M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
12 While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron chastised Moses for marrying a foreign woman—a Cushite (and it was true that he did indeed marry such an African).
Miriam and Aaron: 2 Has the Eternal One spoken only through Moses? No, the Eternal has also spoken through us.
Now, the Eternal One heard this. 3 For his part, Moses was a uniquely humble fellow, more humble than anyone in the entire world. 4 All of a sudden, the Eternal called the three siblings together.
Eternal One: Come here, you three—Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Join Me at the congregation tent.
They did. 5 The Eternal One descended in a cloud-column, stood at the tent opening, and summoned just Aaron and Miriam. They came forward.
Eternal One: 6 Listen to Me. When there are prophets in your midst, I, the Eternal One, will show Myself to them in visions, and will sound My voice in their dreams. 7 It’s different with My servant, Moses. I have entrusted him above anyone else in My whole house, 8 and with him I communicate face-to-face. We speak directly and without riddles. He can even see the very form of the Eternal. So why aren’t you nervous about criticizing My servant, Moses?
Moses is described as uniquely close to the Lord. He is singled out as God’s servant, a distinction reserved for a few in the Old Testament, with David being the most notable. His importance is underscored by God’s unique communication with Moses. It is direct, plain, and without trances, visions, or dreams. Literally, the communication is right in God’s face. The idea here is that it is not veiled but intimate; there is a closeness between God and Moses no other person shares. But in the same way that Jesus will be understood only by those who know Him and are known by Him, God’s communication to Moses is different. It is not a riddle that is hard to understand or easy to confuse. God is seen and heard clearly by His servant and friend, Moses.
9 The Eternal left, quite angry with Miriam and Aaron. 10 When the cloud lifted from the congregation tent, you could see that Miriam had been stricken with a disfiguring skin condition. Her skin looked white, like snow. Aaron looked at her, saw this, 11 and immediately turned to Moses.
Aaron: Please, Moses, my lord, don’t punish us for this offense that we so stupidly committed. 12 Don’t leave her in this partial death—like a stillborn baby whose flesh is already half-rotted away!
Moses (pleading to the Lord): 13 O, God, I ask You to please heal her!
Eternal One (to Moses): 14 If her father had been angry with her and made it obvious by, say, spitting in her face, wouldn’t she have to bear her shame for a week? Just so, you must ostracize her from the camp for seven days. After that, she can rejoin the community.
15 So Miriam was shut out of the community for seven days, which also meant that the whole group didn’t travel until Miriam was brought back in, 16 and they set out again. They journeyed from Hazeroth into the Paran Wilderness and set up camp there.
13 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
There is dissension in the camp. Some of the leaders have been sharing their doubts with the people, and folks are nervous. The thrill of this wilderness camping experience has worn off, and some are thinking that working for the Egyptians wasn’t so bad. So barely two years out of Egypt, the Israelites are standing at the door of their promised land. Moses needs to motivate the people, and he selects 12 key men from each of the tribes to explore the land of abundance God has provided. The nation stands to enter into a time of great reward, but first their leaders must bring back a report that will inspire their confidence.
Eternal One: 2 Send men who can spy out the Canaanite land that I’m giving to the Israelites. Pick one man, with demonstrated leadership, from each of the tribal families.
3 Moses did so. He sent the twelve heads of Israel out from Paran Wilderness camp just as the Eternal told him. 4 These are the men who went and the tribes they represented: Shammua (Zaccur’s son) for Reuben; 5 Shaphat (Hori’s son) for Simeon; 6 Caleb (Jephunneh’s son) for Judah; 7 Igal (Joseph’s son) for Issachar; 8 Hoshea (Nun’s son) for Joseph’s tribe, specifically Ephraim; 9 Palti (Raphu’s son) for Benjamin; 10 Gaddiel (Sodi’s son) for Zebulun; 11 Gaddi (Susi’s son) for Joseph’s tribe, Manasseh; 12 Ammiel (Gemalli’s son) for Dan; 13 Sethur (Michael’s son) for Asher; 14 Nahbi (Vophsi’s son) for Naphtali; 15 and Geuel (Machi’s son) for Gad. 16 These are the names of the men selected to spy out Canaan. And Moses changed the name of Hoshea (son of Nun) to Joshua, who would succeed Moses.
17 Moses sent this group to spy out the land of Canaan.
Moses: Trek through the southland desert of Negev and up into the high country. 18 I want you to tell us about the land and especially about its people—are they strong or weak? Are there a lot of them or only a few? 19-20 Do their cities have fortifications, or are their camps open all around? Also, is the land itself good or bad, its soil rich or poor? Are there any trees? Be bold, and bring back samples of what grows there like their grapes.
It was in midsummer when you’d expect them to find grapes just beginning to ripen.
21 They set out, these men, and explored the land from the flat Zin wilderness, north of Paran where the rest were camped, all the way to Rehob on the coast and Lebo-hamath much farther north. 22 They trekked first into the Negev and up to Hebron, a city built seven years before the Egyptian town of Zoan in the Nile Delta. There, they saw the giant Anakite people, including the clans of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai; 23-24 and they checked out the lush Eshcol riverbed that, as its name suggests, grew bunches of grapes. So thick and heavy were the clusters that when two of the men cut down one branch holding one cluster, they had to carry it on a pole between them. They also picked up some pomegranates and figs from that place.
