M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-family group of Manasseh. 2 He said to them, “You have done all that the Lord’s servant Moses told you to do. You have obeyed me in all I have told you to do. 3 You have not left your brothers alone even to this day. But you have been careful to do what the Lord your God has told you. 4 Now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He promised them. So go now. Return to your homes in your own land, which the Lord’s servant Moses gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to obey the Law which the Lord’s servant Moses told you. Love the Lord your God. Walk in all His ways. Obey His Laws. Stay close to Him, and work for Him with all your heart and soul.” 6 Joshua prayed that good would come to them, and sent them away. Then they went to their homes.
7 Moses had given land in Bashan to the half-family group of Manasseh. But Joshua gave land west of the Jordan to the other half of the family among their brothers. Joshua prayed that good would come to them when he sent them away to their homes. 8 He said to them, “Return to your homes with much riches, many animals, silver, gold, brass, iron, and very many clothes. Share with your brothers the riches taken from those who fought against you.” 9 The sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh returned home. They left the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and went to their own land of Gilead. They had taken this land by the word of the Lord through Moses.
10 The sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh came to the Jordan River. Before they crossed the Jordan, they built a very large altar on the Canaan side of the Jordan. 11 The people of Israel heard the news, “See, the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh have built an altar in the land of Canaan by the Jordan. It stands on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” 12 When the people of Israel heard about it, all the sons of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar into the land of Gilead to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh. 14 With him were ten leaders, one leader from each ruling house in every family of Israel. Each one was the head of his father’s house among the families of Israel. 15 They came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and said to them, 16 “All the people of the Lord say, ‘What sin is this that you have done against the God of Israel? You have turned away from following the Lord this day, by building yourselves an altar. Today you have gone against the Lord. 17 Is not the sin of Peor enough for us? We have made ourselves unclean from that to this day, and much trouble has come upon the people of the Lord. 18 Now to add to that sin, this day you have turned away from following the Lord. If you go against the Lord today, He will be angry with all the people of Israel tomorrow. 19 Now if the land you have been given is unclean, cross over into the Lord’s land. There stands the meeting tent of the Lord. Take land for yourselves among us. But do not go against the Lord, or against us, by building an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did not Zerah’s son Achan sin by taking things that should have been destroyed? Anger came upon all the people of Israel. He did not die alone for his sin.’” 21 Then the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh answered the leaders of the families of Israel, saying, 22 “The Powerful One, the Lord, the Powerful One, God, the Lord! He knows! And may Israel itself know! If it was going against the Lord and not being faithful to Him, do not save us this day! 23 If we have built an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or to give burnt gifts, grain gifts or peace gifts on it, may the Lord Himself punish us. 24 We have done this because we were afraid that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has put the Jordan between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have nothing to do with the Lord.’ Then your children might make our children stop worshiping the Lord. 26 So we said, ‘Let us build an altar. It will not be for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. 27 But it will be something special to be seen between us and you and our children after us. It will show that we are to serve the Lord before Him with our burnt gifts, our gifts of animals and our peace gifts. Then your children will not say to our children in the future, “You have nothing to do with the Lord.”’ 28 We thought that if they say this to us or our children in the future we can say, ‘See the altar we have made like the altar of the Lord which our fathers made. It is not for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. But it is something special to see between us and you.’ 29 Never let it be said that we went against the Lord and turned away from following the Lord this day by building an altar. It is not for burnt gifts or grain gifts or killing animals in worship. It is not to be used instead of the altar of the Lord our God before His meeting tent.”
30 Phinehas the religious leader and the leaders of the people, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, were pleased when they heard the words of the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. 31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the religious leader said to the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us. Because you have not done this as sin against the Lord. Now you have saved the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.” 32 Then Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad. They returned from the land of Gilead to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. And they told them what had happened. 33 The news pleased the people of Israel, and they gave thanks to God. They said no more about going against them in war, to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and Gad were living. 34 The people of Reuben and Gad said, “This altar shows the agreement between us that the Lord is God.”
The Holy Spirit Comes On the Followers of Jesus
2 The followers of Jesus were all together in one place fifty days after the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. 2 All at once there was a sound from heaven like a powerful wind. It filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then they saw tongues which were divided that looked like fire. These came down on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they began to speak in other languages which the Holy Spirit made them able to speak.
5 There were many religious Jews staying in Jerusalem. They were from every country of the world. 6 When they heard this strange sound, they gathered together. They all listened! It was hard for them to believe they were hearing words in their own language. 7 They were surprised and wondered about it. They said to each other, “Are not these Galileans who are speaking? 8 How is it that each one of us can hear his own language? 9 We are Parthians and Medes, Elamites and from the countries of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and in the countries of Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Some have come from the city of Rome. Some are Jews by birth and others have become Jews. 11 Some are also men of the countries of Crete and Arabia. They are speaking of the powerful works of God to all of us in our own language!” 12 They were all surprised and wondered about this. They said to each other, “What can this mean?” 13 But others laughed and made fun, saying, “These men are full of new wine.”
