M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The people turn against Moses
14 Then all the people started to weep loudly. And they cried all night. 2 All the Israelites spoke bad words against Moses and Aaron. All the people said to them, ‘We would rather have died in Egypt, or even in this desert! 3 Why has the Lord brought us into this land? Its people will kill us all with swords. They will take our wives and our children for themselves. We think that it would be better for us to return to Egypt.’ 4 So they said to each other, ‘We should choose a new leader instead of Moses. Then we should return to Egypt.’
5 Then Moses and Aaron threw themselves on the ground in front of the whole group of the Israelites. 6 Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, were two of the men who had explored the land. They were very upset and they tore their clothes.[a] 7 Joshua and Caleb said to all the Israelites, ‘The land that we travelled through to explore is a very good land. 8 If the Lord is happy with us, he will bring us into this land. And he will give it to us. In that land there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. 9 But do not refuse to obey the Lord. Do not be afraid of the people in that land. They are ready for us to fight against them and win! They have no place to hide! The Lord is with us to help us. So do not be afraid of them.’
10 Then all the people wanted to throw stones at Joshua and Caleb to kill them. But the glory of the Lord appeared over the Tent of Meeting. All the Israelites could see that.
11 The Lord said to Moses, ‘These people continue to turn away from me. I did great miracles to show them my power. But still they will not trust me. 12 I will send a disease to kill them. They will not get any of the good things that I wanted to give to them. Then I will make you, Moses, the ancestor of a nation greater and more powerful than they are.’
13 Moses said to the Lord, ‘Please do not do that! You used your great power to bring these people out of Egypt. If you destroy them, the Egyptians will hear about it. 14 Then they will tell the people who live in this land about it. They know that you, Lord, are among your people. They know that you meet with your people. They know that your cloud stays over them. They know that you lead them as a pillar of cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire during the night. 15 The people in other nations have heard of your power. So now, if you kill all your people together, the people in those nations will say, 16 “The Lord could not bring those people into the land that he had seriously promised to give to them. So he killed all of them in the desert.”
17 But now, I pray that you will show how powerful you are. You yourself have said, 18 “The Lord does not quickly become angry. His faithful love for his people continues for ever. He forgives people when they turn against him and they do bad things. But if someone is guilty, he surely punishes them. And he punishes their children, their grandchildren and their grandchildren's children.”
19 So please forgive the very bad thing that these people have done. Do that because your faithful love is so great. You have forgiven these people since they left Egypt until now. So please be kind and forgive them again now.’
20 Then the Lord said, ‘I have forgiven them as you asked me to do. 21 As surely as I live, and all the earth will be full of my glory, I tell you this. 22 All these people have seen my glory. They have seen the miracles that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they have tested me many times now to see if I would punish them. They still do not obey me. 23 So I tell you, none of them will ever see the land that I promised to give to their ancestors. None of those men who did not trust me will see that place. 24 But my servant Caleb has thought differently, and he has obeyed me completely. So I will bring him into the land that he explored. It will belong to his descendants. 25 The Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys now. So tomorrow you must turn back. You must travel through the desert towards the Red Sea.’
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 ‘These evil people have complained against me too many times! I have heard the bad things that the Israelites have said against me. 28 Tell them this: “I, the Lord, have heard your words. I promise you, as surely as I live, I will certainly do to you as you have said. 29 Your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this desert. All the men that Moses counted will die. Those were the men who were 20 years old or older when he counted them. They complained against me and now they will die in this desert. 30 None of them will go into the land that I promised to give to you to live in. The only men who will go in are Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. 31 You said that the people in Canaan would take your children to be their slaves. But I will bring those children into the land. You did not want that land for yourselves, but now it will belong to your children. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the desert for 40 years. Because you did not trust me, your children will have trouble. That will continue until all your dead bodies are lying in the desert. 34 You explored the land of Canaan for 40 days. Now you will have trouble for 40 years, because of your sins. Each day becomes one year! You will know that I am not with you, but I am against you. 35 I, the Lord, have spoken! I will certainly do all these things to punish these evil people. That is because they have all joined together to speak against me. In this desert they will die. Yes, that will be the end of them!” ’
36-37 The men who had given a bad report to the people about the land of Canaan died immediately. Moses had sent them to explore the land, but they had caused all the people to turn against the Lord. So the Lord sent a bad disease to kill those men. 38 Only two men who had gone to explore the land did not die. They were Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.
