M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Angel of the Lord Speaks to Israel

2 The angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I promised your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break My agreement with you. ² Do not make any agreement with the people of this land. Tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? ³ So now I say, ‘I will not drive them away from you. They will be like thorns in your sides. Their gods will be a trap to you.’” ⁴ When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people cried in a loud voice. ⁵ So they called that place Bochim. And there they gave gifts in worship to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

⁶ When Joshua sent the people of Israel away, each one went home to his own land. ⁷ The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the leaders who lived longer than Joshua and who had seen all the great works the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old. ⁹ They buried him within his land in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All the people of that day died. The children who came after them did not know the Lord. They did not know about the things He had done for Israel.

Israel Is No Longer Faithful to the Lord

¹¹ Then the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, the gods of the Canaanites. ¹² They turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods of the nations around them, and worshiped them. So they made the Lord angry. ¹³ They turned away from the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ The Lord was angry with Israel. He gave them into the hands of angry men who robbed them. He sold them into the hands of those around them who hated them. The people of Israel could no longer stand in front of those who hated them. ¹⁵ The Lord punished them everywhere they went. The Lord did what He had told them and promised them He would do. The people were very troubled.

¹⁶ Then the Lord gave them special men to judge between what was right or wrong. These men saved them from those who robbed them. ¹⁷ But the people did not listen to those chosen to judge. The people were not faithful to the Lord and they worshiped other gods. They were quick to turn aside from the way their fathers had walked in obeying the Laws of the Lord. They did not do as their fathers had done. ¹⁸ When the Lord gave them special men to judge them, the Lord was with the judge. And He saved them from those who hated them. For the Lord showed them pity because of their pain when others made it hard for them and hurt them. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, they would turn again and act worse than their fathers. They would follow other gods and serve them and worship them. They would not give up their sinful acts or their strong wills. ²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He said, “This nation has sinned against My agreement I made with their fathers. They have not listened to My voice. ²¹ I will stop driving away from them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²² I will use them to test Israel. I will see if Israel will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it like their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord let those nations stay. He was not quick to drive them out. And He did not give them into the power of Joshua.

Church Leaders Are Chosen

6 In those days the group of followers was getting larger. Greek-speaking Jews in the group complained against the Jews living in the country around Jerusalem. The Greek-speaking Jews said that their women whose husbands had died were not taken care of when the food was given out each day. ² So the twelve missionaries called a meeting of the many followers and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to hand out food. ³ Brothers, choose from among you seven men who are respected and who are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will have them take care of this work. ⁴ Then we will use all of our time to pray and to teach the Word of God.”

⁵ These words pleased all of them. They chose Stephen who was a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. They also chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas of Antioch who had become a Jew. ⁶ These men were taken to the missionaries. After praying, the missionaries laid their hands on them.

⁷ The Word of God spread further. The group of followers became much larger in Jerusalem. Many of the religious leaders believed in the faith of the Christians.

Stephen Is Brought in Front of the Religious Leaders’ Court

⁸ Stephen was a man full of faith and power. He did many great things among the people. ⁹ But some men came from their place of worship who were known as the Free people. They started to argue with Stephen. These men were from the countries of Cyrene and Alexandria and Cilicia and Asia. ¹⁰ Stephen spoke with wisdom and power given by the Holy Spirit. They were not able to say anything against what he said. ¹¹ So they told other men to say, “We have heard him say things against Moses and God.” ¹² In this way they got the people talking against Stephen. The leaders of the people and the teachers of the Law came and took him to the religious leaders’ court. ¹³ The people were told to lie and say, “This man keeps on talking against this place of worship and the Law of Moses. ¹⁴ We have heard him say, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is going to pull down this place. He is going to change what Moses taught us.’”

¹⁵ The men sitting in the religious leaders’ court were looking at Stephen. They all saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

Troubles for Judah

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with these people. Send them away from Me and let them go! ² And when they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “Those who are to die, to death, and those who are to be killed by the sword, to the sword. Those who are to go hungry, to hunger, and those who are to be taken away as prisoners, to be taken away.’ ³ I will set over them four kinds of destroyers,” says the Lord: “The sword to kill, the dogs to take away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth to eat and destroy. ⁴ I will make them an object of much fear and hate among all the nations of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵ “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will have sorrow for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your well-being? ⁶ You have turned away from Me,” says the Lord. “You keep going back into sin. So I will put out My hand against you and destroy you. I am tired of having pity on you! ⁷ I will throw them to the wind like straw at the gates of the land. I will take their children from them. I will destroy My people. For they did not turn from their ways. ⁸ Their women whose husbands have died will be as many as the sand of the seas. At noon I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will bring suffering and fear to them all at once. ⁹ She who gave birth to seven sons will become weak and die. Her sun will set while it is still day, and she will be put to shame. I will give the rest of them to the sword in front of those who hate them,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah Complains

¹⁰ It is bad for me, my mother, that you have given birth to me! I am a man of trouble and fighting to all the land. No one owes money to me, and I do not owe money to others, yet every one curses me. ¹¹ The Lord said, “For sure I will set you free for a good reason. For sure I will make those who hate you ask of you in times of trouble and suffering.