Peter Preaches—What Joel Said Would Happen Has Happened
14 Then Peter stood up with the eleven missionaries and spoke with a loud voice, “Men of the country of Judea and all of you who are living in Jerusalem, I want you to know what is happening. So listen to what I am going to say. 15 These men are not drunk as you think. It is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 The early preacher Joel said this would happen. 17 God says, ‘In the last days I will send My Spirit on all men. Then your sons and daughters will speak God’s Word. Your young men will see what God has given them to see. Your old men will dream dreams. 18 Yes, on those I own, both men and women, I will send My Spirit in those days. They will speak God’s Word. 19 I will show powerful works in the sky above. There will be things to see in the earth below like blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20 The sun will turn dark and the moon will turn to blood before the day of the Lord. His coming will be a great and special day. 21 It will be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from the punishment of sin.’ (A)
Peter Preaches—Jesus Shows Who He Is by What He Did
22 “Jewish men, listen to what I have to say! You knew Jesus of the town of Nazareth by the powerful works He did. God worked through Jesus while He was with you. You all know this. 23 Jesus was handed over to sinful men. God knew this and planned for it to happen. You had sinful men take Him and nail Him to a cross. 24 But God raised Him up. He allowed Him to be set free from the pain of death. Death could not hold its power over Him.
Peter Preaches—Jesus Shows Who He Is by What He Said
25 “David said this about Him, ‘I can see the Lord before me all the time. He is at my right side so that I do not need to be troubled. 26 I am glad and my tongue is full of joy. My body rests in hope. 27 You will not leave my soul in death. You will not allow Your Holy One to be destroyed. 28 You have shown me the ways of life. I will be full of joy when I see Your face.’ (B)
29 “Brothers, I can tell you in plain words that our early father David not only died but was buried. We know where his grave is today. 30 He was one who spoke for God. He knew God had made a promise to him. From his family Christ would come and take His place as King. 31 He knew this before and spoke of Christ being raised from the dead. Christ’s soul would not be left in hell. His body would not be destroyed. 32 Jesus is this One! God has raised Him up and we have all seen Him.
33 “This Jesus has been lifted up to God’s right side. The Holy Spirit was promised by the Father. God has given Him to us. That is what you are seeing and hearing now! 34 It was not David who was taken up to heaven, because he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right side, 35 for those who hate You will be a place to rest Your feet.”’ (C) 36 The whole Jewish nation must know for sure that God has made this Jesus, both Lord and Christ. He is the One you nailed to a cross!”
They Ask Peter What They Should Do
37 When the Jews heard this, their hearts were troubled. They said to Peter and to the other missionaries, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you and your children. It is to all people everywhere. It is to as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 He said many other things. He helped them understand that they should keep themselves from the sinful people of this day. 41 Those who believed what he said were baptized. There were about 3,000 more followers added that day.
The First Church
42 They were faithful in listening to the teaching of the missionaries. They worshiped and prayed and ate the Lord’s supper together. 43 Many powerful works were done by the missionaries. Surprise and fear came on them all. 44 All those who put their trust in Christ were together and shared what they owned. 45 As anyone had need, they sold what they owned and shared with everyone. 46 Day after day they went to the house of God together. In their houses they ate their food together. Their hearts were happy. 47 They gave thanks to God and all the people respected them. The Lord added to the group each day those who were being saved from the punishment of sin.
The Agreement Is Broken
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this agreement, and speak to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. 3 Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Cursed is the man who does not listen to the words of this agreement 4 which I told to your fathers before you when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I brought them from the land that was like an iron stove. I said to them, ‘Listen to My voice, and do all that I tell you. Then you will be My people and I will be your God.’ 5 And so I will keep the promise I made to your fathers before you, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered and said, “Let it be so, O Lord.”
6 The Lord said to me, “Make these words known in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this agreement and do them. 7 For by My strong words I told your fathers of the danger when I brought them up from the land of Egypt. I kept telling them even to this day, saying, “Listen to My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or listen. Every one walked in his own strong-will because of his sinful heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this agreement, which I told them to do, but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “Sinful plans have been made by the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their fathers before them who would not listen to My words. And they have gone to serve other gods. The people of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their fathers.” 11 So the Lord says, “See, I am bringing much trouble on them. They will not be able to get away from it. Even when they cry to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn special perfume. But they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah. And your altars you have set up to burn special perfume to the false god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.
