M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Blood Must Not Be Eaten

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord has told us to do. ³ If any man of the house of Israel kills a bull, lamb or goat, among the tents or away from the tents, ⁴ and has not brought it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, he will be guilty for that blood, and will not be among God’s people. ⁵ The reason is so that the people of Israel may bring their gifts which were killed in the open field to the Lord, to the religious leader at the door of the meeting tent. Then they can be given as peace gifts to the Lord. ⁶ The religious leader will put the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. And he will burn the fat for a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁷ So they will no longer give their gifts to the goat-like gods to whom they sell themselves. This will be a Law to them for all their people forever.’

⁸ “Then say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, who gives a burnt gift or other gift, ⁹ and does not bring it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, will be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ ‘If any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood, and he will not be among God’s people. ¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make your souls free from sin. For the blood makes you free from sin because of the life in it.’ ¹² So I have said to the people of Israel, ‘None of you should eat blood. And the man who visits you from another land should not eat blood.’ ¹³ If any man from the people of Israel, or from other people living among them, catches an animal or bird which may be eaten, he should pour out its blood and cover it with dust.

¹⁴ “For blood is the life of every living thing. So I said to the people of Israel, ‘Do not eat the blood of any living thing. For the life of every living thing is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.’ ¹⁵ Every person, both living in the land or one who has come from another land, who eats an animal that dies or is killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. He will be unclean until evening. Then he will be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or wash his body, he will suffer for his own sin.”

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe. ² May He send you help from the house of God, and give you strength from Zion. ³ May He remember all your gifts of grain given on the altar in worship. And may He be pleased with your burnt gifts.

⁴ May He give you the desire of your heart, and make all your plans go well. ⁵ We will sing for joy when you win. In the name of our God we will lift up our flags. May the Lord give you all the things you ask Him for.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His chosen one. He will answer him from His holy heaven, with the saving power of His right hand. ⁷ Some trust in wagons and some in horses. But we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God. ⁸ They have fallen on their knees. But we rise up and stand straight. ⁹ O Lord, save! May the King answer us when we call.

Song of Praise for Being Kept Safe

21 O Lord, in Your strength the king is glad! How great is his joy in Your saving power! ² You have given him the desire of his heart. You have not kept from him anything that he has asked for. ³ For You meet him with gifts of good things. You set a crown of pure gold on his head. ⁴ He asked You for life and You gave it to him, a long life forever and ever. ⁵ His honor is great because of Your help. You have given him greatness and power. ⁶ You have given him honor and respect forever. And You make him glad with the joy of being with You.

⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord. Because of the loving-kindness of the Most High, he will not be shaken. ⁸ Your hand will find all who fight against You. Your right hand will find those who hate You. ⁹ You will make them like a stove of fire in the time of Your anger. The Lord will eat them up in His anger. And the fire will destroy them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their children from the earth, and their sons from the children of men. ¹¹ For they planned much trouble against You. They have made sinful plans that will come to nothing. ¹² For You will make them turn their backs when You take up Your bow against them. ¹³ Be honored in Your strength, O Lord. We will sing and praise Your power.

The Wisdom of King Lemuel’s Mother

31 The words of Lemuel king of Massa, which his mother taught him:

² What, my son? What, son who came from within me? What, son of my promises? ³ Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which destroys kings. ⁴ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink. ⁵ Or they might drink and forget the law, and go against the rights of all who are suffering. ⁶ Give strong drink to him who is about to die, and wine to him whose life is full of trouble. ⁷ Let him drink and forget how poor he is, and remember his trouble no more. ⁸ Open your mouth for those who cannot speak, and for the rights of those who are left without help. ⁹ Open your mouth. Be right and fair in what you decide. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need.

¹⁰ Who can find a good wife? For she is worth far more than rubies that make one rich. ¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will never stop getting good things. ¹² She does him good and not bad all the days of her life. ¹³ She looks for wool and flax, and works with willing hands. ¹⁴ She is like ships that trade. She brings her food from far away. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night and makes food for all those in her house. She gives work for the young women to do. ¹⁶ She gives careful thought to a field and buys it. She plants grape-vines from what she has earned. ¹⁷ She makes herself ready with strength, and makes her arms strong. ¹⁸ She sees that what she has earned is good. Her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹ She puts her hands to the wheel to make cloth. ²⁰ She opens her hand to the poor, and holds out her hands to those in need. ²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for those in her house, for all of them are dressed in red. ²² She makes coverings for herself. Her clothes are linen cloth and purple. ²³ Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the leaders of the land. ²⁴ She makes linen clothes and sells them. She brings belts to those who trade. ²⁵ Her clothes are strength and honor. She is full of joy about the future. ²⁶ She

opens her mouth with wisdom. The teaching of kindness is on her tongue. ²⁷ She looks well to the ways of those in her house, and does not eat the bread of doing nothing. ²⁸ Her children rise up and honor her. Her husband does also, and he praises her, saying: ²⁹ “Many daughters have done well, but you have done better than all of them.” ³⁰ Pleasing ways lie and beauty comes to nothing, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. ³¹ Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

2 First of all, I ask you to pray much for all men and to give thanks for them. ² Pray for kings and all others who are in power over us so we might live quiet God-like lives in peace. ³ It is good when you pray like this. It pleases God Who is the One Who saves. ⁴ He wants all people to be saved from the punishment of sin. He wants them to come to know the truth. ⁵ There is one God. There is one Man standing between God and men. That Man is Christ Jesus. ⁶ He gave His life for all men so they could go free and not be held by the power of sin. God made this known to the world at the right time. ⁷ This is why I was chosen to be a teacher and a missionary. I am to teach faith and truth to the people who do not know God. I am not lying but telling the truth.

Women in the Church

⁸ I want men everywhere to pray. They should lift up holy hands as they pray. They should not be angry or argue. ⁹ Christian women should not be dressed in the kind of clothes and their hair should not be combed in a way that will make people look at them. They should not wear much gold or pearls or clothes that cost much money. ¹⁰ Instead of these things, Christian women should be known for doing good things and living good lives.

¹¹ Women should be quiet when they learn. They should listen to what men have to say. ¹² I never let women teach men or be leaders over men. They should be quiet. ¹³ Adam was made first, then Eve. ¹⁴ Adam was not fooled by Satan; it was the woman who was fooled and sinned. ¹⁵ But women will be saved through the giving of birth to children if they keep on in faith and live loving and holy lives.