M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Offerings for Accidental Sins
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 2 “Tell the Israelites this: A person might sin without meaning to and do something that the Lord commanded should not be done. For example:
3 “If the anointed priest[a] makes a mistake that leaves the people guilty for their sin, he must offer a young bull to the Lord as a sin offering. The bull must have nothing wrong with it. 4 The anointed priest must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent in front of the Lord. He must put his hand on the bull’s head and kill the bull in front of the Lord. 5 Then the anointed priest must get some of the blood from the bull and take it into the Meeting Tent. 6 He must put his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Place. 7 The priest must put some of the blood on the corners of the incense altar. (This altar is in the Meeting Tent, in front of the Lord.) He must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. (This altar is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.) 8 Then the priest must take all the fat from the bull of the sin offering. He must take the fat that is on and around the inner parts. 9 He must take the two kidneys and the fat covering them near the lower back muscle. He must also take the fat part of the liver. He must remove it with the kidneys. 10 The priest must lift up these things and burn them on the altar for burnt offerings, just as he does for the fellowship offering.[b] 11-12 But the priest must carry out the bull’s skin, inner parts and body waste, and all the meat, including the head and legs. He must carry those parts outside the camp to the special place where the ashes are poured out. He must put those parts on the wood and burn them there on the ash pile.
13 “The whole nation of Israel might sin without knowing it. They might break one of the commands of the Lord and become guilty of doing something he said must not be done. 14 When they learn about that sin, the community of Israel must offer a young bull as a sin offering for the whole nation. They must bring the bull to the Meeting Tent. 15 The elders of the people must put their hands on the bull’s head in front of the Lord. Then they must kill the bull in front of the Lord. 16 The anointed priest must get some of the bull’s blood and take it into the Meeting Tent. 17 He must put his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in front of the curtain before the Lord. 18 He must put some of the blood on the corners of the altar. (This altar is inside the Meeting Tent, in front of the Lord.) He must then pour out all the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. (This altar is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.) 19 Then he must take all the fat from the animal and bring it to the altar. 20 He must offer these parts, just as he offered the bull of the sin offering. In this way the priest will make the people pure, and God will forgive them. 21 The priest must carry this bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burned the other bull. This is the sin offering for the whole community.
22 “A ruler might sin without meaning to and break one of the commands of the Lord. He might do something that his God said must not be done. 23 If he learns about his sin, he must bring a male goat that has nothing wrong with it as his offering. 24 The ruler must put his hand on the goat’s head and kill the goat at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. The goat is a sin offering. 25 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 26 The priest will burn all the goat’s fat on the altar, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. In this way the priest will make the ruler pure, and God will forgive him.
27 “Finally, one of you common people might sin without meaning to. You might break one of the commands of the Lord and become guilty of doing something he said must not be done. 28 If you learn about that sin, you must bring a female goat that has nothing wrong with it as your sin offering. 29 You must put your hand on the animal’s head and kill it at the place for the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest will take some of the goat’s blood on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 The priest will then remove all of its fat, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. Then he will bring it to the altar as a sweet smell to the Lord. The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
32 “If you bring a lamb as your sin offering, then you must bring a female lamb that has nothing wrong with it. 33 You must put your hand on the animal’s head and kill it as a sin offering in the place where people kill the burnt offering. 34 The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He will pour out the rest of the lamb’s blood at the base of the altar. 35 He will then remove all the lamb’s fat, just as he does for the fellowship offerings. Then he will bring it to the altar as a gift to the Lord. The priest will do this to make you pure, and God will forgive you.
Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)
1 Great blessings belong to those
who don’t listen to evil advice,
who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God.[a]
2 Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings
and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong,
like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should
and has leaves that never fall.
Everything they do is successful.
4 But the wicked are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty.
Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.[b]
6 The Lord shows his people how to live,
but the wicked have lost their way.
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making such foolish plans?
2 Their kings and leaders join together
to fight against the Lord and his chosen king.[c]
3 They say, “Let’s rebel against them.
Let’s break free from them!”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs at them.
The Lord makes fun of them.
5 He speaks to them in anger,
and it fills them with fear.
6 He says, “I have chosen this man to be king,
and he will rule on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 Let me tell you about the Lord’s agreement:
He said to me, “Today I have become your father,[d]
and you are my son.
8 If you ask, I will give you the nations.
Everyone on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with great power.
You will scatter your enemies like broken pieces of pottery!”
