M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The People from Gibeon Deceive Joshua
9 When all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these events, 2 they joined together to fight Joshua and Israel. (They were the kings in the mountains, the foothills, and along the whole Mediterranean coast as far as Lebanon, the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.) [a]
3 When the people living in Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they devised a scheme. They posed as messengers. They took worn-out sacks on their donkeys. Their wineskins were old, split, and patched. 5 Their sandals were worn-out and repaired, and their clothes were tattered. All their bread was dried out and crumbling. 6 They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. They told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us right now.”
7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you’re living in this area? We wouldn’t be able to make a treaty with you.”
8 They responded to Joshua, “We’re at your mercy.”
Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where did you come from?”
9 They answered him, “We came from a country very far away because the Lord your God has become famous. We heard stories about him and everything he did in Egypt. 10 We also heard everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth. 11 Our leaders and everyone who lives in our country told us, ‘Take what you need for the trip, and go meet them. Tell them, “We’re at your mercy. Make a treaty with us right now.” ’ 12 Our bread was warm when we left home to meet with you. Look at it now! It’s dry and crumbling. 13 These were new wineskins when we filled them. Look at them now! See how they are splitting! Our clothes and sandals are also worn-out because we have come such a long way.”
14 The men believed the evidence they were shown, but they did not ask the Lord about it. 15 So Joshua made peace with them by making a treaty which allowed them to live. The leaders of the congregation swore to it with an oath.
16 But three days after the treaty was made, the Israelites heard that these people were their neighbors and lived with them. 17 The Israelites broke camp. They came to the cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim two days later. 18 The Israelites didn’t destroy these other people, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath about them to the Lord God of Israel. The whole congregation complained about the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to them, “We have sworn an oath about them to the Lord God of Israel, so we cannot touch them now. 20 We must let them live to avoid ⌞the Lord’s⌟ anger because of the oath we swore.” 21 The leaders said that they should be allowed to live. So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had said.
22 Joshua sent for the people of Gibeon and asked, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when you live here with us? 23 You are under a curse now. You will always be servants. You will be woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “We were told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and destroy all who live there. We deceived you because we feared for our lives. 25 Now we’re at your mercy. Do to us what you think is good and right.”
26 So Joshua rescued them and did not let the people of Israel kill them. 27 But that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation. They served the Lord’s altar, wherever he chose to put it. They still serve today.
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
140 Rescue me from evil people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s ⌞fang⌟.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Lord Almighty, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
⌞or⌟ they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that the Lord will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
A psalm by David.
141 O Lord, I cry out to you, “Come quickly.”
Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.
2 Let my prayer be accepted
as sweet-smelling incense in your presence.
Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted
as an evening sacrifice.
3 O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil
or to become involved with wickedness,
with people who are troublemakers.
Do not let me taste their delicacies.
5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness.
It is like lotion for my head.
My head will not refuse it,
because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff,
they will listen to what I have to say.
It will sound pleasant ⌞to them⌟.
7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground,
so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.
8 My eyes look to you, Lord Almighty.
I have taken refuge in you.
Do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me
and from the traps set by troublemakers.
10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets,
while I escape unharmed.
3 A saying:
If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again.
The land would become thoroughly polluted.
“You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers.
And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
2 “Look at the bare hills, and see.
You have had sex with men in every place.
You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers.
Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute,
and you refuse to blush.
4 But now you are calling to me.
You say, ‘Father! You have been my companion
ever since I was young.
5 He won’t hold a grudge forever.
He won’t always be angry.’
You have said and done all the evil things that you could.”
The Lord Offers to Forgive the Ten Tribes of Israel despite Their Idolatry
6 When Josiah was king, the Lord asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to me. But she didn’t come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her. 8 Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn’t afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. 9 Because she wasn’t concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars. 10 Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares the Lord.
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these things to the north:
“ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.
It is the Lord speaking.
I will no longer frown on you
because I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord.
‘I will no longer be angry with you.
13 Admit that you’ve done wrong!
You have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree.
You have not obeyed me,’ declares the Lord.
14 “Come back, you rebellious people,” declares the Lord. “I’m your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed you with knowledge and insight. 16 In those days you will be fertile, and your population will increase in the land,” declares the Lord. “People will no longer talk about the ark of the Lord’s promise. It will no longer come to mind. They won’t remember it, miss it, or make another one. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord. All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of the Lord will be found there. They will no longer follow their own stubborn, evil ways. 18 In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property.
19 “I wanted to treat you like children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful property among the nations.
I thought that you would call me Father and wouldn’t turn away from me.
20 But like a wife who betrays her husband,
so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares the Lord.
21 The sound of crying is heard on the hills.
It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.
They have become crooked
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Come back, you rebellious people,
and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
Here we are!
We have come to you because you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,
is the noise of false worship.
Truly, the Lord our God will rescue us.
24 Ever since we were young,
the shameful worship ⌞of Baal⌟
has taken everything our ancestors worked for,
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
25 We must lie down in our shame
and be covered by our disgrace.
Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned
against the Lord our God.
We haven’t obeyed the Lord our God.
Moses and Elijah Appear with Jesus(A)
17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John (the brother of James) and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone.
2 Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and his clothes as white as light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them and were talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love and with whom I am pleased. Listen to him!”
6 The disciples were terrified when they heard this and fell facedown on the ground. 7 But Jesus touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid!” 8 As they raised their heads, they saw no one but Jesus.
9 On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen. Wait until the Son of Man has been brought back to life.”
10 So the disciples asked him, “Why do the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered, “Elijah is coming and will put everything in order again. 12 Actually, I can guarantee that Elijah has already come. Yet, people treated him as they pleased because they didn’t recognize him. In the same way they’re going to make the Son of Man suffer.”
13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking about John the Baptizer.
Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy(B)
14 When they came to a crowd, a man came up to Jesus, knelt in front of him, 15 and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son. He suffers from seizures. Often he falls into fire or water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
17 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and corrupt generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!”
18 Jesus ordered the demon to come out of the boy. At that moment the boy was cured.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out of the boy?”
20 He told them, “Because you have so little faith. I can guarantee this truth: If your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [a]
Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life(C)
22 While they were traveling together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. 23 They will kill him, but on the third day he will be brought back to life.” Then the disciples became very sad.
Paying the Temple Tax
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter. They asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25 “Certainly,” he answered.
Peter went into the house. Before he could speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the world collect fees or taxes? Is it from their family members or from other people?”
26 “From other people,” Peter answered.
Jesus said to him, “Then the family members are exempt. 27 However, so that we don’t create a scandal, go to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that you catch. Open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Give that coin to them for you and me.”
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