M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Gideon

6 Then the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord. And the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. ² Midian was stronger than Israel. Because of Midian the people of Israel made big caves in the sides of the mountains where they could live which were safe places for themselves. ³ For when Israel had planted seeds, the Midianites and Amalekites and the people of the east would come and fight against them. ⁴ They would set up their tents beside them and destroy the food of the field as far as Gaza. They would leave no food for Israel, and no sheep, cattle or donkeys. ⁵ They would come with their animals and their tents. They were like locusts, there were so many of them. There were too many of them and their camels to number. And they came into the land to destroy it. ⁶ So Israel became very poor because of Midian. The people of Israel cried to the Lord.

⁷ The people of Israel cried to the Lord because of Midian. ⁸ And the Lord sent a man to speak for Him to the people of Israel. The man said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I brought you here from Egypt. I brought you out of the house where you were made to work. ⁹ I set you free from the power of the Egyptians and from the hands of all who made it hard for you. I drove them away from in front of you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you, “I am the Lord your God. Do not be afraid of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.” But you have not obeyed Me.’”

¹¹ Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. The angel came as Joash’s son Gideon was beating out grain where grapes are crushed, to save it from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of the Lord showed himself to Gideon and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O powerful soldier.” ¹³ Gideon said to him, “O sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His powerful works which our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has left us alone. He has put us under the power of Midian.” ¹⁴ The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this strength of yours. And save Israel from the power of Midian. Have I not sent you?” ¹⁵ Gideon said to Him, “O Lord, how can I save Israel? See, my family is the least in Manasseh. And I am the youngest in my father’s house.” ¹⁶ But the Lord said to him, “For sure I will be with you. You will destroy Midian as one man.” ¹⁷ Gideon said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your eyes, show me something to prove that it is You Who speaks with me. ¹⁸ I ask of You, do not leave here until I return to You with my gift and lay it before You.” And the Lord said, “I will stay until you return.”

¹⁹ Then Gideon went into his house and got a young goat ready. He made bread without yeast from a basket of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the water from boiling the meat in a pot. Then he brought them out to him under the tree and set them down in front of him. ²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the bread without yeast and lay them on this rock. Then pour out the water.” Gideon did so. ²¹ The angel of the Lord put out the end of the stick that was in his hand and touched the meat and the bread without yeast. And fire came up from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread without yeast. Then the angel of the Lord was seen no more. ²² So Gideon knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And he said, “I am afraid, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³ The Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will not die.” ²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord. He gave it the name, The Lord is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites to this day.

²⁵ That same night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old. Use them to pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father. And cut down the tree of the false goddess Asherah that is beside it. ²⁶ Build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this strong place. Set the stones in the right way. Then take a second bull and give a burnt gift. Use the wood of the tree of the false goddess Asherah which you cut down.” ²⁷ Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the Lord had told him to do. But he was too afraid of those of his father’s house and the men of the city to do it during the day. So he did it during the night.

²⁸ When the men of the city got up early in the morning, they saw that the altar of Baal was torn down. They saw that the false goddess Asherah which was beside it was cut down. And the second bull was given on the altar which had been built. ²⁹ The men said to one another, “Who did this?” After they had looked around and asked, they were told, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.” ³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so he may die. For he has torn down the altar of Baal. And he has cut down our goddess Asherah which was beside it.” ³¹ But Joash said to all who were gathered against him, “Will you fight for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever will fight for him will be put to death this morning. If he is a god, let him fight for himself because someone has torn down his altar.” ³² So on that day he gave Gideon the name Jerubbaal, which means, “Let Baal fight against him.” Because he tore down his altar.

³³ Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and people of the east gathered together. They crossed the Jordan and set up their tents in the valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. He blew a horn and called together the Abiezerites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent men with news to go through Manasseh. And the Manassites were called together to follow him. He sent men with news to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. And they came to meet him.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “Save Israel through me, as You have said. ³⁷ See, I will put wool on the floor where grain is crushed. If the wool is wet, and it is dry on the ground, I will know that You will save Israel through me, as You have said.” ³⁸ It was so. Gideon got up early the next morning and took the wool in his hand. Enough water poured from the wool to fill a pot. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me for speaking to You once again. Let me make one more test with the wool. Let it be dry only on the wool. And let the ground be wet all around it.” ⁴⁰ God did so that night. For it was dry only on the wool. And all the ground was wet around it.

God Speaks to a Man Who Was Not a Jew

10 There was a man in the city of Caesarea by the name of Cornelius. He was a captain of an Italian group of the army. ² He and his family were good people and honored God. He gave much money to the people and prayed always to God.

