M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
10 When Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had totally destroyed the kings and cities of Jericho and Ai, and when he discovered that the Israelites had made a treaty with the people of Gibeon and were living alongside Israel, 2 he was greatly alarmed. The city of Gibeon was large, almost like a royal city, much larger than Ai and with many trained warriors. 3-5 So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, dispatched messages to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon.
Adoni-zedek (to the Amorite kings): Let us band together and destroy Gibeon, for they have become allies to these invaders, Joshua and the Israelites.
So these five kings of the Amorites gathered their forces and came down upon the city of Gibeon like a mighty wave. 6 The Gibeonites, seeing the camps of these five armies, sent a message to Joshua in the Israelite camp at Gilgal.
Gibeonites (pleading with Joshua): Please don’t abandon your servants. The five kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have come down to attack us. Come quickly to help us.
7 So Joshua honored the oath they had sworn, and he gathered up all of his fighting forces, all the mighty warriors, and went up from Gilgal toward Gibeon.
Eternal One (to Joshua): 8 Don’t be afraid of the Amorites. Like Jericho and Ai, I am delivering these armies into your hands. None of them will be able to stand against you.
9 Joshua surprised them, having marched his men all night from Gilgal, 10 and the Eternal caused fear and confusion among the Amorite armies at the sudden sight of Israel among them. He slaughtered the Amorites at Gibeon like cattle, chasing and killing them all the way up Beth-horon, and striking them down as far away as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled for their lives down the far slope of Beth-horon, He hurled huge and deadly hailstones upon them from heaven, as far as Azekah. More Amorites were killed by God’s hailstones than by the people of Israel on that day.
12 On the day of the Eternal’s great slaughter, Joshua consulted with the Eternal One; and then, in front of all the people of Israel, he commanded the sun and the moon.
Joshua: Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and Moon, remain over the valley of Aijalon.
Gibeon is in the east and Aijalon is in the west, so this is a favorable celestial omen for Israel and an unfavorable omen for the Amorite coalition.
13 The sun stood still in the heavens; and the moon did likewise, so that the battle could continue until the Israelites had destroyed their enemies, just as it was written in the scroll of Jashar. The sun stalled in the sky for almost an entire day before it set. 14 There has never been another day like this before or since, when the Eternal so answered a person’s prayer, for the Eternal fought for the people of Israel.
God proves that He is greater than any of the local gods—that He is above all other gods—by these cosmic miracles. While today, of course, we know that the earth orbits the sun, not vice versa, the story is clear enough: only an all-powerful God can halt the sun and moon in their courses.
15 Joshua and the Israelites later returned to the camp at Gilgal, 16 but the kings slipped away at the height of the battle and hid in a cave at Makkedah. 17 Someone told Joshua they had been found hiding there.
Joshua: 18-19 Seal up the mouth of the cave with large stones, and leave men to guard them while we pursue the other forces and attack them from behind. Don’t let them reach their towns because the Eternal One, your True God, has given you victory over them.
20 When Joshua and the Israelites had killed all those who did not escape back into the fortified cities, 21 they all returned safely to camp with Joshua at Makkedah, and no one dared to speak a negative word about the Israelites.
Joshua: 22 Open up the cave and bring the five kings before me.
23 They brought forth the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon 24 and led them in front of Joshua and the Israelites.
Joshua (to those who had led the warriors): Come here. Place your feet upon the necks of these kings.
So the leaders did.
Joshua: 25 There’s nothing to be afraid of here. Be strong and courageous because the Eternal will do to all our enemies what He has done to these kings.
26 Joshua had the kings executed and hung on five trees; and they hung until sunset 27 when Joshua commanded they be taken down, as God’s law requires. Their bodies were thrown into the cave where they had hidden, and the cave was sealed as a tomb by piling stones across the mouth. Their remains lie there to this very day.
28 Also on that day Joshua defeated Makkedah and its king, destroying it completely, killing everyone in it and the king, as he had done in Jericho.
29 Next Joshua led his forces from Makkedah against Libnah, 30 and the Eternal gave the town and its king into their hands. They took no prisoners. They killed everyone in the town and destroyed it and the king, as they did to the king of Jericho.
31 From there Joshua and the Israelites passed on to Lachish and besieged it, 32 and on the second day the Eternal gave Lachish to them. They destroyed it and killed everyone in it, as they had just done to Libnah. 33 When King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, Joshua turned the army against him and his people and destroyed them, leaving no survivors.
34 Passing from Lachish, Joshua and the people attacked Eglon, 35 and it fell to them on the first day. They killed everyone with the sword and destroyed it completely, as they had Lachish.
