M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Gideon and the Three Hundred Men

7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him got up early and set up their tents beside the well of Harod. The tents of Midian were north of them, by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands. Israel might say with pride, ‘Our own power has saved us.’ ³ So say to all the people, ‘Whoever is afraid and shaking with fear may leave Mount Gilead and return home.’” So 22,000 people returned. But 10,000 stayed.

⁴ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water. I will test them for you there. Whoever I say is to go with you will go. But whoever I say is not to go with you will not go.” ⁵ So Gideon brought the people down to the water. The Lord said to Gideon, “Divide every man who drinks the water as dogs drink with their tongues from every man who gets down on his knees to drink.” ⁶ There were 300 men who drank from their hand, putting their hand to their mouth. But all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you with the 300 men who drank from their hands. I will give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others return, every man to his home.” ⁸ So the 300 men took the people’s food and their horns. Gideon sent all the other men of Israel to their tents. He kept only the 300 men. And the tents of Midian were below him in the valley.

⁹ That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up. Go down and fight against them at their tents. For I have given them into your hands. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, go with your servant Purah down to their tents. ¹¹ You will hear what they say. Then your hands will become strong enough to go down and fight against them.” So he went with his servant Purah down to the side of the tents where soldiers were keeping watch. ¹² The Midianites and Amalekites and all the people of the east were lying in the valley. They were like locusts, there were so many. Their camels were too many to number. They were like sand beside the sea, there were so many. ¹³ When Gideon came, a man was telling a dream to his friend. The man said, “I had a dream. A loaf of barley bread was rolling toward the tents of Midian. It came to the tent and hit it so it fell down. It turned it up-side-down so the tent fell apart.” ¹⁴ His friend answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has given Midian and all the army into his hand.”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the story of the dream and what it meant, he bowed down and worshiped God. Then he returned to the tents of Israel and said, “Get up! For the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hands.” ¹⁶ He divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave horns and empty pots with fire sticks inside to each of them. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “Watch me, and do what I do. When I come to the side of their tents, do as I do. ¹⁸ I and all those with me will blow the horns. Then you blow the horns all around the tents, and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

¹⁹ So Gideon and the 100 men who were with him came to the side of the tents. It was late in the night. Different soldiers had just come to keep watch. Then the men blew the horns and broke the pots that were in their hands. ²⁰ All three groups blew their horns and broke their pots. They held the sticks of fire in their left hands and horns to be blown in their right hands. And they called out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ Each man stood in his place around the tents. And all the Midianite army ran. They cried out and ran away. ²² When the 300 horns were blown, the Lord made every man fight the man next to him among the tents. And the army ran away as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah. They went as far as the land of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. ²³ The men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, to go after Midian.

²⁴ Gideon sent men through all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian. Take the waters in front of them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together. And they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. ²⁵ They took the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. And they killed Zeeb at the place of Zeeb where the grapes are crushed. They went after Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from the other side of the Jordan.

Peter Tells Why He Preached to the People Who Are Not Jews

11 The missionaries and followers who were in the country of Judea heard that the people who were not Jews also had received the Word of God. ² When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the Jewish followers argued with him. ³ They said, “Why did you visit those people who are not Jews and eat with them?”

⁴ Then Peter began to tell all that had happened from the beginning to the end. He said, ⁵ “While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I saw in a dream something coming down from heaven. It was like a large linen cloth let down by the four corners until it came to me. ⁶ As I looked at it, I saw four-footed animals and snakes of the earth and birds of the sky. ⁷ I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill something and eat it.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘No, Lord! Nothing that is unclean has ever gone into my mouth.’ ⁹ The voice from heaven said the second time, ‘What God has made clean you must not say is unclean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times and then it was taken up again to heaven.

¹¹ “Three men had already come to the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from the city of Caesarea. ¹² The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not doubt about going. These six men also went with me to this man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel in his own home. The angel had stood in front of him and said, ‘Send men to Joppa to ask for Simon Peter. ¹⁴ He will tell you and all your family how you can be saved from the punishment of sin.’

¹⁵ “As I began to talk to them, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as He did on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If God gave to them the same gift He gave to us after we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stand against God?”