³ One afternoon about three o’clock he saw in a dream what God wanted him to see. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius.” ⁴ He was afraid as he looked at the angel. He said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said, “Your prayers and your gifts of money have gone up to God. He has remembered them. ⁵ Send some men to the city of Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come here. ⁶ He is living with Simon, the man who works with leather. His house is by the sea-shore. He will tell you what you must do.” ⁷ The angel left him. Then Cornelius called two of his servants and a religious soldier who took care of him. ⁸ He told what had happened. Then he sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Dream

⁹ The next day they went on their way. About noon they were coming near the town. At this time Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became very hungry and wanted something to eat. While they were getting food ready to eat, he saw in a dream things God wanted him to see. ¹¹ He saw heaven open up and something like a large linen cloth being let down to earth by the four corners. ¹² On the cloth were all kinds of four-footed animals and snakes of the earth and birds of the sky. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill something and eat it.” ¹⁴ Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that our Law says is unclean.” ¹⁵ The voice said the second time, “What God has made clean you must not say is unclean.” ¹⁶ This happened three times. Then it was taken back to heaven.

Cornelius’ Men Find Peter

¹⁷ Peter thought about the meaning of the dream. The men that Cornelius had sent came. They were standing by the gate asking about Simon’s house. ¹⁸ They called to ask if Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ Peter was still thinking about the dream when the Holy Spirit said to him, “See, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Get up. Go down and go with them. Do not doubt if you should go, because I sent them.” ²¹ Peter went down to the men who had been sent by Cornelius. He said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?” ²² They said, “Cornelius sent us. He is a captain and a good man and he honors God. The whole Jewish nation can say this is true. An angel from God told him to send for you. He asks you to come to his house. He wants to hear what you have to say.”

Peter Goes to Cornelius

²³ Peter asked them to come in and stay with him for the night. The next day he went with them. Some of the brothers from Joppa went along. ²⁴ The next day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was looking for them. He had gathered all his family and close friends at his house. ²⁵ When Peter came, Cornelius got down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up and said, “Get up! I am just a man like you.” ²⁷ As Peter spoke with Cornelius, he went into the house and found a large group of people gathered together. ²⁸ Peter said to them, “You know it is against our Law for a Jew to visit a person of another nation. But God has shown me I should not say that any man is unclean. ²⁹ For this reason I came as soon as you sent for me. But I want to ask you why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago at three o’clock in the afternoon I was praying here in my house. All at once, I saw a man standing in front of me. He had on bright clothes. ³¹ He said to me, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayers and has remembered your gifts of love. ³² You must send to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come here. He is staying at the house of Simon, the man who works with leather. His house is by the sea-shore.’ ³³ I sent for you at once. You have done well to come. We are all here and God is with us. We are ready to hear whatever the Lord has told you to say.”

Peter Preaches in Cornelius’ House

³⁴ Then Peter said, “I can see, for sure, that God does not respect one person more than another. ³⁵ He is pleased with any man in any nation who honors Him and does what is right. ³⁶ He has sent His Word to the Jews. He told them the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord of All. ³⁷ You know the story yourselves. It was told in all the country of Judea. It began in the country of Galilee after the preaching of John the Baptist. ³⁸ God gave Jesus of Nazareth the Holy Spirit and power. He went around doing good and healing all who were troubled by the devil because God was with Him. ³⁹ We have seen and heard everything He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And yet they killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. ⁴⁰ God raised Him to life on the third day and made Him to be seen. ⁴¹ Not all the people saw Him but those who were chosen to see Him. We saw Him. We ate and drank with Him after He was raised from the dead. ⁴² He told us to preach to the people and tell them that God gave Christ the right to be the One Who says who is guilty of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the early preachers spoke of this. Everyone who puts his trust in Christ will have his sins forgiven through His name.”

The Holy Spirit Comes to the Family of Cornelius

⁴⁴ While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit came on all who were hearing his words. ⁴⁵ The Jewish followers who had come along with Peter were surprised and wondered because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also given to the people who were not Jews. ⁴⁶ They heard them speak in special sounds and give thanks to God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Will anyone say that these people may not be baptized? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ He gave the word that they should be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for some days.

The Broken Jar

19 The Lord says, “Go and buy a pot-maker’s clay jar, and take some of the leaders of the people and some of the older religious leaders. ² Then go out to the valley of BenHinnom, by the Potsherd Gate, and there say the words that I will tell you. ³ Say, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “See, I am about to bring much trouble to this place. The ears of everyone that hears of it will hurt. ⁴ The people have left Me and have made this a strange place. They have burned special perfume in it to other gods that they and their fathers and the kings of Judah had never known. They have filled this place with the blood of those who were not guilty. ⁵ They have built the high places of the false god Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt gifts to Baal. This is a thing which I never told them to do or spoke of. It did not even come to My mind. ⁶ So see, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of BenHinnom. Instead it will be called the Valley of Killing. ⁷ I will make the plans of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place. I will cause them to fall by the sword in front of those who hate them and by the hand of those who want to kill them. And I will feed their dead bodies to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. ⁸ I will make this city a waste place, and people will make sounds of hate. Everyone who passes by it will be surprised and make strange noises because of all its troubles. ⁹ I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. And they will eat each other’s flesh when the armies shut them in, and when those who want to kill them bring much trouble to them.”’

