M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Water from the Rock

17 All the people of Israel left the Desert of Sin, traveling from one place to another as the Lord told them. They set up their tents at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. ² So the people argued with Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you argue with me? Why do you test the Lord?” ³ But the people were thirsty there for water. They complained against Moses, saying, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and animals with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses called to the Lord, saying, “What should I do with these people? They are almost ready to throw stones at me.” ⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Pass in front of the people and take some of the leaders of Israel with you. Take the special stick in your hand with which you hit the Nile, and go. ⁶ See, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. When you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, with the leaders of Israel watching. ⁷ He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the arguing of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

War with Amalek

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us. And go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the special stick of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ When Moses held up his hand, Israel would be winning. But when he let his hand down, Amalek would win. ¹² Moses’ hands became tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. His hands did not move until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua destroyed Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book, to be remembered, and tell Joshua that I will take away everything under heaven that would help you remember Amalek.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar and gave it the name The Lord is My Banner. ¹⁶ And he said, “Because the Lord has promised to have war against Amalek through all time.”

They Ask Jesus Who Gave Him the Power to Do These Things ^(A)

20 As He was teaching and preaching the Good News, the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law and the elders came. ² They said to Him, “Tell us, by what right and power are You doing these things? Who gave You the right and the power?” ³ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question also. You answer Me. ⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

⁵ They said to themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ then all the people will throw stones at us because they believe John was one who spoke for God.” ⁷ They said that they did not know where John’s baptism came from. ⁸ Jesus said to them, “And I will not tell you where I get the right and the power to do these things.”

The Picture-Story of the Grape-Field ^(B)

⁹ Jesus began to tell the people a picture-story, saying, “There was a man who planted a grape-field. He rented it to farmers. Then he went to a country far away for a long time. ¹⁰ At the time of gathering fruit he sent one of his servants to the farmers to get some of the fruit. But the farmers beat him and sent him away without fruit. ¹¹ He sent another servant. The farmers beat him also. They made it very hard for him and sent him away without fruit. ¹² He sent a third servant. They hurt him and threw him out of the grape-field.

¹³ “Then the owner of the grape-field said, ‘What should I do? I will send my much-loved son. They might respect him.’ ¹⁴ The farmers saw the son. They said to themselves, ‘This is the one who will get everything when the owner dies. Let us kill him, and we will get everything.’ ¹⁵ They put him out of the grape-field and killed him. Now what will the owner of the grape-field do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those farmers. Then he will rent the grape-field to other farmers.”

When they heard this, they said, “May this never be done!” ¹⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “What does this writing mean, ‘The Stone that was put aside by the workmen has become the most important Stone in the building’? ^{(C) 18} Whoever falls on this Stone will be broken. And on the one it falls, it will make him like dust.” ^(D)

They Try to Trap Jesus ^(E)

¹⁹ At this time the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law tried to take Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. These leaders knew Jesus had told this picture-story against them. ²⁰ They watched Jesus and they sent men who pretended to be good people to watch Him. They wanted to trap Him in something He said. Then they could give Him over to the leader of the people who had the right and the power to say what to do with Him.

²¹ These men who were sent asked Jesus, “Teacher, we know what You say and teach is right. We know You do not show more respect to one person than to another. We know You teach the truth about God. ²² Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ²³ Jesus knew they were trying to trap Him. He said, ²⁴ “Show Me a piece of money. Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” And they said, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” ²⁶ They could find nothing wrong with what He taught. They were surprised and wondered about what He told the people, so they said nothing more.

They Ask about Being Raised from the Dead ^(F)

²⁷ Some people from the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead came to Jesus. They asked Him, ²⁸ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us in the Law, ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother must marry her. He should have children for his brother who died.’ ^{(G) 29} There were seven brothers. The first had a wife but died without children. ³⁰ The second brother took her for his wife. He died without children. ³¹ The third brother took her for his wife. In the same way all seven took her for a wife. They all died without children. ³² Then the woman died also. ³³ When people are raised from the dead, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers had her for a wife.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “People of this earth marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who have the right to have that life and are raised from the dead do not marry and are not given in marriage. ³⁶ They cannot die anymore. They are as the angels and are sons of God. They are children who have been raised from the dead. ³⁷ As for the dead being raised, even Moses spoke of that when he told of the burning bush. There he calls the Lord, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ For He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. All live for Him.”

