M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Destruction of Ai
8 The Lord then told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land. 2 Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, but take its spoil and its livestock as war booty for yourselves. Set an ambush around the city.”
3 So Joshua and all of the fighting men prepared to go out against Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 valiant warriors and sent them out by night, 4 telling them, “Pay attention now! You are to set up an ambush around the city. Don’t go very far from the city, and all of you remain on alert. 5 I and all of the army with me will advance upon the city. When they come out after us like they did before, we’ll run away from them. 6 They’ll come after us until we’ve drawn them away from the city, because they’ll say, ‘They’re running away from us just like they did before.’ While we’re running away from them, 7 you get up from the ambush and seize the city, because the Lord your God will give it into your control. 8 When you’ve taken the city, set it on fire, just as the Lord ordered. Look! These are your orders!”[a] 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai.
Joshua spent that night in the camp[b] among the army. 10 In the morning, Joshua got up early, mustered his army, and set off for Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel in full view of the army. 11 The entire fighting force with him attacked, approaching the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 Taking about 5,000 men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city, 13 stationing their forces with its main encampment north of the city and its rear guard to the west. Joshua spent that night in the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw what had happened,[c] he and his army quickly got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle. He and all his people met at the place adjacent to the desert plain. But he didn’t know about the ambush that had been set for him on the other side of the city. 15 Because Joshua and the entire fighting force of[d] Israel pretended to lose the battle by running away in front of them toward the wilderness, 16 everyone in the city followed after them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the town. 17 There wasn’t a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn’t run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Stretch out the battle lance[e] that’s in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control.” So Joshua stretched out the battle lance[f] that was in his hand toward the city. 19 As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding[g] and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it[h] on fire.
20 Then the men of Ai looked back behind them—and all of a sudden!—smoke from the city was rising into the sky. They were unable to run in any direction, because the Israelis[i] who had fled toward the wilderness had turned around to attack their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and the entire fighting force of[j] Israel observed that the men who had been in ambush had seized the city and that the smoke from the city was rising, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Then the others came out from the city against them, so the men of Ai[k] were surrounded by the Israelis, some on one side and some on the other. Israel attacked them until no one was left to survive or escape. 23 But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
24 When Israel had completed executing all of the residents of Ai in the open wilderness where they had chased them, and after all of them—to the very last of them—had been killed by swords, the entire fighting force of[l] Israel returned to Ai and attacked it with swords. 25 The total of all who fell that day, including men and women, was 12,000—the entire population of Ai. 26 Joshua did not cease his attack[m] until he had completely destroyed every inhabitant of Ai. 27 Israel took only the livestock and the spoil of that city as their war booty, in accordance with what the Lord had commanded to Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai, turning it into a permanent mound of ruins, and it remains so to this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until dusk, and at sunset Joshua ordered his body brought down from the tree and laid at the entrance to the gate of the town. There he raised over it a large mound of stones, which stands there to this day.[n]
Joshua Renews the Covenant
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just the way Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelis in the Book of the Law of Moses: “…an altar of uncut[o] stones that hasn’t been worked with iron tools…”[p] and they offered burnt offerings to the Lord on it, along with peace offerings.
32 There Joshua[q] inscribed on stones a copy of the Law of Moses that Moses had presented to[r] the Israelis. 33 All Israel, both foreigners and citizens, together with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on opposite sides of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Half stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the Lord’s servant had commanded at the first, so that they could bless the people of Israel.[s] 34 Afterwards, Joshua[t] read all the words of the Law—both the blessings and the curses—according to everything written in the Book of the Law.[u] 35 There wasn’t one word of everything Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read in front of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, their little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
God’s Knowledge and Presence
139 Lord, you have examined me;
you have known me.
2 You know when I rest[a]
and when I am active.[b]
You understand what I am thinking
when I am distant from you.[c]
3 You scrutinize my life and my rest;[d]
you are familiar with all of my ways.
4 Even before I have formed a word with my tongue,
you, Lord, know it completely!
5 You encircle me from back to front,
placing your hand upon me.
6 Knowledge like this is too amazing for me.
It is beyond my reach,
and I cannot fathom it.
The Magnitude of God
7 Where can I flee from your spirit?
Or where will I run from your presence?
8 If I rise to heaven, there you are!
If I lay down with the dead,[e] there you are!
9 If I take wings with the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon[f]
10 your hand will guide me there, too,
while your right hand keeps a firm grip on me.
11 If I say, “Darkness will surely conceal me,
and the light around me will become night,”[g]
12 even darkness isn’t dark to you,
darkness and light are the same to you.[h]
13 It was you who formed my internal organs,[i]
fashioning me within my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you,
because you are fearful and wondrous![j]
Your work is wonderful,
and I am fully aware of it.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being crafted in a hidden place,
knit together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes looked upon my embryo,
and everything was recorded in your book.
The days scheduled[k] for my formation were inscribed,
even though not one of them had come yet.[l]
17 How deep[m] are your thoughts, God!
How great is their number!
18 Were I to count them,
they would number more than the sand.
When I awake, I will be with you.
19 God, if only you would execute the wicked,
so that[n] the men guilty of bloodshed would get away from me,
20 who speak against you with evil motives,
your enemies who are acting in vain.
21 I hate those who hate you, Lord, do I not?
I loathe those who rebel against you, do I not ?
22 With consummate hatred I hate them;
I consider them my enemies.
23 Examine me, God, and know my mind,
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive tendency[o] in me,
and lead me in the eternal way.
