M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Regulations for Celebrating Passover
9 (A) During the first month of Israel's second year in the Sinai Desert,[a] the Lord had told Moses 2 to say to the people, “Celebrate Passover 3 in the evening of the fourteenth day of this month[b] and do it by following all the regulations.” 4-5 Moses told the people what the Lord had said, and they celebrated Passover there in the desert in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.
6 Some people in Israel's camp had touched a dead body and had become unfit to worship the Lord, and they could not celebrate Passover. But they asked Moses and Aaron, 7 “Even though we have touched a dead body, why can't we celebrate Passover and offer sacrifices to the Lord at the same time as everyone else?”
8 Moses said, “Wait here while I go into the sacred tent and find out what the Lord says about this.”
9 The Lord then told Moses 10 to say to the community of Israel:
If any of you or your descendants touch a dead body and become unfit to worship me, or if you are away on a long journey, you may still celebrate Passover. 11 But it must be done in the second month,[c] in the evening of the fourteenth day. Eat the Passover lamb with thin bread and bitter herbs, 12 (B) and don't leave any of it until morning or break any of the animal's bones. Be sure to follow these regulations.
13 But if any of you are fit to worship me, and yet refuse to celebrate Passover when you are not away on a journey, you will no longer belong to my people. You will be punished because you did not offer sacrifices to me at the proper time.
14 Anyone, including foreigners who live among you, can celebrate Passover, if they follow all the regulations.
The Cloud over the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 40.34-38)
15-16 As soon as the sacred tent was set up,[d] a thick cloud appeared and covered it. The cloud was there each day, and during the night, a fire could be seen in it. 17-19 The Lord used this cloud to tell the Israelites when to move their camp and where to set it up again. As long as the cloud covered the tent, the Israelites did not break camp. But when the cloud moved, they followed it, and wherever it stopped, they camped and stayed there, 20-22 whether it was only one night, a few days, a month, or even a year. As long as the cloud remained over the tent, the Israelites stayed where they were. But when the cloud moved, so did the Israelites. 23 They obeyed the Lord's commands and went wherever he directed Moses.
(A special psalm by the clan of Korah and for the music leader. To the tune “Lilies.” A love song.)
For a Royal Wedding
1 My thoughts are filled
with beautiful words
for the king,
and I will use my voice
as a writer would use
pen and ink.
2 No one is as handsome as you!
Your words are always kind.
That is why God
will always bless you.
3 Mighty king, glorious ruler,
strap on your sword
4 and ride out in splendor!
Win victories for truth
and mercy and justice.
Do fearsome things
with your powerful arm.
5 Send your sharp arrows
through enemy hearts
and make all nations fall
at your feet.
6 (A) You are God, and you will rule
forever as king.[a]
Your royal power
brings about justice.
7 You love justice and hate evil.
And so, your God chose you
and made you happier
than any of your friends.
8 The sweet aroma of the spices
myrrh, aloes, and cassia
covers your royal robes.
You enjoy the music of harps
in palaces decorated
with ivory.
9 Daughters of kings are here,
and your bride stands
at your right side,
wearing a wedding gown
trimmed with pure gold.[b]
10 Bride of the king,
listen carefully to me.
Forget your own people
and your father's family. 11 The king adores you.
He is your master,
so do what he desires.
12 All of the richest people
from the city of Tyre
will try to influence you
13 with precious treasures.
Your bride, my king,
has inward beauty,[c]
and her wedding gown is woven
with threads of gold.
14 Wearing the finest garments,
she is brought to you,
followed by her young friends,
the bridesmaids.
15 Everyone is excited,
as they follow you
to the royal palace.
16 Your sons and your grandsons
will also be kings
as your ancestors were.
You will make them rulers
everywhere on earth.
17 I will make your name famous
from now on,
and you will be praised
forever and ever.
The Wedding Dance
He Speaks:
7 You are a princess,
and your feet are graceful
in their sandals.
Your thighs are works of art,
each one a jewel;
2 your navel is a wine glass
filled to overflowing.
Your body is full and slender
like a bundle of wheat
bound together by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like twins
of a deer.
4 Your neck is like ivory,
and your eyes sparkle
like the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.
Your nose is beautiful
like Mount Lebanon
above the city of Damascus.
5 Your head is held high
like Mount Carmel;
your hair is so lovely
it holds a king prisoner.[a]
6 You are very beautiful,
so desirable!
7 You are tall and slender
like a palm tree,
and your breasts are full.
8 I will climb that tree
and cling to its branches.
I will discover that your breasts
are clusters of grapes,
and that your breath
is the aroma of apples.
9 Kissing you is more delicious
than drinking the finest wine.
How wonderful and tasty![b]
She Speaks:
10 My darling, I am yours,
and you desire me.
11 Let's stroll through the fields
and sleep in the villages.
12 At dawn let's slip out and see
if grapevines and fruit trees
are covered with blossoms.
When we are there,
I will give you my love.
13 Perfume from the magic flower[c]
fills the air, my darling.
Right at our doorstep
I have stored up for you
all kinds of tasty fruits.
The Priestly Family of Melchizedek
7 (A) Melchizedek was both king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He was the one who went out and gave Abraham his blessing, when Abraham returned from killing the kings. 2 Then Abraham gave him a tenth of everything he had.
The meaning of the name Melchizedek is “King of Justice.” But since Salem means “peace,” he is also “King of Peace.” 3 We are not told he had a father or mother or ancestors or beginning or end. He is like the Son of God and will be a priest forever.[a]
4 Notice how great Melchizedek was! Our famous ancestor Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had taken from his enemies. 5 (B) The Law teaches that even Abraham's descendants must give a tenth of what they possess. And they are to give this to their own relatives, who are the descendants of Levi and are priests. 6 Although Melchizedek wasn't a descendant of Levi, Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had. Then Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who had been given God's promise. 7 Everyone agrees a person who gives a blessing is greater than the one who receives the blessing.
8 Priests are given a tenth of what people earn. But all priests die, except Melchizedek, and the Scriptures teach that he is alive. 9 Levi's descendants are now the ones who receive a tenth from people. We could even say that when Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth, Levi also gave him a tenth. 10 This is because Levi was born later into the family of Abraham, who gave a tenth to Melchizedek.
11 Even though the Law of Moses says the priests must be descendants of Levi, those priests cannot make anyone perfect. So there needs to be a priest like Melchizedek, rather than one from the priestly family of Aaron.[b] 12 And when the rules for selecting a priest are changed, the Law must also be changed.
13 The person we are talking about is our Lord, who came from a tribe that had never had anyone to serve as a priest at the altar. 14 Everyone knows he came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never said priests would come from that tribe.
15 All of this becomes clearer, when someone who is like Melchizedek is appointed to be a priest. 16 That person wasn't appointed because of his ancestors, but because his life can never end. 17 (C) The Scriptures say about him,
“You are a priest forever,
just like Melchizedek.”
18 In this way a weak and useless command was put aside, 19 because the Law cannot make anything perfect. At the same time, we are given a much better hope, and it can bring us close to God.
20-21 (D) God himself made a promise when this priest was appointed. But he did not make a promise like this when the other priests were appointed. The promise he made is,
“I, the Lord, promise that you
will be a priest forever!
And I will never
change my mind!”
22 This means that Jesus guarantees us a better agreement with God. 23 There have been a lot of other priests, and all of them have died. 24 But Jesus will never die, and so he will be a priest forever! 25 He is forever able to save[c] the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.
26 Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, 27 (E) and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn't need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. 28 The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God's promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.
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