M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel at Peor
25 While the Israelites were camped near Acacia, the men committed sexual sins[a] with Moabite women. 2-3 The Moabite women invited the men to come and join in their sacrifices to their false gods. So the Israelites joined in worshiping these false gods—they ate the sacrifices and worshiped these gods. There the Israelites began worshiping the false god, Baal of Peor. And the Lord became very angry with them.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of these people. Then kill them so that all the people can see.[b] Lay their bodies before the Lord. Then the Lord will not show his anger against all the Israelites.”
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must find the men in your tribe who have led people to worship the false god, Baal of Peor. Then you must kill these men.”
6 At the time Moses and all the elders of Israel were gathered together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. An Israelite man brought a Midianite woman home to his brothers.[c] He did this where Moses and all the leaders could see. Moses and the leaders were very sad. 7 Phinehas was the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron the priest. Phinehas saw this man bring the woman into camp. So he left the meeting and got his spear. 8 He followed the Israelite into the tent. Then he used the spear to kill the Israelite man and the Midianite woman in her tent.[d] He pushed the spear through both of their bodies. At that time there was a great sickness among the Israelites. But when Phinehas killed these two people, the sickness stopped. 9 A total of 24,000 people died from that sickness.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “I was so angry with the Israelites that I wanted to kill them. But Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, has saved them from my anger. He did this by showing that he feels strongly, just as I do, that my people must worship only me. 12 Tell Phinehas that I am making a peace agreement with him. 13 This is the agreement: He and all of his family who live after him will always be priests, because he had strong feelings for his God. And he did what was needed to make the Israelites pure.”
14 The Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a family in the tribe of Simeon. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi.[e] She was the daughter of Zur. Zur was the head of a family and leader of a Midianite tribe.
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “The Midianites are your enemies. You must kill them. 18 They have already made you their enemies. They tricked you at Peor. And they tricked you with the woman named Cozbi. She was the daughter of a Midianite leader, but she was killed when the sickness came to the Israelites. That sickness was caused because the people were tricked into worshiping the false god Baal of Peor.”
To the director: A praise song of David.
68 God, get up and scatter your enemies!
May all your enemies run from you.
2 May your enemies be scattered
like smoke blown away by the wind.
May your enemies be destroyed
like wax melting in a fire.
3 But let good people be happy.
Let them gather before God and enjoy themselves together.
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Prepare the way for the one who rides on the clouds.
His name is Yah.[a]
Worship before him with joy.
5 God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to orphans,
and he takes care of widows.
6 God provides homes for those who are lonely.
He frees people from prison and makes them happy.
But those who turn against him will live in the desert.
7 God, you led your people out of Egypt.
You marched across the desert. Selah
8 The ground shook and rain poured from the sky
when God, the God of Israel, came to Sinai.
9 God, you sent the rain
to make a tired, old land strong again.
10 Your people[b] came back to live there,
and you provided good things for the poor.
11 My Lord gave the command,
and many people went to tell the good news:
12 “The armies of powerful kings ran away!
At home, the women divide the things brought from the battle.
13 Those who stayed home will share in the wealth—
metal doves with wings covered in silver and feathers sparkling with gold.”
14 God All-Powerful scattered the kings
like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan is a great mountain
with many high peaks.
16 But, Bashan, why are you jealous of Mount Zion?
That is where God has chosen to live.
The Lord will live there forever.
17 With his millions of chariots,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18 You went up to your high place,
leading a parade of captives.
You received gifts from people,[c]
even those who turned against you.
The Lord God went up there to live.
19 Praise the Lord!
Every day he helps us with the loads we must carry.
He is the God who saves us. Selah
20 He is our God, the God who saves us.
My Lord God saves us from death.
21 God will smash the heads of his enemies.
He will punish those who fight against him.[d]
22 My Lord said, “If they run up to Bashan or down to the depths of the sea,
I will bring them back.
23 So you will march through pools of their blood,
and there will be plenty left for your dogs.”
24 God, everyone can see your victory parade—
the victory march of my God and King into his holy place![e]
25 Singers come marching in front, followed by the musicians;
they are surrounded by young girls playing tambourines.
