M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Meets Esau
32 When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.[a]
3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau, 4 telling them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’”
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him and all the flocks, herds, and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp, but the other camp can run away and be saved.”
9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would treat me well. 10 I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick, but now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will treat you well and will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’”
13 Jacob stayed there for the night and prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep and twenty male sheep, 15 thirty female camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants and said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you and ask, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going and whose animals are these?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you, my master Esau, and he also is coming behind us.’”
19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” Jacob thought, “If I send these gifts ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau, but he himself stayed that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing, taking with him his two wives, his two slave girls, and his eleven sons. 23 He sent his family and everything he had across the river. 24 So Jacob was alone, and a man came and wrestled with him until the sun came up. 25 When the man saw he could not defeat Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”
But Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.”
27 The man said to him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “Jacob.”
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel,[b] because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 So Jacob named that place Peniel,[c] saying, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved.” 31 Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals, because Jacob was touched there.
Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand
3 Another time when Jesus went into a synagogue, a man with a crippled hand was there. 2 Some people watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him.
3 Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand up here in the middle of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked the people, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they said nothing to answer him.
5 Jesus was angry as he looked at the people, and he felt very sad because they were stubborn. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand and it was healed. 6 Then the Pharisees left and began making plans with the Herodians[a] about a way to kill Jesus.
Many People Follow Jesus
7 Jesus left with his followers for the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. 8 Also many people came from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from the lands across the Jordan River, and from the area of Tyre and Sidon. When they heard what Jesus was doing, many people came to him. 9 When Jesus saw the crowds, he told his followers to get a boat ready for him to keep people from crowding against him. 10 He had healed many people, so all the sick were pushing toward him to touch him. 11 When evil spirits saw Jesus, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus strongly warned them not to tell who he was.
Jesus Chooses His Twelve Apostles
13 Then Jesus went up on a mountain and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 Jesus chose twelve and called them apostles.[b] He wanted them to be with him, and he wanted to send them out to preach 15 and to have the authority to force demons out of people. 16 These are the twelve men he chose: Simon (Jesus named him Peter), 17 James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus named them Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who later turned against Jesus.
Some People Say Jesus Has a Devil
20 Then Jesus went home, but again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 When his family heard this, they went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind. 22 But the teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and taught them with stories. He said, “Satan will not force himself out of people. 24 A kingdom that is divided cannot continue, 25 and a family that is divided cannot continue. 26 And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, he cannot continue; that is the end of Satan. 27 No one can enter a strong person’s house and steal his things unless he first ties up the strong person. Then he can steal things from the house. 28 I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven. 29 But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that he had an evil spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers[c] are waiting for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.”
The King Helps the Jewish People
8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther everything Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, had left when he died. And Mordecai came in to see the king, because Esther had told the king how he was related to her. 2 Then the king took off his signet ring that he had taken back from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of everything Haman left when he died.
3 Once again Esther spoke to the king. She fell at the king’s feet and cried and begged him to stop the evil plan that Haman the Agagite had planned against the Jews. 4 The king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So Esther got up and stood in front of him.
5 She said, “My king, if you are pleased with me, and if it pleases you to do this, if you think it is the right thing to do, and if you are happy with me, let an order be written to cancel the letters Haman wrote. Haman the Agagite sent messages to destroy all the Jewish people in all of your kingdom. 6 I could not stand to see that terrible thing happen to my people. I could not stand to see my family killed.”
7 King Xerxes answered Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman was against the Jewish people, I have given his things to Esther, and my soldiers have hanged him. 8 Now, in the king’s name, write another order to the Jewish people as it seems best to you. Then seal the order with the king’s signet ring, because no letter written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can be canceled.”
9 At that time the king’s secretaries were called. This was the twenty-third day of the third month, which is Sivan. The secretaries wrote out all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, to the governors, to the captains of the soldiers in each state, and to the important men of the one hundred twenty-seven states that reached from India to Cush. They wrote in the writing of each state and in the language of each people. They also wrote to the Jewish people in their own writing and language. 10 Mordecai wrote orders in the name of King Xerxes and sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the king’s orders by messengers on fast horses, horses that were raised just for the king.
11 These were the king’s orders: The Jewish people in every city have the right to gather together to protect themselves. They may destroy, kill, and completely wipe out the army of any state or people who attack them. And they are to do the same to the women and children of that army. They may also take by force the property of their enemies. 12 The one day set for the Jewish people to do this in all the empire of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the king’s order was to be sent out as a law in every state. It was to be made known to the people of every nation living in the kingdom so the Jewish people would be ready on that set day to strike back at their enemies.
14 The messengers hurried out, riding on the royal horses, because the king commanded those messengers to hurry. And the order was also given in the palace at Susa.
15 Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal clothes of blue and white and a large gold crown. He also had a purple robe made of the best linen. And the people of Susa shouted for joy. 16 It was a time of happiness, joy, gladness, and honor for the Jewish people. 17 As the king’s order went to every state and city, there was joy and gladness among the Jewish people. In every state and city to which the king’s order went, they were having feasts and celebrating. And many people through all the empire became Jews, because they were afraid of the Jewish people.
3 So, do Jews have anything that other people do not have? Is there anything special about being circumcised? 2 Yes, of course, there is in every way. The most important thing is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings. 3 If some Jews were not faithful to him, will that stop God from doing what he promised? 4 No! God will continue to be true even when every person is false. As the Scriptures say:
“So you will be shown to be right when you speak,
and you will win your case.” Psalm 51:4
5 When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say that God is wrong to punish us? (I am talking as people might talk.) 6 No! If God could not punish us, he could not judge the world.
7 A person might say, “When I lie, it really gives him glory, because my lie shows God’s truth. So why am I judged a sinner?” 8 It would be the same to say, “We should do evil so that good will come.” Some people find fault with us and say we teach this, but they are wrong and deserve the punishment they will receive.
All People Are Guilty
9 So are we Jews better than others? No! We have already said that Jews and those who are not Jews are all guilty of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say:
“There is no one who always does what is right,
not even one.
11 There is no one who understands.
There is no one who looks to God for help.
12 All have turned away.
Together, everyone has become useless.
There is no one who does anything good;
there is not even one.” Psalm 14:1–3
13 “Their throats are like open graves;
they use their tongues for telling lies.” Psalm 5:9
“Their words are like snake poison.” Psalm 140:3
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.” Psalm 10:7
15 “They are always ready to kill people.
16 Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery.
17 They don’t know how to live in peace.” Isaiah 59:7–8
18 “They have no fear of God.” Psalm 36:1
19 We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.
How God Makes People Right
21 But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. 22 God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: 23 Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, 24 and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26 And God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.
27 So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of trying to obey the law. 28 A person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law. 29 Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of those who are not Jews? 30 Of course he is, because there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make those who are not Jews right with him through their faith. 31 So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.