M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 17
Water from the Rock.[a] 1 The entire community of Israel pulled up their camp in the Desert of Sin and, as the Lord commanded, they moved by stages to their camp in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people protested against Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you protesting against me? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”
3 The people suffered from thirst because there was no water, so they murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die of thirst along with our children and our animals?” 4 Moses called upon the help of the Lord saying, “What will I do for this people? Only a little more and they will stone me.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk in front of the people and bring some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff with which you struck the Nile in your hand and go! 6 Behold, I will stand before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 They called this place Massah[b] and Meribah, because the children of Israel had protested and had put the Lord to the test, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
While Moses Prays, the Amalekites[c] Are Defeated.[d] 8 Amalek came and fought against Israel in Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out to fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did all that Moses had commanded him to do and he fought against Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the top of the hill. 11 When Moses lifted his hands, Israel was stronger, but when he lowered them, Amalek was stronger. 12 Moses’ hands grew heavy as he tired, so they took a stone and placed it under him as a stool. Aaron and Hur stood on either side and held up his hands. Thus, his hands were held steady until the sun set. 13 Joshua defeated Amalek and its people, putting them to the sword.
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua: I will totally cancel the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
15 Moses built an altar, and he named it, “The Lord is my banner,” 16 and he said, “A hand is raised upon the throne of the Lord that there will be war against Amalek from one generation to the next.”
Verbal Clashes[a]
Chapter 20
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[b] 1 One day as Jesus was teaching in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and scribes, accompanied by the elders, approached and 2 said to him, “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things. Or who is it that gave you this authority?” 3 He said to them in reply, “I will also ask you one question. Tell me: 4 Did John’s baptism originate from heaven or from men?”
5 The question caused them to discuss it among themselves, saying, “If we say: ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say: ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
7 Therefore, they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Then neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Tenants.[c] 9 Then Jesus began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants, and went off on a journey for a long period.
10 “When the time arrived, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again, he sent another servant, but him they also beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 Then he sent a third servant, but him too they wounded and cast out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put those tenants to death and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” 17 But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken into pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
19 The scribes and the chief priests realized that this parable was directed at them, and they wanted to seize him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
20 God or Caesar.[d] So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honorable men. They intended to trap Jesus in something he might say so that they could hand him over to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 They posed this question to him: “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right. Moreover, you show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it lawful or not for us to pay taxes to Caesar?”
23 Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a coin.[e] Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar, and to God what is due to God.” 26 They found they could not trap him by anything he said in the presence of the people, and, stunned at his reply, they fell silent.
27 Marriage and the Resurrection.[f] Then some Sadducees, who assert that there is no resurrection, approached him and posed this question: 28 “Teacher, Moses wrote down for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must marry his brother’s wife and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman but died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married the widow, and it was the same with all seven: they all died leaving no children. 32 Last of all, the woman also died. 33 Now at the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, inasmuch as all seven had her?”
34 Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are judged worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection of the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 They are no longer subject to death, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are children of the resurrection.
37 “That the dead are raised Moses himself showed in the account about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for in his sight all are alive.”
39 Some of the scribes then said, “Teacher, you have answered well.” 40 And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
41 Jesus Is Lord.[g] Then Jesus said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
44 David thus calls him ‘Lord’; so how can he be his son?”
45 Denunciation of the Scribes.[h] While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and who love to be greeted respectfully in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour the houses of widows, while for the sake of appearance they recite lengthy prayers. They will receive the severest possible condemnation.”
Elihu’s Third Speech[a]
Chapter 35
How Does Human Conduct Affect God? 1 Then Elihu continued his speech, saying:
2 “Do you think that you can defend your uprightness
by claiming that you are just before God?
3 For you said: ‘What does it mean to you?
Or what would you gain if I sinned?’
4 I will provide an answer for you
and your three friends as well.
5 “Look up to the skies and see;
observe the clouds towering above you.
6 If you sin, how can that affect God?
And if your offenses are multiplied, how do you hurt him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give him?
What does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness affects only someone like you,
and your righteousness affects only your fellow men.
No One Asks, “Where Is God?”
9 “People cry out under the weight of oppression;
they cry for help against the power of the mighty.
10 But not one of them asks, ‘Where is God, my Maker,
who protects me during the night,
11 who gave us greater intelligence than the animals of the earth
and made us wiser than the birds of the air?’
12 Although they cry out, God does not answer
because of the pride of the wicked.
13 “But it is foolish to say that God does not hear
or that the Almighty does not pay attention.
14 Even though you do not see him,
he is aware of your plight,
and you must wait for his decision.
15 But now, because God does not grow angry and punish
and because he allows transgressions to go unheeded,
16 Job gives vent to his anger with empty talk
and babbles a stream of utter nonsense.”
Chapter 5
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. 2 While we are in this earthly tent, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling; 3 for when we have put it on, we will not be naked.[a]
4 While we are enclosed in this earthly tent we groan, burdened because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to be further clothed, so that our mortal state may be swallowed up by immortality. 5 God is the one who has prepared us for this destiny, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge of this.
6 Therefore, we are always confident, even though we realize that as long as we are at home in the body, we are exiles from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are filled with confidence, even as we long to be exiled from the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 For this reason, whether at home or away, we strive to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive suitable recompense for his conduct in the body, whether good or bad.
11 Well Known to God. And so, with this fear of the Lord always foremost in our thoughts, we try to persuade others. We ourselves are well known to God, and I hope we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not once again commending ourselves to you, but we are rather affording you an opportunity to boast about us. Then you will have an answer to those who boast of external appearances and not the heart. 13 If, indeed, we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for your sake.
14 The Ministry of Reconciliation. For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life.
16 Therefore, from now on we will not regard anyone according to human standards. Even though we once judged Christ from a human point of view,[b] we no longer do so. 17 Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new.
18 All this has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is appealing to you through us. We implore you through Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God.[c]
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