M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Dinah

34 Dinah was the daughter of Leah and Jacob. One day she went out to visit the young women who lived near Shechem city. ² Hamor the Hivite ruled that region. When his son, Shechem, saw Dinah, he took hold of her. Dinah could not get free and Shechem had sex with her. ³ He liked Dinah very much. He loved her. He spoke kind words to her so that she would love him too. ⁴ Shechem said to his father, Hamor, ‘I want to marry this girl. Please get her for me.’ ⁵ Jacob heard that Shechem had had sex with his daughter. At that time, Jacob's sons were taking care of his animals in the fields. So he did not do anything until his sons came home.

⁶ Shechem's father, Hamor, went to talk to Jacob about Dinah. ⁷ Jacob's sons now heard what had happened and they came home from the fields. They were very angry because Shechem had done such a bad thing. When he caught Dinah and had sex with her, he had brought shame on Jacob's family. It was a bad thing that nobody should ever do.

⁸ Hamor said to Jacob and his sons, ‘My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him so that she can be his wife. ⁹ There should be more marriages between your people and our people. Our men should marry your daughters and our daughters should become wives for your men. ¹⁰ Then you can live among us. You can live anywhere you want to in this land. You should live here, buy and sell things. Buy land and houses here.’^[a]

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, ‘I would like to make you happy. So ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you. ¹² I will pay you the gifts that you ask for Dinah. It can be as much as you like. I will pay it all, because I want to have Dinah as my wife.’

¹³ Because of the bad thing that Shechem had done to Dinah, Jacob's sons decided to deceive him. And they deceived his father Hamor too. ¹⁴ They said, ‘We cannot give our sister to a man who has not been circumcised. We would be ashamed to do this. ¹⁵ If you want to marry Dinah, you must do one thing. You must circumcise all your males. Then you will become like us and we will agree for you to marry Dinah. ¹⁶ Then we will give you our daughters so that your men can marry them. And our men will marry your daughters. We will live among you, so that we become one people with you. ¹⁷ But your men must agree to be circumcised. If not, we will take our sister with us and we will leave this place.’

¹⁸ This idea seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ Shechem's family respected him as an important person. So Shechem and his father quickly did what Jacob's sons told them. Shechem agreed to do it because he wanted very much to marry Dinah. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of the city. They spoke to their men there. ²¹ They said, ‘Jacob's family are our friends. Let them live in our land, and buy and sell things. This land is big enough for them and us. We can marry their daughters, and they can marry our daughters. ²² But we must do the one thing that they have asked us to do. We must circumcise all our males in the same way that they do. If we do that, they will agree to live among us. ²³ Then their things and their animals will all become our things. So we should agree to be circumcised, as they ask. Then they will live among us.’

²⁴ All the men who were at the city gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem. So every male in the city was circumcised.

²⁵ Three days after the men were circumcised, they still had a lot of pain. Then two of Jacob's sons attacked Shechem's men with their swords. None of the men were ready to fight. Jacob's two sons were Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers. They killed every male in the city. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah from Shechem's house and they left.

²⁷ Jacob's other sons also saw that the men of the city were dead. So they took everything that they wanted from the city. They did that because it was the place where Shechem had done a very bad thing against their sister. ²⁸ They took all the sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. They took everything that was in the city and in the fields near there. ²⁹ They carried away every valuable thing for themselves. They also took all the men's wives and their children. They took everything from the houses in the city.

³⁰ When they returned to Jacob, he said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought bad trouble to me! The people who live in this land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, will hate me. I will be like a bad smell to them. We do not have many men to fight for us. If the Perizzites and Canaanites join together and they attack us, they will destroy our whole family!’ ³¹ But Simeon and Levi replied, ‘Shechem should not have had sex with our sister as if she were a prostitute.’

A man with many bad spirits

5 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake. They came to a place where the Gerasene people lived.^[a]

^2-4 Jesus got out of the boat. Immediately, a man with a bad spirit in him came to him. This man lived outside, among some graves. He was very strong and nobody could hold him. People often put chains around his ankles to hold him. They wanted to keep him in a safe place. But he broke the chains that held him. ⁵ The man often walked in the place where the dead people were and on the hills. Every day and every night, he screamed and he used stones to cut himself.

⁶ He saw Jesus a long way away and he ran to meet him. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. ⁷ He screamed loudly, ‘Jesus, you are the Son of the Most High God! What are you doing here? Please, promise God that you will not hurt me.’ ⁸ He said that because Jesus had already said to the bad spirit, ‘Come out of this man.’

⁹ Then Jesus asked the man, ‘What is your name?’

The man replied, ‘My name is Army because there are so many bad spirits in me.’

¹⁰ He said to Jesus many times, ‘Please do not send these bad spirits away from this place.’

¹¹ A large group of pigs was eating on the hill. ¹² The bad spirits said, ‘Jesus, send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.’ ¹³ Jesus let them do this. So the bad spirits came out of the man and they went into the pigs. There were about 2,000 pigs. They rushed together down the hill into the lake. All the pigs died there in the water.

