M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ark is Stored in Kiriath-Jearim
7 The men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark of the Lord. They brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated his son Eleazar to care for the Ark of the Lord.
2 A long time passed—it was twenty years—from the time the Ark came to reside in Kiriath-jearim, and all the house of Israel mourned because of the Lord.
The Philistines are Defeated at Ebenezer
3 Then Samuel told the whole house of Israel, “If you’re returning to the Lord with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth[a] from among you, direct your hearts back to the Lord, and serve him only. Then he will deliver you from the control of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelis removed the Baals[b] and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 Samuel said, “Bring all Israel together at Mizpah, and I’ll pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 6 So they came together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out in the Lord’s presence.
On that day they fasted there and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Then Samuel judged the Israelis at Mizpah. 7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelis had gathered at Mizpah, the Philistine lords came up against Israel. When the Israelis heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 The Israelis told Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us that he may deliver us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to attack Israel. But that day the Lord thundered against the Philistines and threw them into panic, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out from Mizpah, pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as a point below Beth-car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone, placed it between Mizpah and Shen[c] and named it Ebenezer.[d] He said, “The Lord has helped us this far.” 13 The Philistines were subdued, and they did not continue to enter the territory of Israel.
The Lord continued to oppose the Philistines all during Samuel’s life time. 14 The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went on a circuit each year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. 17 He would return to Ramah because his house was there, and judged Israel from there. He also built an altar to the Lord there.
Israel Demands a King
8 When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 His sons did not follow Samuel’s example.[e] Instead, they pursued[f] dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.[g]
4 All the elders of Israel gathered together, and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They told him, “Look, you’re old, and your sons don’t follow your example.[h] So appoint a king to govern us like all the other[i] nations.” 6 Samuel was displeased[j] when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
7 The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to the people[k] in all that they say to you. In fact, it’s not you they have rejected, but rather they have rejected me from being their king. 8 Like all the things they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day, they have forsaken me and followed other gods. They’re also doing the same thing to you. 9 Now, listen to them, but you are to clearly warn them and inform them about how the king who rules over them will operate.”[l]
10 Samuel reported everything the Lord told him to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is how the king who rules over you will operate: He will conscript your sons and assign them[m] to his chariots. He will conscript them[n] as his horsemen, and they’ll run in front of his chariots. 12 He will appoint his officers over thousands and officers over fifties—some will plow his fields,[o] reap his harvest, and craft his war implements and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters for perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take the best products of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves and give them to his servants.[p] 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his officers and servants.[q] 16 He will take your male and female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys to do his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flock, and you will become his servants. 18 When all of this comes about, you will cry out because of your king whom you chose for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”
19 The people refused to listen to Samuel.[r] Instead, they insisted, “No! Let a king rule over us instead! 20 We, too, will be like all the nations! Our king will govern us and go out before us to fight our battles.”
21 So Samuel listened to all the words of the people, and he repeated them directly to[s] the Lord. 22 The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to them, and appoint a king for them.”
Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”
No Longer Sin’s Slaves, but God’s Slaves
6 What should we say, then? Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 Of course not! How can we who died as far as sin is concerned go on living in it?
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into union with the Messiah[a] Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore, through baptism we were buried with him into his death so that, just as the Messiah[b] was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too may live an entirely new life. 5 For if we have become united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old natures were crucified with him so that our sin-laden bodies might be rendered powerless and we might no longer be slaves to sin. 7 For the person who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with the Messiah,[c] we believe that we will also live with him, 9 for we know that the Messiah,[d] who was raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For when he died, he died once and for all as far as sin is concerned. But now that he is alive, he lives for God. 11 In the same way, you too must continuously consider yourselves dead as far as sin is concerned, but living for God through the Messiah[e] Jesus.[f]
12 Therefore, do not let sin rule your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. 13 Stop offering[g] the parts of your body[h] to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have been brought from death to life and the parts of your body[i] as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin will not have mastery over you, because you are not under Law but under grace.
15 What, then, does this mean?[j] Should we go on sinning because we are not under Law but under grace? Of course not! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, though you were once slaves of sin, you became obedient from your hearts to that form of teaching with which you were entrusted! 18 And since you have been freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in simple[k] terms because of the frailty of your human nature.[l] Just as you once offered the parts of your body[m] as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater disobedience, so now, in the same way, you must offer the parts of your body[n] as slaves to righteousness that leads to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were “free” as far as righteousness was concerned. 21 What benefit did you get from doing those things you are now ashamed of? For those things resulted in death. 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves, the benefit you reap is sanctification, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah[o] Jesus our Lord.
Jeremiah Warns the Refugees in Egypt
44 This is the message that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros,[a] saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Look, they’re in ruins today, with no one living in them, 3 because of the[b] wickedness that they did, provoking me to anger by continuing to offer sacrifices and worship other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors had known. 4 Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again,[c] saying, “Don’t do this repulsive thing that I hate.” 5 ‘But they didn’t listen or pay attention[d] by turning from their wickedness and not offering sacrifices to other gods. 6 My wrath and my anger were poured out, and they burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem so that they have become a ruin and a desolate place, as is the case today.’
