M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Esau Comes to Meet Jacob

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he gave the place the name Mahanaim.

³ Jacob sent men to carry news before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He told them, “Say this to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, “I have been living with Laban, and stayed there until now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys and flocks and men and women servants. And I have sent to tell my lord, hoping to find favor in your eyes.’” ⁶ The men that carried the news returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ Then Jacob was afraid and troubled. And he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and cattle and camels, into two groups. ⁸ For he said, “If Esau comes to the one group and destroys it, then the other group will get away.” ⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, Who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to those of your family, and I will bring good to you.’ ¹⁰ I have not earned any of the loving-kindness and faith which You have shown to your servant. For I had crossed this Jordan with only my walking stick. And now I have become two large groups. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the power of Esau. For I am afraid of him. I am afraid he will come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. ¹² But You said, ‘I will bring good to you. I will make your children like the sand of the sea. There will be too many to number.’”

¹³ So Jacob stayed there that night. Then he chose a gift from what he had for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ Two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels and their young ones, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them into the care of his servants, every group of animals by itself. Then he said to his servants, “Go in front of me. And keep the groups of animals apart.” ¹⁷ He told the one in front, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he is coming behind us.’” ¹⁹ He also told the second and the third and all those who followed the animals, “This is what you are to say to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he said, “I will take away his anger with the gift that goes in front of me. Then when I meet him, he might receive me.” ²¹ So the gift went in front of him, while he stayed that night in the tent.

Jacob’s Name Is Changed to Israel

²² But he got up that same night and crossed the Jabbok River, with his two wives, the two women who served him, and his eleven children. ²³ He took them and sent them to the other side of the river with all that he had. ²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone. And a man fought with him until morning. ²⁵ When the man saw that he was not winning he touched the joint of Jacob’s thigh. And Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint while he fought with him. ²⁶ The man said, “Let me go. For the morning has come.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you pray that good will come to me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have won.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, what is your name?” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he prayed that good would come to Jacob. ³⁰ So Jacob gave the place the name of Peniel. For he said, “I have seen God face to face, and yet I am still alive.”

³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed through Peniel. It was hard to walk on his leg. ³² So to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the meat from inside the joint of the thigh, because he touched this part of the joint on Jacob’s leg.

Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest ^(A)

3 Jesus went into the Jewish place of worship again. A man was there with a dried-up hand. ² The proud religious law-keepers watched Jesus to see if He would heal the man on the Day of Rest. They wanted to have something to say against Jesus. ³ Jesus said to the man with the dried-up hand, “Stand up.” ⁴ Then Jesus said to the proud religious law-keepers, “Does the Law say to do good on the Day of Rest or to do bad, to save life or to kill?” But they said nothing. ⁵ Jesus looked around at them with anger. He was sad because of their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, “Put out your hand.” He put it out and his hand was healed. It was as good as the other. ⁶ The proud religious law-keepers went out and made plans with the followers of King Herod how they might kill Jesus.

Jesus Heals by the Sea-Shore ^(B)

⁷ Jesus went with His followers to the sea. Many people followed Him from the countries of Galilee and Judea. ⁸ They followed from Jerusalem and from the country of Idumea. They came from the other side of the Jordan River and from the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Many people heard all that Jesus was doing and came to Him. ⁹ He told His followers to have a small boat ready for Him because so many people might push Him down. ¹⁰ He had healed so many that the sick people were pushing in on Him. They were trying to put their hands on Him. ¹¹ When demons saw Him, they got down at His feet and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² He spoke strong words that the demons should tell no one Who He was.

Jesus Calls His Twelve Followers ^(C)

¹³ He went up on a mountain and called those He wanted. They followed Him. ¹⁴ He picked out twelve followers to be with Him so He might send them out to preach. ¹⁵ They would have the right and the power to heal diseases and to put out demons. ¹⁶ Jesus gave Simon another name, Peter. ¹⁷ James and John were brothers. They were the sons of Zebedee. He named them Boanerges, which means, The Sons of Thunder. ¹⁸ The others were Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot. Judas was the one who handed Jesus over to be killed.

The Family of Jesus Holds Him Back

²⁰ When Jesus came into a house, many people gathered around Him again. Jesus and His followers could not even eat. ²¹ When His family heard of it, they went to take Him. They said, “He must be crazy.”

A Nation That Cannot Stand ^(D)

²² Teachers of the Law came down from Jerusalem. They said, “Jesus has Satan in Him. This Man puts out demons by the king of demons.” ²³ Jesus called them to Him and spoke to them in picture-stories. He said, “How can the devil put out the devil? ²⁴ A nation cannot last if it is divided against itself. ²⁵ A family cannot last if it is divided against itself. ²⁶ If the devil fights against himself and is divided, he cannot last. He will come to an end. ²⁷ No man can go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first. Only then can he take things from his house. ²⁸ For sure, I tell you, all sins will be forgiven people, and bad things they speak against God. ²⁹ But if anyone speaks bad things against the Holy Spirit, he will never be forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that lasts forever.” ³⁰ Jesus told them this because they said, “He has a demon.”

The New Kind of Family ^(E)

³¹ Then His mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent for Jesus. ³² Many people were sitting around Him. They said, “See! Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.” ³³ He said to them, “Who is My mother or My brothers?” ³⁴ He turned to those sitting around Him and said, “See! My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does what My Father wants is My brother and My sister and My mother.”

