M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 A powerful man named Kish, who descended from Abiel, Zeror, Becorath, and Aphiah (the son of a Benjaminite), lived among the people of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a handsome young son named Saul. Now Saul was not only the most handsome man in Israel, but he was also the most imposing, standing taller than all others.
3 One day Saul’s father Kish had lost his donkeys, having wandered away, so he told his son Saul to take one of the servants and look for them. 4 They traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, through the land of Shalishah, and through the land of Shaalim, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not see the donkeys.
5 At last, when they came to Zuph, Saul told the servant who accompanied him,
Saul: We had better turn around. If we keep going, my father will stop worrying about his donkeys and start worrying about us.
Servant: 6 I hear there is a man of God in this village, a man who is respected because what he predicts is always true. Before we go home, let’s go and talk to him; maybe he will have some guidance about this journey we have begun.
Saul: 7 But if we go, what will we bring to this man? We can’t show up empty-handed, but even the bread in our sacks is gone. I have nothing to give the man of God. Do you have anything?
Servant: 8 I have a tenth of an ounce of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and maybe he can tell us where to go.
9 It used to be in Israel that when people wanted to ask God a question, they would say, “Let’s go talk to the seer.” Now they are most commonly referred to as prophets, but they were called seers.
Saul: 10-11 Very good. Let’s go, then.
As they traveled up to the city to visit the man of God, they saw some girls on their way to draw water at the well.
Saul: Can we find the seer here?
Girls: 12 Yes, he’s just ahead of you. He has come here because there is a sacrifice today at the altar on the high place. You can catch him if you hurry. 13 Look for him just as you come into the city, and you should catch him before he goes up to the high place to eat. No one will eat until he gets there, since he is the one who will bless the sacrifice. After he does that, those who have been invited can eat. Now go on. You should encounter him right away.
14 They went immediately, and as they entered the city, Samuel was walking in their direction on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the Eternal One had told Samuel on the previous day,
Eternal One: 16 Tomorrow at about this same time I will send you a young man from Benjamin. You will anoint him to be a ruler over all Israel. I will give him strength to save My people from the Philistines because I hear their cries in their misery.
17 When Samuel saw Saul walking toward him, the Eternal spoke to him.
Eternal One: Look! This is the young man I told you about. I’ve chosen him to rule over My people.
18 There inside the gate, Saul walked up to Samuel.
Saul: Can you tell me, please, where I might find the seer’s house?
Samuel: 19 You have found him. Come with me to the high place, and eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will tell you what you need to know and then send you on your way. 20 As for those donkeys that wandered off three days ago? Don’t give them any further thought. Someone has found them. Israel is more concerned today with you and your family.
Saul: 21 I come from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and I belong to the poorest family in Benjamin. Why are you saying these things to me?
22 Samuel took Saul and his servant up to the hall where around 30 people waited, and he made them sit in the places of honor.
Samuel (to the cook): 23 Bring the portion I gave you and asked you to set aside.
24 The cook brought the thigh along with other select parts and set them in front of Saul.
Samuel (pointing to the meat): Take a look. This was set aside for you. Eat and enjoy it all because this has been reserved for you until the appointed time. I have invited these people to be our guests.
So Saul feasted with Samuel the rest of the day. 25 When they returned to the city from eating at the high place, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.
26 The next morning, at the break of dawn, Samuel shouted up to Saul on the roof.
Samuel (to Saul): Wake up! It is time for me to send you on your way.
Saul rose, and he and Samuel walked out into the street. 27 When they reached the edge of the city, Samuel told him,
Samuel: Send your servant on ahead. When he’s far enough away, stop and let’s talk. I need to give you a message from the True God.
Grace is no license to sin. As creatures, we are made to serve our Creator. In the absence of truth, we will serve somebody or something. It’s an essential part of our nature. Our only choice is this: whom will we serve? At one time, we all served sin and grew weak under its deadly power over us. Now, through God’s grace, we have become servants of obedience that sets us right with God, each other, and ourselves. We must daily decide whose servant we are and offer Him our hands, our feet, our hearts, our eyes.
7 My brothers and sisters who are well versed in the law, don’t you realize that a person is subject to the law only as long as he is alive? 2 So, for example, a wife is obligated by the law to her husband until his death; if the husband dies, she is freed from the parts of the law that relate to her marriage. 3 If she is sleeping with another man while her husband is alive, she is rightly labeled an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law and can marry another man. In such a case, she is not an adulteress.
4 My brothers and sisters, in the same way, you have died when it comes to the law because of your connection with the body of the Anointed One. His death—and your death with Him—frees you to belong to the One who was raised from the dead so we can bear fruit for God. 5 As we were living in the flesh, the law could not solve the problem of sin; it only awakened our lust for more and cultivated the fruit of death in our bodily members. 6 But now that we have died to those chains that imprisoned us, we have been released from the law to serve in a new Spirit-empowered life, not the old written code.
