M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Laws about Gifts Given on the Altar

15 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you go into the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, ³ then give a gift in worship by fire to the Lord. Give a gift from the herd or the flock, a burnt gift, or a gift to keep a special promise, or a free-will gift, or one during special suppers. This will be to make a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁴ The one who brings his gift will bring to the Lord a grain gift of one-tenth part of a basket of fine flour mixed with one-fourth part of a large jar of oil. ⁵ And make ready one-fourth part of a large jar of wine to pour over the burnt gift or for each lamb given on the altar in worship. ⁶ Or for a ram, make ready a grain gift of two-tenths part of a basket of fine flour mixed with one-third part of a large jar of oil. ⁷ Then make one-third part of a large jar of wine for the drink gift, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁸ You may make ready a bull for a burnt gift or give an animal on the altar in worship, to keep a special promise, or give peace gifts to the Lord. ⁹ With the bull bring a grain gift of three-tenths part of a basket of fine flour mixed with half a large jar of oil. ¹⁰ Bring for the drink gift half a large jar of wine, as a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

¹¹ ‘It must be done this way for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs or young goats. ¹² Whatever number you make ready, you must do for everyone. ¹³ All who are born in the land must do these things in this way by giving a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. ¹⁴ A stranger staying with you, or a man living among your people, may want to give a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord. Then he must do just as you do. ¹⁵ There will be one Law for you and for the stranger who stays with you. It will be a Law forever for all your children-to-come. As you are, so will the stranger be before the Lord. ¹⁶ One Law will be for you and for the stranger who stays with you.’”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘When you come into the land where I bring you ¹⁹ and when you eat of the food of the land, you must lift up a gift in worship to the Lord. ²⁰ Give a loaf of bread as a gift from the first of your grain. Give it as the gift of the grain-floor. ²¹ From the first of your grain you and all your children-to-come must give a gift to the Lord.

²² ‘Without knowing it you might not obey all these Laws which the Lord has spoken to Moses, ²³ even all that the Lord has told you to do through Moses, from the day when the Lord told you and through all your children-to-come. ²⁴ If this is done without the people knowing it, then all the people must give one bull for a burnt gift. It will be a pleasing smell to the Lord. It must be brought with its grain gift and its drink gift, by the Law, and with one male goat for a sin gift. ²⁵ Then the religious leader will pay for the sins of all the people of Israel, and they will be forgiven. Because it was a mistake, they brought their gift, a gift by fire to the Lord, and their sin gift to the Lord, for their mistake. ²⁶ So all the people of Israel and the stranger who stays among them will be forgiven. For it happened to all the people by mistake.

²⁷ ‘If one person sins without knowing it, he must bring a one year old female goat for a sin gift. ²⁸ And the religious leader before the Lord will pay for the sin of the person who sins without knowing it. He will pay for his sin so he may be forgiven. ²⁹ You will have one Law for him who does anything without knowing it, for him who is one of the people of Israel and for the stranger who lives among them. ³⁰ But if a person born in the land or a stranger does anything wrong and means to do it, he is speaking against the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has hated the Word of the Lord and has broken His Law, that person must be cut off for sure. His guilt will be on him.’”

Punishment for Those Who Worked on the Day of Rest

³² While the people of Israel were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Day of Rest. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the people. ³⁴ They put him in chains, because they did not know what should be done to him for gathering wood on the Day of Rest. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses: “The man must be put to death. All the people must kill him with stones away from the tents.” ³⁶ So all the people took him away from the tents and killed him with stones, just as the Lord had told Moses.

³⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them that they and all their children-to-come are to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their clothing. And they are to put a blue rope on the tassel of each corner. ³⁹ It will be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the Laws of the Lord, and to do them. Do not follow your own heart and your own eyes, as you did when you acted like a woman selling the use of her body. ⁴⁰ It will be so that you may remember to obey all My Laws, and be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord your God Who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Prayer of the Sinner

51 O God, favor me because of Your loving-kindness. Take away my wrong-doing because of the greatness of Your loving-pity. ² Wash me inside and out from my wrong-doing and make me clean from my sin. ³ For I know my wrong-doing, and my sin is always in front of me. ⁴ I have sinned against You, and You only. I have done what is sinful in Your eyes. You are always right when You speak, and fair when You judge.

