M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 14
The People Rebel.[a] 1 The whole assembly cried out and wept loudly that night. 2 All the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole assembly said to them, “Would that we would have died in Egypt, or we had died in this desert! 3 Why did the Lord bring us into this land so that we fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be taken as plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 They said to one another, “Let us choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt.”
5 Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered there. 6 Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. 7 They spoke to the entire assembly of the people of Israel saying, “The land we passed through and explored is a tremendously good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection is gone, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!”
The Lord’s Response.10 But the whole assembly decided to stone them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting in front of all of the people of Israel. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? How long before they trust me, in spite of all the signs that I have performed in their midst? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and I will destroy them. Then I will make a nation arise from you that is greater and mightier than they are.”[b]
13 But Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your power you brought this people out from their midst. 14 They will report it to the people of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as if it were a single man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he promised them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 Therefore, my Lord, show your great power, for as you have declared, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the father upon the sons to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 By your great mercy, I beseech you, forgive this people, just as you have forgiven this people ever since they left Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord answered, “I have forgiven them, just as you have asked. 21 But assuredly, just as I live and the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 because this entire people has witnessed my glory and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet they have put me to the test these ten times and have not heeded my voice, 23 none of them will see the land that I promised to their fathers. None of those who despised me will see it. 24 But I will bring my servant Caleb into the land that he entered because he has a different spirit and wholeheartedly follows me. His descendants will inherit it. 25 Turn back tomorrow and set out for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valley.”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long will this wicked assembly grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel that they grumble against me. 28 So I declare to them: As I live, says the Lord, I will make the things you have said in my hearing happen: 29 your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this wilderness. None of you who are twenty years or older and who have complained about me 30 will enter the land in which I swore I would make you dwell except for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. 31 However, as for your little ones whom you said would become plunder, I will bring them in and they will come to know the land that you have despised. 32 But your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this wilderness. 33 Your children will wander in this wilderness for forty years, and they will bear the burden of your unfaithfulness, until your dead bodies lie in the wilderness. 34 The number of days that you explored the land was forty, and there will be one year for each day. You will bear the burden of your sins for forty years and you will come to know my rejection.[c] 35 I, the Lord, have proclaimed this. I will surely do this to this evil assembly that has gathered together against me. In this wilderness they will come to an end, there they will die.”
36 The men whom Moses sent to explore the land, and who, when they returned, incited the assembly to complain against him by giving an evil report concerning the land, 37 those men who brought the evil report concerning the land were struck down by a plague before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, survived.
39 Doomed Invasion. When Moses reported these sayings to all the people of Israel, the people mourned bitterly. 40 They rose up early the next morning and went to the top of the mountain and said, “Here we are! We have sinned, but we are ready to go up to the place that the Lord has promised.” 41 But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the command of the Lord? This will not succeed. 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies. 43 The Amalekites and the Canaanites are there in front of you. You will fall by the sword, because you turned away from the Lord. The Lord will not be with you.” 44 In their presumption, they went up into the high hill country, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and Moses did not go out from the camp. 45 The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in the hill country came down and attacked them and drove them back to Hormah.
Psalm 50[a]
The Worship Acceptable to God
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]The Lord, the God of gods,[d]
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God is coming, and he will not be silent;
he is preceded by a devouring fire,
and a raging tempest surrounds him.[e]
4 He summons the heavens above
and the earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather before me my faithful servants
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[f]
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice,
for God himself is the judge.[g] Selah
7 [h]“Listen, my people, and I will speak.
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are constantly before me.
9 “I will not accept a young bull from your homes
or goats from your folds.
10 For all the living creatures of the forest are mine,
animals by the thousands on my hills.
11 I know every bird of the air,
and whatever moves in the fields belongs to me.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that it holds.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then if you cry out to me in time of trouble,
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
16 [i]But to the wicked God says:
“How can you recite my statutes
or profess my covenant on your lips?
17 For you loathe my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 “When you meet a thief, you join him;
you revel in the company of adulterers.
19 You employ your mouth for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You willingly speak against your brother
and slander the child of your own mother.
21 When you do such things, can I remain silent?
Do you think that I am[j] like you?
I will correct you
and set the charge before your face.
22 “Remember this, you who forget God,[k]
lest I tear you to pieces
and there be no one to rescue you.
23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;
to him who follows my way
I will show the salvation of God.”
Chapter 3
Ruling against Judah and Jerusalem
1 Now the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
is about to deprive Jerusalem and Judah
of resources and provisions—
all supplies of bread and water—
2 warriors and soldiers,
judges and prophets,
fortune tellers and elders,
3 captains and dignitaries,
counselors, skilled magicians,
and expert enchanters.
4 I will appoint young boys as their princes,
mere lads to rule over them.
5 People will oppress one another,
each one ill-treated by his neighbor.
The young will be arrogant toward their elders,
as will the lowly toward the honorable.
6 A man will take hold of his brother
in their father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak;
you will be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
will be under your rule.”
7 But on that day
the other will cry out, saying,
“I am not qualified to undertake this;
in my house there is neither bread nor clothing.
You will not make me leader of the people.”
