M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

² Jacob told his household and those with him to get ready to move.

⁴ So they handed over to Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears. Jacob buried them in the shadow of a mighty oak that was near Shechem.

⁵ As they traveled, God struck terror into the hearts of all of the cities along the way so that no one pursued Jacob’s family. ⁶ Jacob, and all those who were with him, arrived in Luz (which is also known as Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There he built an altar and called the place El-bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob when he was running away from his brother. ⁸ Along the way, Deborah (Rebekah’s nurse) died, and they buried her under the branches of a stately oak below Bethel. Since that day, it has been known as Allon-bacuth, which means “oak of weeping.”

⁹ Now that Jacob had come back from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel and blessed him.

From then on, God addressed him by his new name: Israel.

¹³ Then God ascended from the place where He had spoken with Jacob. ¹⁴ And Jacob set up a pillar of stone in that same spot. He poured wine on it as an offering to God and doused it with oil. ¹⁵ Jacob named this place where God had spoken with him “Bethel.”

¹⁶ After that, they all traveled on from Bethel. While still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began having labor pains, and it was a hard labor. ¹⁷ And when the labor pains were most intense, the midwife tried to comfort her.

¹⁸ But as her life slipped away, just before she died, Rachel named her son Ben-oni, but his father decided to call him Benjamin instead. ¹⁹ So Rachel died, and they buried her on the way to Ephrath (which is also known as Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar to mark Rachel’s tomb, and the pillar at her tomb still stands to this day.

²¹ Israel then continued on the journey, and he pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. ²² During the time Israel lived in this land, Reuben slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, and Israel found out about it.

²³ Now Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons. Leah’s six sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ Rachel’s two sons were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ Rachel’s servant, Bilhah, had two sons: Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ Leah’s servant, Zilpah, had two sons: Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram and on the journey home.

²⁷ Jacob finally arrived at his father Isaac’s house at Mamre not far from Kiriath-arba (which is also known as Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had resided as foreigners.

²⁸ Isaac lived 180 years. ²⁹ By the time he took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death, he had reached a ripe old age and lived a full life. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.

36 Here is an account of Esau’s descendants (his nation is known as Edom).

² Esau had taken his wives from the Canaanites: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hittite), Oholibamah (daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), ³ and Basemath (Ishmael’s daughter and Nebaioth’s sister). ⁴ Adah gave birth to Eliphaz. Basemath gave birth to Reuel. ⁵ Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All of these were Esau’s sons, born in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, all of the members of his household, his cattle, his livestock, and all of the property he had acquired while living in Canaan; and he moved to a land some distance from his brother, Jacob. ⁷ Since they were too wealthy to live in close proximity—that is, the land couldn’t support both of their vast numbers of livestock— ⁸ Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is also known as Edom.)

⁹ Here is an account of Esau’s descendants. He was the founding father of the Edomites, a people who lived in the hill country of Seir.^{[b] 10} Esau’s sons were Eliphaz (son of his wife Adah) and Reuel (son of his wife Basemath). ¹¹ Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she gave birth to Amalek.) These were the grandsons of Adah, Esau’s first wife. ¹³ Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Basemath (Esau’s wife). ¹⁴ These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah (daughter of Anah, Zibeon’s granddaughter): Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the chiefs among Esau’s descendants: From the sons of Eliphaz (Esau’s firstborn) were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These grandsons of Adah became tribal leaders in the land of Edom. ¹⁷ From the sons of Reuel (Esau’s son) were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These grandsons of Basemath (Esau’s wife) became tribal leaders in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ From the sons of Oholibamah (Esau’s wife and Anah’s daughter) were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They became tribal leaders. ¹⁹ These were the tribes and tribal chiefs descended from Esau (who is also known as Edom).

^20-21 The sons of Seir the Horite, who also inhabited the land, were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They became the tribal chiefs of the Horites (who were the sons of Seir) in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam, and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the same Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he was pasturing his father Zibeon’s donkeys.) ²⁵ The children of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah (Anah’s daughter). ²⁶ The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸ The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. ^29-30 These descendants of the Horites were the tribal chiefs of their respective tribes in the land of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

³¹ There were kings who reigned in the land of Edom long before any king ruled over the Israelites: ³² Bela (Beor’s son) ruled in Edom from his city Dinhabah. ³³ Bela died, then Jobab (son of Zerah’s son from Bozrah) succeeded him as king. ³⁴ Jobab died, then Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. ³⁵ Husham died, then Hadad (Bedad’s son, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab) succeeded him and ruled from his city Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, then Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. ³⁷ Samlah died, then Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River succeeded him as king. ³⁸ Shaul died, and then Baal-hanan (Achbor’s son) succeeded him as king. ³⁹ Baal-hanan (Achbor’s son) died, then Hadar succeeded him and ruled from his city Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel (daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab).

