M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Red Heifer
19 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, 2 “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded that the Israelis be told: They are to bring you a spotless red heifer, without physical defect, that has never been fitted with a yoke. 3 They are to deliver it to Eleazar the priest, and it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take blood from it with his finger and sprinkle the blood in front of the Tent of Meeting. 5 The entire heifer is to be incinerated in his presence, including its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its dung. 6 Then the priest is to take some cedar[a] wood, hyssop, and scarlet material and throw it into the middle of the burning heifer. 7 The priest is to wash his clothes and bathe himself[b] with water, after which he may enter the camp, but he is to remain unclean until evening. 8 Whoever takes part in the burning is to wash his clothes and bathe himself[c] in water and is to remain unclean until the evening. 9 Then someone[d] who is clean is to gather the ashes of the heifer and lay them outside the camp in a clean place. This is to be done for the community of Israel to use for water of purification from sin. 10 Whoever gathers the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and is to remain unclean until the evening. This ordinance is to remain for the benefit of both the Israelis and the resident aliens who live among them.”
Purification for Contact with the Dead
11 “Whoever comes in contact with the body of a dead person is to remain unclean for seven days. 12 He is to purify himself on the third day and he will be clean on the seventh day. But if he can’t purify himself on the third day then he can’t be clean on the seventh day. 13 Anyone who comes in contact with a dead person (that is, with the corpse[e] of a human being[f] who has died), but who does not purify himself, defiles the Lord’s tent. That person is to be eliminated from Israel, because the water of impurity wasn’t sprinkled on him. He remains unclean and his uncleanness will remain with him.
14 “This is the procedure to follow[g] when a man dies in his tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone in it is to remain unclean for seven days. 15 Every open vessel that has no covering fastened around it is to be considered unclean. 16 Whoever is out in an open field and touches the body of[h] someone who was killed by a sword, or a dead body, or someone’s bones, or a grave, he is to be considered unclean for seven days.
17 “Now as for the unclean, they are to take ashes from the burning sin offering, and pour running water on it inside a vessel. 18 A clean person is to take some hyssop, dip it in water, and then sprinkle it on the tent, on every vessel, and on whoever[i] was there (that is, on whoever touched the bones, the killed person, or the dead body, including whoever dug the grave). 19 The clean person is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and seventh day and then he is to purify himself on the seventh day, wash his clothes, and bathe with water. He is to be considered clean at evening.
20 “The person[j] who is unclean but who doesn’t purify himself is to be eliminated from contact with the assembly, since he has defiled the Lord’s sanctuary and the water of impurity wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is to be considered unclean 21 as a continuing[k] reminder to them. Whoever sprinkles the water of impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever comes in contact with the water of impurity is to remain unclean until evening. 22 Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches is to be considered unclean and the person who touches him is to be considered unclean until the evening.”
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[a] to the tune of[b] “A Silent Dove Far Away,” when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
A Prayer about Trust in God
56 Have mercy on me, God,
because men have harassed me.
Those who oppress me have fought against me all day long.
2 Those who watch me all day have harassed me,
for there are many who fight against me out of conceit.
3 On days when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I put my trust.
I will not fear what mortal man[c] can do to me.
5 All day long people[d] distort what I say;
all their schemes against me are for evil purposes.
6 They gather together
and hide in ambush.
They watch my every step
as they lie in wait for my life.
7 Cast them away because of their wickedness.
In wrath, God, cast down these[e] people!
8 You have kept count of my wanderings.
Put my tears in your bottle—
have not you recorded them in your book?
9 My enemies will retreat when I call on you.[f]
This has been my experience,
because God is with me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I will put my trust.
I will not fear what mortal man can do to me.
12 God, I have taken vows before you;[g]
therefore I will offer thanksgiving sacrifices to you.
13 For you have delivered me[h] from death
and my feet from stumbling,
so that I may walk before God in the light of the living!
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[i] to the tune of[j] “Do Not Destroy,” when he fled from Saul into a cave.
A Prayer for Deliverance
57 Have mercy on me, God, have mercy,
for in you I[k] have placed my trust.
Even in the shadow of your wings
will I find my refuge until this calamity passes.
2 I call upon the God Most High;
to the God who completes what he began[l] in me.
3 He will send help from heaven to deliver me
from those who harass and despise me.
God will send his gracious love and truth.
4 I am[m] surrounded by lions.
I lie down with those who burn with fire—
that is, with people whose teeth are like spears and arrows—
whose tongues are like sharp swords.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, God!
May your glory cover the earth!
6 They have set a snare for my feet,
which makes me[n] depressed.
They dug a pit in front of me,
but they are the ones who fell into it!