¹⁸ When they heard these words, they said nothing more. They thanked God, saying, “Then God has given life also to the people who are not Jews. They have this new life by being sorry for their sins and turning from them.”

The Followers Are Called Christians First In Antioch

¹⁹ Those who went different places because of the trouble that started over Stephen had gone as far as the cities of Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch. They had preached the Word, but only to the Jews. ²⁰ Some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene returned to Antioch. They preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Greek people there. ²¹ The Lord gave them power. Many people put their trust in the Lord and turned to Him.

²² The news of this came to the church in Jerusalem. They sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he got there and saw how good God had been to them, he was full of joy. He told them to be true and faithful to the Lord. ²⁴ Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And many people became followers of the Lord.

²⁵ From there Barnabas went on to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. ²⁶ When he found Saul, he brought him back with him to Antioch. For a year they taught many people in the church. The followers were first called Christians in Antioch.

The Antioch Church Helps the Jerusalem Church

²⁷ At that time some men who preached God’s Word came to Antioch and told what was going to happen. They were from Jerusalem. ²⁸ One of them was Agabus. The Holy Spirit told him to stand up and speak. He told them there would be very little food to eat over all the world. This happened when Claudius was leader of the country. ²⁹ The Christians agreed that each one should give what money he could to help the Christians living in Judea. ³⁰ They did this and sent it to the church leaders with Barnabas and Saul.

Jeremiah and the Religious Leader Pashhur

20 Now Pashhur the religious leader, the son of Immer, was the head leader in the house of the Lord. When he heard Jeremiah saying these things, ² Pashhur had Jeremiah the man of God beaten. Then he put him in chains at the upper Benjamin Gate by the house of the Lord. ³ On the next day, when Pashhur set Jeremiah free from the chains, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Fear Everywhere. ⁴ For the Lord says, ‘See, I am going to make you a fear to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of those who hate them while you look on. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will carry them away in chains to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. ⁵ I will give over all the riches of this city, all that its people have worked for, and all its things of much worth. Even all the riches of the kings of Judah I will give to those who hate them. They will take their things, and take hold of them, and carry them to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will be taken away in chains. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have told lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint to the Lord

⁷ O Lord, You have lied to me and I was fooled. You are stronger than I, and have had power over me. I have been laughed at all day. Everyone makes fun of me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out. I tell of fighters and destroyers. For the Word of the Lord has become a shame and a cause of laughing at me all day long. ⁹ But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that. ¹⁰ For I have heard many speaking in secret, saying, “Fear and trouble is on every side! Speak against him! Yes, let us speak against him!” All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say, “It may be that he will be fooled. Then we can get power over him and punish him.” ¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a powerful one who causes fear. So those who make it hard for me will fall and not have power over me. They will be put to much shame, because their plans have not gone well. Their shame will last forever and will not be forgotten. ¹² O Lord of All, You test those who are right and good. You see the mind and the heart. Let me see You punish them, for I have given my cause to You. ¹³ Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has taken the soul of the one in need from the hand of the sinful.

¹⁴ Cursed is the day when I was born! Let the day not be honored when my mother gave birth to me! ¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, “A baby boy has been born to you!” and made him very happy. ¹⁶ Let that man be like the cities which the Lord destroyed without pity. Let him hear a cry in the morning and a call of danger at noon. ¹⁷ For he did not kill me before I was born, so that my mother’s body would have been my grave. ¹⁸ Why was I ever born to see trouble and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Jesus Visits His Own Town, Nazareth ^(A)

6 Jesus went from the house of Jairus and came to His home town. His followers came after Him. ² On the Day of Rest He began to teach in the Jewish place of worship. Many people heard Him. They were surprised and wondered, saying, “Where did this Man get all this? What wisdom is this that has been given to Him? How can He do these powerful works with His hands? ³ Is He not a Man Who makes things from wood? Is He not the Son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Do not His sisters live here with us?” The people were ashamed of Him and turned away from Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “One who speaks for God is respected everywhere but in his own country and among his own family and in his own house.”

⁵ So Jesus could do no powerful works there. But He did put His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ He wondered because they had no faith. But He went around to the towns and taught as He went.