39 When Moses gave God's message to all the Israelites, the people were very sad. 40 But the next morning, they got up early. They went up to the top of the hills near there. They said, ‘We have certainly done a bad thing. But now we are ready! We will go to the place that the Lord has promised to give to us.’
41 But Moses said, ‘You are still not obeying the Lord's command. Why is that? It will not happen as you want. 42 Do not go into that land. The Lord is not with you. So your enemies will win against you. 43 The Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you. They will kill you with their swords. That will happen because you have refused to obey the Lord. So the Lord will not be with you to help you.’
44 But the people did not listen to Moses. Moses and the Lord's Covenant Box stayed in the camp. But still the men went up to the top of the hills. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills ran down. They attacked the Israelite men and they chased them to Hormah.[b]
Asaph wrote this psalm.
God is our judge[a]
50 God, the great God, the Lord, is speaking.
He is calling everybody on the earth,
from where the sun rises in the east,
to where it goes down in the west.
2 God is shining out from Zion,
that most beautiful place.
3 Our God is coming,
and he does not come quietly!
A fire burns up everything that is in front of him.
There is a great storm all round him.
4 He calls to the skies above,
and to the earth below.
They must watch while he judges his people.
5 He says, ‘Bring my people to me.
They are the people who offered sacrifices to me,
to agree our covenant.’
6 The skies above show that God is righteous,
and God himself is the judge.
Selah.
7 He says, ‘Listen to me, my people,
and I will speak to you.
I have something to say against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.
8 You offer sacrifices and burnt offerings to me all the time
but that is not why I speak against you.
9 I do not need a bull from your farm,
or goats from your fields.
10 All the wild animals of the forest belong to me!
All the cows on a thousand hills belong to me!
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
as well as all the insects.
12 Even if I did become hungry,
I would not tell you.
All the world belongs to me,
and everything that is in it.
13 Do I eat the meat of bulls? No!
Do I drink the blood of goats? No!
14 Say “thank you” to me as your offering.
Do whatever you have promised to do for me,
the Most High God.
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.
Then I will rescue you,
and you will praise me.’[b]
16 But God says this to the wicked people:
‘It is useless for you to speak about my commands,
or about my covenant.
17 For you hate my teaching,
and you refuse to accept my message.
18 If you see a robber,
you run to help him!
You become friends with adulterers.
19 You speak about evil things,
and you are always telling lies.
20 You say bad things about your own brother,
and you speak against your own family!
21 You did all these things,
and I said nothing.
So you thought that I was as bad as you are.
But now I am warning you!
I will tell you clearly
what you have done wrong.
22 So think carefully about this,
all you people who have turned away from me.
If not, I will tear you into pieces,
and nobody will be able to save you.
23 If anyone wants to praise me,
they should say “thank you” to me as their offering.
If anyone obeys my commands,
I will show them my power to save people.’
Trouble for Judah and Jerusalem
3 Listen to this! I will show you what the Lord, the Almighty Lord, will do. He will remove from Jerusalem and Judah everything that people trust to help them. He will take away even their food and their water.
2 He will take away
the brave men and the soldiers,
the judges and the prophets,
their leaders and the people who have visions of future things,
3 the army officers and the city officers,
the wise advisors,
and those who use magic to do clever things.
4 The Lord says, ‘I will cause boys to become their leaders who will rule them badly. 5 People will be cruel to each other. Men will argue against one another and neighbours will fight each other. Young people will insult older people. And useless people will speak against people that they should respect.
6 A man will go to his father's house and he will take hold of his brother. The man will say to him, “Look, you have a coat. So you should be our leader! You can rule over the few buildings that remain in our city!”
7 But the brother will refuse. He will say, “I cannot make things any better! There is no food or clothes in my house. Do not choose me as a leader of people.” ’
8 Jerusalem is falling down! The towns of Judah are in trouble! The Lord hates the things that their people say and the things that they do. They have turned against the Lord and they insult him.
9 Their proud faces show that they are guilty. Their sins are as bad as the sins of Sodom's people. And they do not try to hide it! It will be very bad for them! They have caused great trouble for themselves.
10 Tell the righteous people that they are in a good place. They will enjoy the results of the good things that they have done. 11 But it will be very bad for the wicked people. They will receive the punishment that they deserve.
12 Now children are cruel to my people and women rule over them. My people, your leaders lead you in the wrong direction. They cannot show you what is right.
13 The Lord stands up to judge his people. He will decide how to punish them. 14 He comes to judge the leaders and rulers of his people. He says to them, ‘You have destroyed my vineyard. You have robbed the poor people and you have stored their things in your own houses.
