M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul’s Deliverance of Jabesh-gilead
11 Nahash[a](A) the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead.(B) All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(C) with us, and we will serve you.”
2 Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye(D) and humiliate all Israel.”(E)
3 “Don’t do anything to us for seven days,” the elders of Jabesh said to him, “and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one saves us, we will surrender to you.”
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah,(F) Saul’s hometown, and told the terms to[b] the people, all wept aloud.(G) 5 Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind his oxen. “What’s the matter with the people? Why are they weeping?” Saul inquired, and they repeated to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
6 When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly took control of him,(H) and his anger burned furiously. 7 He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces,(I) and sent them throughout the land of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.”(J) As a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united.(K)
8 Saul counted them at Bezek.(L) There were 300,000[c](M) Israelites and 30,000[d] men from Judah. 9 He told the messengers who had come, “Tell this to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” So the messengers told the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.
10 Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want[e] to us.”
11 The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions.(N) During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
Saul’s Confirmation as King
12 Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not[f] reign over us?(O) Give us those men so we can kill them!”(P)
13 But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.”(Q)
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence(R) they made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings(S) in the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel greatly rejoiced.
Israel’s Rejection of Christ
9 I speak the truth in Christ(A)—I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit[a]— 2 that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. 3 For I could almost wish(B) to be cursed(C) and cut off[b] from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites,(D) and to them belong the adoption,(E) the glory,(F) the covenants,(G) the giving of the law,(H) the temple service,(I) and the promises.(J) 5 The ancestors are theirs,(K) and from them, by physical descent,[c] came the Messiah,(L) who is God(M) over all,(N) praised forever.[d](O) Amen.
God’s Gracious Election of Israel
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed.(P) For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(Q) 7 Neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants.[e](R) On the contrary, your offspring will be traced[f] through Isaac.(S)[g] 8 That is, it is not the children by physical descent[h] who are God’s children,(T) but the children of the promise(U) are considered to be the offspring. 9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.(V)[i] 10 And not only that,(W) but also Rebekah received a promise when she became pregnant[j](X) by one man, our ancestor Isaac. 11 For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—(Y) 12 not from works but from the One who calls—she was told: The older will serve the younger.(Z)[k] 13 As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.(AA)[l]
God’s Selection Is Just
14 What should we say then?(AB) Is there injustice with God?(AC) Absolutely not!(AD) 15 For He tells Moses:
I will show mercy
to whom I will show mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion.(AE)[m]
16 So then it does not depend on human will or effort[n](AF) but on God who shows mercy.(AG) 17 For the Scripture tells Pharaoh:
I raised you up for this reason
so that I may display My power in you
and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth.(AH)[o]
18 So then, He shows mercy to those He wants to, and He hardens those He wants to harden.(AI)
19 You will say to me,(AJ) therefore, “Why then does He still find fault?(AK) For who can resist His will?”(AL) 20 But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God?(AM) Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”(AN) 21 Or has the potter no right over the clay,(AO) to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? 22 And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience(AP) objects of wrath ready for destruction?(AQ) 23 And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory(AR) on objects of mercy(AS) that He prepared beforehand for glory(AT)— 24 on us, the ones He also called,(AU) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(AV) 25 As He also says in Hosea:
I will call Not My People, My People,
and she who is Unloved, Beloved.(AW)[p]
26 And it will be in the place where they were told,
you are not My people,
there they will be called sons of the living God.(AX)[q]
27 But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
Though the number of Israel’s sons
is like the sand of the sea,(AY)
only the remnant will be saved;(AZ)
28 for the Lord will execute His sentence
completely and decisively on the earth.[r](BA)[s]
29 And just as Isaiah predicted:
If the Lord of Hosts[t] had not left us offspring,(BB)
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have been made like Gomorrah.(BC)[u]
Israel’s Present State
30 What should we say then?(BD) Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith.(BE) 31 But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness,(BF) has not achieved the righteousness of the law.[v](BG) 32 Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works.[w] They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(BH) 33 As it is written:
Prophecies against Moab
48 About Moab,(A) this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo,(B) because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame;(C) it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2 There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:(D)
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen,[a] you will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 A voice cries out from Horonaim,(E)
“devastation and great disaster!”
