M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Preparations for the First Passover in Canaan
5 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that Yahweh had dried up the Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross. So they lost heart and had no courage left to face the people of Israel.
2 At that time Yahweh spoke to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise the men of Israel.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the men of Israel at the Hill of Circumcision.[a]
4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the soldiers had died on the way through the desert after they left Egypt. 5 The men who left Egypt had been circumcised. However, the men born later, on the way through the desert, were not circumcised. 6 For 40 years the Israelites wandered through the desert until all their soldiers who left Egypt died. They died because they disobeyed Yahweh. Yahweh swore that he would not let them see this land flowing with milk and honey which Yahweh had sworn to give our ancestors.
7 The sons who took their place had not been circumcised on the way. So Joshua circumcised them. 8 When all the men had been circumcised, they remained in the camp until they recovered.
9 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So Joshua named the place Gilgal,[b] the name it still has today.
10 The people of Israel camped at Gilgal in the Jericho plain. There they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 On the day after the Passover, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The day after that, the manna stopped. The people of Israel never had manna again. That year they began to eat the crops that grew in Canaan.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army Speaks with Joshua
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” 14 He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?” 15 The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.
Jericho Is Destroyed
6 Jericho was bolted and barred shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one could enter or leave.
2 Yahweh said to Joshua, “I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you. 3 All the soldiers will march around the city once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will carry rams’ horns ahead of the ark. But on the seventh day you must march around the city seven times while the priests blow their horns. 5 When you hear a long blast on the horn, all the troops must shout very loudly. The wall around the city will collapse. Then the troops must charge straight ahead into the city.”
Psalm 132
A song for going up to worship.
1 O Yahweh, remember David and all the hardships he endured.
2 Remember how he swore an oath to Yahweh
and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not step inside my house,
4 get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Now, we have heard about the ark of the promise being in Ephrathah.
We have found it in Jaar.
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place.
Let’s worship at his footstool.
8 O Yahweh, arise, and come to your resting place
with the ark of your power.
9 Clothe your priests with righteousness.
Let your godly ones sing with joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore an oath to David.
This is a truth he will not take back:
“I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.
12 If your sons are faithful to my promise[a]
and my written instructions that I will teach them,
then their descendants will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 Yahweh has chosen Zion.
He wants it for his home.
14 “This will be my resting place forever.
Here I will sit enthroned because I want Zion.
15 I will certainly bless all that Zion needs.
I will satisfy its needy people with food.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation.
Then its godly ones will sing joyfully.
17 There I will make a horn sprout up for David.
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown on my anointed one will shine.”
Psalm 133
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 See how good and pleasant it is
when brothers and sisters live together in harmony!
2 It is like fine, scented oil on the head,
running down the beard—down Aaron’s beard—
running over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like dew on Mount Hermon,
dew which comes down on Zion’s mountains.
That is where Yahweh promised
the blessing of eternal life.
Psalm 134
A song for going up to worship.
1 Praise Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh,
all who stand in the house of Yahweh night after night.
2 Lift your hands toward the holy place, and praise Yahweh.
3 May Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
The Lord Answers His People’s Prayer
65 I was ready to answer those who didn’t ask.
I was found by those who weren’t looking for me.
I said, “Here I am! Here I am!”
to a nation that didn’t worship me.
2 I stretched out my hands all day long to stubborn people.
They chose to go the wrong direction.
They followed their own plans.
3 These people constantly and openly provoked me.
They offered sacrifices in gardens
and burnt incense on brick altars.
4 They sat among the graves and spent their nights in caves.
They ate pork and in their pots made broth from unclean foods.
5 They said, “Stay away! Don’t touch me!
I’m holier than you are.”
They have become like smoke in my nose,
like a smoldering fire all day long.
6 “Look! It is written in front of me.
I will not be silent, but I will repay.
I will repay you in full.
7 I will repay you for your sins
and for the sins of your ancestors,” says Yahweh.
They burnt incense on the mountains and slandered me on the hills,
so I will be the first to pay them back in full.
8 This is what Yahweh says:
When someone finds juice for new wine in a cluster of grapes,
another person will say,
“Don’t destroy it, because there’s a blessing in it.”
In the same way, I will do this for my servants:
I will not destroy everything.
9 I will bring with me Jacob’s descendant,
one who will inherit my mountains from Judah.
My chosen ones will inherit them.
My servants will live there.
10 The Sharon Plain will be a pasture for flocks.
The Achor Valley will be a resting place for cattle
and for my people who search for me.
11 You have abandoned Yahweh
and forgotten my holy mountain.
You have prepared a table for the god of good fortune
and offered cups full of spiced wine to the goddess of destiny.
12 Now I will destine you for death.
All of you will bow to be slaughtered.
I called, but you didn’t answer.
I spoke, but you didn’t listen.
You did what I consider evil.
You chose what I don’t like.
13 This is what Adonay Yahweh says:
My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
My servants will be glad, but you will be ashamed.
14 My servants will sing because of the gladness in their hearts.
But you will cry because of your sadness
and wail because of your depression.
15 Your name will be used as a curse by my chosen ones.
Adonay Yahweh will kill you
and call his servants by another name.
