M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Lord Provides Manna and Quail
16 On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the entire Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin,[a] which is between Elim and Sinai. 2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat around pots of meat and ate as much food as we wanted, but now you have brought us out into this wilderness to have this whole community die of hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Watch what I will do. I will rain down bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether they will follow my instructions or not. 5 On the sixth day they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “At evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the Glory of the Lord, because he has heard your constant grumbling against the Lord. Who are we that you should grumble against us?”
8 Moses said, “Now the Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because the Lord has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 As Aaron spoke to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and suddenly the Glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Say to them, ‘At evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 So in the evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew surrounded the camp. 14 When the layer of dew was gone, there were thin flakes on the surface of the wilderness, thin as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”[b] because they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given to you as food to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: All of them are to gather as much of it as they need to eat. You are to take an omer[c] per person based on the number of people each of you has in your tents.”
17 The Israelites did this, and some gathered more, some less. 18 When they measured it with an omer, the one who gathered more did not have too much, and the one who gathered less did not have too little. All of them gathered as much as they needed to eat. 19 Moses said to them, “No one is to leave any of it until morning.” 20 However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them left part of it until morning, and it became full of worms and stank. So Moses was angry with them.
21 They gathered it each morning. All of them gathered as much as they needed to eat. When the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers for each person, and all the leaders of the community came and reported to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: Tomorrow is a complete rest, a holy sabbath[d] to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, but set aside for yourselves all the rest of it to be kept until morning.”
24 So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Today eat whatever is left over, for today is a sabbath to the Lord. Today you will not find any around the camp.[e] 26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they did not find any. 28 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions? 29 Look, the Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days’ worth of bread. All of you are to stay where you are. None of you are to leave your places on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel called it manna.[f] It looked like white coriander seed, and it tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: A full omer[g] of it is to be kept throughout your generations so that they may see the bread which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a container, and put a full omer of manna in it. Place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 To obey the Lord’s command to Moses, Aaron placed an omer before the Testimony,[h] to be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer, by the way, is one-tenth of an ephah.)
Zacchaeus
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but since he was short, he could not see because of the crowd. 4 He ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, because he was about to pass by that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 He came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. 7 When the people saw it, they were all grumbling because he went to be a guest of a sinful man.
8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I am going to give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Parable of the Ten Minas
11 As they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 So he said, “A man of noble birth traveled to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Conduct business until I return,’ he said to them.
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us.’
15 “When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what they had gained by conducting business.
16 “The first one came to him and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas.’
17 “He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you were faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’
18 “The second one came and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced five more minas.’
19 “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five cities.’
20 “And another one came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina that I laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 For I was afraid of you, since you are a demanding man. You take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “He said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you with your own words! You knew that I am a demanding man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank? Then, when I returned, I could have collected it with interest!’
24 “He said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
25 “But they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas!’
26 “‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 27 Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem
28 After Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ahead, 30 saying, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found things just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35 Then they brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their robes on the colt and set Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their robes on the road. 37 As he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully, with a loud voice, for all the miracles they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord![b] Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 He replied, “I tell you, if these people would be silent, the stones would cry out.”
41 As he came near, he saw the city and wept over it. 42 He said, “If you, yes you, had only known on this day[c] the things that would bring peace to you. But now, it is hidden from your eyes. 43 In fact, the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 Within your walls, they will dash you and your children to the ground. And within your walls, they will not leave one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to help you.”[d]
Jesus Cleanses His Father’s House
45 Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling[e] things there. 46 He told them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’[f] but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”[g]
47 Every day he was teaching in the temple courts, but the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the leaders of the people continued to look for a way to put him to death. 48 They could not find any way to do it, because all the people were clinging to him and listening.
34 Elihu resumed[a] his speech and said:
2 Hear my words, you wise men.
You learned men, pay attention to me.
3 It is true that the ear tests words as the mouth tastes food.
4 So now we should choose for ourselves what is just.
We should determine among ourselves what is good.
5 This is what Job said:
“I am in the right,
but God has deprived me of justice.
6 Would I lie about what is just for me?[b]
His arrow has inflicted an incurable wound on me,
though I did not rebel.”
7 Who is like Job?
He drinks down derision against God like water.
8 He travels the road with evildoers,
and he walks with wicked men,
9 because he said,
“It is no benefit to a man when he takes pleasure in God.”
10 So then, you men with understanding, listen to me.
I swear that God never does anything wicked.
The Almighty is far from wrongdoing.
11 He repays a man for what he does.
He causes the consequences of his ways to catch up with him.
12 God would absolutely not do anything evil.
The Almighty does not pervert justice.
13 Did anyone put him in charge of the earth?
Did anyone place the whole world under his control?
14 If God resolved in his heart to recall his spirit and breath to himself,
15 all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
16 But if you have understanding, listen to this.
Hear the sound of my words:
17 Is it possible that one who hates justice could govern?
Will you condemn the Righteous One, who is mighty?
18 He says to kings, “You are worthless,”
and tells nobles, “You are evil.”
19 He shows no favoritism to high officials,
and he shows no more regard for the rich than for the poor,
because they are all the work of his hands.
20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night.
People are shaken, and they pass away.
Even the mighty are taken away effortlessly, without a human hand,
21 because God’s eyes are on the ways of a man,
and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness,
and there is no dark shadow where evildoers can hide,
23 for God does not need to investigate further
or to set a time of judgment for a person.
24 He breaks mighty rulers without further inquiry,
and he sets up others in their place.
25 Because he knows their deeds,
he overthrows them at night,
and they lie crushed.
26 Because of their wickedness,
he strikes them in plain sight of everyone.
27 He does this because they turned aside from following him,
and they were not wise enough to follow all his ways.
28 They caused the poor to cry out to God,
so he heard the cry of the afflicted.
29 But if God remains quiet, who can condemn him?
If he hides his face, who can observe him?
But even if he does, he still rules over both nations and individuals,
30 to prevent a godless man from ruling,
so that the godless man does not lay snares for the people.
31 What if someone says to God,
“I have accepted my punishment.
I will not keep sinning.
32 Teach me about what I do not see.
If I have done evil, I will not do it again.”
33 Would God then be obligated to repay you on your terms,
when you refuse to repent?[c]
But, Job, it is your decision, not mine.
So tell me what you know.
34 Men who have understanding say this to me,
and any wise person who listens tells me the same thing:
35 “Job speaks without knowledge,
and his words reveal a lack of understanding.”
36 I wish that Job would be tested to the limit,
because he responds like a wicked man.
37 Yes, he even adds rebellion to his sin.
Among us he shows his contempt by clapping his hands,
and he multiplies his words against God.
Treasure in Clay Jars
4 Therefore, since we have this ministry as a result of the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged. 2 On the contrary, we have renounced shameful, underhanded methods. We do not operate in a deceitful way, and we do not distort the word of God. Instead, by proclaiming the truth clearly, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing. 4 In the case of those people, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from clearly seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is God’s image.
5 Indeed, we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,”[a] is the same one who made light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the person[b] of Jesus Christ.
7 We hold this treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not despairing; 9 persecuted, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 To be sure, while we are living we are continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is working in us, but life is working in you.
13 Since we have that same spirit of faith, which corresponds to what is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken,”[c] we also believe, and therefore we speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring us (together with you) into his presence. 15 In fact, all this is for your benefit, so that as grace increases, it will overflow to the glory of God, as more and more people give thanks.
16 Therefore we are not discouraged. But even if our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 Yes, our momentary, light trouble produces for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond any comparison. 18 We are not focusing on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.