M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
What the Religious Leaders and Levites Are to Receive
18 “The Levite religious leaders of the family group of Levi will have no share of the land given to Israel. They will live on the gifts given to the Lord by fire. 2 They will have no share of the land among their brothers. The Lord is their share, as He promised them.
3 “When the people bring their gifts, a bull or a sheep, the religious leader is to be given the shoulder, the parts of the face, and the stomach. 4 Give him the first of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the first wool of your sheep. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your families, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.
6 “If a Levite comes whenever he desires from any of the towns in Israel to the place the Lord chooses, 7 then he may work in the name of the Lord his God, like all his brother Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 They will all eat the same share of food, except what they receive from what is sold of their fathers’ lands.
Stay Away from What Is Sinful
9 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, do not learn to follow the hated and sinful ways of those nations. 10 There must not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or uses secret ways, or does witchcraft, or tells the meaning of special things, or is a witch, 11 or uses secret power on people, or helps people talk to spirits, or talks to spirits himself, or talks with the dead. 12 For the Lord hates whoever does these things. And because of these hated things, the Lord your God will drive them out from in front of you. 13 You must be without blame before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations that you are about to take listen to those who do witchcraft and use secret ways. But the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.
A Man Who Speaks for God
15 “The Lord your God will give you a man who speaks for God like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you asked of the Lord your God at Sinai on the day of the meeting, when you said, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again. Do not let me see this fire any more, or I will die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will give them a man who speaks for God like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth. And he will make known to them all that I tell him. 19 He will speak in My name. And I will punish whoever will not listen to him. 20 But that man of God will die who is not careful and speaks in My name what I did not tell him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods.’ 21 You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know which words the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When a man who speaks for God speaks in the name of the Lord, and what he says does not come true, that word is not from the Lord. The man has spoken on his own. Do not be afraid of him.
God’s Work with Israel
105 O give thanks to the Lord. Call on His name. Make His works known among the people. 2 Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Tell of all His great works. 3 Honor His holy name. Let the heart of those who look to the Lord be glad. 4 Look for the Lord and His strength. Look for His face all the time. 5 Remember the great and powerful works that He has done. Keep in mind what He has decided and told us, 6 O children of His servant Abraham, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! 7 He is the Lord our God. What He has decided is in all the earth.
8 He has remembered His agreement forever, the promise He made to last through a thousand families-to-come, 9 the agreement that He made with Abraham, and His promise to Isaac. 10 He gave it to Jacob as a Law, to Israel as an agreement that will last forever. 11 He said, “I will give the land of Canaan to you as your share,” 12 when they were only a few men in number and were strangers in it. 13 They went from nation to nation, from the people under one king to the people under another. 14 He did not allow anyone to hold power over them. And He spoke sharp words to kings because of them. 15 He said, “Do not touch My chosen ones. And do not hurt those who speak for Me.”
16 Then He called for a time of no food on the land. He cut off all their bread. 17 He sent a man, Joseph, before them who was sold as a servant. 18 They hurt his feet with chains. He was put in irons, 19 until what he had said would happen came to pass. The Word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and had him taken out of prison. The ruler of many people set him free. 21 He made him the lord of his house and ruler over all he had. 22 He could punish the rulers as he pleased. And he taught wisdom to the wise. 23 Then Israel also came into Egypt. So Jacob stayed in the land of Ham. 24 And He made the number of His people grow until they were stronger than those who held power over them.
25 He turned their hearts to hate His people and to make plans against His servants. 26 He sent Moses, His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen. 27 They did His great works for them to see, powerful works in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and made the land dark. They did not fight against what He told them to do. 29 He changed their water into blood, so their fish died. 30 Their land became covered with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings. 31 He spoke and there came many flies all over their land. 32 He gave them hail instead of rain, and lightning like fire in their land. 33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees and the trees of their country. 34 He spoke and the locusts came. There were too many to number. 35 They ate up all the plants in their country. They ate all the fruit of their land. 36 He killed all the first-born in their land, the first fruits of all their strength.
