M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Gibeonites deceive Joshua
9 All the kings who lived west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened at Ai. They were the kings who ruled in the hill country, in the low hills in the west, and all the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, as far as Lebanon. They were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 2 They joined together to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
3 Some Hivite people who lived in Gibeon heard how Joshua had won against Jericho and Ai. 4 So they had a clever idea. Some men took old bags of food and broken bags of wine that had holes in them. They put these things on their donkeys. 5 They wore old shoes on their feet, and they dressed themselves in old clothes. They took some bread that was old and dry. 6 They arrived at the tents of the Israelites in Gilgal. They said to Joshua and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a land that is very far away. Please let us make an agreement that we will not fight each other.’
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, ‘Perhaps you live near to us. So we could not make a promise not to fight against you.’
8 The Hivites said to Joshua, ‘If you agree, we will become your servants.’
Joshua asked them, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’
9 They answered, ‘We, your servants, have come from a country that is very far away. We heard about the Lord, who is your God. We have heard about all the things that he did in Egypt. 10 We also heard what he did to the two kings of the Amorites. They ruled cities east of the Jordan: Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 Our leaders and all our people told us to come to meet you. Our leaders said, “Take food and drink for your journey. Go to meet them, and say to them, ‘We want to be your servants. Please promise not to fight against us.’ ” 12 We have come a very long way. This bread was warm when we put it in our bags on the day that we left home. But see how hard and dry it has become. 13 These bags of wine were new, but see how old and spoiled they are now. Our clothes and our shoes have become old as we made our long journey.’
14 The Israelite men tasted some of the Gibeonites' food, but they did not ask the Lord what they should do. 15 So Joshua agreed that they would not kill the people of Gibeon. The Israelite leaders also said that they would obey this agreement.
16 Three days after they made this agreement, the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites lived near to them. 17 So the Israelites left Gilgal to find the cities where the Hivites lived. After three days they arrived at their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-Jearim. 18 The Israelites did not attack them, because of the promise that their leaders had made. They had made a strong promise in the name of the Lord God of Israel that they would not kill the Gibeonites.
The Israelite people were angry with their leaders, because of the agreement. 19 But all the leaders said to them, ‘We have made a strong promise to the Lord, Israel's God. So now we cannot hurt the Gibeonites. 20 But this is what we will do. We will let them live, because we made a strong promise to do that. Then God will not punish us. 21 We will let them live, but they will become our servants. They will cut wood and they will fetch water for all the Israelite people.’ That is what the Israelite leaders decided to do.
22 Joshua called the Gibeonites to come to him. He asked them, ‘Why did you deceive us like that? You said that you lived far away from us. But you really live near to us. 23 Because you told lies to us, you will always have to be our servants. You will cut wood and you will fetch water to serve our God.’
24 The Gibeonites said to Joshua, ‘We heard about the command that the Lord your God had given to his servant, Moses. We know that he told Moses to take the whole of our land for you to live in. We know that you must kill all the people who live there now. Because of that, we were very afraid that you would kill us. That is why we did what we did. 25 Now we are under your power. You must decide what to do with us. Do whatever you think is right and good.’
26 So Joshua agreed. He did not let the Israelites kill the Gibeonites. 27 Instead, they made the Gibeonites cut wood and fetch water, as servants for the Israelite people. They would also do this for the priests who served the Lord at his altar. They are still doing this, at the place that the Lord has chosen for his altar.
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
Please help me, Lord
140 Lord, please save me from evil people.
Keep me safe from people who like to attack others.
2 They think of evil ideas to hurt people.
They only want to cause trouble!
3 Their words hurt people,
like the tongue of a snake.
They bite with poison,
like a dangerous snake.
Selah
4 Lord, keep me safe from the power of wicked people.
Keep me safe from violent people who want to attack me.
5 Proud people have prepared a trap to catch me.
They have put their nets across my path.[a]
Selah.
6 Lord, I say to you, ‘You are my God.’
Lord, hear my prayer for help!
7 Lord, my Lord, you are my strong helper.
You keep me safe when I fight in a battle.
8 Lord, do not let wicked people do what they want to do.
Stop them when they prepare to attack.
Selah.
9 Give trouble to the people who come round me to attack!
Let the bad things that they say against me
happen to them instead![b]
10 Drop burning coals on them like rain!
Throw those people into the fire!
Let them fall into deep holes that they cannot get out of!
11 People who tell cruel lies should not live in our land.
Trouble will happen to people who like to fight.
Bad trouble will knock them down!
12 I know that the Lord helps poor people.
He makes sure that they receive justice.
13 Your righteous people will always praise you.
Good, honest people will live near to you.