25 After 40 days, they returned from exploring 26 to the camp at Kadesh, in the Paran Wilderness, and went directly to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelite congregation, which had gathered to hear what the scouts had learned and to see what fruits they had brought back with them.
Twelve Scouts (to Moses): 27 We checked out the land, just as you’d instructed us to do, and here’s what we discovered: It is rich, very rich. One could say that it flows with milk and honey; and look, here is some of its fruit. The land is highly desirable, 28 but the people who already live there are really strong. Their cities are enormous and fortified. What’s more, we saw the Anakites there. 29 In the Negev, there are Amalekites; and in the high hill country are Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites. As for the seacoast, Canaanites live there and along the Jordan River too.
It is certain the Israelites are deeply discouraged by this report, for what was said about the native inhabitants is most alarming.
30 But Caleb calmed the congregation, and he spoke to Moses.
Caleb: We should go straight in, right away, and take it over. We are surely able!
Other Scouts: 31 No way. We can’t do it. The people who are already there are too strong for us.
32 So the report of these other scouts was quite disheartening; it made the people question God’s promise.
Other Scouts: The land that we surveyed virtually eats its own, and the people themselves are gigantic. 33 We saw the massive Anakites who descended from the ancient Nephilim![a] We look like grasshoppers compared to them, and they know it.
Psalm 49
For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.
Some songs are described as “wisdom psalms.” Similar in theme to the short sayings of Proverbs or the reflective essays of Ecclesiastes, these songs offer practical advice to the worshiper of the one True God. In Psalm 49 we find a meditation on wealth and wisdom, but others describe daily activities (127–128; 133), encouragement when evil succeeds (37; 73), and the results of following God or wickedness (112). The purpose of these songs is to edify those who sing and those who hear, reminding them, and us, how to live life as God intends.
1 Listen up, everyone!
All you who reside in this world, give an ear!
2 Everyone—rich and poor,
young and old, wise and foolish, humble and mighty—
3 My mouth will overflow with wisdom;
the reflections of my heart will guide you to understand the nature of life.
4 I will tune my ear to the words of a proverb;
to the sounds of a harp, I will reveal my riddle.
5 Why should I be afraid when dark evils swirl about me,
when I am walking among the sin of evildoers—
6 Those who depend on their own fortunes,
who boast about their earthly riches?
7 One person can’t grant salvation to another
or make a payment to the True God for another.
8 Redeeming a life is costly;
no premium is enough, ever enough,
9 That one’s body might live on forever
and never fear the grave’s decay.
10 Everyone knows that even the wisest ones die,
perishing together with the foolish and the stupid.
For all die—beggars and kings, fools and wise men.
Their wealth remains behind for others.
11 Although they wish to dwell in fine houses forever,
their graves are their real resting places.
Their homes are for all future generations,
yet for a while they have named lands after themselves.
12 [No one, regardless of how rich or important, can live forever;
he is][a] just like the animals that perish and decay.
13 This is the destiny of those foolish souls who have faith only in themselves;
this will be the end of those happy to follow in their ways.
[pause][b]
14 The fate of fools is the grave, and just like sheep,
death will feast on them.
The righteous will rule over them at dawn,
their bodies, their outward forms, rotting in the grave
far away from their great mansions.
15 But God will reach into the grave and save my life from its power.
He will fetch me and take me into His eternal house.
[pause]
16 Do not be afraid of the rich and powerful
as their prestige and honor grow,
17 For they cannot take anything with them when they die.
Their fame and glory will not follow them into the grave.
18 During their lives, they seek every blessing and advantage
because others praise you when you’ve done well.
19 But they will soon join their ancestors, for all of time,
among the tombs of the faithless—a place of no light.
20 Anyone who is rich or important without understanding
is just like the animals that perish and decay.
2 This is what Isaiah (son of Amoz) prophesied about Judah and its capital Jerusalem:
2 There will come a time in the last days
when the mountain where the Eternal’s house stands
Will become the highest, most magnificent—
grander than any of the mountains around it.
And all the nations of the world will run there,
wanting to see it, feel it, fully experience it.
3 Many people of all languages, colors, and creeds will come.
People: Come! Let’s go to the Eternal’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
So that we might learn from Him how best to be,
to go along in life as He would have us go.
After all, the law will pour out from Zion,
the word of the Eternal, from Jerusalem.
4 God will decide what’s fair among nations
and settle disputes among all sorts of people.
Meanwhile, they will hammer their swords into sickles,
reshape their spears into pruning hooks.
One nation will not attack another.
They will not practice war anymore.
Isaiah sees an amazing picture of the future, a future which only God can create. In that vision, Jerusalem and the temple of the only God will sit on the highest mountain at the center of the world. In that day, all the nations of the world will stream to the holy city and seek God’s guidance and instruction. God will sit as King and Judge, dispensing real justice—not some man-made counterfeit—not only in international but also local matters. Perhaps, most amazingly for a world weary of war, this will be a time when war is a thing of the past and its lethal instruments are turned into tools for life and peace.
