M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh
11 Nahash[a](A) the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.(B) And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(C) with us, and we will be subject to you.”
2 But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition(D) that I gouge(E) out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace(F) on all Israel.”
3 The elders(G) of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue(H) us, we will surrender(I) to you.”
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah(J) of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept(K) aloud. 5 Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, “What is wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.
6 When Saul heard their words, the Spirit(L) of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen,(M) cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel,(N) proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone(O) who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.(P) 8 When Saul mustered(Q) them at Bezek,(R) the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and those of Judah thirty thousand.
9 They told the messengers who had come, “Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be rescued.’” When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. 10 They said to the Ammonites, “Tomorrow we will surrender(S) to you, and you can do to us whatever you like.”
11 The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions;(T) during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites(U) and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
Saul Confirmed as King
12 The people then said to Samuel, “Who(V) was it that asked, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Turn these men over to us so that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today,(W) for this day the Lord has rescued(X) Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal(Y) and there renew the kingship.(Z)” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal(AA) and made Saul king(AB) in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.
Paul’s Anguish Over Israel
9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,(A) my conscience confirms(B) it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself(C) were cursed(D) and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,(E) those of my own race,(F) 4 the people of Israel.(G) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;(H) theirs the divine glory,(I) the covenants,(J) the receiving of the law,(K) the temple worship(L) and the promises.(M) 5 Theirs are the patriarchs,(N) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,(O) who is God over all,(P) forever praised Amen.
God’s Sovereign Choice
6 It is not as though God’s word(R) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(S) 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[b](T) 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,(U) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.(V) 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[c](W)
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.(X) 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad(Y)—in order that God’s purpose(Z) in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[d](AA) 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[e](AB)
14 What then shall we say?(AC) Is God unjust? Not at all!(AD) 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f](AE)
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.(AF) 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g](AG) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(AH)
19 One of you will say to me:(AI) “Then why does God still blame us?(AJ) For who is able to resist his will?”(AK) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(AL) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(AM) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[h](AN) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(AO)
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(AP) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(AQ) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(AR) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(AS)— 24 even us, whom he also called,(AT) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(AU) 25 As he says in Hosea:
“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”[i](AV)
26 and,
“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”[j](AW)
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(AX)
only the remnant will be saved.(AY)
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[k](AZ)
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
“Unless the Lord Almighty(BA)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”[l](BB)
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What then shall we say?(BC) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;(BD) 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,(BE) have not attained their goal.(BF) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(BG) 33 As it is written:
A Message About Moab(A)
48 Concerning Moab:(B)
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe to Nebo,(C) for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim(D) will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold[a] will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praised(E) no more;
in Heshbon[b](F) people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’(G)
You, the people of Madmen,[c] will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(H)
cries of great havoc and destruction.
4 Moab will be broken;
her little ones will cry out.[d]
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,(I)
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim(J)
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee!(K) Run for your lives;
become like a bush[e] in the desert.(L)
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,(M)
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh(N) will go into exile,(O)
together with his priests and officials.(P)
8 The destroyer(Q) will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateau(R) destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put salt(S) on Moab,
for she will be laid waste[f];(T)
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword(U) from bloodshed!(V)
11 “Moab has been at rest(W) from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,(X)
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed(Y) of Chemosh,(Z)
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.(AA)
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,(AB)
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young men(AC) will go down in the slaughter,(AD)”
declares the King,(AE) whose name is the Lord Almighty.(AF)
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;(AG)
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;(AH)
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,(AI)
how broken the glorious staff!’
18 “Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,(AJ)
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,(AK)
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.(AL)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.(AM)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Wail(AN) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon(AO)
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau(AP)—
to Holon,(AQ) Jahzah(AR) and Mephaath,(AS)
22 to Dibon,(AT) Nebo(AU) and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim,(AV) Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,(AW)
24 to Kerioth(AX) and Bozrah(AY)—
to all the towns(AZ) of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[g](BA) is cut off;
her arm(BB) is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make her drunk,(BC)
for she has defied(BD) the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;(BE)
let her be an object of ridicule.(BF)
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?(BG)
Was she caught among thieves,(BH)
that you shake your head(BI) in scorn(BJ)
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove(BK) that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.(BL)
29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride(BM)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness(BN) of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boasts(BO) accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail(BP) over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.(BQ)
32 I weep for you, as Jazer(BR) weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.(BS)
Your branches spread as far as the sea[h];
they reached as far as[i] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine(BT) from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.(BU)
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbon(BV) to Elealeh(BW) and Jahaz,(BX)
from Zoar(BY) as far as Horonaim(BZ) and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.(CA)
35 In Moab I will put an end
to those who make offerings on the high places(CB)
and burn incense(CC) to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments(CD) for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.(CE)
The wealth they acquired(CF) is gone.
37 Every head is shaved(CG)
and every beard(CH) cut off;
every hand is slashed
and every waist is covered with sackcloth.(CI)
38 On all the roofs in Moab
and in the public squares(CJ)
there is nothing but mourning,
for I have broken Moab
like a jar(CK) that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered(CL) she is! How they wail!
How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,(CM)
an object of horror to all those around her.”
40 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! An eagle is swooping(CN) down,
spreading its wings(CO) over Moab.
41 Kerioth[j](CP) will be captured
and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors(CQ)
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(CR)
42 Moab will be destroyed(CS) as a nation(CT)
because she defied(CU) the Lord.
43 Terror(CV) and pit and snare(CW) await you,
you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees(CX) from the terror
will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
the year(CY) of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the midst of Sihon;(CZ)
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls(DA) of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!(DB)
The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
and your daughters into captivity.
47 “Yet I will restore(DC) the fortunes of Moab
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Psalm 25[a]
Of David.
1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.(A)
2 I trust in you;(B)
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,(C)
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous(D) without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.(E)
5 Guide me in your truth(F) and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,(G)
and my hope is in you(H) all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,(I)
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth(J)
and my rebellious ways;(K)
according to your love(L) remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.(M)
8 Good and upright(N) is the Lord;
therefore he instructs(O) sinners in his ways.
9 He guides(P) the humble in what is right
and teaches them(Q) his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful(R)
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.(S)
11 For the sake of your name,(T) Lord,
forgive(U) my iniquity,(V) though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?(W)
He will instruct them in the ways(X) they should choose.[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,(Y)
and their descendants will inherit the land.(Z)
14 The Lord confides(AA) in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known(AB) to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,(AC)
for only he will release my feet from the snare.(AD)
16 Turn to me(AE) and be gracious to me,(AF)
for I am lonely(AG) and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles(AH) of my heart
and free me from my anguish.(AI)
18 Look on my affliction(AJ) and my distress(AK)
and take away all my sins.(AL)
19 See how numerous are my enemies(AM)
and how fiercely they hate me!(AN)
20 Guard my life(AO) and rescue me;(AP)
do not let me be put to shame,(AQ)
for I take refuge(AR) in you.
21 May integrity(AS) and uprightness(AT) protect me,
because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.(AU)
22 Deliver Israel,(AV) O God,
from all their troubles!
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