M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Miriam Dies
20 The Israelites arrived at the desert of Zin in the first month of the year. The people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.
Moses Makes a Mistake
2 There was not enough water for the people at that place. So the people met together to complain against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people argued with Moses and said, “Maybe we should have died in front of the Lord like our brothers did. 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s people into this desert? Do you want us and our animals to die here? 5 Why did you bring us from Egypt? Why did you bring us to this bad place? There is no grain. There are no figs, grapes, or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
6 So Moses and Aaron left the crowd of people and went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They bowed down to the ground, and the Glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 8 “Get the special walking stick. Take your brother Aaron and the crowd of people and go to that rock. Speak to the rock in front of the people. Then water will flow from the rock, and you can give that water to the people and to their animals.”
9 The walking stick was in the Holy Tent, in front of the Lord. Moses took the walking stick as the Lord said. 10 Moses and Aaron told the people to meet together in front of the rock. Then Moses said, “You people are always complaining. Now listen to me. I will cause water to flow from this rock.” 11 Moses lifted his arm and hit the rock twice. Water began flowing from the rock, and the people and their animals drank that water.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You did not trust me enough to honor me and show the people that I am holy. You did not show the Israelites that the power to make the water came from me. So you will not lead the people into the land that I have given them.”
13 This place was called the waters of Meribah.[a] This is where the Israelites argued with the Lord and where he showed them that he was holy.
Edom Will Not Let Israel Pass
14 While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent some men with a message to the king of Edom. The message said,
“This is what your brothers, the Israelites, say to you: You know about all the troubles we have had. 15 Many years ago our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there for many years. The people of Egypt were cruel to us. 16 But we asked the Lord for help, and he heard us and sent an angel to help us. The Lord has brought us out of Egypt.
“Now we are here at Kadesh, where your land begins. 17 Please let us travel through your country. We will not travel through any fields or vineyards. We will not drink water from any of your wells. We will travel only along King’s Road. We will not leave that road to the right or to the left. We will stay on the road until we have traveled through your country.”
18 But the king of Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land. If you try to travel through our land, we will come and fight you with swords.”
19 The Israelites answered, “We will travel along the main road. If our animals drink any of your water, we will pay you for it. We only want to walk through your country. We don’t want to take it for ourselves.”
20 But again the king of Edom answered, “We will not allow you to come through our country.”
Then the king of Edom gathered a large and powerful army and went out to fight against the Israelites. 21 The king of Edom refused to let the Israelites travel through his country, so the Israelites turned around and went another way.
Aaron Dies
22 All the Israelites traveled from Kadesh to Mount Hor. 23 Mount Hor was near the border of Edom. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “It is time for Aaron to die and go to be with his ancestors. Aaron will not enter the land that I promised to the Israelites. Moses, I say this to you because both you and Aaron did not fully obey the command I gave you at the waters of Meribah.
25 “Now, bring Aaron and his son Eleazar up to Mount Hor. 26 Take Aaron’s special clothes from him and put these clothes on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die there on the mountain. And he will go to be with his ancestors.”
27 Moses obeyed the Lord’s command. Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar went up on Mount Hor. All the Israelites watched them go. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s special clothes and put them on Aaron’s son Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar came back down the mountain. 29 All the Israelites learned that Aaron was dead. So everyone in Israel mourned for 30 days.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David.
58 You judges are not being fair in your decisions.
You are not judging people fairly.
2 No, you only think of evil things to do.
You do violent crimes in this country.
3 Those wicked people started doing wrong as soon as they were born.
They have been liars from birth.
4 Their anger is as deadly as the poison of a snake.[a]
They shut their ears like a deaf cobra
5 that does not listen to the music of the snake charmers,
no matter how well they play.
6 God, they are like lions.
So, Lord, break their teeth.
7 May they disappear like water down a drain.
May they be crushed like weeds on a path.[b]
8 May they be like snails melting away as they move.
May they be like a baby born dead, who never saw the light of day.
9 May they be destroyed suddenly,
like the thorns that are burned to quickly heat a pot.