¹⁰ “Then you are to break the jar in front of the men who go with you. ¹¹ And say to them, ‘The Lord of All says, “In this way I will break these people and this city, even as one breaks a pot-maker’s jar, which cannot be put back together. Men will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no place left to bury. ¹² This is what I will do to this place and its people,” says the Lord. “I will make this city like Topheth. ¹³ The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be made unclean like Topheth. This will be because of all the houses on whose roofs they burned special perfume to all the false gods of the heavens and poured out drink gifts to other gods.”’”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to tell what would happen. And he stood in the open space of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, ¹⁵ “The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, ‘See, I am about to bring to this city and to all its towns all the trouble that I have spoken about, because they have made their necks hard and would not listen to My Words.’”

Demons Ask Jesus to Let Them Live in Pigs ^(A)

5 Jesus and His followers came to the other side of the sea to the country of the Gerasenes. ² He got out of the boat. At once a man came to Him from among the graves. This man had a demon. ³ He lived among the graves. No man could tie him, even with chains. ⁴ Many times he had been tied with chains on his feet. He had broken the chains as well as the irons from his hands and legs. No man was strong enough to keep him tied. ⁵ Night and day he was among the graves and in the mountains. He would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶ When the man with the demon saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and worshiped Him. ⁷ The man spoke with a loud voice and said, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I ask You, in the name of God, do not hurt me!” ⁸ At the same time, Jesus was saying, “Come out of the man, you demon!” ⁹ Jesus asked the demon, “What is your name?” He said, “My name is Many, for there are many of us.” ¹⁰ The demons asked Jesus not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ There were many pigs feeding on the mountain side. ¹² The demons asked Him saying, “Send us to the pigs that we may go into them.” ¹³ Then Jesus let them do what they wanted to do. So they went into the pigs. The pigs ran fast down the side of the mountain and into the sea and died. There were about 2,000. ¹⁴ The men who cared for the pigs ran fast to the town and out to the country telling what had been done. People came to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who had had the demons. He was sitting with clothes on and in his right mind. The men were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told what had happened to the man who had had the demons. They told what had happened to the pigs. ¹⁷ Then they asked Jesus to leave their country.

¹⁸ Jesus got into the boat. The man who had had the demons asked to go with Him. ¹⁹ Jesus would not let him go but said to him, “Go home to your own people. Tell them what great things the Lord has done for you. Tell them how He had pity on you.” ²⁰ The man went his way and told everyone in the land of Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him. All the people were surprised and wondered.

Two Were Healed through Faith ^(B)

²¹ Then Jesus went by boat over to the other side of the sea. Many people gathered around Him. He stayed by the sea-shore. ²² Jairus was one of the leaders of the Jewish place of worship. As Jairus came to Jesus, he got down at His feet. ²³ He cried out to Jesus and said, “My little daughter is almost dead. Come and put Your hand on her that she may be healed and live.” ²⁴ Jesus went with him. Many people followed and pushed around Jesus.

²⁵ A woman had been sick for twelve years with a flow of blood. ²⁶ She had suffered much because of having many doctors. She had spent all the money she had. She had received no help, but became worse. ²⁷ She heard about Jesus and went among the people who were following Him. She touched His coat. ²⁸ For she said to herself, “If I can only touch His coat, I will be healed.” ²⁹ At once the flow of blood stopped. She felt in her body that she was healed of her sickness.

³⁰ At the same time Jesus knew that power had gone from Him. He turned and said to the people following Him, “Who touched My coat?” ³¹ His followers said to Him, “You see the many people pushing on every side. Why do You ask, ‘Who touched My coat?’” ³² He looked around to see who had done it. ³³ The woman was filled with fear when she knew what had happened to her. She came and got down before Jesus and told Him the truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your sickness.”

³⁵ While Jesus spoke, men came from the house of the leader of the place of worship. They said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher anymore?” ³⁶ Jesus heard this. He said to the leader of the Jewish place of worship, “Do not be afraid, just believe.” ³⁷ He allowed no one to go with Him but Peter and James and John, the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house where the leader of the place of worship lived. Jesus found many people making much noise and crying. ³⁹ He went in and asked them, “Why is there so much noise and crying? The girl is not dead. She is sleeping.”

⁴⁰ They laughed at Jesus. But He sent them all out of the room. Then He took the girl’s father and mother and those who were with Him. They went into the room where the girl was. ⁴¹ He took the girl by the hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ⁴² At once the girl got up and walked. She was twelve years old. They were very much surprised and wondered about it. ⁴³ He spoke sharp words to them that they should not tell anyone. He told them to give her something to eat.