M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 Israel moved from there to the hills of Moab, where they camped across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho.
King Balak of Moab Hires Balaam To Curse Israel
2-3 When King Balak[a] of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. 4 They said to the Midianite leaders, “That huge mob of Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field.”
So King Balak 5 (A) sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the Euphrates River. It said:
I need your help. A large group of people has come here from Egypt and settled near my territory. 6 They are too powerful for us to defeat, so would you come and place a curse on them? Maybe then we can run them off. I know that anyone you bless will be successful, but anyone you curse will fail.
7 The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak's message.
8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and tomorrow I will tell you the Lord's answer.” So the officials stayed at his house.
9 During the night, God asked Balaam, “Who are these people at your house?”
10 “They are messengers from King Balak of Moab,” Balaam answered. “He sent them 11 to ask me to go to Moab and put a curse on the people who have come there from Egypt. They have settled everywhere around him, and he wants to run them off.”
12 But God replied, “Don't go with Balak's messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don't curse them.”
13 The next morning, Balaam said to Balak's officials, “Go on back home. The Lord says I cannot go with you.”
14 The officials left and told Balak that Balaam refused to come.
15 Then Balak sent a larger group of officials, who were even more important than the first ones. 16 They went to Balaam and told him that Balak had said, “Balaam, if you come to Moab, 17 I'll pay you very well and do whatever you ask. Just come and place a curse on these people.”
18 Balaam answered, “Even if Balak offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I wouldn't do anything to disobey the Lord my God. 19 You are welcome to spend the night here, just as the others did. I will find out if the Lord has something else to say about this.”
20 That night, God said, “Balaam, I'll let you go to Moab with Balak's messengers, but do only what I say.”
21 So Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey, then left with the Moabite officials.
Balaam and His Donkey Meet an Angel
22 Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the Lord's angels stood in the road to stop him. 23 When Balaam's donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.
24 Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam's foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again.
26 The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. 27 So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and whacked the donkey.
28 When that happened, the Lord told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done that made you beat me three times?”
29 “You made me look stupid!” Balaam answered. “If I had a sword, I'd kill you here and now!”
30 “But you're my owner,” answered the donkey, “and you've ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Just then, the Lord let Balaam see the angel standing in the road, holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down.
32 The angel said, “You had no right to treat your donkey like that! I was the one who blocked your way, because I don't think you should go to Moab.[b] 33 If your donkey had not seen me and stopped those three times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live.”
34 Balaam replied, “I was wrong. I didn't know you were trying to stop me. If you don't think I should go, I'll return home at once.”
35 “It's all right for you to go,” the Lord's angel answered. “But you must say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with Balak's officials.
King Balak Meets Balaam
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at the town of Ir on the Arnon River, which is the northern border of Moab. 37 Balak asked, “Why didn't you come when I invited you the first time? Did you think I wasn't going to pay you?”
38 “I'm here now,” Balaam answered. “But I will say only what God tells me to say.”
39 They left and went to the town of Kiriath-Huzoth, 40 where Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.
41 The next morning, Balak took Balaam to the town of Bamoth-Baal. From there, Balaam could see some of the Israelites.[c]
(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)
God Is Powerful and Kind
1 Only God can save me,
and I calmly wait for[a] him.
2 God alone is the mighty rock[b]
that keeps me safe
and the fortress
where I am secure.
3 I feel like a shaky fence
or a sagging wall.
How long will all of you
attack and assault me?
4 You want to bring me down
from my place of honor.
You love to tell lies,
and when your words are kind,
hatred hides in your heart.
5 Only God gives inward peace,
and I depend on him.
6 God alone is the mighty rock
that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
where I feel secure.
7 God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
where I find safety.
8 Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.
9 We humans are only a breath;
none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
than a puff of air.
10 Don't trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
or rely on great wealth.
11 I heard God say two things:
“I am powerful,
12 (A) and I am very kind.”
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.
(A psalm by David when he was in the desert of Judah.)
