M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Although the text is not clear, the chief baker dies a particularly gruesome death. The way the story is told, Pharaoh lifts up the baker’s head—a gesture which would seem to signal royal favor—but in the next treacherous instant, his head is removed. Then his lifeless corpse is impaled on a tree, exposed to the elements. Because the body is left to rot outside and be eaten by birds—instead of being carefully embalmed and entombed—the Egyptians believe the victim’s soul can never enter the afterlife. This is the worst form of capital punishment, leaving the cupbearer to fear not only death but also eternal oblivion.
41 Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River, 2 and out of the Nile came seven healthy, fat cows. They all grazed in the grassy reeds at the river’s edge. 3 Then, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile and stood by them on the bank of the river. 4 And the ugly, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows. And then Pharaoh woke up, startled.
5 Again he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. This time, seven ears of grain, all plump and fine, were growing on one stalk. 6 Then seven other ears that were shriveled and burnt by the east wind sprouted up after them. 7 The shriveled ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh woke up again, realizing it was only a dream.
8 In the morning he felt uneasy, so he sent for all of the magicians and all of the wise men of Egypt to come and consult with him. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. They had no idea what they could mean.
9 The chief cupbearer remembered Joseph, so he went to Pharaoh.
Cupbearer: I am reminded today of something I did wrong. 10 Once when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 One night we both had a dream. The dreams were unique, and their interpretations were also unique. 12 There was a young Hebrew there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us. 13 Things turned out exactly as he had interpreted them: I was restored to my office, and the baker was impaled.
14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph, hoping he could also interpret Pharaoh’s dream. His officers rushed to the dungeon to get Joseph ready to meet the king. After he had been allowed to shave and change his clothes, he was brought before Pharaoh.
Pharaoh (to Joseph): 15 I’ve had a dream, and I can’t find anyone who can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that when someone tells you a dream, you are able to interpret it.
Joseph: 16 I cannot do this, but God will answer Pharaoh’s request and relieve your concerns.
Pharaoh: 17 In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, 18 and seven healthy, fat cows came up out of the Nile River and grazed in the grassy reeds at the river’s edge. 19 Then seven other cows came up after them. They were miserable, very ugly and thin. Never had I seen such horrible-looking cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 Anyway, the thin, ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows. 21 But after they had eaten them, no one would have known they had done so because they were still as ugly as before. Then I woke up. 22 I fell asleep and dreamed a second time. I saw in this dream seven ears of grain, all plump and fine, growing on one stalk. 23 And then seven ears that were withered, shriveled up, and burnt by the east wind sprouted after them. 24 The thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. When I told the magicians about these dreams, there was no one who could explain them to me.
Joseph (to Pharaoh): 25 Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same. God is revealing to Pharaoh what He is going to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years and the seven good ears are the same seven years—years of plenty. Both dreams tell one story. 27 The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are also seven years, as are the seven thin ears burnt by the east wind. These are seven years of famine. 28 As I told Pharaoh, God is showing Pharaoh what He means to do and what will come. 29 There will be seven years of great abundance throughout all the land of Egypt. 30 But after that, there will be seven years of famine. Whatever abundance was once enjoyed will be totally forgotten, because the famine will consume the land. 31 The famine will be so severe that no one will know what it is like to have enough of anything. 32 The doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means this future is fixed by God, and He will make it happen very soon.
33 My advice is that Pharaoh should select someone who is wise and discerning and put him in charge of the land of Egypt during this time. 34 Pharaoh should appoint officers over the land and direct them to take one-fifth of all that the land of Egypt produces during the seven abundant years, 35 gather it together, store it up, and guard it under Pharaoh’s authority. That way each city will have a supply of food. 36 The food would then be held in reserve for the people during the seven years of famine that are sure to come to Egypt. In this way, the people of Egypt will not starve to death during the famine.
37 Pharaoh and all his advisors liked Joseph’s suggestion.
Pharaoh (to his advisors): 38 Is there anyone else you know like Joseph who has the Spirit of God within him?
39 (to Joseph) Since God has shown all of this to you, I can’t imagine anyone wiser and more discerning than you. 40 Therefore you will be in charge of my household. All of my people will report to you and do as you say. Only I, because I sit on the throne, will be greater than you. 41 I hereby appoint you head over all of the land of Egypt.