7 “Now, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why are you doing great harm to yourselves so as to cut off from Judah[e] man and woman, child and infant from you, leaving yourselves without a remnant? 8 And why have you provoked me to anger by the works of your hands,[f] by offering sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to settle so that you cut yourselves off and become an object of ridicule and scorn among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your ancestors, the evil deeds of the kings of Judah, the evil deeds of their[g] wives, your evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives, that they did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 10 To this day they haven’t humbled themselves, they haven’t shown reverence for the Lord,[h] and they haven’t lived according to my Law and my statutes that I set before them and before their ancestors.’
11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I’ve determined to bring disaster on you[i] and to cut off all Judah. 12 I’ll take the remnant of Judah that determined to go to the land of Egypt to settle there, and all of them[j] will come to an end in the land of Egypt. They’ll fall by the sword, and they’ll come to an end by famine. They’ll become a curse, an object of horror, ridicule, and scorn. 13 I’ll punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem—with the sword, with famine, and with plague. 14 Of the remnant of Judah that came into the land of Egypt to settle there, no one will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah where they long to return and live.[k] Indeed, they won’t return, except for some[l] refugees.’”
The Refugees Refuse to Repent
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were offering sacrifices to other gods and all the women who were standing by—a large group, including all the people who were living in the land of Egypt in Pathros—answered Jeremiah: 16 “As for the message that you reported to us in the name of the Lord, we won’t listen to you! 17 Rather, we will keep doing everything that we said we would[m] by offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven[n] and by pouring out liquid offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of bread, things went well for us, and we didn’t experience disaster. 18 From the time we stopped offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out liquid offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and we have been consumed[o] by the sword and famine. 19 Indeed, we[p] are going to continue offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out liquid offerings to her. And do you think we have made[q] cakes to represent her or poured out liquid offerings for her without our husbands’ approval?”[r]
Final Judgment Proclaimed
20 Then Jeremiah spoke a message to all the people, to the young men, to the women, and to all the people who were answering him: 21 “As for the sacrifices that you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land offered in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the Lord remembered them, did he not? And they came to his attention, did they not? 22 The Lord could no longer bear it because of your evil deeds and the repulsive things that you did. So your land has become a ruin and an object of horror and ridicule without an inhabitant, as is the case today. 23 Because you offered sacrifices and sinned against the Lord, you didn’t obey the Lord and didn’t live according to his Law, his statutes, or his testimonies; therefore, this disaster has happened to you, as is the case today.”
24 Then Jeremiah told all the people and all the women, “All you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, listen to this message from the Lord! 25 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and acted with your hands: “We will certainly carry through[s] on the vows that we vowed to offer sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out liquid offerings to her!” Go ahead, carry through on your vows, and diligently do what you vowed!’ 26 But[t] listen to this message from the Lord, all you people of[u] Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. ‘Look, I’ve sworn by my great name’, says the Lord, ‘my name will no longer be invoked by the mouth of any person in the entire land of Egypt, as he says, “As surely as the Lord God[v] lives…”[w]
27 “‘Look, I’m watching over them to bring disaster rather than good. Every person of Judah in the land of Egypt will be brought to an end by the sword and by famine until they’re completely gone. 28 The ones who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have come into the land of Egypt to settle will know whose message will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This will be a sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I’ll punish you in this place so that you may know that my words concerning disaster against you will surely stand.’
30 This is what the Lord says: “Look, I’m going to give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of those seeking his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking his life.”
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Victory
20 May the Lord answer you in the day of distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob[a] protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and may he sustain you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your gifts,
and may he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you what your heart desires,
and may he fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy at your deliverance
and unfurl our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord has delivered his anointed;
he has answered him from his sanctuary
with the strength of his right hand of deliverance.
7 Some boast[b] in chariots,
others in horses;
but we will boast in[c] the name of the Lord our God.
8 While they bowed down and fell,
we arose and stood upright.
9 Deliver us, Lord!
Answer us, our King,[d] on the day we cry out!
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Praise for the Lord’s Deliverance
21 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How greatly he rejoices in your deliverance.
2 You have granted him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld what his lips requested.
3 You go before him with wonderful blessings,
and put a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life from you, and you gave it to him—
a long life for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great because of your deliverance,
you have given him honor and majesty.
6 Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings;
you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 The king trusts in the Lord;
because of the gracious love of the Most High,
he will stand firm.[e]
8 Your hand will find all your enemies,
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace.
In his wrath, the Lord will consume them,
and the fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants[f] from the earth,
even their offspring from the ranks[g] of mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise schemes,
they will not succeed.
12 Indeed, you will make them retreat,[h]
when you aim your bow[i] at their faces.
13 Rise up, Lord, because you are strong;
we will sing and praise your power.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.