⁵ See, I was born in sin and was in sin from my very beginning. ⁶ See, You want truth deep within the heart. And You will make me know wisdom in the hidden part. ⁷ Take away my sin, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ⁸ Make me hear joy and happiness. Let the bones that You have broken be full of joy. ⁹ Hide Your face from my sins. And take away all my wrong-doing.

¹⁰ Make a clean heart in me, O God. Give me a new spirit that will not be moved. ¹¹ Do not throw me away from where You are. And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Let the joy of Your saving power return to me. And give me a willing spirit to obey you. ¹³ Then I will teach wrong-doers Your ways. And sinners will turn to You.

¹⁴ Save me from the guilt of blood, O God. You are the God Who saves me. Then my tongue will sing with joy about how right and good You are. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, so my mouth will praise You. ¹⁶ For You are not happy with a gift given on the altar in worship, or I would give it. You are not pleased with burnt gifts. ¹⁷ The gifts on an altar that God wants are a broken spirit. O God, You will not hate a broken heart and a heart with no pride.

¹⁸ Be pleased to do good to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Then You will be happy with gifts given on the altar that are right and good, with burnt gifts and whole burnt gifts. Then young bulls will be given on Your altar.

The Song of the Grape-Field

5 Let me sing for my loved one a love song about His grape-field: My loved one had a grape-field on a hill that grows much fruit. ² He dug all around it and took away its stones, and planted it with the best vine. He built a tower in the center of it, and cut out a place in it for crushing grapes. Then He expected it to give good grapes, but it gave only wild grapes.

³ “And now, O people living in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My grape-field. ⁴ What more was there to do for My grape-field that I have not done for it? When I expected it to give good grapes, why did it give wild grapes? ⁵ Now I will tell you what I am going to do to My grape-field. I will take away its fence and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall and it will be crushed under foot. ⁶ I will make it a waste. It will not be taken care of, and thistles and thorns will come up. I will also tell the clouds not to rain on it.”

⁷ For the grape-field of the Lord of All is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the vines He planted. So He looked for what is right and fair, but He saw blood poured out. He looked for what is right and good, but He heard a cry of those in trouble.

It Is Bad for the Sinful

⁸ It is bad for those who join house to house and field to field until there is no empty space, and you have to live alone in the land. ⁹ The Lord of All has sworn in my ears, “For sure, many houses will be laid waste. Large and beautiful houses will be empty. ¹⁰ For ten fields of vines will give only eleven large bottles of wine. And 110 jars of seed will give only eleven jars of grain.” ¹¹ It is bad for those who get up early in the morning to run after strong drink! It is bad for those who stay up late in the evening that they may get drunk! ¹² They have harps, a noise-maker, a horn, and wine at their special suppers. But they do not think about the works of the Lord. They do not think of the work of His hands.

¹³ So My people are taken away to strange lands because they have not been wise. Their men of honor are dying because they are hungry. Their people are dried up because they are thirsty. ¹⁴ So the grave has become larger and has opened its mouth wide. And Jerusalem’s greatness, her people, her sounds of wild joy, and those who are happy with sin go down into it. ¹⁵ Man’s pride will be taken away. Important men will be put to shame. The eyes of the proud also will be put to shame. ¹⁶ But the Lord of All will be honored in what is right and fair. The holy God will show Himself holy in what is right and good. ¹⁷ Then the lambs will eat as in their field. And strangers will eat in the waste places of the rich.

¹⁸ It is bad for those who pull sin along with ropes of lies, who pull wrong-doing as with a wagon rope, ¹⁹ who say, “Let Him hurry. Let Him be quick to do His work, that we may see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel be done, that we may know it!” ²⁰ It is bad for those who call what is sinful good, and good sinful, who say dark is light and light is dark, who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter! ²¹ It is bad for those who are wise in their own eyes, and who think they know a lot! ²² It is bad for those who are good at drinking wine, and are proud as they mix strong drink! ²³ They take money in secret for saying that bad people are good. And they take away the rights of those who are not guilty.