5 O house of Jacob—people of the promise—come, come walk with me
by the light of the Eternal.
6 See, You have abandoned Your people,[a]
the house of Jacob!
For they have taken on attitudes and postures of other cultures,
imitating anyone and anything that crosses their path
Practicing divination like the Philistines,
making deals with outsiders.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold,
rich with mind-boggling wealth.
Their countryside is full of warhorses;
there are more chariots than you can count.
8 Their land is full of worthless idols.
They worship their own creations;
They bow down to what they have made, bought, and sold.
9 But now the people will be humbled, reminded of their simplicity and limits—
don’t just absolve them!
10 Get into the caves, hide in the dust,
in the face of the Eternal’s terrifying Self,
in the face of His dread and enormous majesty.
11 The bubble of human pride will be burst;
the arrogant will be pulled down from their pedestals.
Then, finally, the Eternal, no one and nothing else,
will be the center of attention, lifted up in high esteem.
12 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has identified a time for assault
against the arrogant and proud, against all who think they’re so indomitable.
They will be humbled.
13 Against all the high and lofty:
against the cedars of Lebanon
and the oaks of Bashan,
14 Against the tallest mountains
and the highest hills,
15 Against every watchtower
and every defended border,
16 Against all the trading ships of Tarshish,
against all the luxury vessels.
17 On that day, humankind’s false pride will be shattered and pulled down.[b]
Then the Eternal, no one and nothing else, will be the center of attention,
Lifted up in high esteem.
18 As for all the idols, they will vanish.
19 People will hide themselves away in rocky caves and dusty holes in the ground
in the face of the Eternal’s terrifying Self,
In the face of His dread and enormous majesty,
when He comes forth to overwhelm the earth.
20 When that day arrives, people will leave behind
the idols they made to worship—even those made of silver and gold,
The things they felt were so important—
to the moles and the bats.
21 They hide themselves away in rocky caves and clefts,
in the face of the Eternal’s terrifying Self,
In the face of His dread and enormous majesty,
when He comes forth to overwhelm the earth.
22 Stop believing in human beings as so amazing, so capable!
We are short-lived, only a breath from death and worth as much.
What makes us think we’re so special?
He who embodied the sins of the world carries His own blood into the holy presence.
10 We have seen how the law is simply a shadow of the good things to come. Since it is not the perfect form of these ultimate realities, the offering year after year of these imperfect sacrifices cannot bring perfection to those who come forward to worship. 2 If they had served this purpose, wouldn’t the repetition of these sacrifices have become unnecessary? If they had worked—and cleansed the worshipers—then one sacrifice would have taken away their consciousness of sin. 3 But these sacrifices actually remind us that we sin again and again, year after year. 4 In the end, the blood of bulls and of goats is powerless to take away sins. 5 So when Jesus came into the world, He said,
Sacrifices and offerings were not what You wanted,
but instead a body that You prepared for Me.
6 Burnt offerings and sin offerings
were not what pleased You.
7 Then I said, “See, I have come to do Your will, God,
as it is inscribed of Me in the scroll of the book.”[a]
8 Now when it says that God doesn’t want and takes no real pleasure in sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings (even though the law calls for them), 9 and follows this with “See, I have come to do Your will,”[b] He effectively takes away the first—animal sacrifice—in order to establish the second, more perfect sacrifice. 10 By God’s will, we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed once and for all time.
11 In the first covenant, every day every officiating priest stands at his post serving, offering over and over those same sacrifices that can never take away sin. 12 But after He stepped up to offer His single sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down in the position of honor at the right hand of God. 13 Since then, He has been waiting for the day when He rests His feet on His enemies’ backs,[c] as the psalm says. 14 With one perfect offering, Jesus has perfected forever those who are being made holy, 15 as the Holy Spirit keeps testifying to us through the prophet Jeremiah. After he says,
16 “But when those days are over,” says the Eternal One, “I will make
this kind of covenant with the people of Israel:
I will put My laws in their hearts
and write them upon their minds,”[d]
then He adds,
17 I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory
as though they had never existed.[e]
18 When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin.
19 So, my friends, Jesus by His blood gives us courage to enter the most holy place. 20 He has created for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through His flesh. 21 Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. 23 Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. 24 Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, 25 not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.
The word translated “church” in English Bibles means literally “assembly of the called”; it implies that members have said “yes” to God’s call in their lives. We assemble because we are called into being by God Himself. Some people, for reasons only they know, choose to live their Christian faiths in isolation. When they do, they cut themselves off from the gifts, encouragement, and vitality of others. And perhaps, just as tragically, they deprive the church of the grace and life God has invested in them.
26 Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins— 27 only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries. 28 Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.[f] 29 Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. 30 For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,”[g] also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.”[h] 31 It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.
32 Instead, think back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, 33 when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. 34 Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. 35 Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. 36 Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. 37 As the prophet Habakkuk said,
In a little while, only a little longer,
the One who is coming will come without delay.
38 But My righteous one must live by faith,
for if he gives up his commitment,
My soul will have no pleasure in him.[i]
39 My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.