M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Midianites Fight Israel
6 Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. So for seven years the Lord allowed the Midianites to defeat the Israelites.
2 The Midianites were very powerful and were cruel to the Israelites. So the Israelites made many hiding places in the mountains. They hid their food in caves and places that were hard to find. 3 They did that because the Midianites and Amalekites from the east always came and destroyed their crops. 4 They camped in the land and destroyed the crops that the Israelites had planted. They ruined the crops of the Israelites as far as the land near the city of Gaza. They did not leave anything for the Israelites to eat. They did not even leave them any sheep, cattle, or donkeys. 5 The Midianites came with their families, animals, and tents. They were like a swarm of locusts! They and their camels were too many to count. They came into the land and ruined it. 6 The Israelites became very poor because of the Midianites. So the Israelites cried to the Lord for help.
7 [a] The Midianites did all these bad things, so the Israelites cried to the Lord for help. 8 The Lord sent a prophet to them. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You were slaves in the land of Egypt. I made you free and brought you out of that land. 9 I saved you from the powerful Egyptians. Then the Canaanites hurt you, so I saved you again. I made them leave their land. And I gave their land to you.’ 10 Then I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You will live in the land of the Amorites, but you must not worship their false gods.’ But you did not obey me.”
The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon
11-12 One time the angel of the Lord came to a place called Ophrah and sat under an oak tree. This oak tree belonged to a man named Joash from the Abiezer family. His son Gideon was beating some wheat[b] in a winepress. He was hiding so that the Midianites could not see the wheat. The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord be with you, brave soldier.”
13 Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir, but if the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? We heard that he did wonderful things for our ancestors. They tell us that the Lord took them out of Egypt. But now it seems the Lord has left us and is letting the Midianites defeat us.”
14 The Lord turned toward Gideon and said, “Then use your great power and go save the Israelites from the Midianites. I am sending you to save them.”
15 But Gideon answered and said, “Pardon me, sir.[c] How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the youngest one in my family.”
16 The Lord answered Gideon and said, “I will be with you, so you can defeat the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.”
17 Then Gideon said to him, “If you would, please give me some proof that you really are the Lord. 18 Please wait here. Don’t go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it down in front of you.”
And the Lord said, “I will wait until you come back.”
19 So Gideon went in and cooked a young goat in boiling water. He also took about 20 pounds[d] of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket and the broth from the meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth, and the bread without yeast and gave them to the Lord under the oak tree.
20 The angel of God said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the bread on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on it.” Gideon did as he was told.
21 The angel of the Lord had a walking stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick, and fire jumped up out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel of the Lord disappeared.
22 Then Gideon realized that he had been talking to the angel of the Lord. So he shouted, “Oh, Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 But the Lord said to Gideon, “Calm down![e] Don’t be afraid! You will not die!”[f]
24 So Gideon built an altar there to worship the Lord and named it “The Lord is Peace.” It still stands in the city of Ophrah, where the Abiezer family lives.
Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal
25 That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Choose your father’s best bull, the one that is seven years old.[g] First, use it to pull down the altar your father built to worship Baal. Also, cut down the Asherah pole beside the altar. 26 Then build the right kind of altar for the Lord your God. Build it on this high ground. Then kill and burn the bull on this altar. Use the wood from the Asherah pole to burn your offering.”
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the Lord had told him to do. But Gideon was afraid that his family and the men of the city might see what he was doing, so he did it all at night, not in the daytime.
28 The men of the city got up the next morning and saw that the altar for Baal had been destroyed! They also saw that the Asherah pole had been cut down. It had been sitting next to the altar for Baal. They also saw the altar that Gideon had built. And they saw the bull that had been sacrificed on that altar.
29 The men of the city looked at each other and asked, “Who pulled down our altar? Who cut down our Asherah pole? Who sacrificed this bull on this new altar?” They asked many questions and tried to learn who did this.
Someone told them, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”
30 So the men of the city came to Joash and said, “You must bring your son out. He pulled down the altar for Baal, and he cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it. So your son must die.”
31 Then Joash spoke to the crowd that was standing around him. Joash said, “Are you going to take Baal’s side? Are you going to rescue Baal? If anyone takes Baal’s side, let him be put to death by morning. If Baal really is a god, let him defend himself when someone pulls down his altar.” 32 Joash said, “If Gideon pulled Baal’s altar down, let Baal argue with him.” On that day Joash gave Gideon a new name. He called him Jerub-Baal.[h]
Gideon Defeats the Midianites
33 The Midianites, Amalekites, and other people from the east joined together to fight against the Israelites. They went across the Jordan River and camped in the Jezreel Valley. 34 The Spirit of the Lord filled Gideon. So Gideon blew a trumpet to call the family of Abiezer to follow him. 35 He sent messengers to all the people of the tribe of Manasseh and told them to get their weapons and prepare for battle. Gideon also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. The messengers took the same message to them. So they also went up to meet Gideon and his men.
