at night.
28 Early in the morning the men from the city arose and saw the altar of Baal demolished and the Asherah alongside of it cut down. The spare ox had also been offered on the newly built altar. 29 They asked one another, “Who has done this?” When they carefully investigated it, they were told, “Gideon, the son of Joash, did this.” 30 The men from the city told Joash, “Bring your son out. He must die, because he demolished the altar to Baal and he cut down the Asherah that was alongside of it.” 31 But Joash said to all those who were confronting him, “Are you going to defend Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever defends his cause will be put to death by tomorrow morning. If he is really a god, then he can fight for himself when someone breaks down his altar.” 32 From that day on they called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal fight with him,” because he cast down his altar.
33 All of the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the peoples from the east gathered together. They crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34 The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew his trumpet, summoning those who were in Abiezer to follow him.[g] 35 He sent messengers all throughout Manasseh, summoning them to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they too gathered around him.
36 Gideon said to God, “If you intend to save Israel by my hands, as you have told me, 37 then I will put a wool fleece on the floor. If there is dew on the fleece itself, but the ground around it is dry, then I will know that you are going to save Israel by my hands, as you said.” 38 Gideon got up early the next morning. He squeezed the fleece, and dew flowed out of the fleece, producing a bowl full of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I make this request. Let me test the fleece one more time. This time let the fleece remain dry and the ground all around it be covered with dew.” 40 This is what God did that night. Only the fleece was dry, for there was dew on the ground that surrounded it.
Baptism of the Centurion Cornelius
Chapter 10
The Vision of Cornelius.[a] 1 In Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius who was a centurion of the so-called Italian cohort.[b] 2 He was a devout and God-fearing man, as were all the members of his household. He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.
3 One afternoon about three o’clock,[c] he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God approaching him and calling to him, “Cornelius!” 4 He stared at him in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is lodging with another Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier on his staff. 8 He told them all that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
The Vision of Peter.[d] 9 About noon[e] the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He then saw heaven opened and something that looked like a large sheet descending, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles and birds of the air.
13 A voice then said to him, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord. For I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke again to him, for a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and then immediately the object was taken up into heaven again.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision he had seen, suddenly the men who were sent by Cornelius appeared. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house, and now they were standing at the entrance 18 and inquiring whether Simon known as Peter was lodging there.
19 As Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Some men have come to see you. 20 Hurry down and go with them without any hesitation, for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason you have come?” 22 They replied, “A centurion named Cornelius, who is greatly respected by the entire Jewish nation as an upright and Godfearing man, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day, he set out with them, accompanied by some of the brethren from Joppa. 24 On the following day, they reached Caesarea. Cornelius had been expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter arrived, Cornelius came out to meet him and, falling at his feet, did him reverence. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I am only a man myself.”
27 While they conversed together, they went inside where a large crowd had gathered. 28 Peter said to them, “You are well aware that Jews are forbidden to associate with or visit a Gentile. However, God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. 29 That is why I came without offering any objection when I was summoned. I would like to know exactly why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago, at this very hour, three o’clock in the afternoon,[f] I was in my house praying when suddenly I saw a man in shining robes standing before me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving has not been forgotten by God. 32 Therefore, send to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is also called Peter. He is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 And so I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now all of us have assembled here in the presence of God to listen to everything that the Lord has commanded you to say.”
34 Peter’s Speech. Then Peter addressed them: “I now understand how true it is that God has no favorites, 35 but that in every nation all those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to him. 36 He sent his word to the children of Israel and proclaimed the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all.
37 “You are well aware of what was proclaimed all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism of John, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses to everything he did in the Jewish countryside and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day and allowed him to be seen 41 not by all the people but by witnesses who were chosen by God in advance—by us who ate and drank with him[g] after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to bear witness that he is the one designated by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the Prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 The Baptism of Cornelius. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon all who were listening to his message. 45 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and proclaiming the greatness of God.
Peter said further, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 Then he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 49 Afterward, they asked him to stay with them for a few days.
