M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob’s Second and Third Encounters with God
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father and has gained all his wealth from him.” 2 He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before.
3 Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
4 So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, “I have seen that your father isn’t as friendly to me as he was before, but the Elohim of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father. 7 Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages ten times. But Elohim hasn’t let him harm me. 8 Whenever he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, ‘The striped ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to striped young. 9 So Elohim has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.
10 “During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted. 11 In the dream the Messenger of Elohim called to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I answered, ‘Yes, here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the El who appeared to you at Bethel,[a] where you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.’”
14 Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there anything left in our father’s household for us to inherit? 15 Doesn’t he think of us as foreigners? Not only did he sell us, but he has used up the money that was paid for us. 16 Certainly, all the wealth that Elohim took away from our father belongs to us and our children. Now do whatever Elohim has told you.”
Laban and Jacob Make Peace
17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels. 18 He drove all his livestock ahead of him and took all the possessions that he had accumulated. He took his own livestock that he had accumulated in Paddan Aram and went back to his father Isaac in Canaan.
19 When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s idols. 20 Jacob also tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. 21 So he left in a hurry with all that belonged to him. He crossed the Euphrates River and went toward the mountains of Gilead.
22 Two days later Laban was told that Jacob had left in a hurry. 23 He and his relatives pursued Jacob for seven days. Laban caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead.
24 Elohim came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.”
25 When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, Jacob had put up his tents in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives put up their tents in the mountains of Gilead. 26 Then Laban asked Jacob, “What have you done by tricking me? You’ve carried off my daughters like prisoners of war. 27 Why did you leave secretly and trick me? You didn’t even tell me you were leaving. I would have sent you on your way rejoicing, with songs accompanied by tambourines and lyres. 28 You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You’ve done a foolish thing. 29 I have the power to harm you. Last night the Elohim of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.’ 30 Now you have left for your father’s home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my gods?”
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 32 If you find your gods, the one who has them will not be allowed to live. In the presence of our relatives, search as much as you want through what I have, and take what is yours.” (Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the gods.)
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slaves. But he found nothing. He came out of Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s tent. 34 Rachel had taken the idols and had put them in her camel’s saddle-bag and was sitting on them. Laban rummaged through the whole tent but found nothing.
35 Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, Father, but I can’t get up to greet you; I’m having my period.” So even though Laban had made a thorough search, he didn’t find the idols.
36 Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. “What is my crime?” Jacob demanded of Laban. “What is my offense that you have come chasing after me? 37 Now that you’ve rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right.
38 “I’ve been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks. 39 I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That’s what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night. 40 The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep. 41 I’ve been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the Elohim of my father, the Elohim of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac,[b] had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. Elohim has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right.”
43 Then Laban answered Jacob, “These are my daughters, my grandchildren, and my flocks. Everything you see is mine! Yet, what can I do today for my daughters or for their children? 44 Now, let’s make an agreement and let it stand as a witness between you and me.”
45 Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. 46 Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones. 47 In his language Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha [Witness Pile], but Jacob called it Galeed.[c]
48 Laban said, “This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today.” This is why it was named Galeed 49 and also Mizpah [Watchtower], because he said, “May Yahweh watch between you and me when we’re unable to see each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or marry other women behind my back, remember that Elohim stands as a witness between you and me.”
51 Laban said to Jacob, “Here is the pile of stones, and here is the marker that I have set up between you and me. 52 This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me. 53 May the Elohim of Abraham and Nahor—the Elohim of their father—judge between us.”
So Jacob swore this oath by the Fear of his father Isaac 54 and offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain.[d]
55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.
Jesus Forgives Sins(A)
2 Several days later Yeshua came back to Capernaum. The report went out that he was home. 2 Many people had gathered. There was no room left, even in front of the door. Yeshua was speaking God’s word to them.
3 Four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. 4 Since they could not bring him to Yeshua because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the place where Yeshua was. Then they lowered the cot on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5 When Yeshua saw their faith, he said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some experts in Moses’ Teachings were sitting there. They thought, 7 “Why does he talk this way? He’s dishonoring God. Who besides God can forgive sins?”
8 At once, Yeshua knew inwardly what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why do you have these thoughts? 9 Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your cot, and walk’? 10 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I’m telling you to get up, pick up your cot, and go home!”
12 The man got up, immediately picked up his cot, and walked away while everyone watched. Everyone was amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple(B)
13 Yeshua went to the seashore again. Large crowds came to him, and he taught them.
14 When Yeshua was leaving, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting in a tax office. Yeshua said to him, “Follow me!” So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later Yeshua was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners who were followers of Yeshua were eating with him and his disciples. 16 When the experts in Moses’ Teachings who were Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Yeshua heard that, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.”
Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting(C)
18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Yeshua and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t?”
19 Yeshua replied, “Can wedding guests fast while the groom is still with them? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
21 “No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. Otherwise, the new patch will shrink and rip away some of the old cloth, and the tear will become worse. 22 People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.”
Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Worship(D)
23 Once on a day of worship Yeshua was going through the grainfields. As the disciples walked along, they began to pick the heads of grain.
24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are your disciples doing something that is not permitted on the day of worship?”
25 Yeshua asked them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his men were in need and were hungry? 26 Haven’t you ever read how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was chief priest and ate the bread of the presence? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. Haven’t you ever read how he also gave some of it to his men?”
27 Then he added, “The day of worship was made for people, not people for the day of worship. 28 For this reason the Son of Man has authority over the day of worship.”
Esther Brings About Haman’s Downfall
7 So the king and Haman came to have dinner with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day, while they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. And what would you like? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, Your Majesty, spare my life. That is my request. And spare the life of my people. That is what I ask for. 4 You see, we—my people and I—have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty.”
5 Then King Xerxes interrupted Queen Esther and said, “Who is this person? Where is the person who has dared to do this?”
6 Esther answered, “Our vicious enemy is this wicked man Haman!” Then Haman became panic-stricken in the presence of the king and queen.
7 The king was furious as he got up from dinner and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, because he saw that the king had a terrible end in mind for him. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the palace dining room, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king thought, “Is he even going to rape the queen while I’m in the palace?” Then the king passed sentence on him, and servants covered Haman’s face.
9 Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “What a coincidence! The 75-foot pole Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke up for the well-being of the king, is still standing at Haman’s house.”
The king responded, “Hang him on it!” 10 So servants hung Haman’s dead body on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger.
God Will Judge Everyone
2 No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. 2 We know that God’s judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things. 3 When you judge people for doing these things but then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Do you have contempt for God, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you? Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?
5 Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that God will have against you on that day when God vents his anger. At that time God will reveal that his decisions are fair. 6 He will pay all people back for what they have done. 7 He will give everlasting life to those who search for glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in doing what is good. But he will bring 8 anger and fury on those who, in selfish pride, refuse to believe the truth and who follow what is wrong. 9 There will be suffering and distress for every person who does evil, for Jews first and Greeks as well. 10 But there will be glory, honor, and peace for every person who does what is good, for Jews first and Greeks as well. 11 God does not play favorites.
12 Here’s the reason: Whoever sins without having the laws in Moses’ Teachings will still be condemned to destruction. And whoever has these laws from God and sins will still be judged by them. 13 People who merely listen to the laws in Moses’ Teachings don’t have God’s approval. Rather, people who do what those laws demand will have God’s approval.
God Will Judge People Who Are Not Jewish
14 For example, whenever non-Jews who don’t have the laws in Moses’ Teachings do by nature the things that those laws contain, they are a law to themselves even though they don’t have any of those laws. 15 They show that some requirements found in Moses’ Teachings are written in their hearts. Their consciences speak to them. Their thoughts accuse them on one occasion and defend them on another. 16 This happens as they face the day when God, through Christ Yeshua, will judge people’s secret thoughts. He will use the Good News that I am spreading to make that judgment.
God Will Judge Jewish People
17 You call yourself a Jew, rely on the laws in Moses’ Teachings, brag about your God, 18 know what he wants, and distinguish right from wrong because you have been taught Moses’ Teachings. 19 You are confident that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in the dark, 20 an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of children because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in Moses’ Teachings. 21 As you teach others, are you failing to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, are you stealing? 22 As you tell others not to commit adultery, are you committing adultery? As you treat idols with disgust, are you robbing temples? 23 As you brag about the laws in Moses’ Teachings, are you dishonoring God by ignoring those laws? 24 As Scripture says, “God’s name is cursed among the nations because of you.”
25 For example, circumcision is valuable if you follow the laws in Moses’ Teachings. If you don’t follow those laws, your circumcision amounts to uncircumcision. 26 So if a man does what those laws demand, won’t he be considered circumcised even if he is uncircumcised? 27 The uncircumcised man who carries out what those laws say will condemn you for not following them. He will condemn you in spite of the fact that you are circumcised and have those laws in writing. 28 A person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision a matter of how the body looks. 29 Rather, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is something that happens in a person’s heart. Circumcision is spiritual, not just a written rule. That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.