M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
32 Now it so happens that a couple of the tribes (the Reubenites and Gadites) had an exceptionally large herd of livestock. They observed that on this eastern side of the Jordan, in the regions of Jazer and Gilead, there was some excellent grazing land. 2 So the heads of the Reuben and Gad tribes approached Moses, the priest Eleazar, and other of the community’s leaders.
Reubenites and Gadites: 3-5 This territory, which the Eternal One has already enabled us to dominate, is for livestock land; and we have livestock. If it is pleasing to you, may we settle here instead of crossing the Jordan into the promised land? We’d like this territory to be ours (Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon) rather than laying claim to any territory across the Jordan.
Although slightly misunderstood by Moses, Reuben and Gad still express loyalty to the Lord and to their Israelite kin, but they like the prospects of settling in the fertile land that they will also share with the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites.
Moses: 6-9 You’re missing the big picture. How can I let you settle here on this side of the Jordan, while your kinsmen on the other side of the Jordan may have to go to war in order to possess the land? Why would you dishearten the rest of the people today just as the spies did who disheartened the people in the last generation after I sent them from Kadesh-barnea and they saw the Eshcol Valley and the surrounding land? 10 Remember how angry the Eternal became with them that day? He declared that 11-13 even though that particular land had been promised to the Israelites beginning with Abraham, then to Isaac and to Jacob after him, the whole generation that left Egypt when they were 20 years or older would have to die, wandering aimlessly in the desert, before God would allow the community to enter that great land. Only Caleb the Kenizzite (Jephunneh’s son) and Joshua (Nun’s son) out of that generation would be allowed to enjoy settlement there because they followed Him completely. 14 Now you dare to propose this—you’re as sinful as your predecessors! The Eternal will surely loose His tremendous anger against us again. 15 If you decide to stop following God’s plan for the land, He will abandon the whole congregation out here in the wilderness, and it’s you who will be blamed for our people’s destruction.
Reubenites and Gadites (approaching Moses): 16-19 What if we lay claim to the land here, but then proceed with the others west across the Jordan and into their land? We would fight alongside all the other Israelites, but we wouldn’t take any of that land for ourselves since our inheritance is on the eastern side of the Jordan. Only after we’ve seen to it that everyone else is safely settled there would we return here to take up our lives as residents of this place. We could set up preliminary dwellings now for our sheep and livestock and towns for our women and children. The towns should be fortified, since there are still inhabitants in the land who would like to run us out. We really feel that we’ve found our home here, east of the Jordan.
Moses: 20 If you keep your word—to fight with us before the Eternal One Himself 21 until by our warfare God drives out His enemies 22 and that land becomes undeniably ours—then, yes. Then you will have satisfied your responsibilities to the Eternal and to Israel, and you may count this land as your own. 23 But if you fail to follow through, your sin against the Eternal will follow you. Wherever you go, it will go badly for you. 24 Then go ahead and build the enclosures you need for your flocks and the cities for your youngsters that you’ll leave behind. But don’t forget to live up to your promise.
Reubenites and Gadites: 25 We are your servants, our lord, and we’ll do as you tell us. 26 Here in Gilead, we’ll get our women and the little kids settled along with all of our animals. 27 Then you can count on us, armed and ready to battle for the Eternal. We will obey your orders and see to it that the other families successfully gain their own territory.
28 Moses gave instructions to Eleazar the priest, Joshua (Nun’s son), and the heads of the other extended families of the Israelite clans.
Moses: 29 If indeed the Gadites and Reubenites fight in front of the Eternal One and beside the rest of you to successfully dominate that land across the Jordan River, then you must honor their desire to return here to have this Gilead land for their own. 30 But if they don’t take up their weapons and go with you into battle, then their ownership of this territory is null and void, and they shall be assigned land in Canaan along with the rest of the Israelite tribes.
Reubenites and Gadites: 31 Exactly as we understand this to be the will of God, we will do it. 32 We’ll arm ourselves and fight with you under His direction in Canaan, but with the understanding that our home is right here, on this side of the Jordan River.
33 With this agreement established, Moses gave the Gadites and the Reubenites, along with Manasseh (half of the greater Joseph clan), King Sihon’s Amorite land and King Og’s Bashan land, including the cities and their neighboring towns inside those boundaries. 34 The Gadites immediately got to work rebuilding the cities of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran with strong defenses and enclosures for their livestock. 37 As for the Reubenites, they rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They gave names to each of the new cities and changed the names of those they rebuilt. 39 As far as the Manasseh family goes, Machir’s clan overran the Amorites in Gilead, 40 so Moses gave them that land to live in. 41 Jair’s Manassite clan also captured settlements for themselves and named them Havvoth-jair, 42 and Nobah took over the former Kenath with its surrounding villages and renamed it Nobah, after their own clan.
