M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Achan Is Punished for Stealing from the Lord
7 The Lord had said that everything in Jericho belonged to him.[a] But Achan[b] from the Judah tribe took some of the things from Jericho for himself. And so the Lord was angry with the Israelites, because one of them had disobeyed him.[c]
2 While Israel was still camped near Jericho, Joshua sent some spies with these instructions: “Go to the town of Ai[d] and find out whatever you can about the region around the town.”
The spies left and went to Ai, which is east of Bethel and near Beth-Aven. 3 They went back to Joshua and reported, “You don't need to send the whole army to attack Ai—2,000 or 3,000 troops will be enough. Why bother the whole army for a town that small?”
4-5 Joshua sent about 3,000 soldiers to attack Ai. But the men of Ai fought back and chased the Israelite soldiers away from the town gate and down the hill to the stone quarries.[e] Thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed, and the Israelite army felt discouraged.
6 Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes and put dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. They lay facedown on the ground in front of the sacred chest until sunset. 7 Then Joshua said:
Our Lord, did you bring us across the Jordan River just so the Amorites could destroy us? This wouldn't have happened if we had agreed to stay on the other side of the Jordan. 8 I don't even know what to say to you, since Israel's army has turned and run from the enemy. 9 Everyone will think you weren't strong enough to protect your people. Now the Canaanites and everyone else who lives in the land will surround us and wipe us out.
10 The Lord answered:
Stop lying there on the ground! Get up! 11 I said everything in Jericho belonged to me and had to be destroyed. But the Israelites have kept some of the things for themselves. They stole from me and hid what they took. Then they lied about it. 12 What they stole was supposed to be destroyed, and now Israel itself must be destroyed. I cannot help you anymore until you do exactly what I have said. That's why Israel turns and runs from its enemies instead of standing up to them.
13 Tell the people of Israel, “Tomorrow you will meet with the Lord your God, so make yourselves acceptable to worship him. The Lord says that you have taken things that should have been destroyed. You won't be able to stand up to your enemies until you get rid of those things.
14 “Tomorrow morning everyone must gather near the place of worship. You will come forward tribe by tribe, and the Lord will show which tribe is guilty. Next, the clans in that tribe must come forward, and the Lord will show which clan is guilty. The families in that clan must come, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, the men in that family must come, 15 and the Lord will show who stole what should have been destroyed. That man must be put to death, his body burned, and his possessions thrown into the fire. He has done a terrible thing by breaking the sacred agreement that the Lord made with Israel.”
16 Joshua got up early the next morning and brought each tribe to the place of worship, where the Lord showed that the Judah tribe was guilty. 17 Then Joshua brought the clans of Judah to the Lord, and the Lord showed that the Zerah clan was guilty. One by one he brought the leader of each family in the Zerah clan to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Zabdi's family was guilty. 18 Finally, Joshua brought each man in Zabdi's family to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Achan was the guilty one.
19 “Achan,” Joshua said, “the Lord God of Israel has decided that you are guilty. So tell me what you did, and don't try to hide anything.”
20 “It's true,” Achan answered. “I sinned and disobeyed the Lord God of Israel. 21-22 While we were in Jericho, I saw a beautiful Babylonian robe, 200 pieces of silver, and a gold bar that weighed the same as 50 pieces of gold. I wanted them for myself, so I took them. I dug a hole under my tent and hid the silver, the gold, and the robe.”
Joshua told some people to run to Achan's tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe. 23 They brought them back and put them in front of the sacred chest, so Joshua and the rest of the Israelites could see them. 24 Then everyone took Achan and the things he had stolen to Trouble Valley.[f] They also took along his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else that belonged to him.
25 Joshua said, “Achan, you caused us a lot of trouble. Now the Lord is paying you back with the same kind of trouble.”
The people of Israel then stoned to death Achan and his family. They made a fire and burned the bodies, together with what Achan had stolen, and all his possessions. 26 They covered the remains with a big pile of rocks, which is still there. Then the Lord stopped being angry with Israel.
That's how the place came to be called Trouble Valley.
A Prayer for Revenge
1 Beside the rivers of Babylon
we thought about Jerusalem,
and we sat down and cried.
2 We hung our small harps
on the willow[a] trees.
3 Our enemies had brought us here
as their prisoners;
now they wanted us to sing
and entertain them.
They insulted us and shouted,
“Sing about Zion!”
4 Here in a foreign land,
how can we sing
about the Lord?
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
let my right hand go limp.
6 Let my tongue stick
to the roof of my mouth,
if I don't think about you
above all else.
7 Our Lord, punish the Edomites!
On the day Jerusalem fell,
they shouted,
“Completely destroy the city!
Tear down every building!”
8 (A) Babylon, you are doomed!