42 As a symbol of his power, Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s. Then he dressed him in fine linens and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command, and servants ordered everyone, “Kneel!” as he rode by. So this was how Pharaoh appointed Joseph head over all of the land of Egypt. 44 But Pharaoh had one more declaration.
Pharaoh (to Joseph): I am Pharaoh, and I decree that no one may do anything in the land of Egypt without your consent.
45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah, and arranged for him to marry an Egyptian woman, Asenath (daughter of Potiphera, priest of On). So this was how Joseph gained authority over all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh wants there to be no doubt that Joseph is his second-in-command. So he holds a formal ceremony and presents Joseph with special gifts, symbols of high office and power. He gives Joseph his signet ring, mounted with Pharaoh’s personal seal. He dresses him in royal garb and provides him with the finest chariot available. He issues decrees that put Joseph in charge of all affairs in Egypt. Finally, to top it off and to make sure this son of Israel would be fully accepted into Egyptian society, he gives him an Egyptian name and arranges a marriage with a high-profile priestly family. Just a few hours before, Joseph was a prisoner. Now he is in charge of all the land.
46 Now Joseph was 30 years old when he entered into Pharaoh’s service. He left the king of Egypt’s presence to travel throughout the land. 47 For seven years—the years of plenty—the land produced abundantly. 48 Joseph gathered up all of the food he could during those seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt and stored the grain in the cities. He arranged for every city to store the food grown in local fields. 49 And he stored up so much grain—as much as the grains of sand on the seashore—that he stopped measuring it. It was more than anyone could measure!
50 Now before the famine began, Joseph had two sons by his wife Asenath (daughter of Potiphera, priest of On). 51 Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh because he said, “God has made me forget all about my hardship and all of my father’s family.” 52 He named the second son Ephraim, because as he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.”
53 Eventually, the seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine settled in, just as Joseph had predicted. Although the famine extended to all the surrounding lands, in Egypt there was still food stored away in the cities. 55 When the people in Egypt became famished, they appealed to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh directed them all to Joseph.
Pharaoh: Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.
56 So when the famine had spread across the land of Egypt, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. But he waited until the famine had become severe in the land. 57 When the surrounding peoples heard Egypt still had food, they journeyed to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because by this time the entire world was in the grip of a severe famine.
Few people in the Gospels show as much persistence and eagerness in their desire to be healed as blind Bartimaeus. He is not about to be swayed from his efforts to attract Jesus’ attention. The discouragement from everyone around him only makes him shout louder, determined to get the attention of the healer he has heard about.
The blind man’s actions demonstrate his faith. Beggars in first-century Palestine would spread a cloak on the ground in front of them to collect donations from compassionate passersby. It probably isn’t much, but for Bartimaeus, his cloak is all he has. He throws it aside without a thought—probably along with the coins he collected that day—because he is certain that once he meets Jesus, he will not need to be a beggar anymore.
11 When they had gotten close to Jerusalem, near the two villages of Bethphage and Bethany and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His followers ahead of them.
Jesus: 2 Go to that village over there. As soon as you get into the town, you’ll see a young colt tied that nobody has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it back to Me. 3 If anybody stops you and asks what you’re doing, just say, “The Lord needs it, and He will send it back right after He’s done.”
4 Everything happened just as Jesus had told them. They found the colt in the street tied near a door, and they untied it.
Bystanders: 5 What are you doing?
6 They answered as Jesus had instructed and were allowed to take it, 7 so they brought the colt back to Jesus, piled garments on its back to make a comfortable seat, and Jesus rode the animal toward Jerusalem. 8 As they traveled, people cast their cloaks onto the road and spread out leafy branches, which they had brought from the fields along the way. 9 People walked ahead of them, and others followed behind.
People (shouting): Hosanna! Rescue us now, Lord! Hosanna!
Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Eternal One![a]
10 And blessed is the kingdom of our father David, which draws closer to us today!
Hosanna in the highest heavens!
Jesus enters Jerusalem, but this time He radically redefines the people’s every expectation. His descriptions to His disciples of where they will find the colt He is to ride and how they shall get it has an air of prophecy and supernatural knowledge. He rides a donkey instead of being carried into town on the backs of servants (in a litter as a conquering king would do), fulfilling the prophecy that the King will come riding a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). After all, donkeys are a poor man’s mount, and even in this triumphal entry, Jesus makes it clear He does not intend to conquer and rule in a worldly way. Now, for the first time, He allows the crowds to voice their excitement about who He is and all that He has been doing.