David wrote this song.
An evening prayer[c]
141 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
Come to me quickly!
Please listen to what I am saying.
2 I offer my prayer to you like incense.
Please accept it when I raise my hands to you.
Accept it like a gift that I offer to you in the evening.
3 Lord, keep my mouth safe,
so that I do not speak bad things.
4 Do not let my mind want evil things.
Do not let me join with wicked people,
to do the same bad things that they do.
I do not even want to eat their good food.
5 If a good man hits me because he loves me,
he is being kind to me.
If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing,
that it is like special oil on my head.[d]
I would not refuse it.
I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
6 They will throw their rulers down
from high rocks.
Then they will agree that my words were true.
7 It will be like a farmer who ploughs his field,
and breaks the earth into pieces.
Just like that, they will break the bones of wicked people.
They will throw their bones on the ground
at the entrance to Sheol.
8 But I look to you for help, Almighty Lord.
I need you to keep me safe.
Do not let wicked people kill me.
9 They have prepared traps to catch me.
Do not let me fall into the traps of those evil people.
10 May those bad people fall into their own traps!
Then I will be free from their power.
The Israelites are not faithful to God
3 The Lord says this:
‘If a man sends his wife away,
she may leave him and marry another man.
Then her first husband may not take her as his wife again.
That would be a sin against the land where you live.[a]
But you have left me to live with other gods.
You have lived like a prostitute,
but you still think that you can return to me.
2 Look up at the tops of the hills.
You have loved other gods on all of them!
You sat by the side of the road,
and you waited for a lover to come.
Like a robber, you waited to catch men
so that you could sleep with them.
You have not been faithful to me,
but you have looked for other gods, like a prostitute.
The wicked things that you have done
have made the land unclean.
3 That is why I have not sent any rain on your land.
Even the spring rains have not come.
But you still live like a proud prostitute.
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
4 You still call me your Father.
You say, “You have always been my friend.
You have loved me all my life.
5 Surely you will not always be angry with me!
You cannot continue to be angry for ever.”
Those are the things that you say.
But you continue to do as many evil things as you can.’
6 The Lord spoke to me while Josiah was king of Judah. He said,
‘Look at what the Israelites have done. They have not been faithful to me. They have worshipped other gods under every big tree and on every high hill. Israel has been like a wife who is not faithful to her husband. 7 I thought that one day she would come back to me. But she did not return. Israel's sister, Judah, saw what Israel did.[b] 8 Israel was not faithful to me and she served other gods. So I sent her away, like a husband may send his wife away if she is not faithful to him. Judah saw what happened to Israel, but she was not afraid. Like a prostitute, she also went to find other gods that she could serve. 9 She was not ashamed of what she was doing. She worshipped idols made of wood and stone. She made the land unclean because she was not faithful to me. 10 Still Judah has not turned back to me. She wants me to think that she has, but she has not. Like her sister, Israel, she has not been faithful.’ That is what the Lord says.
11 The Lord said to me, ‘It is true that Israel's people have not been faithful to me. But Judah's people are even more guilty than them.[c]
12 Go now. Shout this message to my people in the north:
“You people of Israel have not been faithful to me.
But now return to me,” says the Lord.
“I will not always turn away from you.
I am kind and I forgive people.
I will not be angry with you for ever,” says the Lord.
13 “But you must agree that you are guilty of sin.
You have turned against me, the Lord your God.
You have loved to serve many foreign gods.
You have worshipped them under every big tree.
You have not obeyed my commands.” ’
That is what the Lord says.
14 The Lord says, ‘Return to me, you people who have turned away. Remember that you belong to me. If you turn back to me, I will choose one of you from each town and two from each family. I will bring you safely back to Zion. 15 I will give you leaders who will serve me faithfully. They will take care of you like shepherds. They will be wise and they will lead you well. 16 Then the number of your people who live in your land will increase. You will no longer need to talk about the Lord's Covenant Box. You will not think that it is important any more. You will forget all about it. You will not want to make another one. 17 Instead, you will call the city of Jerusalem “The Lord's throne”. At that time, people from all nations will come to Jerusalem. They will meet there to give honour to the Lord's name. They will no longer do the wicked things that they enjoy. 18 At that time, the nations of Judah and Israel will join together as one kingdom. They will leave their exile in a country in the north. They will come back to this land that I gave to your ancestors to be their home for ever.
19 I thought this:
“I want you people of Israel to be my children.
That would make me very happy.
I want to give you a good land as your home.
It is a more beautiful land than any other nation enjoys.”
I thought that you would call me “Father”.
I thought that you would always be faithful to me.
20 But you, Israel, have gone away from me,
like a woman who leaves her husband.