The Jews Are Allowed to Fight for Their Lives

8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave everything Haman owned, the one who hated the Jews, to Queen Esther. Mordecai came to the king, for Esther had told him what he was to her. ² The king took off the ring he used for marking his name, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai over everything Haman had owned.

³ Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and cried and begged him to stop the sinful plan of Haman the Agagite, the plan he had made against the Jews. ⁴ The king held out the special golden stick toward Esther. So she got up and stood in front of the king. ⁵ Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have his favor, if the king thinks it is right and if I am pleasing in his eyes, let letters be written to keep Haman’s letters from being carried out. The letters Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote would destroy the Jews in all the king’s nation. ⁶ For how can I stand to see all the trouble that will come to my people? How can I keep on if I see them destroyed?” ⁷ So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “See, I have given everything Haman owned to Esther. They have hanged him on the tower because he had wanted to destroy all the Jews. ⁸ Now you write whatever pleases you about the Jews, in the king’s name, and mark it with the king’s special ring. For what is written in the king’s name and marked with the king’s special ring may not be changed.”

⁹ So the king’s writers were called at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. All that Mordecai said was written and sent to the Jews, the rulers, the leaders, and the princes of the 127 parts of the nation from India to Ethiopia. The letters were sent to every land in its own writing and to every people in their own language. And they were sent to the Jews in their own writing and language. ¹⁰ He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and marked it with the king’s special ring. He sent the letters by men on fast horses used in the king’s work, raised from the king’s best male horse. ¹¹ In the letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city the right to gather together to fight for their lives. He gave them the right to destroy, kill, and do away with the whole army of any people or nation which might come to fight against them. They were given the right to kill even the children and women, and to take whatever belonged to them. ¹² On one day in all the nation of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, they were to do this. ¹³ The letter was law in every part of the nation and was sent to all the people, so the Jews would be ready on that day to stand against those who hated them. ¹⁴ The men went out in a hurry on the fast horses that were used for the king’s work, just as the king told them. And the letter was made known in the city of Susa where the king ruled.

¹⁵ Then Mordecai went out from the king wearing king’s clothing of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a long coat of fine linen and purple cloth. The people in the city of Susa were filled with joy and called out in loud voices. ¹⁶ For the Jews it was a time of joy and happiness and honor. ¹⁷ In every part of the nation and in every city where the king’s law had come, there was happiness and joy for the Jews, a special supper and a good day. And many people who had come there from other countries became Jews because they were afraid of the Jews.

3 Do the Jews have anything that those who are not Jews do not have? What good does it do to go through the religious act of becoming a Jew? ² Yes, the Jews have much more in every way. First of all, God gave the Jews His Law. ³ If some of them were not faithful, does it mean that God will not be faithful? ⁴ No, not at all! God is always true even if every man lies. The Holy Writings say, “Speak the truth and you will not be proven guilty.” ^(A)

⁵ If our sins show how right God is, what can we say? Is it wrong for God to punish us for it? (I am speaking as men do.) ⁶ No, not at all! If it were wrong for God to punish us, how could He judge the world? ⁷ If my lies honor God by showing how true He is, why am I still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ Why not say, “Let us sin that good will come from it.” (Some people have said I talk like this!) They will be punished as they should be.

⁹ What about it then? Are we Jews better than the people who are not Jews? Not at all! I have already said that Jews and the people who are not Jews are all sinners. ¹⁰ The Holy Writings say, “There is not one person who is right with God. No, not even one! ¹¹ There is not one who understands. There is not one who tries to find God.” ^{(B) 12} Everyone has turned away from God. They have all done wrong. Not one of them does what is good. No, not even one! ¹³ Their mouth is like an open grave. They tell lies with their tongues. ^(C) Whatever they say is like the poison of snakes. ¹⁴ Their mouths speak bad things against God. They say bad things about other people. ^{(D) 15} They are quick to hurt and kill people. ¹⁶ Wherever they go, they destroy and make people suffer. ¹⁷ They know nothing about peace. ^{(E) 18} They do not honor God with love and fear.” ^(F)

¹⁹ Now we know that the Law speaks to those who live under the Law. No one can say that he does not know what sin is. Yes, every person in the world stands guilty before God. ²⁰ No person will be made right with God by doing what the Law says. The Law shows us how sinful we are.

²¹ But now God has made another way to make men right with Himself. It is not by the Law. The Law and the early preachers tell about it. ²² Men become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ. God will accept men if they come this way. All men are the same to God. ²³ For all men have sinned and have missed the shining-greatness of God. ²⁴ Anyone can be made right with God by the free gift of His loving-favor. It is Jesus Christ Who bought them with His blood and made them free from their sins. ²⁵ God gave Jesus Christ to the world. Men’s sins can be forgiven through the blood of Christ when they put their trust in Him. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to show how right He is. Before this, God did not look on the sins that were done. ²⁶ But now God proves that He is right in saving men from sin. He shows that He is the One Who has no sin. God makes anyone right with Himself who puts his trust in Jesus.

²⁷ What then do we have to be proud of? Nothing at all! Why? Is it because men obey the Law? No! It is because men put their trust in Christ. ²⁸ This is what we have come to know. A man is made right with God by putting his trust in Christ. It is not by his doing what the Law says. ²⁹ Is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not the God of the people who are not Jews also? He is for sure. ³⁰ He is one God. He will make Jews and the people who are not Jews right with Himself if they put their trust in Christ. ³¹ Does this mean that we do away with the Law when we put our trust in Christ? No, not at all. It means we know the Law is important.