Psalm 77
For the worship leader, Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.
1 I cry up to heaven,
“My God, True God,” and He hears.
2 In my darkest days, I seek the Lord.
Through the night, my hands are raised up, stretched out, waiting;
And though they do not grow tired,
my soul is uneasy.
3 I remember the True God and become distraught.
I think about Him, and my spirit becomes weak.
[pause][a]
4 You hold my eyes wide open.
I am troubled beyond words.
5 My mind drifts to thoughts of yesterdays
and yesteryears.
6 I call to mind my music; it keeps me company at night.
Together with my heart I contemplate;
my spirit searches, wondering, questioning:
7 “What will the Lord do? Reject us for good?
Will He never show us His favor again?
8 Has His loyal love finally worn down?
Have His promises reached an end?
9 Has the True God forgotten how to be gracious?
In His anger, has He withdrawn His compassion?”
[pause]
10 “I can’t help but be distraught,” I said,
“for the power of the Most High that was once for us is now against us.”
11 I will remember the actions the Eternal has taken,
reminisce on Your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all of Your work;
indeed, I will study all You have performed.
13 O God, Your way is so different, so distinct, so divine.
No other god compares with our God.
14 You, God, and Your works evoke wonder.
You have proved Your strength to the nations.
15 You used Your great power to release Your people:
with a strong arm, You freed Jacob’s children, and Joseph’s.
[pause]
16 The waters saw You, O True God.
The seas saw You and swelled in sorrow.
Even the deep trembled.
17 Water poured from the clouds,
and the sky boomed out in response
as Your arrows of lightning flashed this way and that.
18 The sound of Your thunder whirled within the wind
as Your lightning lit up the world.
Yes, the whole earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way ran through the sea,
Your path cut through great waters,
and still no one can spot Your footprints.
20 You led Your people as a flock
tended by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
24 See here, the Eternal One will empty the earth.
He will lay it waste, contort the mountains and plains,
And scatter its inhabitants all over the place.
2 Things will be topsy-turvy, hierarchies upended. No one will be safe,
not laypeople or priests, not servants or masters,
not maids or mistresses, not buyers or sellers,
not lenders or borrowers, not debtors or creditors.
3 The earth will be emptied, all emptied, despoiled, utterly despoiled.
The Eternal said that it should be so.
4 So the earth mourns, droops wearily down;
the world languishes and droops; the high and mighty languish in grief.
5 The earth is polluted by those who live on it;
they pay no attention to God’s teaching.
They violate His directives and break the everlasting covenant.
6 Consequently, a nasty curse consumes the earth,
and those who inhabit it are to blame for it.
They’ll be burned up,
leaving very few people to survive.
7 Luscious wine grapes shrivel to nothing.
The vines rot, and everyone who had taken
joy from their nectar sighs in deep depression.
8 No more music, no more songs, no more dancing to tambourines,
laughing with revelers, or playing the harps.
9 People don’t drink wine and sing with pleasure anymore;
the stronger stuff is mostly bitter to those who drink it.
10 The chaotic city is in shambles,
and every house is boarded up so no one can go in.
11 People rebel in the streets, demanding wine.
All joy turns to gloom; happiness has been banished from the land.
12 In the city nothing is left but desolation,
and the gate is battered and ruined.
13 This is how it will be on the earth for the nations—
only a few survivors will be left—
as when an olive tree is shaken and a few olives hold on
or when the grape harvest is in and a few grapes remain for gleaning.
14 But people will take joy again.
They will shout out and sing
of the Eternal One’s majesty across the ocean.
15 Join in the song and praise the Eternal from the east.
Praise the Eternal, the God of Israel, all along the coast of the sea.
16 Listen and you can hear the merry voices from the corners of the earth
singing, “Honor to the Righteous One.” But as for me,
I say, “I am wasting away, wasting away.
Woe is me!
I can see treachery, treachery, and it wears me down.
Traitors deal in treachery.”
17 Terror, pit, and trap face you,
you people of the earth.
18 And whoever runs from the sound of terror will only fall into a pit;
when he climbs out of the pit, he’ll run and be caught in a trap.
The sky above will open up
and the ground below will quake—nothing will be safe.
19 The earth is broken and shattered and splits apart.
It shakes and quakes violently.
20 Like a drunk, the earth staggers and reels;
it shudders and shakes, like a shack in the wind.