4 Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5 For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually,[b]
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:(F)
6 Flee! Save your lives!
Be like a juniper bush[c](G) in the wilderness.
7 Because you trust in your works[d] and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh(H) will go into exile
with his priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated,(I)
as the Lord has said.
9 Make Moab a salt marsh,[e](J)
for she will run away;[f]
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant.
10 The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully[g] is cursed,(K)
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11 Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs.(L)
He hasn’t been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn’t changed.
12 Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13 Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel(M) that they trusted in.
14 How can you say, “We are warriors—
mighty men ready for battle”?
15 The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up,[h]
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(N)
16 Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17 Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say: How the mighty scepter(O) is shattered,
the glorious staff!
18 Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,(P)
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19 Stand by the highway and look,
resident of Aroer!(Q)
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping:(R)
What happened?
20 Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21 “Judgment has come to the land of the plateau(S)—to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,(T) 24 Kerioth,(U) Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. 25 Moab’s horn is chopped off;(V) his arm is shattered.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
26 “Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(W) Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. 27 Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you?(X) Was he ever found among thieves?(Y) For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”
28 Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave.(Z)
29 We have heard of Moab’s pride,
great pride, indeed—
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30 I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31 Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32 I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
with more than the weeping for Jazer.
Your tendrils have extended to the sea;
they have reached to the sea and to Jazer.[i]
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33 Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy.(AA)
34 “There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz(AB)—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate. 35 In Moab, I will stop”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.(AC) 36 Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab,(AD) and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. 37 Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped;(AE) on every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist. 38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.”(AF) This is the Lord’s declaration. 39 “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”(AG)
40 For this is what the Lord says:
He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.(AH)
41 The towns have[j] been captured,
and the strongholds seized.
In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.(AI)
42 Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord.(AJ)
43 Panic, pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
44 He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(AK)
45 Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow
because fire has come out from Heshbon
and a flame from within Sihon.
It will devour Moab’s forehead
and the skull of the noisemakers.
46 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity.(AL)
47 Yet, I will restore the fortunes[k] of Moab in the last days.(AM)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
Psalm 25
Dependence on the Lord
Davidic.
1 Lord,[a] I turn to You.[b](A)
2 My God, I trust in You.
Do not let me be disgraced;(B)
do not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
3 No one who waits for You
will be disgraced;(D)
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.(E)
4 Make Your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me Your paths.(F)
5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me,(G)
for You are the God of my salvation;(H)
I wait for You all day long.(I)
6 Remember, Lord, Your compassion
and Your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.[c](J)
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth(K)
or my acts of rebellion;(L)
in keeping with Your faithful love, remember me
because of Your goodness, Lord.(M)
8 The Lord is good and upright;(N)
therefore He shows sinners the way.(O)
9 He leads the humble in what is right(P)
and teaches them His way.(Q)
10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth
to those who keep His covenant and decrees.(R)
11 Because of Your name, Yahweh,
forgive my sin, for it is great.(S)
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?(T)
He will show him the way he should choose.(U)
13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[d](V)
14 The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear Him,
and He reveals His covenant to them.(W)
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for He will pull my feet out of the net.(X)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am alone and afflicted.(Y)
17 The distresses of my heart increase;[e](Z)
bring me out of my sufferings.(AA)
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,(AB)
and take away all my sins.(AC)
19 Consider my enemies; they are numerous,(AD)
and they hate me violently.(AE)
20 Guard me and deliver me;(AF)
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in You.(AG)
21 May integrity and what is right
watch over me,
for I wait for You.(AH)
22 God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.(AI)
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