M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Place for Worshiping God
12 “These are the laws and rules that you must obey in your new land. You must carefully obey them as long as you live in this land. The Lord is the God of your ancestors, and he is giving this land to you. 2 You will take that land from the nations that live there now. You must completely destroy all the places where the people of these nations worship their gods. These places are on high mountains, on hills, and under green trees. 3 You must smash their altars and break their memorial stones into pieces. You must burn their Asherah poles and cut down the statues of their gods. Wipe out everything that would remind you of those gods.
4 “You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way these people worship their gods. 5 The Lord your God will choose a special place among your tribes. That will be the home for his name. You must go to that place to worship him. 6 There you must bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your crops and animals,[a] your special gifts, any gifts you promised to him, any special gift you want to give, and the first animals born in your herds and flocks. 7 You and your families will eat together at that place, and the Lord your God will be there with you. You will enjoy sharing the things you worked for there. You will remember that the Lord your God blessed you and gave you these good things.
8 “You must not continue to worship the way we have been worshiping. Until now each of us has been worshiping God any way we wanted. 9 This is because we have not yet entered the peaceful land that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will go across the Jordan River and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all your enemies, and you will be safe. 11 Then the Lord your God will choose a place that will be the home for his name. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your crops and animals, your special gifts, and any gifts that you promised to give to the Lord. 12 Come to that place with all your people—your children, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. (These Levites will not have a share of the land for their own.) Enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your God. 13 Be sure you don’t offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see. 14 The Lord will choose his special place among your tribes. Offer your burnt offerings and do everything else I told you only in that place.
15 “Whenever you want to eat meat, you can enjoy that blessing from the Lord your God wherever you live. You can butcher the animal just as you do gazelles and deer, and anyone, clean or unclean, can eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood. You must pour the blood on the ground like water.
17 “Also, the things you are offering to God must not be eaten where you live. These include the part of your grain that belongs to God, the part of your new wine and oil that belongs to God, the first animals born in your herd or flock, any gift that you promised to God, any special gifts you want to give, or any other gifts for God. 18 You must eat these offerings only in his presence at the special place that the Lord your God will choose. You must go there and eat together with your sons, your daughters, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. Enjoy yourselves there with the Lord your God. Enjoy what you have worked for. 19 But be sure that you always share these meals with the Levites. Do this as long as you live in your land.
20-21 “The Lord your God promised to make your country larger. When he does this, you might live too far from the place the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. If it is too far, and you are hungry for meat, you may eat any meat you have. You may kill any animal from the herd or flock that he has given you. Do this the way I have commanded you. You may eat this meat there where you live any time you want. 22 You may eat this meat the same as you would eat gazelle or deer meat. Anyone can do this—people who are clean and people who are unclean. 23 But be especially careful not to eat the blood, because the life is in the blood. You must not eat meat that still has its life in it. 24 Don’t eat the blood. Pour it out like water onto the ground. 25 So don’t eat blood. You must do what the Lord says is right, and good things will happen to you and to your descendants.
26 “If you decide to give something special to God, you must go to the special place that the Lord your God will choose. And if you make a special promise, you must go to that place to give that gift to God. 27 You must offer your burnt offerings in that place. Offer the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. For your other sacrifices, you must pour the blood on the altar of the Lord your God. Then you may eat the meat. 28 Carefully obey all the commands that I give you. When you do what is good and right—what pleases the Lord your God—then everything will go well for you and for your descendants forever.
29 “You are going to take your land from other people. The Lord your God will destroy these people for you. You will force them out of that land, and then you will live there. 30 But be careful that you don’t fall into the same trap they did! Don’t go to their false gods for help. Don’t say to yourself, ‘They worshiped these gods, so I will worship them too.’ 31 Don’t do that to the Lord your God! These people do all kinds of bad things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children as sacrifices to their gods!
32 “You must be careful to do everything I command you. Don’t add anything to what I tell you, and don’t take anything away.
97 The Lord rules, and the earth is happy.
All the faraway lands are happy.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
Goodness and justice make his kingdom strong.
3 Fire goes before him
and destroys his enemies.
4 His lightning flashes in the sky.
The earth sees it and trembles with fear.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The skies tell about his goodness,
and the nations see his glory.
7 People worship their idols.
They brag about their “gods.”
But they will be embarrassed.
And all their “gods” will bow down before the Lord.
8 Zion, listen and be happy!
Cities of Judah, be glad!
Rejoice because the Lord’s decisions are fair.
9 Lord Most High, you really are the ruler of the earth.
You are much better than the “gods.”
10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord.
He protects his followers and saves them from evil people.
11 Light and happiness shine on those
who want to do right.
12 Good people, be happy in the Lord!
Praise his holy name!
A song of praise.
98 Sing a new song[a] to the Lord,
because he has done amazing things!
His powerful and holy right arm[b]
has brought him another victory.
2 The Lord showed the nations his power to save.
He showed them his goodness.
3 He has kept his promise of love and loyalty to the people of Israel.
People everywhere have seen our God’s power to save.