15 What are you leaders doing? You should not hurt my people. You should not be cruel to the poor people, as if you are pushing their faces into the dirt.’
The Lord Almighty has said this.
The Lord warns Jerusalem's women
16 The Lord says, ‘Zion's women are very proud. They walk with their heads up high. They turn their eyes towards the men and they have no shame. They like the men to look at them. They walk with small steps so that the rings on their ankles make a nice sound. 17 Because of that, the Lord God will give them sores on their heads. Those beautiful women will be bald!’
18-23 On that day, the Lord God will take away the beautiful rings that they wear on their ankles. He will remove all the valuable rings and bright stones that they wear on their heads, their necks, their ears, their arms, their fingers and their noses. He will take away their beautiful clothes, their belts, their perfumes and their magic rings.
24 Instead of a nice smell of perfume, there will be a smell of dead animals. Instead of a beautiful belt, they will tie a rope round themselves. Instead of lovely hair, they will be bald. They will wear rough sackcloth instead of beautiful dresses. They will have the mark of a prisoner on their skin, instead of beauty.
25 The men of your city will die in war. Yes, your strong brave men will die in battle.
26 The city's gates will see all this and they will weep! The city will be empty. Zion will be like a poor woman who sits on the ground, completely alone.
4 In that day, seven women will catch one man and they will hold him. They will say, ‘Please take away our shame. We will buy our own food and we will wear our own clothes. But please, let us belong to you.’
Good news
2 In that day, the branch of the Lord will be great and beautiful. The land will give fruit and crops. Those people who remain in Israel will be proud and happy because of the food that the land supplies. 3 Everyone who remains in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy. All their names will be on a list of Jerusalem's people who live there. 4 At that time, the Lord God will wash away the dirt from Zion's women. He will make Jerusalem clean from the blood that murderers have left. He will do that as judge, and he will punish people as with fire. 5 The Lord himself will be above all of Mount Zion, and over all the people who meet together there. There will be cloud and smoke over them during the day. There will be bright flames of fire at night. The Lord's glory will cover over them all. 6 During the day, it will give people shade from the sun's heat. It will also keep them safe from storms and heavy rain.
What it means to trust God
11 This is what it means to trust God: We will be sure about the things that we hope for. We will be sure in our minds about things that we cannot even see. 2 It was because of their faith that God said good things about the people of long ago. 3 Because of faith, we understand about how God made the universe. He spoke his word to make it happen. In that way, God made all the things that we can see. He made them from things that nobody could see.
4 Abel believed God. So he offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain did. And because of Abel's faith, God accepted him as right with him. God said that he was happy with Abel's gifts. Because Abel trusted God, we can still learn from his faith. Abel died long ago, but it is like he is still speaking to us.[a]
5 Enoch also believed God. Because of Enoch's faith, God took him away to heaven. He did not die like other people. As a result, nobody could ever find him, because God had taken him away. Before God took him away, it was clear that Enoch had made God happy.[b]
6 Unless we trust God, it is impossible for us to make God happy. Anyone who comes to God must believe that God is there. They must also believe that God helps everyone who wants to know him.
7 Noah believed God too. God told Noah about bad things that would happen. Nobody could see what would happen, but Noah believed God's message. He was careful to do exactly what God told him. He built a large ship to save his family. As a result of his faith, Noah showed that everyone else in the world was wrong. Noah himself became one of those people that God accepted as right with him. They are right with God because they trust him.[c]
8 Abraham also believed God. When God told him to leave his home, he obeyed God. He left his home to go to another country, but he did not know where he was going. It was the place that God had promised to give to Abraham. 9 Because of his faith, Abraham went to live like a stranger in that foreign country. God had promised to give that country to him, but Abraham lived there in tents. Isaac and Jacob also lived there in tents like strangers. God had also promised them that the land would belong to them one day.[d] 10 We see that Abraham was waiting to live in God's special place. That is the city that God himself has built. God has made it very strong so that it will be there for ever.[e]
11 Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were too old to have children. But Abraham believed God's promise that they would have children. He trusted God to do what he had promised. As a result of his faith, God made it possible for him and Sarah to have a baby.[f] 12 Abraham was so old that he was almost like a dead man. But from this one man there came very many grandchildren. His family became so large that nobody could count them. They were like the number of stars in the sky. They were as many as the bits of sand on the shore of the sea.[g]
13 All these people continued to believe God until they died. But they did not receive all the things that God had promised to give them. They were like people who saw those things far away. That made them happy. These people understood that they lived as strangers and travellers on the earth. 14 People who live in that way show that they expect to live somewhere else one day. That is the place where they will really be at home. 15 They were not thinking about the country that they had left. They could have gone back there if they really wanted to. 16 No, they wanted very much to go to a better place, in heaven. For that reason, God is not ashamed for them to call him their God. He has already prepared a city for them to live in.