36 Then Joshua went up with all the forces of Israel from Eglon against Hebron, 37 and it fell to them—its king, all of its villages, and all of its people. Joshua killed everyone with the sword and destroyed it as he had destroyed Eglon. 38 Lastly Joshua, with all of Israel, attacked Debir 39 and took its king, its villages, and all of its people. The Israelites killed them with the sword and destroyed them all. Joshua left no one alive. He did to Debir and its king just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
40 So this is how Joshua and the Israelites defeated every area they had encountered: the hill country, the wilderness of the Negev, the coastlands, and the foothills with all the people and all their kings, leaving no one alive, as the Eternal God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua won victories from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and through all the country of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua was able to capture and defeat all these people and all their kings for one simple reason: the Eternal God of Israel fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned to Gilgal to camp with all the Israelites.
Psalm 142
A contemplative prayer[a] of David while he hid in a cave.
1 I call out loudly to the Eternal One;
I lift my voice to the Eternal begging for His favor.
2 I let everything that’s going wrong spill out of my mouth;
I spell out all my troubles to Him.
3 When my spirit buckled under the burdens I bear,
You knew my way.
They conspired to trip me up and trap me
on the path where I was walking.
4 Take a look around and see—to the right, to the left—
no one is there who cares for me.
There’s no way out of here;
no one cares about the state of my soul.
5 You are the One I called to, O Eternal One.
I said, “You’re the only safe place I know;
You’re all I’ve got in this world.
6 Oh, let me know that You hear my cry
because I’m languishing and desperate;
Rescue me from those who torment me
because there’s no way I can stand up to them;
they are much too strong for me.
7 Lift my captive soul from this dark prison
so I may render to You my gratitude;
Then Your righteous people will gather around me
because You will treat me with astounding goodness.”
Psalm 143
A song of David.
1 Eternal One, I come to You in prayer.
Hear me out; I plead with You.
Lend an ear to my requests.
In Your faithfulness and justice, respond to my pleas.
2 Be kind and slow to judge Your faithful servant,
for compared to You, no one is truly just.
3 My adversary has pressed in, drawn closer, threatened my life;
he’s crushed me, driven me underground.
He’s forced me to live in the dark;
it’s as if I joined those who died a long time ago.
4 That’s why my spirit is growing faint inside me; I have nothing left;
my heart is completely empty and desolate.
5 And yet I can’t forget the days of old, the days I’ve heard so much about;
I fix my mind on all You have done;
I ponder the work of Your hands;
6 I reach out my hands to You.
All that I am aches and yearns for You, like a dry land thirsting for rain.
[pause][b]
7 Hurry and answer me, O Eternal One,
for my spirit is weak, my courage is gone.
Do not turn away; let me see Your face;
otherwise, I’ll die and be like all those who have gone to the grave.
8 Make me hear of Your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in You.
Teach me how I should walk,
for I offer my soul up to You.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Eternal One,
for You are my shelter from them.
10 Teach me how to do Your will,
for You are my God.
Allow Your good Spirit to guide me
on level ground, to guide me along Your path.
11 For the sake of Your name and the good of Your reputation,
preserve me, O Eternal One.
In Your righteousness, save my life from burden and misery.
12 In Your loyal love, silence my enemies for good;
destroy all those who take pleasure in my suffering,
for I am Your faithful servant!
4 Eternal One: O Israel if you turn, turn home to Me.
Just turn away from the vile worship of those things,
those idols that repulse Me.
Put them out of My sight for good.
Come home to Me and never stray.
2 If you make a promise in My name, saying, “As the Eternal lives,”
and do so in truth, justice, and righteousness,
Then the nations will discover true blessing in Me
and give Me the praise I deserve.
3 This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.
Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil!
It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Me;
cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
Remove all that stands between us,
and devote yourselves fully to Me,
Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
against your wicked ways.
The warnings now climax with a vision of invasion and destruction that is almost more than the young prophet can bear. Still God instructs Jeremiah to speak these words of terror, and this prophet who loves the people he has been called to chastise struggles with his mission. In the midst of this painful vision, Jeremiah begins to wonder aloud to the very God for whom he speaks. As he proclaims, he prays. As he waits for answers, the words of devastation continue.
5 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Cry out to those in Jerusalem. Proclaim to all of Judah.
Let the trumpets blare throughout the land!
Say to the people, “Gather everyone from the outlying villages,
and run toward the fortified cities.”
6 Raise a banner toward Zion, Jerusalem;
point everyone toward her refuge.
Don’t wait, for I am releasing an evil from the north that will devastate the land.