36 Then Gideon said to God, “You said that you would help me save the Israelites. Give me proof. 37 I will put a sheepskin on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the sheepskin, while all the ground is dry, I will know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said.”
38 And that is exactly what happened. Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the sheepskin. He was able to drain a bowl full of water from it.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me. Let me ask just one more thing. Let me test you one more time with the sheepskin. This time let the sheepskin be dry, while the ground around it gets wet with dew.”
40 That night God did that very thing. Just the sheepskin was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.
Peter and Cornelius
10 In the city of Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a Roman army officer in what was called the Italian Unit. 2 He was a religious man. He and all the others who lived in his house were worshipers of the true God. He gave much of his money to help the poor people and always prayed to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God coming to him and saying, “Cornelius!”
4 Staring at the angel and feeling afraid, Cornelius said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said to him, “God has heard your prayers and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 5 Send some men now to the city of Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying with someone also named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.” 7 The angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier. The soldier was a religious man, one of his close helpers. 8 Cornelius explained everything to these three men and sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day they were coming near Joppa about noon, when Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat. But while they were preparing the food for Peter to eat, he had a vision. 11 He saw something coming down through the open sky. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill anything here and eat it.”
14 But Peter said, “I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat.” 16 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back up into heaven. 17 Peter wondered what this vision meant.
The men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house. They were standing at the door. 18 They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men without wondering if it’s all right, because I sent them.” 21 So Peter went downstairs and said to them, “I think I’m the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?”
22 The men said, “A holy angel told Cornelius to invite you to his house. He is an army officer. He is a good man, one who worships God, and all the Jewish people respect him. The angel told him to invite you to his house so that he can listen to what you have to say.” 23 Peter asked the men to come in and stay for the night.
The next day Peter got ready and went away with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went with him. 24 The next day they came to the city of Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had already gathered his relatives and close friends at his house.
25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. He fell down at Peter’s feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter told him to get up. Peter said, “Stand up! I am only a man like you.” 27 Peter continued talking with Cornelius. Then Peter went inside and saw a large group of people gathered there.
28 Peter said to the people, “You understand that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone who is not a Jew. But God has shown me that I should not consider anyone unfit or say they are not pure. 29 That’s why I didn’t argue when your men asked me to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house. It was at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly there was someone standing before me wearing bright, shiny clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 32 So send some men to the city of Joppa and tell Simon Peter to come. He is staying with another man named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately. It was very good of you to come here. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Peter Speaks in the House of Cornelius
34 Peter began to speak: “I really understand now that God does not consider some people to be better than others. 35 He accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. It is not important what nation they come from. 36 God has spoken to the people of Israel. He sent them the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people.
37 “You know what has happened all over Judea. It began in Galilee after John told the people they needed to be baptized. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth. God made him the Messiah by giving him the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus went everywhere doing good for people. He healed those who were ruled by the devil, showing that God was with him.
39 “We saw all that Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem. But he was killed. They put him on a cross made of wood. 40 But on the third day after his death, God raised him to life and let him be seen openly. 41 He was not seen by everyone, but only by us, the ones God had already chosen to be witnesses. We ate and drank with him after he was raised from death.
42 “Jesus told us to go and speak to the people. He told us to tell them that he is the one God chose to be the Judge of all who are living and all who have died. 43 Everyone who believes in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name. All the prophets agree that this is true.”
God Shows That He Accepts All People
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his speech. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the Holy Spirit had been poured out as a gift also to people who were not Jews. 46 They heard them speaking different languages and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “How can anyone object to these people being baptized in water? They have received the Holy Spirit the same as we did!” 48 So Peter told them to baptize Cornelius and his relatives and friends in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
The Broken Jar
19 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and some priests with you. 2 Go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the front of the Potsherd Gate.[a] I have a message I want you to announce there. 3 Say to those who are with you, ‘King of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: I will soon make a terrible thing happen to this place! Everyone who hears about it will be amazed and full of fear. 4 I will do these things because the people of Judah have stopped following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. The people of Judah have burned sacrifices in this place to other gods. The people long ago did not worship those gods. Their ancestors did not worship them. These are new gods from other countries. The kings of Judah filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 The kings of Judah built high places for the god Baal. They use those places to burn their sons in the fire. They burned their sons as burnt offerings to the god Baal. I did not tell them to do that. I did not ask them to offer their sons as sacrifices. I never even thought of such a thing. 6 Now people call this place Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom. But I give you this warning. This message is from the Lord: The days are coming, when people will call this place the Valley of Slaughter. 7 At this place, I will ruin the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The enemy will chase them, and I will let the people of Judah be killed with swords in this place. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild animals. 8 I will completely destroy this city. People will whistle and shake their heads when they pass by Jerusalem. They will be shocked when they see how the city was destroyed. 9 The enemy will bring its army around the city. That army will not let people go out to get food, so the people in the city will begin to starve. They will become so hungry that they will eat the bodies of their own sons and daughters, and then they will begin to eat each other.’