Israel’s Initial Fidelity
2 This message from the Lord came to me:
2 “Go and announce to Jerusalem:
‘This is what the Lord says:
“I remember the loyal devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride.
You followed me in the desert,
in a land that was not planted.
3 Israel was consecrated[a] to the Lord,
she was the first fruits[b] of his produce.
All who devoured her became guilty
and disaster came on them,”
declares the Lord.’”
Her Rejection of God’s Love
4 Listen to this message from the Lord,
you descendants of Jacob
and all the families of the descendants of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“What did your ancestors find wrong with me
that they left me,
and pursued worthless things,[c]
and so they became worthless?
6 “They didn’t ask, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,
through the land of desert and pits,
through the land of dryness and deep darkness,
a land that people don’t pass through,
and where no one lives?’
7 “I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit
and its good things.
But you came in, defiled my land,
and made my inheritance into an abomination.
8 “The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
and those handling the Law didn’t know me.
The rulers transgressed against me,
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they followed that which does not profit.[d]
9 “Therefore I’ll again accuse you,”
declares the Lord,
“and I’ll accuse your grandchildren.”
10 “Indeed, go over to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
send to Kedar and pay very close attention.
See if there has ever been such a thing as this!
11 Has a nation ever changed gods
when they aren’t even gods?
But my people have exchanged their glory
for that which does not profit.
12 Heavens, be appalled at this,
be shocked, be utterly[e] devastated,”
declares the Lord.
13 “Indeed, my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,[f]
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Consequences of Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 “Is Israel a slave, or was he born a servant?[g]
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Young lions roar at him, they cry out loudly.
They have made his land into a wasteland,
and his cities are destroyed
so they are without inhabitants.
16 Also, people from Memphis and Tahpanhes[h]
have broken[i] your skull.
17 You have done this to yourselves, have you not,
by forsaking the Lord your God, when he
is the one who led you on the way?
18 Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
And what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your wickedness will be punished,
and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy.
Know and see that it’s evil and bitter for you
to forsake the Lord your God,
but the fear of me is not in you,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
20 “For long ago I broke your yoke
and tore off your bonds,
But you said, ‘I won’t serve you!’
Instead, on every high hill
and under every green tree,
you bend down to commit fornication.
21 I planted you myself as a choice vine,
from the very best seed.[j]
How did you turn against me
into a degenerate and foreign vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Lord God.
Israel’s Passion for Sin
23 “How can you say, ‘I’m not defiled.
I haven’t gone after the Baals.’?[k]
Look at what you’ve done[l] in the valley.
Know what you have done.
You are a swift young camel galloping aimlessly;
24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her passion.
When she’s in heat,
who can turn her away?
None of the males who pursue her need to tire themselves out,
for in her month[m] they’ll find her.”
25 “Don’t run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.[n]
But you say, ‘It’s hopeless!
Because I love foreign gods,[o] I’ll go after them!’”
26 “As a thief is disgraced when he’s caught,
so the house of Israel is disgraced—
they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
They have turned their back to me,
but not their faces.
In the time of their trouble, they’ll say,
‘Rise up! Deliver us!’”
28 “But where are your gods
that you made for yourselves?
Let them rise up, if they can deliver you
in the time of your trouble.
You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.
29 Why do you contend with me?
You have rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
30 “I’ve punished your children with no results,[p]
they have accepted no discipline.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a destroying lion.”
31 “You, generation,
pay attention to[q] this message from the Lord!
Am I the desert to Israel,
or a land of gloom?
Why do my people say, ‘We’re free to roam?
We won’t come to you anymore.’
32 Will a young woman forget her wedding[r] ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
But my people have forgotten me
days without number.
33 How well you perfect your techniques[s] for seeking love.
Therefore you can teach even the most immoral women[t] your techniques.[u]
34 On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
even though you didn’t catch them breaking in.
Yet despite all these things,
35 you say, ‘I’m innocent.
Surely his anger has turned away from me.’”
“I’m about to bring charges against you[v]
because you say, ‘I haven’t sinned.’
36 Why do you go about changing your mind so much?
You will also be disappointed[w] by Egypt,
just as you were disappointed[x] by Assyria.
37 You will also go out from this place
with your hands over your heads.[y]
For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you won’t prosper through them.”
Interpreting the Time(A)
16 When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus[a] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied to them, “You say,
‘Red sky at night,
what a delight!
3 Red sky in the morning,
cloudy and storming.’
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, yet you can’t interpret the signs of the times?[b] 4 An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees(B)
5 When his disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take any bread along. 6 Jesus told them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
7 As they began to discuss this among themselves, they kept saying, “We didn’t bring along any bread.”
8 Knowing this, Jesus asked them, “You who have little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don’t have any bread? 9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you collected, 10 or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you collected? 11 How can you fail to understand that I wasn’t talking to you about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
12 Then they understood that he did not say to beware of the yeast used in bread,[c] but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter Declares His Faith in Jesus(C)
13 When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They said, “Some say[d] John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[e] the Son of the living God!”
17 Then Jesus told him, “How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah,[f] since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has. 18 I tell you that you are Peter,[g] and it is on this rock[h] that I will build my congregation,[i] and the powers of hell[j] will not conquer it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom from[k] heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited[l] in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted[m] in heaven.”
20 Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.[n]
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(D)
21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God be merciful to you, Lord! This must never happen to you!”
23 But Jesus[o] turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense[p] to me, because you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts!”
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously. 25 Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, 26 because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to what he has done. 28 I tell all of you[q] with certainty, some people standing here will not experience[r] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
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