³⁹ One of the teachers of the Law said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ After that they were afraid to ask Him anything.

Jesus Asks the Teachers of the Law about the Christ ^(H)

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “How do they say that Christ is the Son of David? ⁴² For David himself said in the Book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to My Lord, “Sit at my right side ⁴³ until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.”’ ^{(I) 44} David calls Him, ‘Lord!’ Then how can He be his son?”

False Teachers ^(J)

⁴⁵ All the people were listening. He said to His followers, ⁴⁶ “Look out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long coats. They like to have people speak words of respect to them in the center of town where people gather. They like the important seats in the places of worship. They like the important places at big suppers. ⁴⁷ They take houses from poor women whose husbands have died. They cover up their actions by making long prayers. They will be punished all the more.”

Elihu Keeps On Talking

35 Then Elihu said, ² “Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘I am more right than God’? ³ For you ask, ‘What will You get by it? How will it be better for me than if I had sinned?’ ⁴ I will answer you, and your friends with you. ⁵ Look at the heavens and see. See the clouds which are higher than you. ⁶ If you have sinned, what does that do to God? If you have done many wrongs, what does that do to Him? ⁷ If you are right and good, what do you give to Him? What does He receive from you? ⁸ Your wrong-doing may hurt another man and your being right and good may help him.

⁹ “People cry out because of their many hard times. They cry for help because of the arm of the powerful. ¹⁰ But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, ¹¹ Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ ¹² There they cry out, but He does not answer because of the pride of sinful men. ¹³ For sure God will not listen to an empty cry. The All-powerful will not do anything about it. ¹⁴ How much less when you say you do not see Him, that your trial is before Him, and you must wait for Him! ¹⁵ And now, because God has not punished in His anger, and does not watch for sin, ¹⁶ Job opens his mouth with empty talk. He speaks many words without much learning.”

Our Weak Human Bodies

5 Our body is like a house we live in here on earth. When it is destroyed, we know that God has another body for us in heaven. The new one will not be made by human hands as a house is made. This body will last forever. ² Right now we cry inside ourselves because we wish we could have our new body which we will have in heaven. ³ We will not be without a body. We will live in a new body. ⁴ While we are in this body, we cry inside ourselves because things are hard for us. It is not that we want to die. Instead, we want to live in our new bodies. We want this dying body to be changed into a living body that lasts forever. ⁵ It is God Who has made us ready for this change. He has given us His Spirit to show us what He has for us.

⁶ We are sure of this. We know that while we are at home in this body we are not with the Lord. ⁷ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. ⁸ We are sure we will be glad to be free of these bodies. It will be good to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So if we stay here on earth or go home to Him, we always want to please Him. ¹⁰ For all of us must stand before Christ when He says who is guilty or not guilty. Each one will receive pay for what he has done. He will be paid for the good or the bad done while he lived in this body.

¹¹ Because of this, we know the fear of God. So we try to get men to put their trust in Christ. God knows us. I hope that your hearts know me well also. ¹² We do not want to sound as if we think we are so important. Instead, we are making it easy for you to be proud of us. In that way, you will be able to tell them about us. They always talk about the way people look, but do not care about their hearts. ¹³ Are we crazy to talk like this? It is all because of what God has done. If we are using our minds well, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ puts us into action. We are sure that Christ died for everyone. So, because of that, everyone has a part in His death. ¹⁵ Christ died for everyone so that they would live for Him. They should not live to please themselves but for Christ Who died on a cross and was raised from the dead for them.

¹⁶ So from now on, we do not think about what people are like by looking at them. We even thought about Christ that way one time. But we do not think of Him that way anymore. ¹⁷ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun. ¹⁸ All this comes from God. He is the One Who brought us to Himself when we hated Him. He did this through Christ. Then He gave us the work of bringing others to Him. ¹⁹ God was in Christ. He was working through Christ to bring the whole world back to Himself. God no longer held men’s sins against them. And He gave us the work of telling and showing men this. ²⁰ We are Christ’s missionaries. God is speaking to you through us. We are speaking for Christ and we ask you from our hearts to turn from your sins and come to God. ²¹ Christ never sinned but God put our sin on Him. Then we are made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.