16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will be blessed by the God of Truth.
Whoever swears an oath in the land
will swear by the God of Truth.
Past troubles are forgotten.
They are hidden from my eyes.
17 I will create a new heaven and a new earth.
Past things will not be remembered.
They will not come to mind.
18 Be glad, and rejoice forever in what I’m going to create,
because I’m going to create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people to be a joy.
19 I will rejoice about Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
Screaming and crying will no longer be heard in the city.
20 There will no longer be an infant who lives for only a few days
or an old man who doesn’t live a long life.
Whoever lives to be a hundred years old will be thought of as young.
Whoever dies before he is a hundred years old will be cursed as a sinner.
21 They will build houses and live there.
They will plant vineyards and eat fruit from them.
22 They will not build homes and have others live there.
They will not plant and have others eat from it.
My people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will enjoy what they’ve done.
23 They will never again work for nothing.
They will never again give birth to children who die young,
because they will be offspring blessed by Yahweh.
The Lord will bless their descendants as well.
24 Before they call, I will answer.
While they’re still speaking, I will hear.
25 Wolves and lambs will feed together,
lions will eat straw like oxen,
and dust will be food for snakes.
“They will not hurt or destroy anyone anywhere on my holy mountain,”
says Yahweh.
A Story about a Farmer(A)
13 That same day Yeshua left the house and sat down by the Sea of Galilee. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things.
He said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They withered because their roots weren’t deep enough. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted. 9 Let the person who has ears listen!”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?”
11 Yeshua answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd. 12 Those who understand these mysteries will be given more knowledge, and they will excel in understanding them. However, some people don’t understand these mysteries. Even what they understand will be taken away from them. 13 This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand. 14 So they make Isaiah’s prophecy come true:
‘You will hear clearly but never understand.
You will see clearly but never comprehend.
15 These people have become close-minded
and hard of hearing.
They have shut their eyes
so that their eyes never see.
Their ears never hear.
Their minds never understand.
And they never return to me for healing!’
16 “Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. 17 I can guarantee this truth: Many prophets and many of God’s people longed to see what you see but didn’t see it, to hear what you hear but didn’t hear it.
18 “Listen to what the story about the farmer means. 19 Someone hears the word about the kingdom but doesn’t understand it. The evil one comes at once and snatches away what was planted in him. This is what the seed planted along the road illustrates. 20 The seed planted on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and accepts it at once with joy. 21 Since he doesn’t have any root, he lasts only a little while. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls from faith. 22 The seed planted among thornbushes is another person who hears the word. But the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of riches choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. 23 But the seed planted on good ground is the person who hears and understands the word. This type produces crops. They produce one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted.”
A Story about Weeds in the Wheat
24 Yeshua used another illustration. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. 25 But while people were asleep, his enemy planted weeds in the wheat field and went away. 26 When the wheat came up and formed kernels, weeds appeared.
27 “The owner’s workers came to him and asked, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
28 “He told them, ‘An enemy did this.’
“His workers asked him, ‘Do you want us to pull out the weeds?’
29 “He replied, ‘No. If you pull out the weeds, you may pull out the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. When the grain is cut, I will tell the workers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. But I’ll have them bring the wheat into my barn.’”
Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast(B)
31 Yeshua used another illustration. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone planted in a field. 32 It’s one of the smallest seeds. However, when it has grown, it is taller than the garden plants. It becomes a tree that is large enough for birds to nest in its branches.”
33 He used another illustration. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.”
34 Yeshua used illustrations to tell the crowds all these things. He did not tell them anything without illustrating it with a story. 35 So what the prophet had said came true:
“I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will tell what has been hidden since the world was made.”
The Meaning of the Weeds in the Wheat
36 When Yeshua had sent the people away, he went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain what the illustration of the weeds in the field means.”
37 He answered, “The one who plants the good seeds is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seeds are those who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The workers are angels. 40 Just as weeds are gathered and burned, so it will be at the end of time. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels. They will gather everything in his kingdom that causes people to sin and everyone who does evil. 42 The angels will throw them into a blazing furnace. People will cry and be in extreme pain there. 43 Then the people who have God’s approval will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let the person who has ears listen!
Stories about a Treasure, a Merchant, and a Net
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away, sold everything he had, and bought that field.
45 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a valuable pearl, he went away, sold everything he had, and bought it.
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore. Then they sat down, gathered the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. 49 The same thing will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from people who have God’s approval. 50 Then the angels will throw the evil people into a blazing furnace. They will cry and be in extreme pain there.
51 “Have you understood all of this?”
“Yes,” they answered.
52 So Yeshua said to them, “That is why every student of Scripture who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest.”
53 When Yeshua had finished these illustrations, he left that place.
Nazareth Rejects Jesus(C)
54 Yeshua went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue in a way that amazed them. People were asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom and the power to do these miracles? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary? Aren’t his brothers’ names James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where, then, did this man get all this?” 57 So they took offense at him.
But Yeshua said to them, “The only place a prophet isn’t honored is in his hometown and in his own house.”
58 He didn’t work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.