10 So, kings and rulers, be smart
and learn this lesson.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,[e]
or the Lord will be angry and destroy you.
He is almost angry enough to do that now,
but those who go to him for protection will be blessed.
19 It is better to be poor and honest than to be a liar and a fool.
2 Being excited about something is not enough. You must also know what you are doing. Don’t rush into something, or you might do it wrong.
3 People ruin their lives with the foolish things they do, and then they blame the Lord for it.
4 Wealth will bring you many friends, but become poor and your friends will leave you.
5 A witness who lies will be punished; that liar will not escape.
6 Many people are nice to a generous person. Everyone wants to be friends with someone who gives gifts.
7 If you are poor, your family will turn against you, and your friends will avoid you even more. You might beg them for help, but no one will come to help you.
8 Be a friend to yourself; do all you can to be wise. Try hard to understand, and you will be rewarded.
9 A witness who lies will be punished. That liar will be destroyed.
10 A fool should not be rich, and a slave should not rule over princes.
11 Experience makes you more patient, and you are most patient when you ignore insults.
12 The shouts of an angry king are like a roaring lion, but his kind words are like a gentle rain falling softly on the grass.
13 A foolish son brings a flood of troubles to his father, and a complaining wife is like the constant dripping of water.
14 People receive houses and money from their parents, but a good wife is a gift from the Lord.
15 Laziness brings on sleep, and an appetite for rest brings on hunger.
16 Obey the law and live; ignore it and die.
17 Giving help to the poor is like loaning money to the Lord. He will pay you back for your kindness.
18 Discipline your children while there is still hope. Avoiding it can be deadly.
19 People who are quick to become angry must pay the price. Protect them from punishment, and they become worse.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline; then you, too, will become wise.
21 People might make many plans, but what the Lord says is what will happen.
22 People want a friend they can trust. It is better to be poor than to be a liar.
23 Respect the Lord and you will have a good life, one that is satisfying and free from trouble.
24 Some people are too lazy to take care of themselves. They will not even lift the food from their plate to their mouth.
25 Punish a rude, arrogant person, and even slow learners will become wiser. But just a little correction is enough to teach a person who has understanding.
26 Those who would steal from their father and chase away their mother are disgusting, shameful people.
27 My son, if you stop listening to instructions, you will keep making stupid mistakes.
28 Using a criminal as a witness makes a joke of justice. People like that only want to do wrong.
29 People who show no respect for anything must be brought to justice. You must punish such fools.
2 I want you to know that I am trying very hard to help you. And I am trying to help those in Laodicea and others who have never seen me. 2 I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love and to have the full confidence that comes from understanding. I want them to know completely the secret truth that God has made known. That truth is Christ himself. 3 In him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are kept safe.
4 I tell you this so that no one can fool you by telling you ideas that seem good, but are false. 5 Even though I am far away, my thoughts are always with you. I am happy to see your good lives and your strong faith in Christ.
Continue to Follow Christ Jesus
6 You accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, so continue to live following him. 7 You must depend on Christ only, drawing life and strength from him. Just as you were taught the truth, continue to grow stronger in your understanding of it. And never stop giving thanks to God.
8 Be sure you are not led away by the teaching of those who have nothing worth saying and only plan to deceive you. That teaching is not from Christ. It is only human tradition and comes from the powers that influence[a] this world. 9 I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. 10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.
11 In Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, one that was not done by human hands. That is, you were made free from the power of your sinful self. That is the kind of circumcision Christ does. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him because of your faith in God’s power. God’s power was shown when he raised Christ from death.
13 You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.
Don’t Follow Rules That People Make
16 So don’t let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about Jewish customs (festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days). 17 In the past these things were like a shadow that showed what was coming. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ. 18 Some people enjoy acting as if they are humble and love to worship angels.[b] They always talk about the visions they have seen. Don’t listen to them when they say you are wrong because you don’t do these things. It is so foolish for them to feel such pride, because it is all based on their own human ideas. 19 They don’t keep themselves under the control of the head. Christ is the head, and the whole body depends on him. Because of Christ all the parts of the body care for each other and help each other. So the body is made stronger and held together as God causes it to grow.
20 You died with Christ and were made free from the powers that influence this world. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these: 21 “Don’t eat this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t touch that”? 22 These rules are talking about earthly things that are gone after they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. 23 These rules may seem to be wise as part of a made-up religion in which people pretend to be humble and punish their bodies. But they don’t help people stop doing the evil that the sinful self wants to do.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International