14 “So do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not listen when they call to Me because of their trouble. 15 What right has My loved one to be in My house when she has done many sinful acts? Can animals killed on My altar take your trouble away from you? Can you then find joy?” 16 The Lord called you, “A green olive tree, beautiful and with good fruit.” But with a noise like thunder He set fire to it, and its branches were destroyed. 17 The Lord of All, Who planted you, has said that bad will come to you because of the sin of the people of Israel and of the people of Judah. They have done wrong to make Me angry by burning special perfume to the false god Baal.
Men of Anathoth Want to Kill Jeremiah
18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew it. You showed me the sinful things they did. 19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to be killed. I did not know that they had made plans against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit. Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” 20 But, O Lord of All, Who is right as He judges, Who tests the heart and the mind, let me see You punish them. For I have put my cause before You.
21 So the Lord speaks about the men of Anathoth who want to kill you. These men say, “Do not speak in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand.” 22 So the Lord of All says, “See, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword. And their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23 None of them will be left. For I will bring much trouble to the men of Anathoth, in the year of their punishment.”
The Picture-Story of Ten Young Women
25 “At that time the holy nation of heaven will be like ten women who have never had men. They took their lamps and went out to meet the man soon to be married. 2 Five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 The foolish women took their lamps but did not take oil with them. 4 The wise women took oil in a jar with their lamps. 5 They all went to sleep because the man to be married did not come for a long time.
6 “At twelve o’clock in the night there was a loud call, ‘See! The man soon to be married is coming! Go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the women got up and made their lamps brighter. 8 The foolish women said to the wise women, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise women said, ‘No! There will not be enough for us and you. Go to the store and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10 While they were gone to buy oil, the man soon to be married came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage. The door was shut.
11 “Later the foolish women came. They said, ‘Sir, Sir, open the door for us!’ 12 But he said to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, I do not know you!’ 13 So watch! You do not know what day or what hour the Son of Man is coming.
The Picture-Story of the Three Servants and the Money
14 “For the holy nation of heaven is like a man who was going to a country far away. He called together the servants he owned and gave them his money to use. 15 He gave to one servant five pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant two pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant one piece of money worth much. He gave to each one as he was able to use it. Then he went on his trip. 16 The servant who had the five pieces of money went out to the stores and traded until he made five more pieces. 17 The servant who had two pieces of money did the same thing. He made two more pieces. 18 The servant who had received the one piece of money went and hid the money in a hole in the ground. He hid his owner’s money.
19 “After a long time the owner of those servants came back. He wanted to know what had been done with his money. 20 The one who had received the five pieces of money worth much came and handed him five pieces more. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me five pieces of money. See! I used it and made five more pieces.’ 21 His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ 22 The one who received two pieces of money worth much came also. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me two pieces of money. See! I used it and made two more pieces.’ 23 His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ 24 The one who had received one piece of money worth much came. He said, ‘Sir, I know that you are a hard man. You gather grain where you have not planted. You take up where you have not spread out. 25 I was afraid and I hid your money in the ground. See! Here is your money.’ 26 His owner said to him, ‘You bad and lazy servant. You knew that I gather grain where I have not planted. You knew that I take up where I have not spread out. 27 You should have taken my money to the bank. When I came back, I could have had my own money and what the bank paid for using it. 28 Take the one piece of money from him. Give it to the one who has ten pieces of money.’ 29 For the man who has will have more given to him. He will have more than enough. The man who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 30 Throw the bad servant out into the darkness. There will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His shining-greatness, He will sit down on His throne of greatness. All the angels will be with Him. 32 All the nations of the earth will be gathered before Him. He will divide them from each other as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right side, but the goats He will put on His left side.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right side, ‘Come, you who have been called by My Father. Come into the holy nation that has been made ready for you before the world was made. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me water to drink. I was a stranger and you gave Me a room. 36 I had no clothes and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you cared for Me. I was in prison and you came to see Me.’
37 “Then those that are right with God will say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? When did we see You thirsty and give You a drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and give You a room? When did we see You had no clothes and we gave You clothes? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and we came to You?’ 40 Then the King will say, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me.’
41 “Then the King will say to those on His left side, ‘Go away from Me! You are guilty! Go into the fire that lasts forever. It has been made ready for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry but you did not give Me food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give Me water to drink. 43 I was a stranger but you did not give Me a room. I had no clothes but you did not give Me clothes. I was sick and in prison but you did not come to see Me.’
44 “Then they will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger? When did we see You without clothes or sick or in prison and did not care for You?’ 45 Then He will say to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go to the place where they will be punished forever. But those right with God will have life that lasts forever.”
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.