Jesus Calls Twelve Followers and Sends Them Out ^(B)

⁷ Jesus called the twelve followers to Him and began to send them out two by two. He gave them power over demons. ⁸ He told them to take nothing along with them but a walking stick. They were not to take a bag or food or money in their belts. ⁹ They were to wear shoes. They were not to take two coats.

¹⁰ He said to them, “Whatever house you go into, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ Whoever does not take you in or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet. By doing that, you will speak against them. For sure, I tell you, it will be easier for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day men stand before God and are judged than for that city.”

¹² Then they left. They preached that men should be sorry for their sins and turn from them. ¹³ They put out many demons. They poured oil on many people that were sick and healed them.

John the Baptist Is Put in Prison ^(C)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus because everyone was talking about Him. Some people said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why he is doing such powerful works.” ¹⁵ Other people said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is one who speaks for God like one of the early preachers.” ¹⁶ When Herod heard this, he said, “It is John the Baptist, whose head I cut off. He has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁷ For Herod had sent men to take John and put him into prison. He did this because of his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of his brother Philip. ¹⁸ John the Baptist had said to Herod, “It is wrong for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias became angry with him. She wanted to have John the Baptist killed but she could not. ²⁰ Herod was afraid of John. He knew he was a good man and right with God, and he kept John from being hurt or killed. He liked to listen to John preach. But when he did, he became troubled.

John the Baptist Is Killed ^(D)

²¹ Then Herodias found a way to have John killed. Herod gave a big supper on his birthday. He asked the leaders of the country and army captains and the leaders of Galilee to come. ²² The daughter of Herodias came in and danced before them. This made Herod and his friends happy. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ²³ Then he made a promise to her, “Whatever you ask for, I will give it to you. I will give you even half of my nation.” ²⁴ She went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?” The mother answered, “I want the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ At once the girl went to Herod. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a plate now.”

²⁶ Herod was very sorry. He had to do it because of his promise and because of those who ate with him. ²⁷ At once he sent one of his soldiers and told him to bring the head of John the Baptist. The soldier went to the prison and cut off John’s head. ²⁸ He took John’s head in on a plate and gave it to the girl. The girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ John’s followers heard this. They went and took his body and buried it.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand ^(E)

³⁰ The followers of Jesus came back to Him. They told Jesus all they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, “Come away from the people. Be by yourselves and rest.” There were many people coming and going. They had had no time even to eat. ³² They went by themselves in a boat to a desert. ³³ Many people saw them leave and knew who they were. People ran fast from all the cities and got there first. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw many people gathered together. He had loving-pity for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.

³⁵ The day was almost gone. The followers of Jesus came to Him. They said, “This is a desert. It is getting late. ³⁶ Tell the people to go to the towns and villages and buy food for themselves.” ³⁷ He said to them, “Give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “Are we to go and buy many loaves of bread and give it to them?” ³⁸ He said to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have here? Go and see.” When they knew, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.” ³⁹ Then He told them to have all the people sit down together in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of fifty people and in groups of one hundred people. ⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves in pieces and gave them to the followers to set before the people. He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were filled. ⁴³ After that the followers picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ About five thousand men ate the bread.

Jesus Walks On The Water ^(F)

⁴⁵ At once Jesus had His followers get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to the town of Bethsaida. He sent the people away. ⁴⁶ When they were all gone, He went up to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ It was evening. The boat was half-way across the sea. Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw His followers were in trouble. The wind was against them. They were working very hard rowing the boat. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them walking on the sea. He would have gone past them. ⁴⁹ When the followers saw Him walking on the water, they thought it was a spirit and cried out with fear. ⁵⁰ For they all saw Him and were afraid. At once Jesus talked to them. He said, “Take hope. It is I, do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ He came over to them and got into the boat. The wind stopped. They were very much surprised and wondered about it. ⁵² They had not learned what they should have learned from the loaves because their hearts were hard.

People Are Healed at Gennesaret ^(G)

⁵³ Then they crossed the sea and came to the land of Gennesaret and went to shore. ⁵⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, the people knew Him at once. ⁵⁵ They ran through all the country bringing people who were sick on their beds to Jesus. ⁵⁶ Wherever He went, they would lay the sick people in the streets in the center of town where people gather. They begged Him that they might touch the bottom of His coat. Everyone who did was healed. This happened in the towns and in the cities and in the country where He went.