7 So what is the story? Is the law itself sin? Absolutely not! It is the exact opposite. I would never have known what sin is if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known that desiring something that belongs to my neighbor is sin if the law had not said, “You are not to covet.”[a] 8 Sin took advantage of the commandment to create a constant stream of greed and desire within me; I began to want everything. You see, apart from the law, sin lies dormant. 9 There was a time when I was living without the law, but the commandment came and changed everything: sin came to life, and I died. 10 This commandment was supposed to bring life; but in my experience, it brought death. 11 Sin took advantage of the commandment, tricked me, and exploited it in order to kill me. 12 So hear me out: the law is holy; and its commandments are holy, right, and good.
13 So did the good law bring about my death? Absolutely not! It was sin that killed me, not the law. It’s the nature of sin to produce death through what is good and exploit the commandments to multiply sin’s vile effects. 14 This is what we know: the law comes from the spiritual realm. My problem is that I am of the fallen human realm, owned by sin, which tries to keep me in its service.
God gives Israel the law as part of His covenant promises. The law does a great deal for His people; mainly it sets them apart from all other nations of the world and gives them a blueprint for God’s will. But, according to Paul, the law cannot fix everything that is wrong with this broken world. Although the law is perfectly suited for bringing sin to the surface and exposing it, the law cannot free people from the power of sin and its evil twin, death.
15 Listen, I can’t explain my actions. Here’s why: I am not able to do the things I want; and at the same time, I do the things I despise. 16 If I am doing the things I have already decided not to do, I am agreeing with the law regarding what is good. 17 But now I am no longer the one acting—I’ve lost control—sin has taken up residence in me and is wreaking havoc. 18 I know that in me, that is, in my fallen human nature, there is nothing good. I can will myself to do something good, but that does not help me carry it out. 19 I can determine that I am going to do good, but I don’t do it; instead, I end up living out the evil that I decided not to do. 20 If I end up doing the exact thing I pledged not to do, I am no longer doing it because sin has taken up residence in me.
21 Here’s an important principle I’ve discovered: regardless of my desire to do the right thing, it is clear that evil is never far away. 22 For deep down I am in happy agreement with God’s law; 23 but the rest of me does not concur. I see a very different principle at work in my bodily members, and it is at war with my mind; I have become a prisoner in this war to the rule of sin in my body. 24 I am absolutely miserable! Is there anyone who can free me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? 25 I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! So on the one hand, I devotedly serve God’s law with my mind; but on the other hand, with my flesh, I serve the principle of sin.
46 The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah concerning the nations.
Prophets often speak against foreign nations. God is not neutral to the designs and practices of outsiders. These first oracles are directed against the nation of Egypt, who fought and lost the Battle of Carchemish in 605 b.c. Though the fallout was not immediate, this battle was the undoing of Egypt. Babylon is now clearly the dominant world power, and Nebuchadnezzar is her despotic and cruel ruler. But as powerful as he is now and is destined to become, the Babylonian king is only an instrument in the hand of God. By continuing to oppose Babylon and fostering ill-fated political alliances with other nations, Egypt is, in effect, opposing God Himself. God will accomplish what He sets out to do—and all will answer to Him—for God is the God of all history and sovereign over all rulers.
2 This message is about Egypt and the army and her king, Pharaoh Neco; they were defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This decisive battle happened when Jehoiakim (son of Josiah) had been king of Judah for four years.
3 Eternal One: Line up your shields, large and small.
March toward the battle!
4 Harness your horses; mount your stallions!
Get in position; put your helmets on!
Polish your spears; put on your armor!
5 And what do I see when I look at the Egyptian army?
They are panicked, pulling back in retreat;
their mighty warriors are already defeated.
Look how they run away so quickly,
never looking back, for terror is everywhere they turn.
6 The fast cannot outrun it; the mighty cannot escape it.
Beside the river Euphrates in the north, they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this I see rising like the river Nile,
like a swollen, flooding river?
8 It is Egypt that rises like the river Nile,
her pride like a swollen, flooding river.
Pharaoh blusters, “I will rise and cover the earth, like a river.
I will destroy the cities and their people who dare to stand in my way.”
9 Charge, O horses; go up into the fray! Let your chariots madly rush in!
March, mighty warriors, summoned to war.
Soldiers of Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
archers of Ludim who bend the bow, march to your defeat!
10 For this day belongs to the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies;
it is a day of vengeance, a day to pay back His enemies.
The sword will devour them until it is satisfied,
until its thirst for their blood has been quenched.
For the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies,
will offer them as a sacrifice beside the river Euphrates in the land of the north.
11 Go up to Gilead to find balm for your wounds,
O virgin daughter of Egypt.
But you will find no relief in your many medicines.
This time your wound will not heal.
12 The nations of the world hear of your shame;
the earth is filled with your cries.
One mighty warrior stumbles over another,
and both of them fall down together.
13 This is the word the prophet Jeremiah received from the Eternal about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to attack the land of Egypt.
14 Eternal One: Make this announcement in Egypt, and tell everyone in Migdol;
proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes as well:
Take your positions, and get ready for battle,
for the sword will devour everyone around you.