⁴⁰ These are the names of the tribal chiefs among Esau’s descendants, according to their families and where they lived: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These were the tribal chiefs of Edom (who is also known as Esau, the father of Edomites) according to the land they owned and where they settled.

6 Jesus went back into His own hometown where He had grown up, and His disciples followed Him there. ² When the Sabbath came, He went into the synagogue in Nazareth and began to teach as He had done elsewhere, and many of those who heard Him were astonished.

And when they had thought about it that way, they became indignant and closed themselves to His message.

⁵ He could not do any of His great works among them except with a few of the sick, whom He healed by laying His hands upon them. ⁶ He was amazed by the stubbornness of their unbelief.

Jesus went out among the villages teaching, ⁷ and He called the twelve to Him and began to send them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits ⁸ and instructed them to take nothing with them but a staff: no money, no bread, no bag, ⁹ nothing but the sandals on their feet and the coat^[a] on their back.

¹² And so His disciples went out into the countryside, preaching the changed life^[c] as Jesus had taught them, ¹³ casting out unclean spirits and anointing the sick with oil to heal them.

¹⁴ Jesus had become so well known that King Herod received reports of all that Jesus was doing. Some were saying^[d] that John the Baptist^[e] had been raised from the dead and that these mighty works were the fruits of his resurrection.

And still others said He was another of the prophets.

For the blood of John was on his hands. ^17-18 Herod had imprisoned John in the days before Jesus began His teaching. John had preached to Herod that he should not have married his own brother’s wife, Herodias, for so it is written in the Hebrew Scriptures: “It is not lawful for one to marry his brother’s wife.”^[f]

¹⁹ Herodias held a grudge against John and would have had him killed, but she couldn’t. ²⁰ Herod feared John as a holy and righteous man and did what he could to protect him. John taught hard truths,^[g] and yet Herod found he usually liked hearing them.

So Herod had put John in prison instead of executing him; ^21-22 and there John sat until Herod’s birthday, when the governor held a great state dinner. That night, Herod’s stepdaughter danced beautifully for the state officials; and the king proclaimed a solemn vow in the presence of his honored guests, military officers, and some of the leading men of Galilee.

²⁴ She went out and consulted with her mother, Herodias, who had only one great desire and told her daughter what she must say.

²⁶ Herod was horrified, but he had sworn an oath and could not break his word in front of his invited guests. ²⁷ So immediately he sent an executioner to the prison to behead John and bring them the head. ²⁸ It was brought to the girl upon a platter, and she took it to her mother.

²⁹ When John’s disciples were told of this, they came for his body and gave it a proper burial.

³⁰ Now the twelve returned from their travels and told Him what they had done, whom they had seen, and how they had spread the news of God’s kingdom.

The crowds gathered as always, and Jesus and the twelve couldn’t eat because so many people came and went. ³² They could get no peace until they boarded a boat and sailed toward a deserted place.

³³ But the people would not be put off so easily. Those along the shore who recognized Jesus followed along the coast. People pushed out of all the cities and gathered ahead of Him ³⁴ so that when Jesus came ashore and saw this crowd of people waiting for Him in a place that should have been relatively deserted, He was moved with compassion. They were like sheep without a shepherd.

He began to teach them many things ³⁵ as the day passed; at last the disciples came to Jesus.

And so the disciples gathered the people in groups of 100 or of 50, and they sat down.

⁴¹ Jesus took the five pieces of flatbread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for the food, and broke it. He gave the pieces to the disciples to distribute, ⁴² and all of the people ate until no one was hungry. ⁴³ Then they gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers.

⁴⁴ That day, 5,000 men ate their fill of the bread when Jesus fed the hungry crowd.

⁴⁵ Not long after, He sent His disciples out onto their boat to sail to Bethsaida on the other shore, and He sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After everyone had gone, He slipped away to pray on a mountain overlooking the sea.

⁴⁷ When evening came, the boat was out on the sea and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw that the disciples were making little progress because they were rowing against a stiff wind. Before daylight He came near them, walking on the water, and would have passed by them. ⁴⁹ Some of them saw Him walking on the surface of the water, thought He was a ghost, and cried out. ⁵⁰ When they all saw Him, they were terrified.

⁵¹ He walked across the water to the boat; and as soon as He stepped aboard, the contrary wind ceased its blowing. They were greatly astonished; ⁵² although they had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 with bread and fish, and other signs besides, they didn’t understand what it all meant and their hearts remained hard.