11 To the sound of this chanting, Jesus rode through the gates of Jerusalem and up to the temple. He looked around and saw that evening was coming, so He and the twelve went back to Bethany to spend the night.
12 The next morning, when they departed Bethany and were traveling back to the city, Jesus was hungry. 13 Off in the distance, He saw a fig tree fully leafed out, so He headed toward it to see if it might have any ripe fruit. But when He reached it, He found only leaves because the fig season had not yet come.
14 As the disciples listened, Jesus pronounced a curse on the tree.
Jesus: No one will ever eat fruit from your branches again.
This is the only time recorded in the Gospels when Jesus uses His supernatural power to destroy. The tree is “fully leafed out”—a stage that usually comes after figs are ripe and not before. Because the tree looks as though it ought to have fruit but doesn’t, it is a perfect illustration of people who believe they have the good fruit of righteousness even though their actions are void of true compassion and love, as empty and useless as leaves. And so Jesus curses the fig tree, not out of anger with the tree itself, but as a warning to hypocrites who think their appearance is more important than the fruit of their actions.
15 They continued into Jerusalem and made their way up to the temple.
Upon reaching the temple that morning, Jesus dealt with those who were selling and buying animals for sacrifices and drove them out of the area. He turned over the tables of those who exchanged money for the temple pilgrims and the seats of those selling birds, 16 and He physically prevented anyone from carrying anything through the temple.
Jesus (to those who were listening): 17 Didn’t the prophets write, “My house will be called a house of prayer, for all the people”[b]? But you have made it into a “haven for thieves.”[c]
At the temple, Jesus responds in shock to the scene before Him. He acts decisively and with great emotion against those who have turned God’s house into a place where pilgrims are exploited. He has a message and, like the prophets of old, this message is better seen than heard. Because the temple leadership has allowed profiteers and merchants to set up shop in the court of the Gentiles, they are making ridiculous profits. For the people who come long distances to worship, it is a normal practice to have merchants selling animals for the pilgrims to sacrifice. What is not normal and what is immoral is where and how they transact business. Jesus takes issue with robbers profiteering in His Father’s house.
18 The chief priests and the scribes heard these words and knew Jesus was referring to them, so they plotted His destruction. They had grown afraid of Him because His teachings struck the crowds into astonishment.
19 When evening came, [Jesus and His followers][d] left the city again. 20 The next morning on the way back to Jerusalem, they passed a tree that had withered down to its very roots.
Peter (remembering): 21 That’s the fig tree, Teacher, the one You cursed just yesterday morning. It’s withered away to nothing!
Jesus: 22 Trust in God. 23 If you do, honestly, you can say to this mountain, “Mountain, uproot yourself and throw yourself into the sea.” If you don’t doubt, but trust that what you say will take place, then it will happen. 24 So listen to what I’m saying: Whatever you pray for or ask from God, believe that you’ll receive it and you will. 25 When you pray, if you remember anyone who has wronged you, forgive him so that God above can also forgive you. [26 If you don’t forgive others, don’t expect God’s forgiveness.][e]
27 As they arrived in Jerusalem and were walking in the temple, the chief priests, scribes, and elders came to Jesus 28 and asked Him a question.
Leaders: Tell us, who has given You the authority to say and do the things You’re saying and doing?
Jesus: 29 I will answer your question, if you will answer one for Me. Only then will I tell you who gives Me authority to do these things. 30 Tell Me, when John was ritually cleansing through baptism for the forgiveness of sins, was his authority from heaven or was it merely human?
31 The priests, scribes, and elders huddled together to think through an answer.
Leaders (to themselves): If we say, “It must have been from heaven,” then Jesus will have us. He’ll ask, “Then why didn’t you listen to him and follow him?” 32 But if we say, “John’s cleansing was only human,” the people will be up in arms because they think John was a prophet sent by God. 33 (responding to Jesus) We don’t know what to tell You.
Jesus: All right, then don’t expect Me to tell you where I get the authority to say and do these things.
7 Job: Don’t we humans struggle long and hard in our time on earth?
Don’t we live our lives as common laborers?
2 As slaves longing for shade,
as workers pining for wages,
3 So I am destined to receive only months of meaninglessness,
and nights of nothing but misery.
4 When I lie down at the end of day, I wonder,
“How soon till morning so I can arise?”