You have not been faithful to me.’
That is what the Lord says.
21 ‘I can hear a noise on the tops of the hills.
Israel's people are weeping.
They are calling out for help.
Yes, they have turned to bad ways.
They have forgotten to serve the Lord their God.
22 Return to me, all of you have turned away.
I will help you to be faithful to me.
Now you should say,
“Yes, we will return to you,
because you are the Lord our God.
23 The false gods that we worship on the hills have deceived us.
Our wild parties on the mountains have not helped us.
Only the Lord our God can really save Israel.
24 Since we were a young nation,
we have seen all our good things disappear.
The useless gods that we worshipped have taken them.
They took away the things that our ancestors worked to get.
They took away our sheep and our cows.
They even took away our sons and our daughters.
25 We are ashamed to agree that this is true.
We must accept the shame that we deserve.
We and our ancestors have done bad things
against the Lord our God.
Since long ago, we have not obeyed him,
and even today, we still do not listen to him.” ’
Three disciples see how great Jesus is
17 Six days after that, Jesus asked Peter and the two brothers, James and John, to go with him. Jesus led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 Peter, James and John saw Jesus change in front of them. He became different to look at. His face was bright like the sun. His clothes became very white and they shone. 3 Then Moses and Elijah appeared in front of the three disciples.[a][b] They were talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, please let me build three huts. One hut will be for you. One hut will be for Moses and one hut will be for Elijah.’[c]
5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared. It covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy. Listen to him.’
6 The disciples heard the voice. They threw themselves down to the ground. They were very frightened. 7 But Jesus came to them and he touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said. ‘Do not be afraid.’ 8 When they looked up, they could not see anyone else. Only Jesus was there with them.
9 While they were walking down the mountain, Jesus said to the three disciples, ‘You must not tell anyone now about the things that you have just seen. One day, the Son of Man will die and then he will become alive again. Then you can tell people about these things.’
10 Then the three disciples said to Jesus, ‘The teachers of God's Law say that God's prophet Elijah must return first, before the Messiah comes. Why do they say this?’
11 Jesus replied, ‘Yes, Elijah does come first. He gets everything ready. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come. People did not recognize him. They did to him all the things that they wanted to do. In the same way, they will also give me, the Son of Man, great pain.’ 13 Then the disciples understood that he was really talking about John the Baptist.
Jesus makes a boy well
14 Then Jesus, and the three disciples reached the place where the crowd was. A man came to Jesus. He went down on his knees in front of him. 15 He said to Jesus, ‘Please sir, be kind to my son. He cannot control his body. Sometimes he does not know what he is doing. Often he falls into the fire, or he falls into water. 16 I brought the boy to your disciples, but they could not make him well.’
17 Jesus replied, ‘You people today still do not believe in God. You have turned away from him. I have been with you for a long time and still you do not believe. It is difficult for me to be patient with you.’ Then Jesus said to the man, ‘Bring the boy here to me.’ 18 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Stop!’ Then the bad spirit left the boy and immediately he became well again.
19 When the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked him, ‘Why could we not make the bad spirit leave the boy?’
20 Jesus replied, ‘You could not do it because you do not trust God very much. I tell you this: You may believe in God only a little bit, like a very small seed. Even then, you could say to this mountain, “Go away from this place and move to that other place.” Then it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you to do.’[d] [21 Jesus then said, ‘This kind of spirit will not leave a person unless you pray and you do not eat for a time.’][e]
22 When Jesus and his disciples all met together in Galilee, he said, ‘Soon they will deliver the Son of Man to powerful people. 23 They will kill him. But three days after that, he will become alive again.’ When the disciples heard that, they were very sad.
24 After that, Jesus and his disciples arrived at Capernaum. Some men who received taxes for the temple went to talk to Peter. They asked him, ‘Does your teacher pay the tax for the temple?’[f]
25 Peter answered them, ‘Yes, my teacher does pay the tax.’
Then Peter returned to the house where Jesus was staying. Before Peter could say anything, Jesus spoke to him first. He said, ‘Here is a question for you to answer, Simon. Who are the people who must pay taxes and money to the kings in this world? Do the rulers take taxes from their own people? Or do they take taxes from other people?’
26 ‘They take the taxes from other people,’ Peter replied.
Jesus said to him, ‘This means that people from the ruler's own country do not need to pay anything.[g] 27 But we do not want to make these men who take the tax angry. So go to the lake and throw out a line to catch fish. Pull up the first fish that you catch on your line. Open the mouth of the fish and you will find a coin inside it. Take the coin and give it to those who receive taxes for the temple. This will be enough money for both my tax and yours.’
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