M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David Defeats the Ammonites and Arameans^(A)

10 After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. ² David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a message by way of his servants to comfort him concerning his father, and the servants of David went to the land of the Ammonites.

³ But the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, their lord, “Has David honored your father in your eyes by sending comforters to you? Was it not in an effort to search out the city, to scout it in order to overthrow it, that he sent his servants to you?” ⁴ So Hanun seized the servants of David, shaved half of the beard of each, cut their robes in half so that they were exposed, and sent them away.

⁵ When they reported what had happened to David, he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were severely ashamed. The king instructed them, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have regrown, then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth Rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and from the king of Maakah, one thousand men, and from Tob, twelve thousand men.

⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the gate. But the Arameans of Zobah, Rehob, Tob, and Maakah were by themselves in the open field.

⁹ When Joab saw that the battlefronts were both before and behind him, he selected some from the best men in Israel and lined them up opposite Aram. ¹⁰ The remainder of the people he placed under the charge of Abishai his brother, and lined them up opposite the Ammonites. ¹¹ Then he said, “If Aram starts to prevail over me, you shall help me, but if the Ammonites begin to prevail over you, then I will come to help you. ¹² Be strong and let us fight with resolve for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord do what seems good to Him.”

¹³ Joab advanced the people that were with him to fight against Aram, and they retreated from before him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites realized that Aram had fled, they retreated from before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab turned away from fighting against the Ammonites, and he came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When Aram saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they assembled together. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent for and summoned the Arameans who were beyond the River,^[a] and they came to Helam. Shobak the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them.

¹⁷ When David was informed of this, he assembled all of Israel. They crossed over the Jordan and came to Helam. Aram was drawn up in formation opposite David, and they fought against him. ¹⁸ Aram retreated before Israel. David killed seven hundred charioteers, forty thousand horsemen from Aram, and wounded Shobak the commander of the army so that he died there. ¹⁹ When all of the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they were being defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.

From then on, Aram was fearful of further helping the Ammonites.

Ministers of the New Covenant

3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, letters of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? ² You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men. ³ For you are prominently declared to be the letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on human tablets of the heart.

⁴ We have such trust through Christ toward God, ⁵ not that we are sufficient in ourselves to take credit for anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ If the ministry that brought death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, the glory which was to fade away, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, the ministry of righteousness much more exceeds it in glory. ¹⁰ Even that which was made glorious had no glory in comparison to the glory that excels. ¹¹ For if that which fades was glorious, that which remains is much more glorious.

¹² Seeing then that we have such hope, we speak with great boldness, ¹³ not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴ Instead, their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old covenant, the veil which was done away with in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is in their hearts. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸ But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.

Two Eagles and a Vine

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel, ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers which had various colors, came to Lebanon and took away the highest branch of the cedar. ⁴ He cropped off the top of its young twigs and carried it into a land of merchants. He set it in a city of dealers.

⁵ He took also some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fruitful field. He placed it by great waters and set it as a willow tree. ⁶ It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under it. So it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

⁷ There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him, that he might water it by the bed where it was planted. ⁸ It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a splendid vine.

⁹ Say: Thus says the Lord God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its spring leaves wither? It will not take a great power or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰ Though it has been planted, will it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind hits it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹² Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its officials, and led them to him in Babylon. ¹³ He took one of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He has also taken away the mighty of the land, ¹⁴ that the kingdom might be debased, that it might not lift itself up, but by the keeping of his covenant it might stand. ¹⁵ But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Can he indeed break the covenant and be delivered?

¹⁶ As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the country of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in the midst of Babylon he shall die. ¹⁷ Nor shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war by casting up mounts and building forts to cut off many persons. ¹⁸ Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when he had given his allegiance and has done all these things, he shall not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath that he has despised and My covenant that he has broken, I will inflict upon his own head. ²⁰ I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against Me. ²¹ All the choice men in all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward all winds. And you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

²² Thus says the Lord God: I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar and set it aside. I will crop off from the top of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain of the height of Israel I will plant it. And it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a splendid cedar. And under it all fowl of every wing shall nest. In the shadow of its branches they shall nest. ²⁴ All the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish.

I, the Lord, have spoken and will do it.

Psalm 60^(A)

For the Music Director. A Miktam of David to teach. To the melody of “Lily of the Testimony,” when he struggled with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah and when Joab returned from striking down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Psalm 61

For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.