8 Jerusalem has been brought low
and Judah has fallen
because by their words and their deeds
they turned against the Lord
and defied his glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sins like Sodom
without any effort to conceal them.
Woe to them!
For they have brought disaster upon themselves.
10 Happy are the righteous,
for they will eat the fruit of their labors.
11 Woe to the wicked.
All will go ill with them.
They will be repaid
as their actions deserve.
12 O my people, children are oppressing you
and women have become your rulers.
O my people, your rulers are leading you astray
and putting you on the road to ruin.
13 The Lord has risen to argue his case;
he stands up to judge his people.
14 The Lord enters into judgment
against the elders and the princes of his people:
It is you who have ravaged the vineyard;
the spoils you have taken from the poor
are in your houses.
15 What right do you have to crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the Lord God of hosts.
16 The Lord said:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
walking with their heads held high,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
moving provocatively with mincing steps
and with their anklets tinkling,
17 the Lord will cover with scabs
the scalps of the daughters of Zion,
and he will lay bare their foreheads.
18 [a]On that day the Lord will take away their finery: anklets, headbands, and crescents; 19 pendants, bracelets, and shawls; 20 headdresses, bangles, necklaces, perfume boxes, and amulets; 21 signet rings and nose rings; 22 fine dresses, wraps, cloaks, and purses; 23 mirrors, linen garments, turbans, and veils.
24 Then instead of perfume there will be a stench,
and instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of a lovely hair setting, baldness,
instead of a rich gown, a sackcloth[b] dress,
and instead of beauty, branding marks.
25 O Zion, your men will fall by the sword
and your warriors will perish in battle.
26 Your gates will lament and mourn;
ravaged, you will sit desolate on the ground.
Chapter 4
1 On that day,
seven women will take hold of one man, saying,
“We will eat our own food
and provide for our own clothing.
Just let us bear your name.
Take away our disgrace.”
The Seed of the Lord[c]
2 On that day the branch of the Lord
will be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land
will be the pride and splendor
of the survivors of Israel.
3 Whoever is left in Zion
and whoever remains in Jerusalem
will be called holy,
everyone whose survival in Jerusalem was decreed.
4 When the Lord has washed away
the filth of the daughters of Zion
and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst
by a spirit of judgment and of cleansing,
5 then the Lord will create
over every house on Mount Zion,
and over those who assemble there,
a cloud of smoke by day
and a bright flame of fire by night.
The glory of the Lord will be a canopy over all,
6 serving as a shade by day from the heat
and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and the rain.
The People of Faith[a]
Chapter 11
What Faith Is. 1 Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction about things that cannot be seen.[b] 2 Indeed, it was because of it that our ancestors were commended.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen came into being from the invisible.
The Faith of the Early Patriarchs.[c] 4 By faith Abel[d] offered to God a better sacrifice than that of Cain. Because of this he was attested as righteous, God himself bearing witness to his gifts. Although he is dead, he continues to speak through it.
5 By faith Enoch[e] was taken up so that he did not see death. He was found no more, because God had taken him, and before he was taken up he was attested to have pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah,[f] having been warned by God about things not yet seen, took heed and built an ark to save his household. Through his faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that derives from faith.
The Faith of Abraham and His Descendants. 8 By faith Abraham[g] obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. He went forth without knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to a city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham also received the power of procreation, even though he was well past the age—and Sarah herself was barren[h]—because he believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful in fulfilling it. 12 Therefore, from one man, himself as good as dead, came forth descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand on the seashore.
13 All these died in faith without having received what had been promised, but from a distance they saw far ahead how those promises would be fulfilled and welcomed them, and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and foreigners on the earth. 14 People who speak in this way make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had the opportunity to return. 16 But in fact they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom he had been told, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” 19 For he reasoned that God was able even to raise someone from the dead, and in a sense he was given back Isaac from the dead.[i] 20 By faith Isaac[j] gave his blessings to Jacob and Esau for the future.
21 By faith Jacob,[k] as he was dying, blessed each one of the sons of Joseph and bowed in worship, leaning on his staff.
22 By faith Joseph,[l] near the end of his life, mentioned the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.
23 By faith Moses[m] was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they did not fear the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He preferred to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered that abuse suffered for the sake of the Messiah was a more precious gift than all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the final reward.
27 By faith Moses departed from Egypt, unafraid of the wrath of the king; he persevered as if he could see the one who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the Destroyer would not harm the firstborn of Israel.
29 The Faith of the Israelites and Rahab. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as though it were dry land. However, when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho[n] fell when the people had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab[o] the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.
32 The Faith of the Judges and Prophets. What more shall I say? Time is too short for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the Prophets,[p] 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and obtained the promises. They closed the mouths of lions,[q] 34 quenched raging fires,[r] and escaped the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned into strength as they became mighty in battle and put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received their dead[s] back through resurrection. Others who were tortured refused to accept release in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others were mocked and scourged, even to the point of enduring chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned,[t] or sawed in two, or put to death by the sword. They went about in skins of sheep or goats—destitute, persecuted, and tormented. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in desert areas and on mountains, and they lived in dens and caves of the earth.
39 Yet all these, even though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised. 40 For God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to achieve perfection except with us.[u]
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