I pray the Lord's blessings
on anyone who punishes you
for what you did to us.
9 May the Lord bless everyone
who beats your children
against the rocks!
(By David.)
Praise the Lord with All Your Heart
1 With all my heart
I praise you, Lord.
In the presence of angels[b]
I sing your praises.
2 I worship at your holy temple
and praise you for your love
and your faithfulness.
You were true to your word
and made yourself more famous
than ever before.[c]
3 When I asked for your help,
you answered my prayer
and gave me courage.[d]
4 All kings on this earth
have heard your promises, Lord,
and they will praise you.
5 You are so famous
that they will sing about
the things you have done.
6 Though you are above us all,
you care for humble people,
and you keep a close watch
on everyone who is proud.
7 I am surrounded by trouble,
but you protect me
against my angry enemies.
With your own powerful arm
you keep me safe.
8 You, Lord, will always
treat me with kindness.
Your love never fails.
You have made us what we are.
Don't give up on us now![e]
1 My name is Jeremiah. I am a priest, and my father Hilkiah and everyone else in my family are from Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. This book contains the things that the Lord told me to say. 2 (A) The Lord first spoke to me in the thirteenth year that Josiah[a] was king of Judah, 3 (B) and he continued to speak to me during the rule of Josiah's son Jehoiakim.[b] The last time the Lord spoke to me was in the fifth month[c] of the eleventh year that Josiah's son Zedekiah[d] was king. That was also when the people of Jerusalem were taken away as prisoners.
The Lord Chooses Jeremiah
4 The Lord said:
5 “Jeremiah, I am your Creator,
and before you were born,
I chose you to speak for me
to the nations.”
6 I replied, “I'm not a good speaker, Lord, and I'm too young.”
7 “Don't say you're too young,” the Lord answered. “If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word! 8 I promise to be with you and keep you safe, so don't be afraid.”
9 The Lord reached out his hand, then he touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say, 10 and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me. You will tell them of doom and destruction, and of rising and rebuilding again.”
11 The Lord showed me something in a vision. Then he asked, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “A branch of almonds that ripen early.”
12 “That's right,” the Lord replied, “and I always rise early[e] to keep a promise.”
13 Then the Lord showed me something else and asked, “What do you see now?”
I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water in the north, and it's about to spill out toward us.”
14 The Lord said:
I will pour out destruction
all over the land.
15 Just watch while I send
for the kings of the north.
They will attack and capture
Jerusalem and other towns,
then set up their thrones
at the gates of Jerusalem.
16 I will punish my people,
because they are guilty
of turning from me
to worship idols.
17 Jeremiah, get ready!
Go and tell the people
what I command you to say.
Don't be frightened by them,
or I will make you terrified
while they watch.
18 My power will make you strong
like a fortress
or a column of iron
or a wall of bronze.
You will oppose all of Judah,
including its kings and leaders,
its priests and people.
19 They will fight back,
but they won't win.
I, the Lord, give my word—
I won't let them harm you.
The Teaching of the Ancestors
(Mark 7.1-13)
15 About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus, 2 “Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don't even wash their hands[a] before they eat.”
3 Jesus answered:
Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching? 4 (A) Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 5 But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.[b] 6 Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching. 7 And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said,
8 (B) “All of you praise me
with your words,
but you never really
think about me.
9 It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans.”
What Really Makes People Unclean
(Mark 7.14-23)
10 Jesus called the crowd together and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. 11 The food you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”
12 Then his disciples came over to him and asked, “Do you know you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14 (C) Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”
15 Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”
16 Jesus then said:
Don't any of you know by now what I am talking about? 17 Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 (D) But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.
A Woman's Faith
(Mark 7.24-30)
21 Jesus left and went to the territory near the towns of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Suddenly a Canaanite woman[c] from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David,[d] have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.” 23 Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.
24 Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”
25 The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”
26 Jesus replied, “It isn't right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”[e]
27 “Lord, this is true,” the woman said, “but even puppies get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table.”
28 Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 From there, Jesus went along Lake Galilee. Then he climbed a hill and sat down. 30 Large crowds came and brought many people who were paralyzed or blind or lame or unable to talk. They placed them, and many others, in front of Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 Everyone was amazed at what they saw and heard. People who had never spoken could now speak. The lame were healed, the paralyzed could walk, and the blind were able to see. Everyone was praising the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
(Mark 8.1-10)
32 Jesus called his disciples together and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home.”
33 His disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”
34 Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of bread[f] and a few little fish.”
35 After Jesus had told the people to sit down, 36 he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks. He then broke them and handed them to his disciples, who passed them around to the crowds.
37 Everyone ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.
38 There were 4,000 men who ate, not counting the women and children.
39 After Jesus had sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and sailed across the lake. He came to shore near the town of Magadan.[g]
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