M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Passover at Sinai(A)
9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai during the first month of the second year that they had left Egypt, 2 “The Israelis are to observe the Passover at its appointed time 3 on the fourteenth day of this month. You are to observe it at this appointed time between the evenings. You are to observe it according to all its decrees and laws.”
4 So Moses instructed the Israelis to observe the Passover. 5 They observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Israelis did everything that the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Special Passover Rules
6 But there were men who couldn’t observe the Passover that day because they had come in contact with a corpse. That very day, they approached Moses and Aaron 7 and asked, “Why can’t we bring an offering to the Lord at the appointed time among the Israelis, even though we are unclean because we came in contact with a corpse?”
8 “Wait while I hear what the Lord has to say about you,” Moses replied.
9 Then the Lord told Moses, 10 “Instruct[a] the Israelis that when any of you or your descendants becomes unclean due to contact with a corpse, or if he is on a long journey, he nevertheless is to observe the Lord’s Passover. 11 On the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight, they are to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They are not to leave any of it to remain until morning nor are they to break any of its bones. They are to observe it according to all the statutes of the Passover. 13 Now as to the person[b] who is clean and isn’t traveling, but fails to observe the Passover, that person[c] is to be eliminated from his people, because he didn’t bring an offering to the Lord at its appointed time. That person is to bear his sin. 14 If a resident alien lives with you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, let him observe it according to the statutes and laws of the Passover. You are to maintain the same statute[d] for the resident alien as you do for the native of the land.”
The Fire Cloud over the Tent
15 On the same morning[e] that the tent was set up, a cloud covered the tent, that is, the Tent of Testimony, and in the evening fire appeared over the tent until morning. 16 It was so continuously—there was a cloud covering by day, and a fire cloud appeared at night. 17 Whenever the cloud above the tent ascended, the Israelis would travel and encamp in the place where the cloud settled. 18 According to whatever the Lord said,[f] the Israelis would travel. According to whatever the Lord said, they would camp as long as the cloud remained over the Tent of Meeting.
19 When the cloud over the tent remained for a longer time, the Israelis did what the Lord had instructed and didn’t travel. 20 There were times when the cloud remained over the tent for a number of days. They camped in accordance with the Lord’s instructions and they traveled in accordance with the Lord’s instructions. 21 There were times when the cloud remained from evening until morning, but when the cloud ascended in the morning, they would journey. Whether by day or by night, they would travel whenever the cloud ascended. 22 Whether for two days, a month, or for longer periods, whenever the cloud would remain above the tent, the Israelis would remain in camp, not traveling. But whenever it ascended, then they would travel. 23 According to what the Lord said, they would remain in camp, and according to what the Lord said, they would travel. They kept the commands that the Lord had given through Moses.
To the Director: An instruction[a] by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of[b] “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song
45 My heart is overflowing with good news;
I speak what I have composed to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants;
grace has anointed your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword to your side,
mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharpened
to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
People will fall under you.
6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.
7 You love justice and hate wickedness.
That is why God, even your God, has anointed you
rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.
8 All your clothes are scented with[c] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women;
the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”
10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty.
Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him.
12 The daughter[d] of Tyre will come with[e] a wedding gift;
wealthy people will entreat your favor.
13 In her chamber,[f] the king’s daughter is glorious;
her clothing is embroidered with gold thread.
14 In embroidered garments
she is presented to the king.
Her virgin companions who follow her train
will be presented to you.
15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented
when they enter the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors,
and you will set them up as princes in all the earth.
17 From generation to generation,
I will cause your name to be remembered.
Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
7 [a]How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
noble lady.[b]
The curves of your thighs are like ornaments,
the work of a skilled artist’s hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your abdomen is a bundle of wheat,
enclosed by lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory.
Your eyes are like the[c] pools in Heshbon,
beside the gate of Beth-rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
which faces Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you[d] like Mount Carmel.
Your flowing locks[e] are like purple,
and a king could be captured in the dangling tresses.
6 How beautiful and lovely you are,
you are love with its exquisite delights.[f]
7 Your stature[g] is like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like clusters of fruit.[h]
8 I told myself, “I’ll go up the palm tree,
and take hold of its fruit.
May your breasts be like clusters of the vine,[i]
and the smell of your breath like apples.[j]
9 May your mouth[k] be like good wine.
The Loved One
May it go down smoothly to my beloved,
gliding gently over the lips of the sleeping ones.
10 I belong to my beloved,
and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved.
Let us go out to the country,
let us spend the night in the villages.[l]
12 Let us go early to the vineyards,
let us see whether the vine has budded,
whether the blossom has opened,
whether the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I’ll give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give off their[m] fragrance,
and over our doors are all the choice fruits,
both old and new,
that I’ve stored up for you, my beloved.
The Messiah is Superior to Melchizedek
7 Now this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings. 2 Abraham gave Melchizedek[a] a tenth of everything.[b] In the first place, his name means “king of righteousness,” and then he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3 He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death.[c] Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.
4 Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham—the patriarch himself—gave him a tenth of what he had captured! 5 The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham. 6 But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person. 8 Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture[d] that[e] Melchizedek[f] keeps on living. 9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10 because Levi[g] was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
11 Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—for on this basis the people received the Law—what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron? 12 When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law. 13 For the person we are talking about belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served[h] at the altar. 14 Furthermore, it is obvious that our Lord was a descendant of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe. 15 This point is even more obvious in that another priest who is like Melchizedek has appeared 16 who was appointed to be a priest,[i] not on the basis of a genealogical registry, but rather on the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared about him,
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”[j]
18 Indeed, because it was weak and ineffective, the former commandment has been annulled, 19 since the Law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is presented, by which we approach God.
20 Now none of this happened without an oath. Others became priests without any oath, 21 but Jesus[k] became a priest[l] with an oath when God[m] told him,
22 In this way, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 There have been many priests, since each one of them had to stop serving in office when he died. 24 But because Jesus[p] lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely[q] those who come to God through him.
26 We need such a high priest—one who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself. 28 For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.
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