M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
A Reminder of the Crossing
4 The whole nation finished crossing the Jordan River. Yahweh had told Joshua, 2 “Choose one man from each of the 12 tribes. 3 Order them to pick up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, where the priests’ feet stood firmly. Take the stones along with you, and set them down where you will camp tonight.”
4 Joshua called the 12 men whom he had selected (one from each tribe). 5 He said to them, “Go to the middle of the Jordan River in front of the ark of Yahweh your Elohim. Each man must take a stone on his shoulder, one for each tribe of Israel. 6 This will be a sign for you. In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 You should answer, ‘The water of the Jordan River was cut off in front of the ark of Yahweh’s promise. When the ark crossed the Jordan, the river stopped flowing. These stones are a permanent reminder for the people of Israel.’”
8 The people of Israel did as Joshua had ordered. They took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel. They took them from the middle of the Jordan as Yahweh had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there.
9 Joshua also set 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan River, where the priests who carried the ark of the promise had stood. The stones are still there today.
10 The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan. They stood there until everything Yahweh had ordered Joshua to tell the people had been carried out. This was as Moses had told Joshua. The people hurried to the other side. 11 As soon as everyone had crossed, the priests with Yahweh’s ark crossed and went ahead of them.
12 The men of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh did as Moses had told them. They marched across in battle formation ahead of the people of Israel. 13 About 40,000 armed men crossed the river in front of Yahweh to the plains of Jericho for battle.
14 On that day Yahweh honored Joshua in the presence of all the Israelites. As long as Joshua lived, the Israelites respected him in the same way they had respected Moses.
15 Yahweh said to Joshua, 16 “Order the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to come out of the Jordan River.”
17 So Joshua ordered the priests, “Come out of the Jordan.”
18 The priests who carried the ark of Yahweh’s promise came out of the middle of the Jordan. When their feet stepped onto dry land, the water of the Jordan returned to its seasonal flood level.
19 On the tenth day of the first month, the people came out of the Jordan River. They made their camp at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 At Gilgal Joshua set up the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan. 21 He said to the people of Israel, “In the future when children ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 the children should be told that Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. 23 Yahweh your Elohim dried up the Jordan ahead of you until you had crossed, as he did to the Red Sea until we had crossed. 24 Yahweh did this so that everyone in the world would know his mighty power and that you would fear Yahweh your Elohim every day of your life.”
Psalm 129
A song for going up to worship.
1 “From the time I was young, people have attacked me . . .”
(Israel should repeat this.)
2 “From the time I was young, people have attacked me,
but they have never overpowered me.
3 They have plowed my back like farmers plow fields.
They made long slashes like furrows.”
4 Yahweh is righteous.
He has cut me loose
from the ropes that wicked people tied around me.
5 Put to shame all those who hate Zion.
Force them to retreat.
6 Make them be like grass on a roof,
like grass that dries up before it produces a stalk.
7 It will never fill the barns of those who harvest
or the arms of those who gather bundles.
8 Those who pass by will never say to them,
“May you be blessed by Yahweh”
or “We bless you in the name of Yahweh.”
Psalm 130
A song for going up to worship.
1 O Yahweh, out of the depths I call to you.
2 O Adonay, hear my voice.
Let your ears be open to my pleas for mercy.
3 O Yahweh, who would be able to stand
if you kept a record of sins?
4 But with you there is forgiveness
so that you can be feared.
5 I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits,
and with hope I wait for his word.
6 My soul waits for Adonay
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in Yahweh,
because with Yahweh there is mercy
and with him there is unlimited forgiveness.
8 He will rescue Israel from all its sins.
Psalm 131
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 O Yahweh, my heart is not conceited.
My eyes do not look down on others.
I am not involved in things too big or too difficult for me.
2 Instead, I have kept my soul calm and quiet.
My soul is content as a weaned child is content in its mother’s arms.
3 Israel, put your hope in Yahweh now and forever.
64 [a]If only you would split open the heavens and come down!
The mountains would quake at your presence.
2 Be like the fire that kindles brushwood and makes water boil.
Come down to make your name known to your enemies.
The nations will tremble in your presence.
3 When you did awe-inspiring things that we didn’t expect,
you came down and the mountains quaked in your presence.
