M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Calendar of Holy Times
23 The Lord told Moses 2 to speak to the Israelites and to tell them this:
These are the appointed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as holy convocations. These are my appointed times:
The Sabbath
3 On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It shall be a sabbath to the Lord in all the places you live.
4 These are the appointed times of the Lord, the holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
The Festival of Passover
5 The first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover, 6 and the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days. 7 On the first day a holy convocation is to be proclaimed for you. You shall not do any work in your regular occupation. 8 You shall present an offering by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be proclaimed as a holy convocation. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation.
The Festival of Firstfruits
9 The Lord told Moses 10 to speak to the people of Israel and tell them this:
When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, and when you bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest 11 so that he may wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you will be accepted, the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day that you wave the sheaf, you shall offer as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb without blemish, one year old. 13 The grain offering accompanying it is to be four quarts[a] of fine wheat flour mixed with oil, a gift to the Lord, a pleasing aroma. The drink offering accompanying it shall be a quart[b] of wine. 14 You shall not eat any of this year’s bread or roasted grain or fresh ears until this very day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations in all the places you live.
The Festival of Weeks or Pentecost
15 Then from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you bring the sheaf to be waved, you shall count off seven weeks for yourselves. They must be complete weeks. 16 You shall count fifty days, until you reach the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you shall bring two loaves of bread as a wave offering. They shall be made of four quarts of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, as first ripe produce for the Lord.
18 Then with the bread you shall present seven lambs without blemish, each of them one year old, one young bull from the herd, and two rams—they shall be a whole burnt offering for the Lord, together with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 You shall also present the sin offering with one male goat and the fellowship offering with two one-year-old male lambs. 20 The priest shall wave them, together with the bread from the first ripe produce, as a wave offering before the Lord, in addition to the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 On this very same day you shall make a proclamation. A holy convocation will be proclaimed for you. You shall do no work in your regular occupation. This is a permanent regulation in all the places you live throughout your generations.
22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap the edges of your field or gather the dropped stalks from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the resident alien. I am the Lord your God.
The Festival of the Ram’s Horn[c]
23 The Lord told Moses 24 to speak to the people of Israel:
In the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a complete rest, a memorial celebration with loud blasts of the ram’s horn, proclaimed as a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any work in your regular occupation, and you shall present a gift made by fire to the Lord.
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord spoke to Moses:
27 It is the tenth day of this seventh month that is the Day of Atonement. It shall be proclaimed as a holy convocation for you. You shall humble yourselves,[d] and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 You shall not do any work on this special day,[e] because it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 Indeed, anyone who does not humble himself on this special day will be cut off from his people. 30 Anyone who does any work on this very special day, I will exterminate from the midst of his people. 31 You shall do no work. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations in all your places where you live. 32 It is a sabbath of complete rest for you. You shall humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month at evening. From that evening until the next evening, you shall observe a sabbath rest.
The Festival of Shelters
33 The Lord told Moses 34 to tell the people of Israel this:
Beginning on the fifteenth day of this seventh month, celebrate the Festival of Shelters[f] for seven days for the Lord. 35 On the first day proclaim a holy convocation. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation. 36 For seven days you shall bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day proclaim a holy convocation for yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. This is a closing ceremony. You shall not do any work for your regular occupation.
37 These are the appointed times of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as holy convocations for the presentation of offerings made by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings as commanded for each day. 38 Offer these in addition to the Sabbath offerings of the Lord, in addition to your personal wave offerings, in addition to all your offerings to fulfill a vow, and in addition to all your voluntary[g] offerings that you give to the Lord.
39 Beginning exactly on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, when you go to celebrate the festival of the Lord for seven days as a pilgrim, there shall be a complete sabbath rest on the first day and a complete sabbath rest on the eighth day. 40 On the first day you shall select for yourselves fruit from splendid trees, branches of palm trees, boughs from leafy trees, and willows from by the stream—and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate the festival for the Lord as a pilgrim for seven days each year. This is a permanent regulation throughout your generations. In the seventh month you shall celebrate the festival as a pilgrim. 42 You shall live in temporary shelters for seven days—every native-born person in Israel shall live in shelters— 43 so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
44 That is what Moses said about the appointed times of the Lord to the people of Israel.
Psalm 30
You Brought Me Up From the Grave
Heading
A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. By David.