⁵³ When they finished their journey, they landed the boat in Gennesaret. ⁵⁴ People at once recognized Jesus as the Healer. ⁵⁵ Immediately they hurried to collect the sick and infirm—bringing them to Him in beds if they had to— ⁵⁶ laying them out in the markets of any village, city, or field where He might pass.

Even the people who touched only it were made whole again.

2 Now one day, it was time for the sons of God, God’s heavenly messengers, to present themselves to the Eternal One to give reports and receive instructions. The Accuser^[a] was with them there again, also ready to present himself to Him.

⁷ With that, the Accuser left the court and the Eternal’s presence, and he infected Job with a painful skin disease. From the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, his body was covered with boils. ⁸ Job took a broken piece of pottery to scrape his wounds, and while he sat in the ashes just outside of town, ⁹ his wife found him.

Throughout all of this, Job did not sin with his mouth; he would not curse God as the Accuser predicted.

¹¹ Now Job had three friends: Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamath. When these three received word of the horror that had befallen Job, they left their homes, and agreed to meet together to mourn with and comfort their friend.

¹² They approached the town ash-heap, but they were still far off when they caught sight of Job. His sores were so severe and his appearance so changed by his condition that they almost didn’t recognize him. Upon seeing him and apprehending the extent of his suffering, they cried out, burst into tears, tore their robes, reached down into the dust and ashes at their feet, and threw ash into the air and onto their heads. ¹³ Then, they sat with him on the ground and stayed there with him for seven days and seven nights, mourning as if he were already dead. All the while no one spoke a single word because they saw his profound agony and grief.

6 How should we respond to all of this? Is it good to persist in a life of sin so that grace may multiply even more? ² Absolutely not! How can we die to a life where sin ruled over us and then invite sin back into our lives? ³ Did someone forget to tell you that when we were initiated into Jesus the Anointed through baptism’s ceremonial washing,^[a] we entered into His death? ⁴ Therefore, we were buried with Him through this baptism into death so that just as God the Father, in all His glory, resurrected the Anointed One, we, too, might walk confidently out of the grave into a new life. ⁵ To put it another way: if we have been united with Him to share in a death like His, don’t you understand that we will also share in His resurrection? ⁶ We know this: whatever we used to be with our old sinful ways has been nailed to His cross. So our entire record of sin has been canceled, and we no longer have to bow down to sin’s power. ⁷ A dead man, you see, cannot be bound by sin. ⁸ But if we have died with the Anointed One, we believe that we shall also live together with Him. ⁹ So we stand firm in the conviction that death holds no power over God’s Anointed, because He was resurrected from the dead never to face death again. ¹⁰ When He died, He died to whatever power sin had, once and for all, and now He lives completely to God. ¹¹ So here is how to picture yourself now that you have been initiated into Jesus the Anointed: you are dead to sin’s power and influence, but you are alive to God’s rule.

¹² Don’t invite that insufferable tyrant of sin back into your mortal body so you won’t become obedient to its destructive desires. ¹³ Don’t offer your bodily members to sin’s service as tools of wickedness; instead, offer your body to God as those who are alive from the dead, and devote the parts of your body to God as tools for justice and goodness in this world. ¹⁴ For sin is no longer a tyrant over you; indeed you are under grace and not the law.

¹⁵ So what do we do now? Throw ourselves into lives of sin because we are cloaked in grace and don’t have to answer to the law? Absolutely not! ¹⁶ Doesn’t it make sense that if you sign yourself over as a slave, you will have to obey your master? The question before you is, What will be your master? Will it be sin—which will lead to certain death—or obedience—which will lead to a right and reconciled life? ¹⁷ Thank God that your slavery to sin has ended and that in your new freedom you pledged your heartfelt obedience to that teaching which was passed on to you. ¹⁸ The beauty of your new situation is this: now that you are free from sin, you are free to serve a different master, God’s redeeming justice.

¹⁹ Forgive me for using casual language to compensate for your natural weakness of human understanding. I want to be perfectly clear. In the same way you gave your bodily members away as slaves to corrupt and lawless living and found yourselves deeper in your unruly lives, now devote your members as slaves to right and reconciled lives so you will find yourselves deeper in holy living. ²⁰ In the days when you lived as slaves to sin, you had no obligation to do the right thing. In that regard, you were free. ²¹ But what do you have to show from your former lives besides shame? The outcome of that life is death, guaranteed. ²² But now that you have been emancipated from the death grip of sin and are God’s slave, you have a different sort of life, a growing holiness. The outcome of that life is eternal life. ²³ The payoff for a life of sin is death, but God is offering us a free gift—eternal life through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King.