4 No one has ever heard,
no one has paid attention,
and no one has seen any god except you.
You help those who wait for you.
5 You greeted the one who gladly does right and remembers your ways.
You showed your anger, because we’ve sinned.
We’ve continued to sin for a long time.
Can we still be saved?
6 We’ve all become unclean,[b]
and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags.
All of us shrivel like leaves,
and our sins carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on your name
or tries to hold on to you.
You have hidden your face from us.
You have let us be ruined by our sins.
8 But now, Yahweh, you are our Ab.
We are the clay, and you are our potter.
We are the work of your hands.
9 Don’t be too angry, Yahweh.
Don’t remember our sin forever.
Now look, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a desert.
Zion has become a desert.
Jerusalem is a wasteland.
11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned to the ground.
All that we valued has been ruined.
12 Despite these things, Yahweh, will you hold back?
Will you be silent and make us suffer more than we can bear?
Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Worship(A)
12 Then on a day of worship Yeshua walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain to eat.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing something that is not right to do on the day of worship.”
3 Yeshua asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4 Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God and ate[a] the bread of the presence? He and his men had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. 5 Or haven’t you read in Moses’ Teachings that on the day of worship the priests in the temple do things they shouldn’t on the day of worship yet remain innocent? 6 I can guarantee that something[b] greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices’ means, you would not have condemned innocent people.
8 “The Son of Man has authority over the day of worship.”
Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship(B)
9 Yeshua moved on from there and went into a synagogue. 10 A man with a paralyzed hand was there. The people asked Yeshua whether it was right to heal on a day of worship so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong.
11 Yeshua said to them, “Suppose one of you has a sheep. If it falls into a pit on a day of worship, wouldn’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Certainly, a human is more valuable than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the day of worship.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and it became normal again, as healthy as the other.
14 The Pharisees left and plotted to kill Yeshua. 15 He knew about this, so he left that place.
Jesus Is God’s Servant
Many people followed him, and he cured all of them. 16 He also ordered them not to tell people who he was. 17 So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true:
18 “Here is my servant
whom I have chosen,
whom I love,
and in whom I delight.
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will announce justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or shout,
and no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break off a damaged cattail.
He will not even put out a smoking wick
until he has made justice victorious.
21 The nations will have hope because of him.”
Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul(C)
22 Then some people brought Yeshua a man possessed by a demon. The demon made the man blind and unable to talk. Yeshua cured him so that he could talk and see.
23 The crowds were all amazed and said, “Can this man be the Son of David?” 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man can force demons out of people only with the help of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
25 Since Yeshua knew what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined. And every city or household divided against itself will not last. 26 If Satan forces Satan out, he is divided against himself. How, then, can his kingdom last? 27 If I force demons out of people with the help of Beelzebul, who helps your followers force them out? That’s why they will be your judges. 28 But if I force demons out with the help of God’s Spirit, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can anyone go into a strong man’s house and steal his property? First he must tie up the strong man. Then he can go through his house and steal his property.
30 “Whoever isn’t with me is against me. Whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters. 31 So I can guarantee that people will be forgiven for any sin or cursing. However, cursing the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this world or the next.
33 “Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good. Or make a tree rotten, and then its fruit will be rotten. A person can recognize a tree by its fruit. 34 You poisonous snakes! How can you evil people say anything good? Your mouth says what comes from inside you. 35 Good people do the good things that are in them. But evil people do the evil things that are in them.
36 “I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say. 37 By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your words you will be declared guilty.”
The Sign of Jonah(D)
38 Then some experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign.”
39 He responded, “The people of an evil and unfaithful era look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 Just as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with you at the time of judgment and will condemn you, because they turned to God and changed the way they thought and acted when Jonah spoke his message. But look, someone greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen from the south will stand up at the time of judgment with you. She will condemn you, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. But look, someone greater than Solomon is here!
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean, and in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter and take up permanent residence there. In the end the condition of that person is worse than it was before. That is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”
The True Family of Jesus(E)
46 While Yeshua was still talking to the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside. They wanted to talk to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to talk to you.”
48 He replied to the man speaking to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.