17 Here is another example of Abraham's faith. God wanted to see whether Abraham really trusted him. Because Abraham believed God, he offered his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. God had promised Abraham that he would have many grandchildren. But Abraham was still ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. 18 God had said to Abraham, ‘It is through Isaac that your family will continue.’ 19 But Abraham was sure that, if Isaac died, God could raise Isaac to life again. We could even say that is a picture of what really happened. It was like Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.[h]
20 Isaac himself also believed God. As a result of his faith, he asked God to bless his sons, Jacob and Esau. He trusted that God would help them in the future time.[i]
21 Jacob believed God. As a result of his faith, he asked God to bless each of Joseph's sons. Jacob did that when he was dying. At that time, he used his stick to hold himself up while he worshipped God.[j]
22 Joseph also believed God. At the end of his life, he spoke about what would happen to the family of Israel's people after his death. He understood that they would leave Egypt one day. As a result of his faith, he told his family where they should bury his bones.[k]
23 Moses' parents believed God. When Moses was born, they hid him for three months. They saw that he was a very special child. As a result of their faith, they did not obey Egypt's king. They were not afraid to do that.[l]
24 Moses himself also believed God. When he became a man, he refused to be called the son of the king's daughter. 25 Instead, Moses chose to join with God's people. He chose to receive trouble and pain together with them. He did not want to live in the king's house and do wrong things. He would only be happy for a short time there.[m] 26 Moses could have been very rich in Egypt. But instead, he let people insult him. He chose to receive trouble because of God's special Messiah. He thought that was worth more than if he had a lot of money. He thought carefully about what God would give him at a future time.[n] 27 As a result of his faith, Moses left Egypt. He knew that the king would be angry, but Moses was not afraid of him. Instead, he continued strongly to trust God. Nobody can see God, but Moses lived like someone who could see God.[o]
28 As a result of his faith, Moses told Israel's people to prepare the first Passover meal. He told them to put blood from the sacrifice round their doors. Then the angel who destroyed people came to every home. When he saw the blood, he did not kill the oldest sons in the families of Israel's people.[p]
29 Because of their faith, Israel's people walked across the Red Sea. They walked through there as if they were walking on dry land. But when the soldiers from Egypt tried to cross the same place, they drowned.[q]
30 Because of their faith, Israel's people marched round Jericho city for seven days. Then the city's walls fell down.[r]
31 Rahab, who had been a prostitute in Jericho, also trusted God. She helped the men from Israel who had come to that city earlier. They wanted to discover how to attack the city. Rahab was kind to them. As a result of her faith, she did not die with all the other people in Jericho who did not obey God.[s]
32 I could say even more about other people who trusted God. But there is not enough time to talk about all of them. I could tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and all the prophets.[t] 33 As a result of their faith, they did great things. Some of them won wars against other countries. Others ruled in a way that is right and fair. They received the good things that God had promised. Some of them caused lions to shut their mouths.[u] 34 Some of them put out fires that were burning very strongly. Some of them got away from people who wanted to kill them with a sword. Other people who were weak became strong. They became powerful to fight wars. They won against foreign armies so that those armies ran away.[v]
35 Some women who trusted God received their friends and family back from death. God raised those people who had died to become alive again. Other people refused to turn against God so that their enemies would not hurt them. As a result, their enemies killed them. These people agreed to die because they were sure that they would live again with God. They knew that would be better for them.
36 Other people who trusted God received insults. Some of them were hit with whips. Enemies of God tied these people up and they put them in prison. 37 Some of them died when people killed them with stones. Some of them died when people cut them into two pieces. Some of them died when people killed them with swords. Some of these people wore the skins of sheep and goats while they travelled about. They were very poor and they had a lot of trouble. People did bad things to them. 38 These people who trusted God were too good for this world. Some of them had to travel about in the wilderness and on the hills. Some had to live in holes in the rocks and in the ground.
39 God said good things about all these people because they trusted him. But they still did not receive everything that God had promised to give to them.[w] 40 God had already decided to prepare something better for all of us. As a result, those people did not receive everything until we could join with them.[x]
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