10 Good people will be happy
when they see the wicked getting the punishment they deserve.
They will feel like soldiers
walking through the blood of their enemies![c]
11 Then people will say, “Good people really are rewarded.
Yes, there is a God judging the world!”[d]
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when Saul sent people to watch David’s house to try to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who stand against me.
2 Save me from those who do wrong.
Save me from those murderers.
3 Look, powerful men are waiting for me.
Lord, they are waiting to kill me,
even though I did not sin or commit a crime.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are rushing to attack me.
Come and see for yourself!
5 You are the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel!
Get up and punish them.
Don’t show any mercy to those traitors. Selah
6 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening,
growling and roaming the streets.
7 Listen to their threats and insults.
They say such cruel things,
and they don’t care who hears them.
8 Lord, laugh at them.
Make fun of them all.
9 God, my strength, I look to you for help.[e]
You are my place of safety, high in the mountains.
10 God loves me, and he will help me win.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Don’t just kill them, or my people might forget.
My Lord and Protector, scatter and defeat them with your strength.
12 Those evil people curse and tell lies.
Punish them for what they said.
Let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger.
Destroy them completely!
Then people all over the world will know
that God rules over the people of Jacob. Selah
14 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening, growling and roaming the streets.
15 They roam around looking for food,
but even if they eat their fill, they still growl and complain.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
I will rejoice in your love every morning.
You have been my place of safety,
the place I can run to when troubles come.
17 I will sing praises to you, my source of strength.
You, God, are my place of safety.
You are the God who loves me!
God Will Punish Israel
8 The Lord gave a command against Jacob and someone in Israel fell.[a] 9 So all the people in Ephraim, including the ruler in Samaria, learned their lesson.
Those people are very proud and boastful now. They say, 10 “Yes, those bricks fell, but we will rebuild with strong stone. Yes, those little trees were chopped down, but we will plant new trees. And they will be large, strong trees.”
11 The Lord found people to go up and fight against Rezin. He stirred up Rezin’s enemies. 12 As for Israel, the Arameans are in front of him and the Philistines are behind him. And they are both eating away at him. But the Lord is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing Israel.
13 The people did not stop sinning. They did not come to the Lord All-Powerful for help. 14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail. He took away the branch and the stalk in one day. 15 (The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.)
16 Their guides are leading them the wrong way, so those who follow them will be destroyed. 17 All of them are evil. So the Lord is not happy with the young men, and he will not show mercy to their widows and orphans. That is because they are evil hypocrites. They tell lies.
The Lord has punished them, but he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.
18 That evil was like a small fire that started among the weeds and thorns and then spread to the larger bushes in the forest. Finally, it became a giant fire, and everything went up in smoke.
19 The Lord All-Powerful was angry, so the land was burned. The people were fuel for the fire. No one showed any compassion to anyone else. 20 People looked to the right and grabbed whatever they could, but they were still hungry. They grabbed whatever was on their left, but still they were not satisfied. So they turned on themselves and began to eat the bodies of their own children. 21 Manasseh fought against Ephraim, and Ephraim fought against Manasseh. Then both of them turned on Judah.
But the Lord is not finished punishing his people. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing them.
10 Just look at those lawmakers who write evil laws and make life hard for the people. 2 They are not fair to the poor. They take away the rights of the poor and allow people to steal from widows and orphans.
3 Lawmakers, you will have to explain what you have done. What will you do then? Your destruction is coming from a faraway country. Where will you run for help? Your money and your riches will not help you. 4 You will have to bow down like a prisoner. You will fall down like a dead man, but that will not help you. God will still be angry and ready to punish you.
Controlling the Things We Say
3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should be teachers. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.
2 We all make many mistakes. A person who never said anything wrong would be perfect. Someone like that would be able to control their whole body too. 3 We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body. 4 It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go. 5 It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things.
A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. 6 The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.
7 Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. 8 But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. 10 These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. 11 Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
True Wisdom
13 Are there any among you who are really wise and understanding? Then you should show your wisdom by living right. You should do what is good with humility. A wise person does not boast. 14 If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. 18 People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International