M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob’s Brothers Go to Egypt the Second Time
43 The time of no food was hard in the land. 2 When they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again and buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah told him, “The man said to us with sharp words, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go to Egypt and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go. For the man said, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
6 Israel said, “Why did you do me such a wrong by telling the man that you had another brother?” 7 And they said, “The man asked questions about us and our family. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
8 Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. And we will get up and go, so we and you and our children may live and not die. 9 I will put myself as trust for him. You may put him in my care. If I do not return him to you and set him in front of you, then let the blame be on me forever. 10 For if we had not waited, we would have returned twice by now.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best things of the land in your bags. Carry them to the man as a gift. Give him perfume and honey and spices and special things to eat. 12 Take twice as much money with you to take the place of the money that was returned in your bags. It may be that it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also. Get up, and return to the man. 14 May the All-powerful God give you such favor with the man that he may let your other brother and Benjamin return. If my children are taken from me, I am filled with sorrow.”
15 So the men took the gift, and twice as much money, and Benjamin. They got up and went to Egypt, and stood in front of Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the man who took care of his house, “Bring the men into the house. And kill an animal and make it ready. For the men will eat with me at noon.” 17 So the man did what Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 The men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our bags the first time we came. He is looking for something against us. He will come down on us and take us for servants with our donkeys.” 19 So they came near the man who took care of Joseph’s house, and spoke to him at the door of the house. 20 They said, “O, my lord, we came here the first time to buy food. 21 When we came to the place where we stayed the night, we opened our bags. And we found that the full weight of each man’s money was at the top of the bag. So we have brought it again with us. 22 We have brought other money with us also to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our bags.”
23 But he answered, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you riches in your bags. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 The man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water to wash their feet. And he fed their donkeys. 25 So they made the gift ready to give to Joseph when he came at noon. For they had heard that they were to eat there.
26 When Joseph came home, they gave him the gift they had brought with them. They bowed to the ground in front of him. 27 Then Joseph asked them about their well-being. He said, “Is your father well, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant, our father is well. He is still alive.” Then they bowed their heads low in honor to Joseph.
29 As he looked up, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. He said, “Is this your youngest brother whom you told me about? May God show you loving-favor, my son.” 30 Then Joseph went out in a hurry. For he had much feeling for his brother. He went in his room and cried. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. Hiding his feelings, he said, “Bring the food.”
32 So they brought food to Joseph by himself, and to them by themselves, and to the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves. The Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews because they thought it would be sinful. 33 Joseph’s brothers were seated in front of him by the way they were born, from the oldest to the youngest. And the men looked at each other in wonder. 34 Joseph took food to them from his own table. But Benjamin’s food was five times as much as any of theirs. And they were free in eating and drinking with him.
Jesus Tells of the House of God (A)
13 Jesus went out of the house of God. One of His followers said to Him, “Teacher, look at the big stones and these great buildings!” 2 Jesus said, “Do you see these great buildings? All these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left standing on another.”
Jesus Teaches on the Mount Of Olives
3 Jesus sat down on the Mount of Olives at a place where He could see the house of God. Peter and James and John and Andrew came to Him. They asked without anyone else hearing, 4 “Tell us when this will be. What are we to look for when these things are to happen?”
What to Look for Before Jesus Returns
5 Jesus began to say to them, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. 6 Many people will come using My name. They will say, ‘I am Christ.’ They will turn many to the wrong way. 7 When you hear of wars and much talk about wars, do not be surprised. These things have to happen. But the end is not yet. 8 Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. The earth will shake and break apart in different places. There will be no food for people. There will be much trouble. These things are the beginning of much sorrow and pain.
It Will Be Hard for Those Who Believe
9 “Watch out for yourselves. They will take you to the courts. In the places of worship they will beat you. You will be taken in front of rulers and in front of kings because of Me. You will be there to tell them about Me. 10 The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.
11 “When you are put into their hands, do not be afraid of what you are to say or how you are to say it. Whatever is given to you to say at that time, say it. It will not be you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. 12 A brother will hand over a brother to death. A father will hand over his son. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. 13 You will be hated by all people because of Me. But he who stays true to the end will be saved.
Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow
14 “You will see a very sinful man-made god standing in the house of God where it has no right to stand. Then those in the country of Judea should run to the mountains. It was spoken of by the early preacher Daniel. (B) The one who reads this should understand. 15 He that is on the top of the house should not take the time to get anything out of his house. 16 He that is in the field should not go back to get his coat. 17 It will be hard for women who will soon be mothers. It will be hard for those feeding babies in those days! 18 Pray that it will not be during the winter. 19 In those days there will be much trouble and pain and sorrow. It has never been this bad from the beginning of time and never will be again. 20 If the Lord had not made those days short, no life would have been saved. Because of God’s people whom He has chosen, He made the days short.
The False Religious Teachers
21 “If anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. 22 Some will come who will say they are Christ. False preachers will come. These people will do special things for people to see. They will do surprising things, so that if it can be, God’s people will be led to believe something wrong. 23 See! I have told you about these things before they happen.