But the night stretches on,
and I toss and turn until sunrise.
5 My putrid skin is covered with maggots and a dirty crust.
It hardens and cracks and oozes again.
6 My days whisk by swifter than the shuttle in a weaver’s loom—
back and forth, and back and forth—
and then they come to their hopeless end.
7 My life, remember, is just a breath;
in death no more good will reach my eye.
8 Whoever sees me now, will not for long;
you’ll look for me, but I’ll be gone.
9 As clouds thin and finally vanish,
so it is when people enter the land of the dead.
Never will they come back up.
10 Never will they return to their homes
or will the place they lived recognize them anymore.
11 Like Eliphaz, I will not keep silent.
In the agony of my spirit, I will speak;
In the bitterness of my soul, I will complain.
12 Am I the raging sea, or the monster of the deep,
so threatening you must appoint a guard over me?
13 When I think my couch will comfort me
or my bed will soften my complaint,
14 You, Lord, intimidate me with dreams
and terrorize me with visions.
15 I’d rather be suffocated, even dead,
than live in these aching bones of mine.
Job compares his treatment to God’s defeat of two mythic enemies of creation: Yam and Tannin. Ancient Near Eastern legends say that before God created the world, the “formless void” that existed was called “the deep.” When God separated the heavens from the earth, He divided the formless void with the horizon, leaving the waters of the earth below (the oceans) and the waters of the heavens above (the blue skies and clouds). Yam the sea god and Tannin the sea monster tried to interfere in this separation. God of course defeated them, imprisoning them in the sea with sandbars. Job’s reference to this myth shows he believes God is treating him unfairly, punishing him as brutally as He did these subhuman, rebellious creatures. Job, on the other hand, has not been rebellious to God.
16 Job: I hate my life. I have no desire to keep on living.
Leave me alone, God, for I have only a short time left.
17 What are these human beings, that You make so much of them—
that You shower them with attention?
18 You examine them morning by morning;
You test them moment by moment.
19 How long will You stare at me?
I can’t even clear my throat of spit without an audience.
20 I have sinned. What have I done to You,
You who watch after humanity?
Why have You targeted me, a man whose life is just a breath?
Am I really such a heavy load for You?
21 So I’ve sinned inadvertently: can’t You pardon me?
Are my crimes such You can’t forgive my sins?
After all, I will lie in the dust, and it won’t be long
until You will look for me, but I’ll be gone.
11 Now I ask you, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not! I’m living proof that God is faithful. I am an Israelite, Abraham’s my father, and Benjamin’s my tribe. 2 God has not, and will not, abandon His covenant people; He always knew they would belong to Him. Don’t you remember the story of what happens when Elijah pleads with God to deal with Israel? The Scripture tells us his protest: 3 “Lord, they have murdered Your prophets, they have demolished Your altars, and I alone am left faithful to You; now they are seeking to kill me.”[a] 4 How does God answer his pleas for help? He says, “I have held back 7,000 men who are faithful to Me; none have bowed a knee to worship Baal.”[b] 5 The same thing is happening now. God has preserved a remnant, elected by grace. 6 Grace is central in God’s action here, and it has nothing to do with deeds prescribed by the law. If it did, grace would not be grace.
In every generation, God makes sure a few survive the onslaught of judgment. The prophets call these the “remnant.” Paul sees himself living in a critical moment as fewer and fewer Jews pledge obedience to Jesus. But the Anointed’s emissary finds comfort in realizing how God’s faithfulness is playing out in his day. If you ever think that you alone are faithful to God, that somehow God has forgotten His covenant promises, think again. He always has a remnant.
7 Now what does all this mean? Israel has chased an end it has never reached. Yet those chosen by God through grace have reached it while all others were made hard as stones. 8 The Scriptures continue to say it best:
God has confounded them so they are not able to think,
given them eyes that do not see, and ears that do not hear,
Down to this very day.[c]
9 David says it this way:
Let their table be turned into a snare and a trap,
an obstacle to peace and payback for their hostility.
10 Let their bright eyes become cloudy, darkened so they cannot see,
and bend their proud backs through it all.[d]
11 So I ask: did God’s people stumble and fall off the deep end? Absolutely not! They are not lost forever; but through their misconduct, the door has been opened for salvation to extend even to the outsiders. This has been part of God’s plan all along, and so is the jealousy that comes when they realize the outsiders have been welcomed into God’s new covenant. 12 So if their misconduct leads ultimately to God’s riches coming to the world and if their failure turns into the blessing of salvation to all people, then how much greater will be the riches and blessing when they are included fully?