10 “Jeremiah, tell this to the people, and while they are watching, break the jar. 11 Then say this: ‘The Lord All-Powerful says, I will break the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, just as someone breaks a clay jar! And like a broken jar, the nation of Judah cannot be put together again. It will be the same for the nation of Judah. The dead people will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 I will do this to these people and to this place. I will make this city like Topheth.’ This message is from the Lord. 13 ‘The houses in Jerusalem will become as “dirty” as this place, Topheth. The kings’ palaces will be ruined like this place, Topheth, because the people worshiped false gods on the roofs of their houses.[b] They worshiped the stars and burned sacrifices to honor them. They gave drink offerings to false gods.’”
14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had told him to speak. Jeremiah went to the Lord’s Temple and stood in the courtyard of the Temple. Jeremiah said to all the people: 15 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel says: ‘I said I would bring many disasters to Jerusalem and the villages around it. I will soon make this happen because the people are very stubborn. They refuse to listen and obey me.’”
Jesus Frees a Man From Evil Spirits(A)
5 Jesus and his followers went across the lake to the area where the Gerasene people[a] lived. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man came to him from the caves where the dead are buried. This man had an evil spirit living inside him. 3 He lived in the burial caves. No one could keep him tied up, even with chains. 4 Many times people had put chains on his hands and feet, but he broke the chains. No one was strong enough to control him. 5 Day and night he stayed around the burial caves and on the hills. He would scream and cut himself with rocks.
6 While Jesus was still far away, the man saw him. He ran to Jesus and bowed down before him. 7-8 As Jesus was saying, “You evil spirit, come out of this man,” the man shouted loudly, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you in God’s name not to punish me!”
9 Then Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
The man answered, “My name is Legion,[b] because there are many spirits inside me.” 10 The spirits inside the man begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of that area.
11 A large herd of pigs was eating on a hill near there. 12 The evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.” 13 So Jesus allowed them to do this. The evil spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs ran down the hill and into the lake. They were all drowned. There were about 2000 pigs in that herd.
14 The men who had the work of caring for the pigs ran away. They ran to the town and to the farms and told everyone what happened. The people went out to see. 15 They came to Jesus, and they saw the man who had the many evil spirits. He was sitting down and was wearing clothes. He was in his right mind again. When they saw this, they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what Jesus did told the others what happened to the man who had the demons living in him. And they also told about the pigs. 17 Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area.
18 Jesus was preparing to leave in the boat. The man who was now free from the demons begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus did not allow the man to go. He said, “Go home to your family and friends. Tell them about all that the Lord did for you. Tell them how the Lord was good to you.”
20 So the man left and told the people in the Ten Towns about the great things Jesus did for him. Everyone was amazed.
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman(B)
21 Jesus went back to the other side of the lake in the boat. There, a large crowd of people gathered around him on the shore. 22 A leader of the synagogue came. His name was Jairus. He saw Jesus and bowed down before him. 23 He begged Jesus again and again, saying, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and lay your hands on her. Then she will be healed and will live.”
24 So Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed Jesus. They were pushing very close around him.
25 There among the people was a woman who had been bleeding for the past twelve years. 26 She had suffered very much. Many doctors had tried to help her, and all the money she had was spent, but she was not improving. In fact, her sickness was getting worse.
27 The woman heard about Jesus, so she followed him with the other people and touched his coat. 28 She thought, “If I can just touch his clothes, that will be enough to heal me.” 29 As soon as she touched his coat, her bleeding stopped. She felt that her body was healed from all the suffering. 30 Jesus immediately felt power go out from him, so he stopped and turned around. “Who touched my clothes?” he asked.
31 The followers said to Jesus, “There are so many people pushing against you. But you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus continued looking for the one who touched him. 33 The woman knew that she was healed, so she came and bowed at Jesus’ feet. She was shaking with fear. She told Jesus the whole story. 34 He said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace. You will not suffer anymore.”
35 While Jesus was still there speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the Teacher.”
36 But Jesus did not care what the men said. He said to the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. 38 They went to the synagogue leader’s house, where Jesus saw many people crying loudly. There was a lot of confusion. 39 He entered the house and said, “Why are you people crying and making so much noise? This child is not dead. She is only sleeping.” 40 But everyone laughed at him.
Jesus told the people to leave the house. Then he went into the room where the child was. He brought the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room with him. 41 Then Jesus held the girl’s hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 The girl immediately stood up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) The father and mother and the followers were amazed. 43 Jesus gave the father and mother very strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl some food to eat.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International