God's Love Means More than Life
1 (B) You are my God. I worship you.
In my heart, I long for you,
as I would long for a stream
in a scorching desert.
2 I have seen your power
and your glory
in the place of worship.
3 Your love means more
than life to me,
and I praise you.
4 As long as I live,
I will pray to you.
5 I will sing joyful praises
and be filled with excitement
like a guest at a banquet.
6 I think about you, God,
before I go to sleep,
and my thoughts turn to you
during the night.
7 You have helped me,
and I sing happy songs
in the shadow of your wings.
8 I stay close to you,
and your powerful arm
supports me.
9 All who want to kill me
will end up in the ground.
10 Swords will run them through,
and wild dogs will eat them.
11 Because of you, our God,
the king will celebrate
with your faithful followers,
but liars will be silent.
Peace at Last
11 (A) Like a branch that sprouts
from a stump,
someone from David's family[a]
will someday be king.
2 The Spirit of the Lord
will be with him
to give him understanding,
wisdom, and insight.
He will be powerful,
and he will know
and honor the Lord.
3 His greatest joy will be
to obey the Lord.
This king won't judge
by appearances
or listen to rumors.
4 The poor and the needy
will be treated with fairness
and with justice.
His word will be law
everywhere in the land,
and criminals
will be put to death.
5 (B) Honesty and fairness
will be his royal robes.
6 (C) Leopards will lie down
with young goats,
and wolves will rest
with lambs.
Calves and lions
will eat together
and be cared for
by little children.
7 Cows and bears will share
the same pasture;
their young will rest
side by side.
Lions and oxen
will both eat straw.
8 Little children will play
near snake holes.
They will stick their hands
into dens of poisonous snakes
and never be hurt.
9 (D) Nothing harmful will take place
on the Lord's holy mountain.
Just as water fills the sea,
the land will be filled
with people who know
and honor the Lord.
God's People Will Come Back Home
10 (E) The time is coming when one of David's descendants[b] will be the signal for the people of all nations to come together. They will follow his advice, and his own nation will become famous.
11 When that day comes, the Lord will again reach out his mighty arm and bring home his people who have survived in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia,[c] Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the land along the coast.[d] 12 He will give a signal to the nations, and he will bring together the refugees from Judah and Israel, who have been scattered all over the earth. 13 Israel will stop being jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be the enemy of Israel. 14 Instead, they will get together and attack the Philistines in the west. Then they will defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites in the east. They will rule those people and take from them whatever they want.
15 (F) The Lord will dry up the arm of the Red Sea near Egypt,[e] and he will send a scorching wind to divide the Euphrates River into seven streams that anyone can step across. 16 Then for his people who survive, there will be a good road from Assyria, just as there was a good road for their ancestors when they left Egypt.
A Song of Praise
12 At that time you will say,
“I thank you, Lord!
You were angry with me,
but you stopped being angry
and gave me comfort.
2 (G) I trust you to save me,
Lord God,
and I won't be afraid.
My power and my strength[f]
come from you,
and you have saved me.”
3 With great joy, you people
will get water
from the well of victory.
4 At that time you will say,
“Our Lord, we are thankful,
and we worship only you.
We will tell the nations
how glorious you are
and what you have done.
5 Because of your wonderful deeds
we will sing your praises
everywhere on earth.”
6 Sing, people of Zion!
Celebrate the greatness
of the holy Lord of Israel.
God is here to help you.
Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. 2 (A) Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 (B) Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. 4 (C) You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.
5 While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered. 6 (D) You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.
Be Patient and Kind
7 My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains to make their valuable crops grow. 8 Be patient like those farmers and don't give up. The Lord will soon be here! 9 Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.
10 My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. 11 (E) In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.
12 (F) My friends, above all else, don't take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.
13 If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. 14 (G) If you are sick, ask the church leaders[a] to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil[b] on you in the name of the Lord. 15 If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.
16 (H) If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. 17 (I) Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. 18 (J) But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
19 My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. 20 (K) If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.
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