M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and put special perfume on it. They gave a fire that was not holy to the Lord because the Lord had not told them to do this. ² So the Lord sent out fire that burned them up and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said, ‘I will show Myself holy among those who are near Me. I will be honored in front of all the people.’” And Aaron said nothing. ⁴ Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the brother of Aaron’s father. He said to them, “Come, carry your brothers away from the holy place and away from the tents.” ⁵ So they came and carried them in their coats away from the tents, as Moses had said. ⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not take the covering off your heads and do not tear your clothes, so you will not die and God will not be angry with all the people. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, will cry in sorrow because of the burning the Lord has done. ⁷ Do not even go out the door of the meeting tent, so you will not die. For the holy oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did what Moses said.

How the Religious Leaders Were to Act

⁸ The Lord said to Aaron, ⁹ “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you or your sons, when you come into the meeting tent, so you will not die. It is a Law forever for all your people. ¹⁰ You are to know the difference between what is holy and what is not, and between what is clean and what is not. ¹¹ You are to teach the people of Israel all the Laws which the Lord has told them by Moses.” ¹² Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons who were left, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain gift that is left from the gifts by fire to the Lord. And eat it without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy. ¹³ Eat it in a holy place, because it is yours and your sons’, from the gifts by fire to the Lord. For so I have been told. ¹⁴ But you and your sons and daughters may eat in a clean place the breast of the wave gift and the thigh that is given. For they are given to you as your right and your sons’ right, from the peace gifts of the people of Israel. ¹⁵ They will bring the thigh that is given and the breast of the wave gift, with the gifts by fire of the fat. They will wave them before the Lord for a wave gift. They will be yours and your sons’, as your right forever, as the Lord has said.”

¹⁶ But Moses looked and looked for the goat of the sin gift, and found that it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron’s sons who were left, Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, ¹⁷ “Why have you not eaten the sin gift in the holy place? For it is most holy and He gave it to you to take away the guilt of the people, to take away their sins before the Lord. ¹⁸ See, its blood has not been brought inside the holy place. You should have been sure to eat it in the holy place, as I told you.” ¹⁹ But Aaron said to Moses, “See, today they have given their sin gift and their burnt gift to the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin gift today, would it have been good in the eyes of the Lord?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he was not angry any more.

The Lord—a Safe Place

11 In the Lord I am safe. How can you say to me, “Fly away as a bird to your mountain? ² For look, the sinful raise their bow. They make their arrow ready on the string to shoot in the dark against the pure in heart. ³ If the base of the building is destroyed, what can those who are right with God do?”

⁴ The Lord is in His holy house. The Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes see as He tests the sons of men. ⁵ The Lord tests and proves those who are right and good and those who are sinful. And His soul hates the one who loves to hurt others. ⁶ He will send down fire upon the sinful. Fire and sulphur and burning wind will be the cup they will drink. ⁷ For the Lord is right and good. He loves what is right and good. And those who are right with Him will see His face.

God—Our Helper

12 Help, Lord! For God-like men are here no more. The faithful can no longer be seen among the sons of men. ² They lie to each other. Their lips speak with sweet-sounding words that are not true. ³ May the Lord cut off all lips of false respect, and the tongue that speaks of great things. ⁴ They say, “We can win with our tongues. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”

⁵ “Because of the suffering of the weak, and because of the cries of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will keep him safe as he has wanted to be.”

⁶ The words of the Lord are pure words. They are like silver that has been made pure seven times in a stove of earth. ⁷ O Lord, You will keep us. You will keep us safe forever from the people of this day. ⁸ The sinful walk on every side when bad actions are held in honor among the sons of men.

25 These also are wise sayings of Solomon, which were written down by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

² It is the greatness of God to keep things hidden, but it is the greatness of kings to find things out. ³ As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the heart of kings is more than can be known. ⁴ Take away the waste from the silver, and a silver pot comes out for the workman. ⁵ Take the sinful away from the king, and his throne will stand on what is right and good. ⁶ Do not honor yourself in front of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men. ⁷ For it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put down in front of the ruler whom your eyes have seen.

⁸ Do not go out in a hurry to argue. Or what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹ Argue your side of the problem with your neighbor, but do not tell the secret of another. ¹⁰ Or he who hears you may put you to shame, and bad things will be said about you forever.

¹¹ A word spoken at the right time is like fruit of gold set in silver.

¹² A wise man speaking strong words to a listening ear is like a piece of gold for the ear and a beautiful object of fine gold.

¹³ A faithful man who carries news is like the cold of snow at gathering time to those who send him, for he makes the spirit of his owners feel new again.

¹⁴ A man who talks much of a gift he never gives is like clouds and wind without rain. ¹⁵ When one is slow to anger, a ruler may be won over. A gentle tongue will break a bone.

¹⁶ Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, or you may become filled with it and spit it up.

¹⁷ Do not let your foot be in your neighbor’s house too much, or he may become tired of you and hate you.

¹⁸ A man who tells a lie against his neighbor is like a heavy stick or a sword or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ In time of trouble, trusting in a man who is not faithful is like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint.

²⁰ He who sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a coat on a cold day, or like sour wine poured on soda.

²¹ If the one who hates you is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water. ²² If you do that, you will be making him more ashamed of himself, and the Lord will reward you.

²³ The north wind brings rain, and a tongue that hurts people brings angry looks.

²⁴ It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with an arguing woman.

²⁵ Good news from a land far away is like cold water to a tired soul.

²⁶ A man who does what is right but gives way in front of the sinful, is like a well of mud or poisoned water.

²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey, and looking for honor is not good.

²⁸ A man who cannot rule his own spirit is like a city whose walls are broken down.

Paul Tells Them to Live Holy Lives

4 Christian brothers, we ask you, because of the Lord Jesus, to keep on living in a way that will please God. I have already told you how to grow in the Christian life. ² The Lord Jesus gave us the right and the power to tell you what to do. ³ God wants you to be holy. You must keep away from sex sins. ⁴ God wants each of you to use his body in the right way by keeping it holy and by respecting it. ⁵ You should not use it to please your own desires like the people who do not know God. ⁶ No man should do wrong to his Christian brother in anything. The Lord will punish a person who does. I have told you this before. ⁷ For God has not called us to live in sin. He has called us to live a holy life. ⁸ The one who turns away from this teaching does not turn away from man, but from God. It is God Who has given us His Holy Spirit.

⁹ You do not need anyone to write to you about loving your Christian brothers. God has taught you to love each other. ¹⁰ You love all the Christians in all the country of Macedonia. But we ask you to love them even more. ¹¹ Do your best to live a quiet life. Learn to do your own work well. We told you about this before. ¹² By doing this, you will be respected by those who are not Christians. Then you will not be in need and others will not have to help you.

The Lord Is Coming Again

¹³ Christian brothers, we want you to know for sure about those who have died. You have no reason to have sorrow as those who have no hope. ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and then came to life again. Because we believe this, we know that God will bring to life again all those who belong to Jesus. ¹⁵ We tell you this as it came from the Lord. Those of us who are alive when the Lord comes again will not go ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud call. The head angel will speak with a loud voice. God’s horn will give its sounds. First, those who belong to Christ will come out of their graves to meet the Lord. ¹⁷ Then, those of us who are still living here on earth will be gathered together with them in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the sky and be with Him forever. ¹⁸ Because of this, comfort each other with these words.