¹² “Can anyone crush iron, iron from the north, or brass? ¹³ I will give your money and riches to those who fight against you, without a price, because of all your sins in all your land. ¹⁴ I will make those who hate you bring your riches into a land you do not know. For My anger has started a fire that will burn you.”

¹⁵ O Lord, You understand. Remember me and visit me. And punish those who make it hard for me. Do not take me away, for You are slow to be angry. Know that because of You I suffer and am put to shame. ¹⁶ Your words were found and I ate them. And Your words became a joy to me and the happiness of my heart. For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of All. ¹⁷ I did not sit with those who were having fun, and I was not full of joy. I sat alone because Your hand was upon me. For You had filled me with hate for their sin. ¹⁸ Why is there no end to my pain? And why will my hurt not be healed? Will You be to me like a river that flows with water some of the time and is dry at other times?

The Lord’s Answer

¹⁹ So the Lord says, “If you return, then I will let you take your place again, standing before Me. And if you take out what is of worth from what is of no worth, then you will speak for Me. Let these people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. ²⁰ Then I will make you like a strong wall of brass to these people. Even if they fight against you, they will not get power over you. For I am with you to save you and bring you out of trouble,” says the Lord. ²¹ “I will take you from the hand of the sinful. And I will free you from the hand of those who would hurt you.”

John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for the Coming of Jesus ^(A)

1 The Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, ² begins with the words of the early preachers: “Listen! I will send My helper to carry the news ahead of you. He will make the way ready. ³ His voice calls out in the desert, ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’” ^(B)

⁴ John the Baptist preached in the desert. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them. And they would be forgiven. ⁵ People from over all the country of Judea and from Jerusalem came to him. They told of their sins and were baptized by John in the Jordan River.

⁶ John wore clothes made of hair from camels. He had a leather belt around him. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached, saying, “One is coming after me Who is greater than I. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes. ⁸ I have baptized you with water. But He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus ^(C)

⁹ Jesus came to the Jordan River from the town of Nazareth in the country of Galilee. He was baptized by John. ¹⁰ As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw heaven open up. The Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice came from heaven and said, “You are My much-loved Son. I am very happy with You.”

Jesus Was Tempted ^(D)

¹² At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus to a desert. ¹³ He was tempted by Satan for forty days there. He was with wild animals but angels took care of Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee ^(E)

¹⁴ After John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus came to the country of Galilee. He preached the Good News of God. ¹⁵ He said, “The time has come. The holy nation of God is near. Be sorry for your sins, turn from them, and believe the Good News.”

Jesus Calls Simon and Andrew ^(F)

¹⁶ Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew putting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed Him.

Jesus Calls James and John

¹⁹ Jesus went on a little farther. He saw James and his brother John who were sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat mending their nets. ²⁰ Jesus called them and they left their father Zebedee. He was in the boat with men who were working for him.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon ^(G)

²¹ Jesus and His followers went to the city of Capernaum on the Day of Rest. They went to the Jewish place of worship where Jesus taught the people. ²² The people were surprised and wondered about His teaching. He taught them as One Who had the right and the power to teach and not as the teachers of the Law.

²³ There was a man in the Jewish place of worship who had a demon. The demon cried out, ²⁴ “What do You want of us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are. You are the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ Jesus spoke sharp words to the demon and said, “Do not talk! Come out of the man!” ²⁶ The demon threw the man down and gave a loud cry. Then he came out of him. ²⁷ The people were all surprised and wondered. They asked each other, “What is this? Is this a new teaching? He speaks with power even to the demons and they obey Him!” ²⁸ At once the news about Jesus went through all the country around Galilee.

Peter’s Mother-In-law Healed ^(H)

²⁹ Jesus and His followers came out of the Jewish place of worship. Then they went to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. ³⁰ They told Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law who was in bed, very sick. ³¹ He went and took her by the hand and raised her up. At once her sickness was gone. She got up and cared for them.

Jesus Heals in Galilee ^(I)

³² In the evening as the sun went down, the people took all who were sick to Jesus. They took those who had demons to Him. ³³ All the town gathered at the door. ³⁴ Jesus healed those who were sick of many kinds of diseases. He put out many demons. Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because they knew Who He was.

Jesus Keeps On Preaching in Galilee ^(J)

³⁵ In the morning before the sun was up, Jesus went to a place where He could be alone. He prayed there. ³⁶ Simon and the others looked for Jesus. ³⁷ They found Him and said, “All the people are looking for You.” ³⁸ Jesus said to the followers, “Let us go to the towns near here so I can preach there also. That is why I came.” ³⁹ He went through Galilee. He preached in their places of worship and put out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(K)

⁴⁰ A man came to Jesus with a bad skin disease. This man got down on his knees and begged Jesus, saying, “If You want to, You can heal me.” ⁴¹ Jesus put His hand on him with loving-pity. He said, “I want to. Be healed.” ⁴² At once the disease was gone and the man was healed. ⁴³ Jesus spoke strong words to the man before He sent him away. ⁴⁴ He said to him, “Tell no one about this. Go and let the religious leader of the Jews see you. Give the gifts Moses has told you to give when a man is healed of a disease. Let the leaders know you have been healed.” ⁴⁵ But the man went out and talked about it everywhere. After this Jesus could not go to any town if people knew He was there. He had to stay in the desert. People came to Him from everywhere.