15 Why are your mighty warriors lying face down?
They do not stand, indeed cannot stand,
Because I, the Eternal One, have pushed them to the ground.
16 These soldiers will stumble again and again—falling over each other.
They will say to each other, “Pick yourself up! Let us go home
To our own land and people;
let us escape the edge of our enemy’s sword.”
17 It is there, in that moment, that they will cry out,
“Pharaoh, king of Egypt, makes a lot of noise, but he missed his chance.”
18 As I live, says the King
whose name is the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,
That one is coming who will tower over you
like Mount Tabor over the mountains,
like Mount Carmel over the sea.
19 Pack for the coming exile, you citizens of Egypt,
for Memphis will be a wasteland, a city destroyed and empty of life.
20 Egypt is like a heifer—beautiful, but helpless—
because a biting horsefly from the north is coming against her.
21 The mercenaries in her army are like fattened calves:
they will turn and run, all of them together.
They will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming;
the time for their punishment is upon them.
22 Egypt will slither away like a hissing serpent
as her enemy marches on.
They will come with axes,
like woodsmen who cut down trees.
23 I, the Eternal One, declare, “As thick as the forest of Egypt might be,
they will chop her down,
For they are more numerous than locusts,
their numbers too great to count.
24 The daughter of Egypt will be disgraced;
she will be handed over to this nation from the north.”
25 Then the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, gave this word to Egypt and anyone foolish enough to side with Egypt.
Eternal One: Look! I will soon punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other so-called gods of Egypt. I will punish all her rulers, including Pharaoh (who claims to be a god himself) and any who trust in him. 26 I will hand them over to the enemy who wants them dead—to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his officers. But later, I will restore Egypt. Her people will return in numbers to live there again as in the days of old. I, the Eternal, promise this.
27 Do not be afraid, O Jacob, My servant.
Do not be dismayed, O Israel.
For I will rescue you from that distant land;
I will bring your children home from the exile.
Jacob will again know peace and what it means to feel secure.
No one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, O Jacob, My servant, for I am with you.
Even if I completely destroy all the nations
To which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you.
Remember this, O Israel: I will discipline you out of justice.
I will not let you go unpunished.
Psalm 22
For the worship leader. A song of David to the tune “Deer of the Dawn.”[a]
Jesus prayed this individual lament from the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Though it begins with a sense of abandonment, it ends on a triumphant note.
1 My God, my God, why have You turned Your back on me?
Your ears are deaf to my groans.
2 O my God, I cry all day and You are silent;
my tears in the night bring no relief.
3 Still, You are holy;
You make Your home on the praises of Israel.
4 Our mothers and fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.
5 They cried out to You for help and were spared;
they trusted in You and were vindicated.
6 But I am a worm and not a human being,
a disgrace and an object of scorn.
7 Everyone who sees me laughs at me;
they whisper to one another I’m a loser; they sneer and mock me, saying,
8 “He relies on the Eternal; let the Eternal rescue him
and keep him safe because He is happy with him.”
9 But You are the One who granted me life;
You endowed me with trust as I nursed at my mother’s breast.
10 I was dedicated to You at birth;
You’ve been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 Stay close to me—
trouble is at my door;
no one else can help me.
12 I’m surrounded by many tormenters;
like strong bulls of Bashan,[b] they circle around me with their taunts.
13 They open their mouths wide at me
like ravenous, roaring lions.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones have slipped out of joint.
My heart melts like wax inside me.
15 My strength is gone, dried up like shards of pottery;
my dry tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 A throng of evil ones has surrounded me
like a pack of wild dogs;
They[c] pierced my hands and ripped a hole in my feet.
17 I count all my bones;
people gawk and stare at me.
18 They make a game out of dividing my clothes among themselves;
they cast lots for the clothes on my back.
19 But You, O Eternal, stay close;
O You, my help, hurry to my side.
20 Save my life from violence,
my sweet life from the teeth of the wild dog.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen, You responded to my plea.
22 I will speak Your Name to my brothers and sisters
when I praise You in the midst of the community.
23 You who revere the Eternal, praise Him—
descendants of Jacob, worship Him;
be struck with wonder before Him, all you children of Israel.
24 He’s not put off
by the suffering of the suffering one;
He doesn’t pretend He hasn’t seen him;
when he pleaded for help, He listened.
25 You stir my praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows before those who humble their hearts before Him.
26 Those who are suffering will eat and be nourished;
those who seek Him will praise the Eternal.
May your hearts beat strong forever!
27 Those from the farthest reaches of the earth will remember
and turn back to look for the Eternal;
All the families of the nations
will worship You.
28 The Eternal owns the world;
He exercises His gentle rule over all the nations.
29 All the wealthy of the world will eat and worship;
all those who fall in the dust will bow before Him,
even the life that is headed to the grave.
30 Our children will serve Him;
future generations will hear the story of how the Lord rescued us.
31 They will tell the generations to come
of the righteousness of the Lord,
of what He has done.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.