M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ark in Philistia
5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of Elohim, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 They brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3 Early the next day the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon had fallen forward on the ground in front of Yahweh’s ark. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the next morning they saw that Dagon had again fallen forward on the ground in front of Yahweh’s ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off and were lying on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact.[a] 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and everyone else who comes into Dagon’s temple in Ashdod still don’t step on the temple’s threshold.
6 Yahweh dealt harshly with the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them by striking the people in the vicinity of Ashdod with tumors. 7 When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the Elohim of Israel must not stay with us, because their Elohim is dealing harshly with us and our god Dagon.” 8 The people of Ashdod called together all the Philistine rulers. “What should we do with the ark of the Elohim of Israel?” they asked.
“The ark of the Elohim of Israel must be taken to Gath,” the rulers said.[b] So the people took the ark of the Elohim of Israel there.
9 But after they had moved it,[c] Yahweh threw the city into a great panic: He struck all the important and unimportant people in the city, and they were covered with tumors. 10 So the people of Gath sent the ark of Elohim to Ekron. But when the ark of Elohim came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They brought the ark of the Elohim of Israel here to kill us.” 11 They called together all the Philistine rulers. “Send the ark of the Elohim of Israel away,” they said. “Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us or our people.” There was a fear of death throughout the city, where Elohim dealt with them very harshly. 12 The people who didn’t die were struck with tumors. So the cry of the city went up to heaven.
The Ark Is Returned to Israel
6 The ark of Yahweh had been in Philistine territory seven months 2 when the Philistines called for priests and people skilled in explaining omens. The Philistines asked, “What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Tell us how to return it to its proper place.”
3 The priests answered, “If you’re returning the ark of the Elohim of Israel, don’t send it away empty, but by all means return it to its proper place with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why he would not turn his anger away from you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What kind of guilt offering should we give him?”
The priests answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice for the five Philistine rulers because all of you and your rulers suffer from the same plague. 5 Make models of your tumors and your mice which are destroying the country, and give glory to the Elohim of Israel. Maybe he will no longer be so hard on you, your gods, and your country. 6 Why should you be as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? After he toyed with the Egyptians, didn’t they send the Israelites on their way? 7 Now get a new cart ready for two dairy cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart. Take their calves away, and leave them in their stall. 8 Take the ark of Yahweh, and put it on the cart. Put the gold objects which you’re giving him as a guilt offering in a box beside the ark. Send the cart on its way, 9 but then watch where it goes. If it goes up the road to its own country toward Beth Shemesh, then this disaster is Yahweh’s doing. But if not, we’ll know it wasn’t his hand that struck us, but what happened to us was an accident.”
10 The people did this. They took two dairy cows, hitched them to a cart, and shut the calves in the stall. 11 They put the ark of Yahweh and the box containing the gold mice and the models of their hemorrhoids on the cart. 12 The cows went straight up the road to Beth Shemesh. Continually mooing, they stayed on the road and didn’t turn right or left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there by a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15 (The Levites had already taken down from the cart the ark of Yahweh and the box which contained the gold objects and put them on the large rock.) The people of Beth Shemesh presented burnt offerings and sacrifices to Yahweh that day. 16 After the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they went back to Ekron that same day.
17 The gold hemorrhoids which the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to Yahweh were for the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 And the number of gold mice was the same as the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers, including walled cities and farm villages. The large rock on which they put the ark of Yahweh is a witness.[d] It is still there today in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 Elohim struck down some of the people from Beth Shemesh because they looked inside the ark of Yahweh. He struck down 70 people.[e] The people mourned because Yahweh struck them with such a great blow. 20 The people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand before Yahweh, this holy Elohim? And to which people will he go when he leaves us?” 21 They sent messengers to the people living at Kiriath Jearim to say, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh. Come and take it back with you.”
We Are at Peace with God because of Jesus
5 Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Yeshua Christ has done. 2 Through Christ we can approach God[a] and stand in his favor.[b] So we brag because of our confidence that we will receive glory from God. 3 But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, 4 endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. 5 We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 Look at it this way: At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for ungodly people. 7 Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare. Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person. 8 Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.
9 Since Christ’s blood has now given us God’s approval, we are even more certain that Christ will save us from God’s anger. 10 If the death of his Son restored our relationship with God while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us. 11 In addition, our Lord Yeshua Christ lets us continue to brag about God. After all, it is through Christ that we now have this restored relationship with God.
A Comparison between Adam and Christ
12 Sin came into the world through one person, and death came through sin. So death spread to everyone, because everyone sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before there were any laws. But no record of sin can be kept when there are no laws. 14 Yet, death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin in the same way Adam did when he disobeyed. Adam is an image of the one who would come.
15 There is no comparison between God’s gift and Adam’s failure. If humanity died as the result of one person’s failure, it is certainly true that God’s kindness[c] and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Yeshua Christ, have been showered on humanity.
16 There is also no comparison between God’s gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person’s failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought God’s approval. 17 It is certain that death ruled because of one person’s failure. It’s even more certain that those who receive God’s overflowing kindness and the gift of his approval will rule in life because of one person, Yeshua Christ.
18 Therefore, everyone was condemned through one failure, and everyone received God’s life-giving approval through one verdict. 19 Clearly, through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive God’s approval. 20 The laws in Moses’ Teachings were added to increase the failure. But where sin increased, God’s kindness increased even more. 21 As sin ruled by bringing death, God’s kindness would rule by bringing us his approval. This results in our living forever because of Yeshua Christ our Lord.
Jeremiah Is Forced to Go to Egypt
43 So Jeremiah finished telling all the people the message from Yahweh their Elohim. He told them everything Yahweh their Elohim sent him to tell them. 2 Azariah (son of Hoshaiah), Johanan (son of Kareah), and all the arrogant people said to Jeremiah, “You’re lying! Yahweh our Elohim didn’t send you to tell us that we must not go to live in Egypt. 3 But Baruch, son of Neriah, has turned you against us in order to hand us over to the Babylonians. Then they will kill us or take us as captives to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan (son of Kareah), all the army commanders, and all the people didn’t obey Yahweh. They didn’t stay in Judah. 5 Johanan (son of Kareah) and all the army commanders took all the people who were left in Judah to Egypt. These were all the people who had come back to Judah from the places where they had been scattered. 6 They took men, women, children, and the king’s daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. 7 They didn’t listen to Yahweh, so they went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah Prophesies That Egypt Will Be Invaded by Nebuchadnezzar
8 Then Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes. He said, 9 “Take some large stones, and bury them under the brick pavement at the entrance to the Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Do this while the people of Judah watch you. 10 Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: I’m going to send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones that I buried, and I will spread his royal canopy above them. 11 He will defeat Egypt. He will bring death to those who are supposed to die. He will capture those who are supposed to be captured. He will kill in battle those who are supposed to be killed in battle. 12 He[a] will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods. He will burn down the temples and take their gods captive. Nebuchadnezzar will put on Egypt as his coat as a shepherd puts on his coat. He will leave Egypt peacefully. 13 At Beth Shemesh he will break the monuments in Egypt and burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”
Psalm 19
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of El,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens.
It circles around to the other.
Nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect.
They renew the soul.
The testimony of Yahweh is dependable.
It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct.
They make the heart rejoice.
The command of Yahweh is radiant.
It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure.
It endures forever.
The decisions of Yahweh are true.
They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
There is a great reward in following them.
12 Who can notice every mistake?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
Do not let anyone gain control over me.
Then I will be blameless,
and I will be free from any great offense.
14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.