M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The People Make a Gold Calf
32 The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron and said, “Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us.”
2 Aaron said to the people, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons, and daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from the people and formed it with a tool and made a statue of a calf. Then the people said, “Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 When Aaron saw all this, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up and sinned sexually.
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain, because your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have ruined themselves. 8 They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf covered with gold, and they have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are very stubborn. 10 So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants a great nation.”
11 But Moses begged the Lord his God and said, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and strength. 12 Don’t let the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt for an evil purpose. He planned to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.’ So stop being angry, and don’t destroy your people. 13 Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You promised with an oath to them and said, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them, and it will be theirs forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed his mind and did not destroy the people as he had said he might.
15 Then Moses went down the mountain, and in his hands he had the two stone tablets with the Agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. 16 God himself had made the tablets, and God himself had written the commands on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”
18 Moses answered:
“It is not a shout of victory;
it is not a cry of defeat.
It is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing, and he became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets that he was carrying and broke them at the bottom of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf that the people had made and melted it in the fire. He ground it into powder. Then he threw the powder into the water and forced the Israelites to drink it.
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”
22 Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. 23 The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us.’ 24 So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ When they gave me the gold, I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. Aaron had let them get out of control and become fools in front of their enemies. 26 So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.
27 Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” 28 The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses, and that day about three thousand of the Israelites died. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers, and God has blessed you for this.”
30 The next day Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can do something so your sins will be removed.” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terribly these people have sinned! They have made for themselves gods from gold. 32 Now, please forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”
33 But the Lord told Moses, “I will erase from my book the names of the people who sin against me. 34 So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you, and my angel will lead you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 So the Lord caused terrible things to happen to the people because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
The Death of Lazarus
11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany, where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 Mary was the woman who later put perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary’s brother was Lazarus, the man who was now sick. 3 So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 Then Jesus said to his followers, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8 The followers said, “But Teacher, some people there tried to stone you to death only a short time ago. Now you want to go back there?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the daylight, he will not stumble, because he can see by this world’s light. 10 But if anyone walks at night, he stumbles because there is no light to help him see.”
11 After Jesus said this, he added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him.”
12 The followers said, “But Lord, if he is only asleep, he will be all right.”
13 Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead, but his followers thought he meant Lazarus was really sleeping. 14 So then Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes I was not there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him now.”
16 Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other followers, “Let us also go so that we can die with him.”
Jesus in Bethany
17 When Jesus arrived, he learned that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many of the Jews had come there to comfort Martha and Mary about their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask.”
23 Jesus said, “Your brother will rise and live again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know that he will rise and live again in the resurrection[a] on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Martha, do you believe this?”
27 Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming to the world.”
Jesus Cries
28 After Martha said this, she went back and talked to her sister Mary alone. Martha said, “The Teacher is here and he is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 Jesus had not yet come into the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews were with Mary in the house, comforting her. When they saw her stand and leave quickly, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to cry there.
32 But Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw Mary crying and the Jews who came with her also crying, he was upset and was deeply troubled. 34 He asked, “Where did you bury him?”
“Come and see, Lord,” they said.
35 Jesus cried.
36 So the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.”
37 But some of them said, “If Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man, why couldn’t he keep Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38 Again feeling very upset, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Move the stone away.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “But, Lord, it has been four days since he died. There will be a bad smell.”
40 Then Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but I said these things because of the people here around me. I want them to believe that you sent me.” 43 After Jesus said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with pieces of cloth, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take the cloth off of him and let him go.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people, who had come to visit Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. 48 If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.”
49 One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! 50 You don’t realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for their nation 52 and for God’s scattered children to bring them all together and make them one.
53 That day they started planning to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus no longer traveled openly among the people. He left there and went to a place near the desert, to a town called Ephraim and stayed there with his followers.
55 It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the Passover to do the special things to make themselves pure. 56 The people looked for Jesus and stood in the Temple asking each other, “Is he coming to the Feast? What do you think?” 57 But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must tell them. Then they could arrest him.
Listen to Wisdom
8 Wisdom calls to you like someone shouting;
understanding raises her voice.
2 On the hilltops along the road
and at the crossroads, she stands calling.
3 Beside the city gates,
at the entrances into the city, she calls out:
4 “Listen, everyone, I’m calling out to you;
I am shouting to all people.
5 You who are uneducated, seek wisdom.
You who are foolish, get understanding.
6 Listen, because I have important things to say,
and what I tell you is right.
7 What I say is true,
I refuse to speak evil.
8 Everything I say is honest;
nothing I say is crooked or false.
9 People with good sense know what I say is true;
and those with knowledge know my words are right.
10 Choose my teachings instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than the finest gold.
11 Wisdom is more precious than rubies.
Nothing you could want is equal to it.
12 “I am wisdom, and I have good judgment.
I also have knowledge and good sense.
13 If you respect the Lord, you will also hate evil.
I hate pride and bragging,
evil ways and lies.
14 I have good sense and advice,
and I have understanding and power.
15 I help kings to govern
and rulers to make fair laws.
16 Princes use me to lead,
and so do all important people who judge fairly.
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 Riches and honor are mine to give.
So are wealth and lasting success.
19 What I give is better than the finest gold,
better than the purest silver.
20 I do what is right
and follow the path of justice.
21 I give wealth to those who love me,
filling their houses with treasures.
22 “I, wisdom, was with the Lord when he began his work,
long before he made anything else.
23 I was created in the very beginning,
even before the world began.
24 I was born before there were oceans,
or springs overflowing with water,
25 before the hills were there,
before the mountains were put in place.
26 God had not made the earth or fields,
not even the first dust of the earth.
27 I was there when God put the skies in place,
when he stretched the horizon over the oceans,
28 when he made the clouds above
and put the deep underground springs in place.
29 I was there when he ordered the sea
not to go beyond the borders he had set.
I was there when he laid the earth’s foundation.
30 I was like a child by his side.
I was delighted every day,
enjoying his presence all the time,
31 enjoying the whole world,
and delighted with all its people.
32 “Now, my children, listen to me,
because those who follow my ways are happy.
33 Listen to my teaching, and you will be wise;
do not ignore it.
34 Happy are those who listen to me,
watching at my door every day,
waiting at my open doorway.
35 Those who find me find life,
and the Lord will be pleased with them.
36 Those who do not find me hurt themselves.
Those who hate me love death.”
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted.
To God’s holy people living in Ephesus,[a] believers in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. 4 That is, in Christ, he chose us before the world was made so that we would be his holy people—people without blame before him. 5 Because of his love, God had already decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. That was what he wanted and what pleased him, 6 and it brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One he loves. 7 In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God’s grace, 8 which he has given to us so fully and freely. God, with full wisdom and understanding, 9 let us know his secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. 10 His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.
11 In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people, because from the very beginning God had decided this in keeping with his plan. And he is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. 12 We are the first people who hoped in Christ, and we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God’s glory. 13 So it is with you. When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised. 14 That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for his people until God gives full freedom to those who are his—to bring praise to God’s glory.
Paul’s Prayer
15 That is why since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I always remember you in my prayers, 17 asking the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you will know him better. 18 I pray also that you will have greater understanding in your heart so you will know the hope to which he has called us and that you will know how rich and glorious are the blessings God has promised his holy people. 19 And you will know that God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength 20 God used to raise Christ from the dead and put him at his right side in the heavenly world. 21 God has put Christ over all rulers, authorities, powers, and kings, not only in this world but also in the next. 22 God put everything under his power and made him the head over everything for the church, 23 which is Christ’s body. The church is filled with Christ, and Christ fills everything in every way.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.