Jesus Will Come Again in His Greatness
24 “After those days of much trouble and pain and sorrow are over, the sun will get dark. The moon will not give light. 25 The stars will fall from the sky. The powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and shining-greatness. 27 He will send His angels. They will gather together God’s people from the four winds. They will come from one end of the earth to the other end of heaven.
The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree
28 “Now learn something from the fig tree. When the branch begins to grow and puts out its leaves, you know summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things happen, you know the Son of Man is near. He is even at the door. 30 For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will not pass away before all these things have happened.
31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. 32 But no one knows the day or the hour. No! Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.
33 “Be careful! Watch and pray. You do not know when it will happen. 34 The coming of the Son of Man is as a man who went from his house to a far country. He gave each one of his servants some work to do. He told the one standing at the door to watch. 35 In the same way, you are to watch also! You do not know when the Owner of the house will be coming. It may be in the evening or in the night or when the sun comes up or in the morning. 36 He may come when you are not looking for Him and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all. Watch!”
Job Talks
9 Then Job answered, 2 “Yes, I know this is true. But how can a man be right and good before God? 3 If one wished to argue with Him, he would not be able to answer one out of a thousand of His questions. 4 He is wise in heart and powerful in strength. Who has ever stood against Him without being hurt? 5 It is He Who takes away the mountains without their knowing it, when He destroys them in His anger. 6 He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars shake. 7 He tells the sun not to shine, and He keeps the stars from shining. 8 He alone spreads out the heavens and walks upon the waves of the sea. 9 He makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades and the stars of the south. 10 He does things too great for us to understand, and more wonderful works than we can number. 11 When He passes by me, I do not see Him. When He goes by me, I do not know Him. 12 If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 “God will not stop His anger. The helpers of Rahab bow under Him. 14 How then can I answer Him, and choose the right words to speak with Him? 15 Even if I am right, I cannot answer Him. I must beg Him who is against me to have pity. 16 If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice. 17 For He crushes me with a storm, and hurts me more and more without a reason. 18 He will not let me get my breath, but fills me with much that is bitter. 19 If it is a question of power, see, He is the strong one! If it is a question of what is right and fair, who can call Him to a trial? 20 Even if I were right, my mouth would say that I am guilty. Even if I were without blame, He would say I am guilty. 21 Even though I am without blame, I do not care about myself. I hate my life. 22 It is all the same, so I say, ‘He destroys both those who are without blame and the sinful.’ 23 If death comes fast by disease, He makes fun of the trouble of those who have done no wrong. 24 The earth is given into the hand of the sinful. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
25 “My days go faster than a runner. They fly away, and see no good. 26 They go by like fast boats, like an eagle coming down to catch its food. 27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaining. I will put off my sad face and be happy,’ 28 I am still afraid of all my pains for I know You will not take away my guilt. 29 Because I am already guilty, why should I try for nothing? 30 If I wash myself with snow and clean my hands using the best soap, 31 You would still throw me down into a deep hole. And my own clothes would hate me. 32 For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, that we might go to trial together. 33 There is no one to decide between us, who might lay his hand upon us both. 34 Let Him stop punishing me. And do not let fear of Him make me so afraid. 35 Then I would speak and not be afraid of Him. But I am not like that in myself.
13 Every person must obey the leaders of the land. There is no power given but from God, and all leaders are allowed by God. 2 The person who does not obey the leaders of the land is working against what God has done. Anyone who does that will be punished.
3 Those who do right do not have to be afraid of the leaders. Those who do wrong are afraid of them. Do you want to be free from fear of them? Then do what is right. You will be respected instead. 4 Leaders are God’s servants to help you. If you do wrong, you should be afraid. They have the power to punish you. They work for God. They do what God wants done to those who do wrong.
5 You must obey the leaders of the land, not only to keep from God’s anger, but so your own heart will have peace. 6 It is right for you to pay taxes because the leaders of the land are servants for God who care for these things. 7 Pay taxes to whom taxes are to be paid. Be afraid of those you should fear. Respect those you should respect.
8 Do not owe anyone anything, but love each other. Whoever loves his neighbor has done what the Law says to do. 9 The Law says, “You must not do any sex sin. You must not kill another person. You must not steal. You must not tell a lie about another person. You must not want something someone else has.” The Law also says that these and many other Laws are brought together in one Law, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Anyone who loves his neighbor will do no wrong to him. You keep the Law with love.
11 There is another reason for doing what is right. You know what time it is. It is time for you to wake up from your sleep. The time when we will be taken up to be with Christ is not as far off as when we first put our trust in Him. 12 Night is almost gone. Day is almost here. We must stop doing the sinful things that are done in the dark. We must put on all the things God gives us to fight with for the day. 13 We must act all the time as if it were day. Keep away from wild parties and do not be drunk. Keep yourself free from sex sins and bad actions. Do not fight or be jealous. 14 Let every part of you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not allow your weak thoughts to lead you into sinful actions.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.