7 My heart is committed, God,
my heart is committed,
so I will sing and play music.
8 Wake up, my soul,[o]
wake up, lyre and harp!
I will awaken at dawn.
9 I will exalt you among the peoples, Lord.
I will play music among the nations.
10 For your gracious love is great,
extending even to the heavens,
and your truth even to the skies.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, God!
May your glory cover the earth!
Isaiah’s Son is Born
8 The Lord also told me, “Take a large tablet and write on it with a stylus[a] pen, ‘For Maher-shalal-hash-baz’.[b] 2 Then I will call[c] Uriah the priest and Jeberechiah’s son Zechariah as reliable witnesses to testify on my behalf.”
3 After this, I was intimate with the prophetess and she conceived. Later, she bore a son, and then the Lord told me,[d] “Call him[e] ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’ 4 for before the young lad knows how to call out to his father or mother,[f] the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Invasion by Assyria
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people have rejected the gently-flowing waters of Shiloah, and because[g] they keep rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah’s son, 7 watch out! The Lord God[h] is about to bring the flood waters of the Euphrates[i] River against them, mighty and strong.[j]
“It’s the king of Assyria and all of his arrogance! He will rise over all of the river’s channels and run over all of its banks. 8 He will sweep on into Judah, overflowing as he passes through, like flood waters[k] reaching up to a person’s neck. His outstretched wings will flow as wide as your land, O Immanuel!”
9 “Band together,[l] you peoples,
but be shattered!
Listen, all you distant countries!
Strap on your armor,
but be shattered.[m]
10 Take counsel together,
but it will all be for nothing;
go ahead and talk,
but[n] it will all be for nothing,[o]
for God is with us.”[p]
Waiting on God
11 For[q] this is what the Lord spoke to me, as his forceful hand was resting on me, and as he was warning me not to live the way this people were living:[r]
12 “Don’t call conspiracy everything
that this people calls conspiracy,
and don’t fear what they fear,
or live in terror.
13 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies—
he’s the one you are to regard as holy.
Let him be the one whom you fear,
and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror!
14 Then he will be a sanctuary,
but for both houses of Israel
he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself,
a rock one stumbles over,
a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble on them;
They’ll fall and be broken;
They’ll be snared and captured.
16 “Bind up the testimony,
and seal up the teaching among my disciples.
17 I’ll wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob,
and I’ll put my trust in him.
18 Watch out! I and the children
whom the Lord has given me
are a sign and a wonder[s] in Israel
from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who resides on Mount Zion.”
Rejecting Occultic Wisdom
19 “So when they advise you,
‘Ask the mediums your questions,
and quiz the spiritists who chirp and mutter,’
shouldn’t a people instead be consulting their God—[t]
and not the dead—
on behalf of those who are living
20 for instruction and for testimony?
Surely they are speaking like this
because the truth[u] hasn’t dawned on them.
21 “They’ll pass through the land,[v]
while[w] greatly distressed and hungry.
When they are hungry,
they’ll become enraged,
and they’ll curse their king and their god.[x]
They’ll turn their faces upwards,
22 or they’ll look toward the[y] earth,
but they’ll see only distress and darkness,
the gloom that comes from anguish,
and then they’ll be thrown into total darkness.”
The Prince of Peace
9 [z]But there will be no gloom for her who was[aa] in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future[ab] he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations.[ac]
2 [ad]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
for those living in a land of deep darkness,
a light has shined upon them.
3 You have increased the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as they rejoice at the harvest,
as they are glad
when they’re dividing the spoils of war.[ae]
4 Now as to the yoke that has been[af] his burden,
and the bar laid[ag] on his shoulder—
the rod of his oppressor—
you have broken it[ah] as on the day of Midiam.[ai]
5 For every boot of the tramping soldier in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be used for burning as fuel for a fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder,
and his name is[aj] called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the growth of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will rule[ak] over his kingdom,
sitting on the throne of David,
to establish it and to uphold it[al]
with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
Do Not Show Partiality
2 My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[a] be tainted by favoritism. 2 Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly,[b] and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. 3 If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,”[c] 4 then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?
5 Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? 6 But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name[d] by which you have been called?
8 Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”[e] 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators. 10 For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For the one who said, “Never commit adultery,”[f] also said, “Never murder.”[g] Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you become a violator of the Law. 12 You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith is Shown by Actions
14 What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? 15 Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food 16 and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.
18 But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. 19 You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. 20 Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? 21 Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? 22 You[h] see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. 23 And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[i] And so he was called God’s friend. 24 You[j] observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. 25 Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers[k] and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? 26 For just as the body without the spirit[l] is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.
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