7 For a lion has stepped out of the thicket;
A destroyer of nations is on the move.
He has left his den to devour your land;
your cities will be left in ruin, empty and lifeless.”
8 The time of mourning is here.
Put on your sackcloth, and get ready to cry and scream.
Since we have not turned from our sin,
the blazing anger of the Eternal has not turned away from us.
Eternal One: 9 On that fearsome day, even the hearts of kings and leaders will fail. Priests will recoil in horror. Prophets will be shocked into silence.
Jeremiah: 10 But Eternal Lord, You have misled this people and all of Jerusalem when you said, “You will live in peace.” Even now the cold blade of the sword is pressed against our throats.
11 The day is coming soon when Jerusalem and the people beyond will be told, “A blistering wind will blow in from the desert mountains toward My daughter, My people: a wind too strong to winnow the grain and clean the crops, 12 a wind too powerful to withstand for it comes from Me. It is My judgment that will bear down on you.”
13 Look, you can see Him coming in the distance, like a cloud on the horizon.
Like a whirlwind, His chariots of destruction will descend on you.
Swifter than eagles are His horses. At the sight of this, you will cry out, “Alas, we are doomed!”
14 Hear me, O Jerusalem, for even now there is time.
Wash these wicked ways from your hearts
So that you can be saved.
How long will you cling to those wicked thoughts?
15 From the tribe of Dan in the north comes the first cry;
news of disaster arrives from the hill country of Ephraim.
16 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell the nations to beware.
Announce to Jerusalem:
“Invaders are coming from a distant land.
Their war cries will soon be heard in Judah’s villages.”
17 They will spread out and surround Jerusalem on every side like guards in a field,
all because she has acted against Me.
18 (to the people) You chose this path that led to disaster.
Your plans and actions brought it on.
It is your wickedness that tastes so bitter,
your evil that pierces your heart.
19 I’ve got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m in agony.
Every beat of my heart pounds with an awful dread.
I can’t stay silent, for I know what is coming—
oh my soul, there it is: the blast of the trumpet;
The battle cries of the invading hoards.
20 Crushing defeat after crushing defeat. That’s the news.
The land is in ruins, all of it.
In an instant, my world changed;
in a moment, my tents destroyed, my curtains torn, my refuge gone.
21 How long must I see the flags of the enemy?
How long must I be forced to hear the trumpets sound?
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 22 My people are foolish.
They do not know Me at all.
They are reckless, senseless children.
They are clever and cunning when it comes to evil,
But inept and incapable of doing good.
23 I looked at the earth and saw that it was again formless and empty;
I looked at the heavens and saw no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and saw them quaking;
all the hills, they shuddered.
25 I looked around and saw no hint of life.
The people were gone. The birds had fled the sky.
26 I looked at what was once a garden and saw a desert—
the rubble of its cities torn down right in front of the Eternal and His fierce anger.
27 Eternal One: The whole land will lie in ruin,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 Because of this devastation,
the earth will mourn and the skies will darken—for I have spoken.
Once I have decided, I will not change My mind.
I will not turn back from this.
29 As the horseman thunders closer and the archer draws near,
the people panic and the cities empty.
They scatter to the bushes; they scramble to the hills.
The villages are abandoned, for no one dares remain.
30 So what are you doing, my ravaged one?
Why are you dressing up in scarlet, putting on your gold jewelry,
And painting your eyes to make them larger, more beautiful?
You’re wasting your time.
Your lovers want nothing to do with you.
In fact, they despise you, and are looking to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor, the distress of a first-time mother.
It is the anguish of my people; it is the voice of the daughter of Zion,
Gasping for breath, reaching for help, as she cries out,
“I am faint, and my life is in the hands of murderers!”
18 Around that same time, the disciples came to Jesus and questioned Him about the kingdom of heaven.
A Disciple: In the kingdom of heaven, who is the greatest?
The disciples struggle with the concept of the kingdom of heaven. They do not yet understand that who is most important or most powerful is a contradiction in terms. This is the fourth of the five great sermons in Matthew.
2 Jesus called over a little child. He put His hand on the top of the child’s head.
Jesus: 3 This is the truth: unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 In that kingdom, the most humble who are most like this child are the greatest. 5 And whoever welcomes a child, welcomes her in My name, welcomes Me. 6 And do not lead astray one of the weak and friendless who believes in Me. If you do, it would be better for you to be dragged down with a millstone and drowned in the bottom of the sea.