For its rebellion weighs so heavily on it, that it will fall
and have no chance for repair.
21 On that day, even the heavenly powers and earthly rulers
will feel the Eternal’s punishing wrath.
22 They’ll be gathered up like prisoners, thrown in a dungeon,
and suffer the punishment of God after many days.
23 A shadow of shame will settle over the full moon and bright sun,
and their brilliance will begin to fade;
for the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,
Will rule from His chosen place on earth—Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
and His glory will shine out with brilliance for the elders to see.
The word “sin” has virtually disappeared from modern conversation. Afraid of sounding judgmental, we call sin something else—a mistake, an addiction, a tendency, a bad decision—and ignore it as normal and natural behavior. But John is calling the church to a radical holiness where those in the church will regularly remember their sins and seek God’s forgiveness. Each sin, small and large, injures us or someone else; it imprints on our soul, makes us imperfect, and separates us from the perfect God. If we confess our sins to God each day, then He will purify our hearts and draw us closer to Him.
2 You are my little children, so I am writing these things to help you avoid sin. If, however, any believer does sin, we have a high-powered defense lawyer—Jesus the Anointed, the righteous—arguing on our behalf before the Father. 2 It was through His sacrificial death that our sins were atoned. But He did not stop there—He died for the sins of the whole world.
John is affectionately addressing this letter to his “little children,” and he is writing to help them avoid sin and the pain and guilt that come with it. The glamour of decadent lifestyles devoid of God is often advertised as the epitome of joy and freedom. But what are often conveniently left out of these portrayals are the agonizing consequences of such destructive lifestyles. Meaningful pleasure comes not when we are enslaved by the empty promises of the world, but when we are living in loving obedience to God.
3 We know we have joined Him in an intimate relationship because we live out His commands. 4 If someone claims, “I am in an intimate relationship with Him,” but this big talker doesn’t live out His commands, then this individual is a liar and a stranger to the truth. 5 But if someone responds to and obeys His word, then God’s love has truly taken root and filled him. This is how we know we are in an intimate relationship with Him: 6 anyone who says, “I live in intimacy with Him,” should walk the path Jesus walked.
7 My loved ones, in one sense, I am not writing a new command for you. I am only reminding you of the old command. It’s a word you already know, a word that has existed from the beginning. 8 However, in another sense, I am writing a new command for you. The new command is the truth that He lived; and now you are living it, too, because the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining among you.
9 Anyone who says, “I live in the light,” but hates his brother or sister is still living in the shadows. 10 Anyone who loves his brother or sister lives in the light and will not trip because his conscience is clear. 11 But anyone who hates his brother is in the darkness, stumbling around with no idea where he is going, blinded by the darkness.
We are deeply loved by God. When we turn and love those members of our faith family whom God loves, we are set apart and different from the world.
12 I am writing to you, my children, because your sins have been forgiven by the authority of His name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him as the Creator, as the One who started everything.
I am writing to you, young people, because He has given you the power to conquer the evil one.
14 I have written to you, my children, because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers and mothers, because you have known Him, the Creator.
I have written to you, young people, because the voice of God remains and is heard among you. Remember that you have conquered the evil one.
15 Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them. 16 All the things the world can offer to you—the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority—do not come from the Father. These are the rotten fruits of this world. 17 This corrupt world is already wasting away, as are its selfish desires. But the person really doing God’s will—that person will never cease to be.
18 My children, this is the final hour. You have heard that the antiChrist, the greatest enemy to His kingdom, is coming, but in fact, many antiChrists are already here. This development tells us how late it really is. 19 A group has left us, but they were not part of our family. If they were truly our brothers and sisters, they would have remained for the duration with us. When they left, they made it ever so obvious that they were not part of us.
20 You have been given an anointing, a special touch from the Holy One. You know the truth.[a] 21 I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. You know that no lie belongs to the truth. 22 The liar is the one who says, “Jesus is not really the Anointed One.” This is the antiChrist, the one denying both the Father and the Son. 23 Anyone who denies the Son does not know the Father. The one affirming the Son enjoys an intimate relationship with the Father as well.
24 Let the good news, the story you have heard from the beginning of your journey, live in and take hold of you. If that happens and you focus on the good news, then you will always remain in a relationship with the Son and the Father. 25 This is what He promised us: eternal life.
26 I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. 27 You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: “Remain connected to Him.”
28 So now, my little children, live in Him, so that whenever He is revealed, we will have confidence and not have to hang our heads in shame before Him when He comes. 29 If you know that He is just and faithful, then you also know that everyone who lives faithfully and acts justly has been born into a new life through Him.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.