37 Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold. And there was not one weak person among their families. 38 Egypt was glad when they left. For they had become afraid of Israel. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light at night. 40 They asked, and He brought them quails for meat. And He filled them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock and water flowed out. It flowed in the desert like a river. 42 For He remembered His holy Word with Abraham His servant. 43 And He brought His people out with joy, His chosen ones with singing. 44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They were given what others had worked for, 45 so that they might do what He told them and keep His Law. Praise the Lord!
Cyrus to Lead
45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, whom He has chosen, whose right hand He has held, “I send him to put nations under his power, and to take away the power of kings. And I will open doors in front of him so that gates will not be shut. 2 I will go before you and make the hard places smooth. I will break the brass doors to pieces, and cut through their iron gates. 3 I will give you riches hidden in the darkness and things of great worth that are hidden in secret places. Then you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. 4 For the good of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I called you by your name. I gave you a name of honor, when you had not known Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me. I will give you strength, even though you have not known Me. 6 Then men may know from sunrise to sunset that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.
8 “Send down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down what is right and good. Let the earth open up and bring the fruit of saving power. And let what is right and good grow with it. I the Lord have made it.
9 “It is bad for the one who works against His Maker. He is just a clay pot among the other pots of earth. Will the clay say to the pot-maker, ‘What are you doing?’ or, your work say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 It is bad for him who says to his father, ‘To what are you giving life?’ or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’”
11 The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, “Will you ask Me about the things to come for My children? Will you tell Me about the work of My hands? 12 I made the earth, and made man upon it. I spread out the heavens with My hands, and put all the stars in their places. 13 I have sent Cyrus to do what is right and good. And I will make all his ways smooth. He will build My city and without any money will set My people free who were taken away,” says the Lord of All.
14 The Lord says, “The riches of Egypt and the good things of Cush and the tall Sabeans will come over to you and be yours. They will walk behind you in chains and bow down to you. They will beg you, saying, ‘For sure God is with you, and there is no other God. There is none other.’” 15 It is true that You are a God Who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the One Who saves! 16 All of them will be put to shame and troubled. Those who make false gods will go away together in shame. 17 Israel has been saved forever by the Lord. You will never be put to shame for all time.
18 This is what the Lord Who made the heavens, the God Who planned and made the earth, and everything in it and did not make it a waste place, but made it a place for people to live in, says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret in some dark land. I did not say to the children of Jacob, ‘Look for Me for nothing.’ I the Lord speak the truth. I say what is right.
20 “Gather together and come. Come near together, you who are left of the nations. They have no learning, who carry around their false god made of wood and pray to a god who cannot save. 21 Make your need known. Yes, let them talk it over together. Who said this would happen from long ago? Who has been saying it for a long time? Is it not I, the Lord? There is no other God besides Me, a God Who is right and good, a God Who saves. There is none except Me. 22 Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By Myself I have sworn. The Word has gone out from My mouth in truth, and will not turn back: ‘Every knee will bow down before Me. And every tongue will say that I am God.’ 24 They will say of Me, ‘Strength and what is right and good are only found in the Lord.’ Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. 25 In the Lord all the children of Israel will be made right, and will give praise.”
Seven Angels with Seven Troubles
15 Then I saw something else special in heaven that was great and made me wonder. There were seven angels with the seven last kinds of trouble. With these, God’s anger is finished.
2 Then I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. I saw many standing on the sea of glass. They were those who had won their fight with the wild animal and his false god and with his mark. All of them were holding harps that God had given to them. 3 They were singing the song of Moses, who was a servant owned by God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “The things You do are great and powerful. You are the All-powerful Lord God. You are always right and true in everything You do. You are King of all nations. 4 Who will not honor You, Lord, with love and fear? Who will not tell of the greatness of Your name? For You are the only One Who is holy. All nations will come and worship before You. Everyone sees that You do the right things.”
5 After this I looked and saw that the Holiest Place of All in the house of God was opened. 6 The seven angels who had the seven last kinds of trouble came out of the house of God. They were wearing clothes made of clean white linen. They were wearing belts made of gold around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living beings gave to each of the seven angels a jar made of gold. These jars were filled with the anger of God Who lives forever. 8 The house of God was filled with smoke from the shining-greatness and power of God. No one was able to go into the house of God until the seven angels had completed the seven kinds of trouble.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.