²⁴ So, as fire destroys what is left of the cut grain and dry grass falls into the fire, so their root will waste away and their flower blow away like dust. For they have turned away from the Law of the Lord of All. They have hated the Word of the Holy One of Israel. ²⁵ Because of this the anger of the Lord has burned against His people. He has put out His hand against them and destroyed them. The mountains shook. Their dead bodies lay like waste in the center of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is still put out.

²⁶ He will raise up flags as a sign to the nations far away. He will call for them from the ends of the earth, and they will hurry to come. ²⁷ Not one of them is tired or falls. No one sleeps. Not a belt is loosened at the waist, or a shoe string broken. ²⁸ Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The feet of their horses are like hard stone. And the wheels of their war-wagons are like a strong-wind. ²⁹ Their noise is like that of a female lion. They sound like young lions. They make an angry noise as they take their food, and carry it away where no one can take it from them. ³⁰ In that day they will make an angry noise over it like the noise of the sea. If one looks to the land, he will see darkness and trouble. Even the light is made dark by its clouds.

Christ the Perfect One

12 All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. ² Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God.

³ Sinful men spoke words of hate against Christ. He was willing to take such shame from sinners. Think of this so you will not get tired and give up. ⁴ In your fight against sin, you have not yet had to stand against sin with your blood. ⁵ Do you remember what God said to you when He called you His sons? “My son, listen when the Lord punishes you. Do not give up when He tells you what you must do. ⁶ The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every son He receives.” ^{(A) 7} Do not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes? ⁸ If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father. ⁹ Remember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live? ¹⁰ For a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy. ¹¹ There is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.

¹² So lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs. ¹³ Walk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.

¹⁴ Be at peace with all men. Live a holy life. No one will see the Lord without having that kind of life. ¹⁵ See that no one misses God’s loving-favor. Do not let wrong thoughts about others get started among you. If you do, many people will be turned to a life of sin. ¹⁶ None of you should fall into sex sins or forget God like Esau did. He had a right to get all Isaac had because he was the oldest son. But for one plate of food he sold this right to his brother. ¹⁷ You know that later he would have received everything. But he did not get it even when he asked for it with tears. It was too late to make right the wrong he had done.

¹⁸ For you have not come close to a mountain that you can touch. You have not come to worship where there is burning fire and darkness and storm and wind. ¹⁹ The sound of a horn was heard and God’s voice spoke. The people cried out to Moses to have God stop speaking to them. ²⁰ They could not stand to listen to His strong words, “Even if an animal comes to the mountain, it must be killed.” ^{(B) 21} What Moses saw was so hard to look at that he said, “I am full of fear and am shaking.” ^(C)

²² But instead, you have come to the mountain of Jerusalem. It is the city of the living God. It is the Jerusalem of heaven with its thousands of angels. ²³ You have gathered there with God’s children who were born long ago. They are citizens of heaven. God is there. He will judge all men. The spirits of all those right with God are there. They have been made perfect. ²⁴ Jesus is there. He has made a way for man to go to God. He gave His blood that men might worship God the New Way. The blood of Jesus tells of better things than that which Abel used.

²⁵ Be sure you listen to the One Who is speaking to you. The Jews did not obey when God’s Law was given to them on earth. They did not go free. They were punished. We will be punished more if we do not listen to God as He speaks from heaven. ²⁶ On Mount Sinai, God’s voice shook the earth. But now He has promised, saying, “Once more I will shake the earth and the heavens.” ^(D)

²⁷ When God says, “Once more,” He means He will take away everything of this world that can be shaken so the things that cannot be shaken will be left.

²⁸ Since we have received a holy nation that cannot be moved, let us be thankful. Let us please God and worship Him with honor and fear. ²⁹ For our God is a fire that destroys everything.