7 Beware indeed of those in a world filled with obstacles and temptations that cause people to turn away from Me. Those temptations are woven into the fabric of a world not yet redeemed, but beware to anyone who lures righteous women and men off the narrow path. 8 If your hand constantly grasps at the things of this world rather than serves the Kingdom—cut it off and throw it away. If your foot is always leading you to wander, then cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to hobble, crippled, into the kingdom of life than to burn in hell with two hands and two feet. 9 And if your eye always focuses on things that cause you to sin, then pull your eye out and throw it away. It is better for you to see the kingdom of life with one eye than to see the fires of hell with perfect sight.
10 Make sure that you do not look down on the little ones, on those who are further behind you on the path of righteousness. For I tell you: they are watched over by those most beloved messengers who are always in the company of My Father in heaven. [11 The Son of Man has come to save all those who are lost.][a] 12 A shepherd in charge of 100 sheep notices that one of his sheep has gone astray. What do you think he should do? Should the shepherd leave the flock on the hills unguarded to search for the lost sheep? God’s shepherd goes to look for that one lost sheep, 13 and when he finds her, he is happier about her return than he is about the 99 who stayed put. 14 Your Father in heaven does not want a single one of the tripped, waylaid, stumbling little ones to be lost.
The wisdom of the world says the shepherd should forget that one missing sheep and chalk it up as a loss. In God’s economy, each soul has its own value apart from all others. Jesus calls the people of His kingdom to help the weak and the friendless, the small and the frail, the mute and the poor, the ugly and the disfigured.
Jesus: 15 This is what you do if one of your brothers or sisters sins against you: go to him, in private, and tell him just what you perceive the wrong to be. If he listens to you, you’ve won a brother. 16 But sometimes he will not listen. And if he does not listen, go back, taking a friend or two friends with you (for, as we have learned in Deuteronomy, every matter of communal import should be testified to by two or three witnesses).[b] 17 Then, if your brother or sister still refuses to heed, you are to share what you know with the entire church; and if your brother or sister still refuses to listen to the entire church, you are to cast out your unrepentant sibling and consider him no different from outsiders and tax collectors.
What God desires most is not the casting out of an unrepentant member, but loving chastisement for the sake of bringing the sinful back to God.
18 Remember this: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 And this: if two or three of you come together as a community and discern clearly about anything, My Father in heaven will bless that discernment. 20 For when two or three gather together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
Peter: 21 Lord, when someone has sinned against me, how many times ought I forgive him? Once? Twice? As many as seven times?
Jesus: 22 You must forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven.
The response of Jesus is like the story of Lamech in Genesis. He was Adam and Eve’s great-great-great-great-grandson who had two wives. One day he said to his wives, “Wives of Lamech, I need to tell you something! I killed a man who struck me. Surely Lamech must be avenged seventy-seven times” (Genesis 4:23–24). In this new Kingdom of forgiveness, we reverse and invert Lamech’s plan. As Christians, we should forgive others’ transgressions more readily than the world would avenge them.
Jesus: 23 If you want to understand the kingdom of heaven, think about a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 Just as the king began to get his accounts in order, his assistants called his attention to a slave who owed a huge sum to him—what a laborer might make in 500 lifetimes.[c] 25 The slave, maybe an embezzler, had no way to make restitution, so the king ordered that he, his wife, their children, and everything the family owned be sold on the auction block; the proceeds from the slave sale would go toward paying back the king. 26 Upon hearing this judgment, the slave fell down, prostrated himself before the king, and begged for mercy: “Have mercy on me, and I will somehow pay you everything.” 27 The king was moved by the pathos of the situation, so indeed he took pity on the servant, told him to stand up, and then forgave the debt.
28 But the slave went and found a friend, another slave, who owed him about a hundred days’ wages.[d] “Pay me back that money,” shouted the slave, throttling his friend and shaking him with threats and violence. 29 The slave’s friend fell down prostrate and begged for mercy: “Have mercy on me, and I will somehow pay you everything.” 30 But the first slave cackled and was hard-hearted and refused to hear his friend’s plea. He found a magistrate and had his friend thrown into prison “where,” he said, “you will sit until you can pay me back.” 31 The other servants saw what was going on. They were upset, so they went to the king and told him everything that had happened.
32 The king summoned the slave, the one who had owed so much money, the one whose debt the king had forgiven. The king was livid. “You slovenly scum,” he said, seething with anger. “You begged me to forgive your debt, and I did. 33 What would be the faithful response to such latitude and generosity? Surely you should have shown the same charity to a friend who was in your debt.”
34 The king turned over the unmerciful slave to his brigade of torturers, and they had their way with him until he should pay his whole debt. 35 And that is what My Father in heaven will do to you, unless you forgive each of your brothers and each of your sisters from the very cockles of your heart.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.