4 Everyone on earth, shout with joy to the Lord.
Start singing happy songs of praise!
5 Praise the Lord with harps.
Yes, praise him with music from the harps.
6 Blow the pipes and horns,
and shout for joy to the Lord our King!
7 Let the sea and everything in it,
the earth and all who live in it shout his praise!
8 Rivers, clap your hands!
All together now, mountains sing out!
9 Sing before the Lord
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will rule the world fairly.
He will rule the people with goodness.
Israel’s Punishment Will End
40 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her,
‘Your time of service is finished.
You have paid the price for your sins.’
I, the Lord, have punished you twice
for every sin you committed.”
3 Listen, there is someone shouting:
“Prepare a way in the desert for the Lord.
Make a straight road there for our God.
4 Every valley must be filled.
Every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The crooked roads should be made straight,
and the rough ground made smooth.
5 Then the Glory of the Lord will be shown to everyone.
Together, all people will see it.
Yes, this is what the Lord himself said!”
6 A voice said, “Speak!”
So the man said, “What should I say?”
The voice said, “People are like grass.
Any glory they enjoy is like a wildflower.
7 When a wind from the Lord blows on them,
the grass dies and the flower falls.
Yes, all people are like grass.
8 Grass dies and flowers fall,
but the word of our God lasts forever.”
Salvation: God’s Good News
9 Zion, you have good news to tell.
Go up on a high mountain and shout the good news.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Don’t be afraid; speak loudly.
Tell this news to all the cities of Judah:
“Look, here is your God!”
10 The Lord God is coming with power.
He will use his power to rule all the people.
He will bring rewards for his people.
He will have their payment with him.
11 Like a good shepherd, he takes care of his people.
He gathers them like lambs in his arms.
He holds them close, while their mothers walk beside him.
God Made the World; He Rules It
12 Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand?
Who used his hand to measure the sky?
Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth?
Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills?
13 Who could know the Lord’s mind?
Who could be his teacher or give him advice?
14 Did the Lord ask for anyone’s help?
Did anyone teach him to be fair?
Did anyone teach him knowledge?
Did anyone teach him to be wise?
15 Look, all the nations in the world are like one small drop in the bucket.
If the Lord took all the faraway nations and put them on his scales,
they would be like small pieces of dust.
16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough
to burn on the altar for the Lord.
And all the animals in Lebanon
are not enough to kill for a sacrifice.
17 Compared to God, all the nations of the world are nothing.
Compared to him, they are worth nothing at all.
People Cannot Imagine What God Is Like
18 Can you compare God to anything?
Can you make a picture of God?
19 No, but some people make statues from rock or wood,
and they call them gods.
One worker makes a statue.
Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
20 For the base he chooses special wood,
a kind of wood that will not rot.
Then he finds a good wood worker,
and the worker makes a “god” that will not fall over.
21 Surely you know the truth, don’t you?
Surely you have heard.
Surely someone told you long ago.
Surely you understand who made the earth.
22 It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth.
And compared to him, people are like grasshoppers.
He rolled open the skies like a piece of cloth.
He stretched out the skies like a tent to sit under.
23 He takes away the power of rulers.
He makes the world’s leaders completely worthless.
24 They are like plants that are planted in the ground.
But before they can send their roots into the ground,
God blows on the “plants”;
they become dead and dry,
and the wind blows them away like straw.
25 The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me.”
26 Look up to the skies.
Who created all those stars?
Who created all those “armies” in the sky?
Who knows every star by name?
He is very strong and powerful,
so not one of these stars is lost.
27 People of Jacob, this is true.
Israel, you should believe it.
So why do you say, “The Lord cannot see the way I live;
he will not find me and punish me”[a]?
28 Surely you know the truth.
Surely you have heard.
The Lord is the God who lives forever!
He created all the faraway places on earth.
He does not get tired and weary.
You cannot learn all he knows.
29 He helps tired people be strong.
He gives power to those without it.
30 Young men get tired and need to rest.
Even young boys stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again.
They will be like eagles that grow new feathers.[b]
They will run and not get weak.
They will walk and not get tired.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven. The angel was dressed in a cloud. He had a rainbow around his head. The angel’s face was like the sun, and his legs were like poles of fire. 2 The angel was holding a small scroll. The scroll was open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3 He shouted loudly like the roaring of a lion. After he shouted, the voices of seven thunders spoke.
4 The seven thunders spoke, and I started to write. But then I heard a voice from heaven that said, “Don’t write what the seven thunders said. Keep those things secret.”
5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 The angel made a promise by the power of the one who lives forever and ever. He is the one who made the skies and all that is in them. He made the earth and all that is in it, and he made the sea and all that is in it. The angel said, “There will be no more waiting! 7 In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s secret plan will be completed—the Good News that God told to his servants, the prophets.”
8 Then I heard the same voice from heaven again. It said to me, “Go and take the open scroll that is in the angel’s hand. This is the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet like honey.” 10 So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet like honey, but after I ate it, it was sour in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many races of people, many nations, languages, and rulers.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International