M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel's War against Midian
31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Before you die, make sure that the Midianites are punished for what they did to Israel.”[a]
3 Then Moses told the people, “The Lord wants to punish the Midianites. So tell our men to prepare for battle. 4 Each tribe will send 1,000 men to fight.”
5 Twelve thousand men were picked from the tribes of Israel, and after they were prepared for battle, 6 Moses sent them off to war. Phinehas the son of Eleazar went with them and took along some things from the sacred tent[b] and the trumpets for sounding the battle signal.
7 The Israelites fought against the Midianites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. They killed all the men, 8 including Balaam son of Beor and the five Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. 9 The Israelites captured every woman and child, then led away the Midianites' cattle and sheep, and took everything else that belonged to them. 10 They also burned down the Midianite towns and villages.
11 Israel's soldiers gathered together everything they had taken from the Midianites, including the captives and the animals. 12-13 Then they returned to their own camp in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho, where Moses, Eleazar, and the other Israelite leaders met the troops outside camp.
14 Moses became angry with the army commanders 15 and said, “I can't believe you let the women live! 16 (A) They are the ones who followed Balaam's advice and invited our people to worship the god Baal Peor. That's why the Lord punished us by killing so many of our people. 17 You must put to death every boy and all the women who have ever had sex. 18 But do not kill the young women who have never had sex. You may keep them for yourselves.”
19 Then Moses said to the soldiers, “If you killed anyone or touched a dead body, you are unclean and have to stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third and seventh days, you must go through a ceremony to make yourselves and your captives clean. 20 Then wash your clothes and anything made from animal skin, goat's hair, or wood.”
21-23 Eleazar then explained, “If you need to purify something that won't burn, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead, you must first place it in a hot fire. After you take it out, sprinkle it with the water that purifies. Everything else should only be sprinkled with the water. Do all of this, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 24 Wash your clothes on the seventh day, and after that, you will be clean and may return to the camp.”
Everything Taken from the Midianites Is Divided
25 The Lord told Moses:
26-27 Make a list of everything taken from the Midianites, including the captives and the animals. Then divide them between the soldiers and the rest of the people. Eleazar the priest and the family leaders will help you.
28-29 From the half that belongs to the soldiers, set aside for the Lord one out of every 500 people or animals and give these to Eleazar.
30 From the half that belongs to the people, set aside one out of every 50 and give these to the Levites in charge of the sacred tent.
31 Moses and Eleazar followed the Lord's instructions 32-35 and listed everything that had been taken from the Midianites. The list included 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 young women who had never had sex.
36-47 Each half included 337,500 sheep and goats, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 young women. From the half that belonged to the soldiers, Moses counted out 675 sheep and goats, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 women and gave them to Eleazar to be dedicated to the Lord. Then from the half that belonged to the people, Moses set aside one out of every 50 animals and women, as the Lord had said, and gave them to the Levites.
48 The army commanders went to Moses 49 and said, “Sir, we have counted our troops, and not one soldier is missing. 50 So we want to give the Lord all the gold jewelry we took from the Midianites. It's our gift to him for watching over us and our troops.”
51 Moses and Eleazar accepted the jewelry from the commanders, 52 and its total weight was over 200 kilograms. 53 This did not include the things that the soldiers had kept for themselves. 54 So Moses and Eleazar placed the gold in the Lord's sacred tent to remind Israel of what had happened.[c]
(A psalm and a song by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”[a])
Praise God for All He Has Done
1 Our God, we thank you
for being so near to us!
Everyone celebrates
your wonderful deeds.
2 You have set a time
to judge with fairness.
3 The earth trembles,
and its people shake;
you alone keep
its foundations firm.
4 You tell every bragger,
“Stop bragging!”
And to the wicked you say,
“Don't boast of your power!
5 Stop bragging! Quit telling me
how great you are.”
6 Our Lord and our God,
victory doesn't come
from the east or the west
or from the desert.
7 You are the one who judges.
You can take away power
and give it to others.
8 You hold in your hand
a cup filled with wine,[b]
strong and foaming.
You will pour out some
for every sinful person
on this earth,
and they will have to drink
until it is gone.
9 But I will always tell about
you, the God of Jacob,
and I will sing your praise.
10 Our Lord, you will destroy
the power of evil people,
but you will give strength
to those who are good.
(A song and a psalm by Asaph for the music leader. Use stringed instruments.)
God Always Wins
1 You, our God,
are famous in Judah
and honored in Israel.
2 Your home is on Mount Zion,
the city of peace.
3 There you destroyed
fiery arrows, shields, swords,
and all the other weapons.
4 You are more glorious than
the eternal mountains.[c]
5 Brave warriors were robbed
of what they had taken,
and now they lie dead,
unable to lift an arm.
6 God of Jacob, when you roar,
enemy chariots and horses
drop dead in their tracks.
7 Our God, you are fearsome,
and no one can oppose you
when you are angry.
8 From heaven you announced
your decisions as judge!
And all who live on this earth
were terrified and silent
9 when you took over as judge,
ready to rescue
everyone in need.
10 Even the most angry people
will praise you
when you are furious.[d]
11 Everyone, make your promises
to the Lord your God
and do what you promise.
The Lord is fearsome,
and all his servants
should bring him gifts.
12 God destroys the courage
of rulers and kings
and makes cowards of them.
The City of Tyre Will Be Punished
23 (A) This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre:[a]
Cry, you seagoing ships![b]
Tyre and its houses
lie in ruins.[c]
2 Mourn in silence,
you shop owners of Sidon,[d]
you people on the coast.
Your sailors crossed oceans,
making your city rich.
3 Your merchants sailed the seas,
making you wealthy by trading
with nation after nation.
They brought back grain
that grew along the Nile.[e]
4 Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
built along the sea.
But you will be disgraced
like a married woman
who never had children.[f]
5 When Egypt hears about Tyre,
it will tremble.
6 All of you along the coast
had better cry and sail
far across the ocean.[g]
7 Can this be the happy city
that has stood for centuries?
Its people have spread
to distant lands;
8 its merchants were kings
honored all over the world.
Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9 The Lord All-Powerful planned it
to bring shame and disgrace
to those who are honored
by everyone on earth.
10 People of Tyre,[h]
your harbor is destroyed!
You will have to become farmers
just like the Egyptians.[i]
Tyre Will Be Forgotten
11 The Lord's hand has reached
across the sea,
upsetting the nations.
He has given a command
to destroy fortresses
in the land of Canaan.
12 The Lord has said
to the people of Sidon,
“Your celebrating is over—
you are crushed.
Even if you escape to Cyprus,
you won't find peace.”
13 Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins.[j] 14 Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships[k] to mourn.
15 The city of Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16 You're gone and forgotten,
you evil woman!
So strut through the town,
singing and playing
your favorite tune
to be remembered again.
17 At the end of those 70 years, the Lord will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth, 18 but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord.
1 (A) The Word that gives life
was from the beginning,
and this is the one
our message is about.
Our ears have heard,
our eyes have seen,
and our hands have touched
this Word.
2 (B) The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. 3 We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us[a] truly happy.
God Is Light
5 Jesus told us God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.
6 If we say we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. 7 (C) But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. 8 If we say we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. 9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.[b]
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