¹⁴ The men who were taking care of these pigs ran away. They told the people in the town and in the villages what had happened. Then those people came to see the place for themselves. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus. They saw the man that the army of bad spirits had ruled. He was now sitting there quietly. He was wearing clothes and his mind was well again. When the people saw this, they were afraid. ¹⁶ The people who had seen this told other people what had happened to the man. They also explained what happened to the pigs. ¹⁷ Then the people who lived there said to Jesus, ‘Please go away. Leave this place.’

¹⁸ Jesus got back into the boat. The man that the bad spirits had ruled spoke to him. He told Jesus that he wanted to go with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus did not let him do this. Jesus said to him, ‘Go to your home and to your friends. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. Tell them how he has been kind to you.’ ²⁰ So the man went away. He began to speak to many people in the region called ‘The ten cities’. He told them about the great things that Jesus had done for him. All the people were very surprised.

Jesus makes a dead girl live

²¹ Jesus returned to the other side of the lake in the boat. While he was by the lake, a large crowd came to him. ²² A man called Jairus came to Jesus. He was a leader at the Jewish meeting place. When he saw Jesus, he went down on his knees in front of him. ²³ He said, ‘My little daughter is very ill and she will die very soon. Please come to my house and put your hands on her. Then she will be well and she will live.’ ²⁴ So Jesus went with Jairus.

A large crowd followed Jesus. The people were pushing against him. ²⁵ There was a sick woman who had lost blood for 12 years. ²⁶ She had paid many doctors to help her to become well. But they could not do anything. Now she had spent all her money. She had not become well. Instead, she was now worse. ²⁷ People had told her about Jesus. So she came in the crowd behind him and she touched his coat. ²⁸ She said, ‘Even if I can only touch his clothes, I will become well again.’ ²⁹ As soon as she touched Jesus' coat, the blood stopped. She felt in her body that her illness was better. She knew that she was well again.

³⁰ Jesus knew immediately that something powerful had gone out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and he asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’

³¹ His disciples replied, ‘You can see that the crowd is pushing against you. So you cannot ask who touched you!’

³² But Jesus looked around him. He wanted to see who had touched him. ³³ The woman knew what had happened to her. She felt very afraid. But she came to Jesus, and she went down on her knees in front of him. Then she told him everything that had happened to her. ³⁴ Jesus said to her, ‘Young woman, you are now well again because you believed in me. Have peace in your mind. Go now and have no more pain.’

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some men arrived from the house of Jairus. He was the leader at the Jews' meeting place. The men said to Jairus, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not ask any longer for the teacher to come.’

³⁶ Jesus heard what the men said to Jairus. But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. Instead, believe.’

³⁷ Jesus took only Peter, James and James's brother, John, with him. He would not let anyone else go with him. ³⁸ Then they came to Jairus's house. Jesus saw that there were many people there. They were crying and they were making a loud noise. ³⁹ Jesus went into the house and he said to the people, ‘You should not be weeping and making a noise. The child is not dead. She is asleep.’ ⁴⁰ The people laughed at Jesus when he said that.

Then Jesus sent them all out of the house. He went into the place where the child was lying. The child's father and mother went with him. He also took Peter, James and John with him. ⁴¹ Then Jesus held the girl's hand. He said to her, ‘Talitha koum.’ This means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, stand up!’^{[b] 42} The girl stood up immediately and she walked about. She was 12 years old. The people there were very surprised. ⁴³ Jesus said to them, ‘You must not tell anyone what has happened here. Now give the girl something to eat.’

Job was a good man

1 There was a man who lived in a place called Uz. His name was Job. He was a good and honest man. He was afraid to make God angry. He refused to do evil things. ² Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³ He had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. He had 500 pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys. He also had many servants. He was the richest person in the east part of the world.

⁴ Each of Job's sons would give parties for each other in their homes. They sent messages to their three sisters to come and eat the feast with them. ⁵ After each party, Job would ask his children to come and visit him. He wanted to make them clean again if they were guilty of bad things. He thought, ‘Perhaps they have done something that is bad. Perhaps they have thought bad things against God.’ So he would get up early in the morning. He would offer a burnt offering as a sacrifice for each of his children. Job always did this after each party that his children had.

Satan meets with God

⁶ One day, the angels came to meet with the Lord in heaven.^[a] Satan also came and he stood there with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan replied, ‘I have been travelling all over the earth. I have been watching the things that happen there.’

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who is my servant. What do you think about him? There is no one on earth that is like him. He is a good and honest man. He is afraid to make me angry. He refuses to do evil things.’

⁹ Satan answered the Lord, ‘There is a very good reason why Job obeys you. ¹⁰ You do not let any bad things happen to him. You keep him, his family and all his things safe. You have given him success with everything that he does. His many farm animals are everywhere! ¹¹ You should take away from him all the things that he has. Then he will certainly curse you very strongly.’

¹² So the Lord said to Satan, ‘I agree to give you power over all the things that belong to Job. But you must do nothing to hurt Job himself.’

