M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^(A)wept that night. ² And all the people of Israel ^(B)grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^(C)would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^(D)Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to one another, ^(E)“Let us choose a leader and ^(F)go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then ^(G)Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. ^6 (H)And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ^(I)“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If ^(J)the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(K)a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(L)do not rebel against the Lord. And ^(M)do not fear the people of the land, for ^(N)they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (O)Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^(P)the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ^(Q)despise me? And how long will they not ^(R)believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I ^(S)will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹³ But ^(T)Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, ¹⁴ and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. ^(U)They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and ^(V)your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘It is because the Lord ^(W)was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ^18 (X)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^(Y)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(Z)pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^(AA)as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^(AB)according to your word. ²¹ But truly, as I live, and as all ^(AC)the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, ^22 (AD)none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^(AE)ten times and have not obeyed my voice, ^23 (AF)shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. ²⁴ But my servant ^(AG)Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^(AH)followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. ^25 (AI)Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, ^(AJ)turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

²⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall ^(AK)this wicked congregation grumble against me? ^(AL)I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. ²⁸ Say to them, ^(AM)‘As I live, declares the Lord, ^(AN)what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: ^29 (AO)your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and ^(AP)of all your number, listed in the census ^(AQ)from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, ³⁰ not one shall come into the land where I ^(AR)swore that I would make you dwell, ^(AS)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (AT)But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that ^(AU)you have rejected. ³² But as for you, ^(AV)your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your children ^(AW)shall be shepherds in the wilderness ^(AX)forty years and shall ^(AY)suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. ^34 (AZ)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^(BA)forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ ^35 (BB)I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all ^(BC)this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

^36 (BD)And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— ³⁷ the men who brought up a bad report of the land—^(BE)died by plague before the Lord. ³⁸ Of those men who went to spy out the land, ^(BF)only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Israel Defeated in Battle

³⁹ When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people ^(BG)mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, ^(BH)“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” ^41 (BI)But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? ^42 (BJ)Do not go up, ^(BK)for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. ⁴³ For there ^(BL)the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” ^44 (BM)But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither ^(BN)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. ⁴⁵ Then ^(BO)the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to ^(BP)Hormah.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will take away ^(AA)the finery of the anklets, the ^(AB)headbands, and the ^(AC)crescents; ¹⁹ the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; ²⁰ the ^(AD)headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; ²¹ the signet rings and ^(AE)nose rings; ²² the ^(AF)festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; ²³ the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

4 ^(AO)And seven women ^(AP)shall take hold of ^(AQ)one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; ^(AR)take away our reproach.”

The Branch of the Lord Glorified

² In that day ^(AS)the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and ^(AT)the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. ^3 (AU)And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called ^(AV)holy, everyone who has ^(AW)been recorded for life in Jerusalem, ⁴ when ^(AX)the Lord shall have washed away the filth of ^(AY)the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by ^(AZ)a spirit of burning.^{[g] 5} Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies ^(BA)a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be ^(BB)a canopy. ^6 (BC)There will be a ^(BD)booth for shade by day from the heat, and ^(BE)for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^(A)things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^(B)the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^(C)things that are visible.

⁴ By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God ^(E)a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^(F)through his faith, though he died, he ^(G)still speaks. ⁵ By faith ^(H)Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God ^(I)must believe that he exists and ^(J)that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷ By faith ^(K)Noah, being warned by God concerning ^(L)events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of ^(M)the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸ By faith ^(N)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^(O)that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in ^(P)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(Q)living in tents ^(R)with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to ^(S)the city that has ^(T)foundations, ^(U)whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith ^(V)Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^(W)him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and ^(X)him as good as dead, were born descendants ^(Y)as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(Z)not having received the things promised, but ^(AA)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(AB)having acknowledged that they were ^(AC)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(AD)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AE)to be called their God, for ^(AF)he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷ By faith ^(AG)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, ^(AH)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ^19 (AI)He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰ By faith ^(AJ)Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. ²¹ By faith ^(AK)Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, ^(AL)bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²² By faith ^(AM)Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

²³ By faith ^(AN)Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of ^(AO)the king's edict. ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he was grown up, ^(AP)refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ^25 (AQ)choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy ^(AR)the fleeting pleasures of sin. ^26 (AS)He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to ^(AT)the reward. ²⁷ By faith he ^(AU)left Egypt, ^(AV)not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured ^(AW)as seeing him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith ^(AX)he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹ By faith ^(AY)the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. ³⁰ By faith ^(AZ)the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith ^(BA)Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she ^(BB)had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

³² And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of ^(BC)Gideon, ^(BD)Barak, ^(BE)Samson, ^(BF)Jephthah, of ^(BG)David and ^(BH)Samuel and the prophets— ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, ^(BI)stopped the mouths of lions, ^34 (BJ)quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, ^(BK)became mighty in war, ^(BL)put foreign armies to flight. ^35 (BM)Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶ Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even ^(BN)chains and imprisonment. ^37 (BO)They were stoned, they were sawn in two,^{[a] (BP)}they were killed with the sword. ^(BQ)They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy—^(BR)wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And all these, ^(BS)though commended through their faith, ^(BT)did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better for us, ^(BU)that apart from us they should not be made perfect.