26 Praise God in the meeting place.[f]
Praise the Lord, people of Israel!
27 There is the smallest tribe, Benjamin, leading them.
And there comes a large group of leaders from Judah.
Following them are the leaders of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 God, show us your power!
Show us the power you used for us in the past.
29 Kings will bring their wealth to you,
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Punish the people in Egypt.
They are like cattle in the marshes, like bulls among the calves.
You humiliated them.
You scattered them in war.
Now let them come crawling to you,
bringing their pieces of silver.
31 Messengers from Egypt will come bearing gifts.
Ethiopia will offer God their tribute.
32 Kings on earth, sing to God!
Sing songs of praise to our Lord! Selah
33 Sing to him who rides his chariot through the ancient skies.
Listen to his powerful voice!
34 Tell everyone how powerful he is!
He rules over Israel.
His power fills the skies.
35 God, you are awesome in your Temple!
The God of Israel is the one who gives strength and power to his people.
Praise God!
God’s Message to Moab
15 This is a message about Moab:
One night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab,
and the city was destroyed.
One night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab,
and the city was destroyed.
2 The king’s family and the people of Dibon[a] go to the places of worship[b] to cry.
The people of Moab are crying for Nebo[c] and Medeba.[d]
They have shaved their heads and beards to show their sadness.
3 Everywhere in Moab, on the housetops and in the streets,
people are wearing sackcloth.
Everyone is crying.
4 In Heshbon and Elealeh they are crying loudly.
You can hear their voices as far away as Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
They are shaking with fear.
5 My heart cries, full of sorrow for Moab.
Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
The people are crying
as they go up the road to Luhith.
They are crying loudly
as they walk on the road to Horonaim.
6 But Nimrim Brook is as dry as a desert.
The grass has dried up,
and the plants are all dead.
Nothing is green.
7 So the people gather up everything they own
and cross the border at Arabah stream.
8 You can hear crying everywhere in Moab—
as far away as Eglaim and Beer Elim.
9 The water of Dimon[e] is full of blood,
and I will bring even more troubles to Dimon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy,
but I will send lions to eat them.
Wives and Husbands
3 In the same way, you wives should be willing to serve your husbands. Then, even those who have refused to accept God’s teaching will be persuaded to believe because of the way you live. You will not need to say anything. 2 Your husbands will see the pure lives that you live with respect for God. 3 It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. 4 No, your beauty should come from inside you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. That beauty will never disappear. It is worth very much to God.
5 It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in that same way. They were willing to serve their husbands. 6 I am talking about women like Sarah. She obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.
7 In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way, since they are weaker than you. You should show them respect, because God gives them the same blessing he gives you—the grace of true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers from being heard.
Suffering for Doing Right
8 So all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Be kind and humble. 9 Don’t do wrong to anyone to pay them back for doing wrong to you. Or don’t insult anyone to pay them back for insulting you. But ask God to bless them. Do this because you yourselves were chosen to receive a blessing. 10 The Scriptures say,
“If you want to enjoy true life
and have only good days,
then avoid saying anything hurtful,
and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
11 Stop doing what is wrong, and do good.
Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
12 The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
and he listens to their prayers.
But he is against those who do evil.” (A)
13 If you are always trying to do good, no one can really harm you. 14 But you may suffer for doing right. If that happens, you have God’s blessing. “Don’t be afraid of the people who make you suffer; don’t be worried.”[a] 15 But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer them in a gentle way with respect. Keep your conscience clear. Then people will see the good way you live as followers of Christ, and those who say bad things about you will be ashamed of what they said.
17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better if that is what God wants.
18 Christ himself suffered when he died for you,
and with that one death he paid for your sins.
He was not guilty,
but he died for people who are guilty.
He did this to bring all of you to God.
In his physical form he was killed,
but he was made alive by the Spirit.[b]
19 And by the Spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 Those were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for people while Noah was building the big boat. And only a few—eight in all—were saved in the boat through the floodwater. 21 And that water is like baptism, which now saves you. Baptism is not the washing of dirt from the body. It is asking God for a clean conscience. It saves you because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Now he has gone into heaven. He is at God’s right side and rules over angels, authorities, and powers.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International