After that, Satan went away.^[b]

Satan destroys all Job's things

¹³ One day, Job's sons and daughters were at a party in the home of his oldest son. ¹⁴ A servant brought a message to Job. He said, ‘We were using your oxen to plough the fields. Your donkeys were eating grass beside them. ¹⁵ Some men from Sheba suddenly came and they attacked us. They took away all your oxen and your donkeys. They also killed all your other servants. I was the only one who escaped. I ran here to tell you what has happened.’

¹⁶ That servant was still speaking, when another servant arrived. He said to Job, ‘God has sent lightning down from the sky. It has killed your sheep and your servants. I was the only one who escaped. I ran here to tell you what has happened.’

¹⁷ Before that servant had finished speaking, a third servant arrived. He said to Job, ‘Some robbers from Chaldea suddenly attacked us. They took away all your camels and they killed your servants. I was the only one who escaped. I ran here to tell you what has happened.’

¹⁸ That servant was still speaking, when a fourth servant arrived. He said to Job, ‘Your children were eating a feast at a party in the home of your oldest son. ¹⁹ Suddenly there was a strong storm that came from the desert. The wind destroyed the house where your children were. The house fell on them and it killed them. I was the only one who escaped. I ran here to tell you what has happened.’

²⁰ When Job heard this news he was very upset. He tore his clothes and he cut off all his hair. Then he bent down low on the ground to worship God. ²¹ He said, ‘When I was born, I had nothing. When I die, I will take nothing with me. The Lord has given me all the things that I have. The Lord may choose to take those things away. I will continue to praise the name of the Lord!’

²² Even after all these things had happened, Job still did not do anything bad. He did not say that God had done something wrong to him.

God's friends

5 So we see that God has accepted us as right because we believe in him. As a result, we are friends with God, because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. ² Also, because we trust Jesus Christ, he has caused us to know that God is very kind. That makes us strong in our lives here. We also are sure that we will live with God in heaven. So we are very happy.^[a]

³ We are happy even when we have troubles and pain. That is because we know that those troubles help us to become patient and strong. ⁴ And when we remain strong, we show that we trust God. When we trust God like that, it causes us to hope for God's help. ⁵ And when we hope like that, it will not disappoint us. That is because we know that God loves us very much. God has given his Holy Spirit to be with us. The Holy Spirit causes us to know God's love very well.

⁶ At one time we were weak and we could not help ourselves. Then, at the right time, Christ died to save us. He died on behalf of people who have turned away from God. ⁷ Nobody will agree to die on behalf of another person, even if that person has done what is right. Maybe someone might be brave enough to die on behalf of a person who is very good. ⁸ But God has shown us how much he loves us. Even when we still did not obey God, Christ died on our behalf.

⁹ Because Christ died on the cross, God has accepted us as right with himself. So we certainly know that Christ will save us when God judges everyone. Because of Jesus, God will not be angry with us and punish us. ¹⁰ While we were still God's enemies, God's Son died on our behalf. As a result, we became God's friends. So, now that we are God's friends, his Son will certainly save us. Christ will save us because he is alive again. ¹¹ But that is not everything! We are very happy now because of what God has done for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made this possible. It is because of him that we have now become God's friends.

Adam and Christ

¹² It was because of one man, Adam, that sin came into the world.^[b] Death was the result of Adam's sin. Because of that, death came to all people, because everyone failed to obey God. ¹³ Before God gave his Law to Moses, people did wrong things. Sin was already there in the world. But at that time, God did not say that people were guilty, because there was no law for them to obey. ¹⁴ But still death ruled all people, from the time when Adam lived until the time when Moses lived. Everyone died, even those who did not fail in the same way that Adam failed.

Adam shows us something about God's special Messiah who would come at a future time. ¹⁵ But they are not the same. Adam was the man who did not obey what God said to him. Jesus Christ is the man who brought God's free gift to people. Adam was just one person but many people died because of his sin. But God has shown in a greater way that he is very kind to people. Very many people have received God's gift because of one man, Jesus Christ. Christ has been very kind to many people!

¹⁶ Also, God's gift is different from the result of Adam's sin. Adam chose not to obey God once and punishment came as a result. But the result of God's gift is greater. People have done many wrong things, not only one wrong thing. But God accepts them as right with him. ¹⁷ One man, Adam, did not obey God, and death began to rule everyone as a result. But what the one man, Jesus Christ, did is much greater! Because of him, people can become right with God. They receive that great gift from God because he is very good and very kind. Because of what Jesus Christ has done, those people will rule like kings in their lives.

¹⁸ So God's punishment came to all people because of that one wrong thing that Adam did. But the one thing that Christ did makes people free. God accepts all people because of that one good thing that Christ did. Those people receive true life from God. ¹⁹ One man did not obey God and, as a result, many people became guilty because of their sins. But, because one man did obey God, many people will become right with God.^[c]

²⁰ God gave his Law to Moses to show more clearly that people were doing wrong things. But when people did more and more wrong things, God continued to be kind in more and more ways. ²¹ We see that sin ruled people's lives and brought death to them. But God's gift makes people right with him, and that is what rules their lives. People receive that gift because God is kind. As a result, they will have life with God for ever, because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.