Praise for Answered Prayer
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you lifted me up.
You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you snatched my life from the grave.
You kept me alive so I did not go down into the pit.
Join Me in Prayer
4 Make music to the Lord, you his favored ones,
and give thanks when you remember[a] his holiness,
5 for we spend a moment under his anger,
but we enjoy a lifetime in his favor.
In the evening, weeping comes to stay through the night,
but in the morning, there is rejoicing!
Wrestling in Prayer
6 But I—I said in my security,
“I will never be knocked down.”
7 Lord, in your favor you made strength
stand like a mountain for me.
Then you hid your face. I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I call.
To the Lord I cry for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in shedding my blood,
in sending me down to destruction?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 Lord, hear and be merciful to me.
Lord, be a helper for me.”
A Happy Outcome
11 You turned my mourning into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my whole being[b] may make music to you
and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I thank you forever.
6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, a common burden that people bear:[a] 2 God gives somebody wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of everything that he craves, but God does not give him the opportunity to eat it. Instead, a stranger eats it. This is vapor, and a sickening evil.
3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but if his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, no matter how many days he lives, I say, “A stillborn baby is better off than he is.” 4 Why? Because that baby comes like a vapor and leaves in darkness, and its name gets covered in darkness. 5 The baby does not see the sun or know it,[b] but it enjoys more peaceful rest than that man does, 6 even if that man would live a thousand years two times without enjoying good things. They all go to the same place, don’t they?
7 All of a man’s hard work is to feed his mouth, but his appetite[c] never feels satisfied.
8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? What advantage does a poor man gain, who knows how to keep walking among the living?[d] 9 Better to have eyes that look at what is actually there than desires that roam. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.
10 Whatever exists already has its name,[e] and it is already known what man is. He is not able to win in court against one who is stronger than he is.[f]
11 Yes, the more words,[g] the more vapor. What advantage does a man have?
12 For who knows what is good for a man in life, in the few days of his life, that vanishes like vapor, that passes like a shadow?[h] Who will tell the man what will be after him, under the sun?
Encouragement to Be Strong
2 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Entrust the things you heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, to faithful men who will also be able to teach others.
3 Share hardships as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the affairs of everyday life. If he does, he will not please the one who enlisted him. 5 Also, if someone competes as an athlete, he does not receive a crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should receive a share of the crops first. 7 Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, a descendant[a] of David, in accordance with my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain[b] the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, along with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy:
Indeed, if we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 If we endure, we will also reign with him;
If we deny him, he will also deny us;
13 If we are faithless, he remains faithful,
because he cannot deny himself.
Correctly Handle the Word of Truth
14 Remind people of these things, as you solemnly charge them in the presence of God[c] not to fight about words, which does no good and only ruins those who listen. 15 Make every effort to present yourself to God as one who is approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, correctly handling[d] the word of truth. 16 As for pointless chatter, avoid it, for it will lead to an ever greater measure of godlessness, 17 and their message will spread like gangrene. This includes Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have veered away from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are overturning the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s foundation stands firm, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”[e] and “Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord keep away from wickedness.”[f]
20 In a large house there are articles[g] not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay—some for honorable use and some for dishonorable use. 21 So if anyone cleanses himself thoroughly from these things, he will be an instrument[h] for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master, and prepared to do every good work.
22 Flee from the lusts young people have and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant arguments, since you know they breed quarrels. 24 It is necessary that a servant of the Lord not quarrel but be kind toward everyone, able to teach, able to bear evil without resentment, 25 and gentle in correcting those who oppose him. God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the Devil’s trap, after they were captured by him to do his will.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.