13 But I have this to say to all of you who are not ethnic Jews: I am God’s emissary[e] to you, and I honor this call by focusing on what God is doing with and through you. 14 I do this so that somehow my own blood brothers and sisters will be made jealous; and that, I trust, will bring some to salvation. 15 If the fact that they are currently set aside resolves the hostility between God and the rest of the world, what will their acceptance bring if not life from the dead? 16 If the first and best of the dough you offer is sacred, the entire loaf will be as well. If the root of the tree is sacred, the branches will be also.
17 Imagine some branches are cut off of the cultivated olive tree and other branches of a wild olive (which represents all of you outsiders) are grafted in their place. You are nourished by the root of the cultivated olive tree. 18 It doesn’t give you license to become proud and self-righteous about the fact that you’ve been grafted in. If you do boast, remember that the branches do not sustain the root—it is the system of roots that nourishes and supports you.
19 I can almost hear some of you saying, “Branches had to be pruned to make room for me.” 20 Yes, they were. They were removed because they did not believe; and you will stay attached, be strong, and be productive only through faith. So don’t think too highly of yourselves; instead, stand in awe of God’s mercy. 21 Besides we know that God did not spare the natural branches, so there is no reason to think He will spare you. 22 Witness the simultaneous balance of the kindness and severity of our God. Severity is directed at the fallen branches withering without faith. Yet kindness is directed at you. So live in the kindness of God or else prepare to be cut off yourselves. 23 If those branches that have been cut from the tree do not stay in unbelief, then God will carefully graft them back onto the tree because He has the power to do that. 24 So if it is possible for you to be taken from a wild olive tree and become part of a cultivated olive tree, imagine how much easier it would be to reconnect branches that originally grew on that olive tree.
The cultivated olive tree provides Paul with a beautiful image of how believing Jews and non-Jews were organically connected in the plan of God. Life flows from the earth to the branches—some natural, some grafted in—through the rootstock. Paul wants to make sure the grafted branches know they have not arrived on their own; their spiritual life and vitality flow from the root, Israel. God is the Farmer who has tenderly grafted them into the sturdy stock on the basis of faith. So pride and arrogance are completely out of place for those grafted branches. They will bear fruit only as they remain connected by faith to the stock.
25 My brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be in the dark about this mystery—I am going to let you in on the plan so that you will not think too highly of yourselves. A part of Israel has been hardened to the good news until the full number of those outside the Jewish family have entered in. 26 This is the way that all of Israel will be saved. As it was written, so it also stands:
The Deliverer will come from Zion;
He will drive away wickedness from Jacob.
27 And this is My covenant promise to them,
on the day when I take away their sins.[f]
28 It may seem strange. When it comes to the work of the gospel, the fact that they oppose it is actually for your benefit. But when you factor in God’s election, they are truly loved because they descended from faithful forefathers. 29 You see, when God gives a grace gift and issues a call to a people, He does not change His mind and take it back. 30 There was a time when you outsiders were disobedient to God and at odds with His purpose, but now you have experienced mercy as a result of their disobedience. 31 In the same way, their disobedience now will make a way for them to receive mercy as a result of the mercy shown to you. 32 For God has assigned all of us together—Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders—to disobedience so He can show His mercy to all.
Paul says that God’s mysterious plan for the ages is being revealed as the number of outsiders swells in the churches and as a part of Israel is hardened, at least for a time. But let’s not forget that hardening is not God’s unilateral action. Whatever hardening takes place happens first on our side before God reluctantly agrees. That part of Israel now hardened has already rejected God’s Anointed. Yet when the full complement of non-Jewish outsiders enters God’s kingdom, “all Israel will be saved.” But clearly “all Israel” can’t mean every last Jew, because Paul has already shown that not every son or daughter of Abraham is an heir to the promise.
33 We cannot wrap our minds around God’s wisdom and knowledge! Its depths can never be measured! We cannot understand His judgments or explain the mysterious ways that He works! For,
34 Who can fathom the mind of the Lord?
Or who can claim to be His advisor?[g]
35 Or,
Who can give to God in advance
so that God must pay him back?[h]
36 For all that exists originates in Him, comes through Him, and is moving toward Him; so give Him the glory forever. Amen.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.