Chapter 19
Symbol of the Broken Jug. 1 Thus said the Lord: Go forth and purchase a potter’s earthenware jug. Then take along with you some of the elders of the people and some of the priests, 2 and go forth to the Valley of Ben-hinnom,[a] close to the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. 3 There proclaim the words I tell you: Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is the message of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am prepared to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
4 For these people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by offering sacrifices in it to foreign gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, 5 building the high places of Baal to sacrifice their sons as burnt offerings to Baal. I never commanded or mentioned such a thing, nor did it ever enter my mind.
6 Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when this place will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 In this place, I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who are determined to slaughter them. Their corpses I will give as food to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
8 Moreover, I will make this city an object of horror and a source of derision. Every passerby will be horrified at the sight and be amazed at the disaster it has incurred. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and all will devour one another’s flesh during the siege because of the incredible distress with which they have been afflicted by their enemies and those who seek their lives.
10 Then you are to break the jug in the presence of the men who have accompanied you 11 and say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: In the same way I will smash this people and this city, as one smashes a potter’s earthenware jug so that it can never be repaired, and the dead will be buried in Topheth until no further space for burial remains.
12 This is what I am determined to do with this place and its inhabitants, says the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth, all of the houses upon whose roofs they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out libations to other gods.
14 When Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and proclaimed to all the people, 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am now prepared to inflict upon this city and upon all its towns the total disaster with which I threatened it, because they have remained steadfast in their stubbornness and refused to listen to my words.”
Chapter 5
Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac.[a] 1 They reached the region of the Gerasenes[b] on the other side of the lake. 2 No sooner had he stepped out of the boat than a man with an unclean spirit came up to him from the tombs.[c] 3 The man had been living in the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, not even with chains. 4 For he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but he had snapped the chains and smashed the shackles to pieces, and no one had sufficient strength to subdue him. 5 Day and night among the tombs and on the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones.
6 When the man caught sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, 7 as he shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you in God’s name: do not torment me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!” 9 Then he asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for there are many of us.”[d] 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now on the mountainside a great herd of pigs was feeding. 12 And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” 13 He allowed this. With that, the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, charged down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned in the waters.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. As a result, people came out to see what had happened. 15 When they came near Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by Legion sitting there fully clothed and in his right mind, and they were frightened. 16 Those who had been eyewitnesses to the incident confirmed what had happened to the demoniac and what had happened to the pigs. 17 Then they began to implore Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons pleaded to be allowed to go with him. 19 However, Jesus would not permit him to do so, and instead told him, “Go home to your own people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 The man then departed and began to make known throughout the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.[e]
21 Jesus Heals a Woman and Raises a Child.[f] When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed by the lake. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue,[g] named Jairus, came forward, and when he saw Jesus he threw himself down at his feet 23 and pleaded with him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her so that she may recover and live.” 24 Jesus went with him, and a large number accompanied him and crowded around him.
25 There was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. 26 In spite of long and painful treatment at the hands of many doctors, her condition not only had failed to improve but had actually become worse, and she had spent everything she had. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she thought, “If I simply touch his clothing, I shall be made well.” 29 And immediately her bleeding dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30 Instantly aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothing?” 31 His disciples said in reply, “You see this vast throng pressing upon you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 However, he continued to look around to determine who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She knelt before him and revealed to him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your affliction.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people from the house of the synagogue leader arrived and said, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any further?” 36 Jesus heard the message they had delivered, but he said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid. Just have faith.” 37 He allowed no one to accompany him except Peter, James, and John,[h] the brother of James.
38 When they arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, he observed a great deal of commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he entered, he said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead; she is asleep.” 40 In response, they laughed at him.
After sending them all outside, he took with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions and entered the room where the child was. 41 He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” which means: “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” 42 And immediately the girl, a child of twelve, got up and began to walk around.
On witnessing this, they were all overcome with amazement, 43 but he gave them strict instructions that no one should be told anything about this. Then he told them to give her something to eat.
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