M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Later that day Jacob met Esau coming with his 400 men. So Jacob told his children to walk with their mothers. ² The two servant women, Zilpah and Bilhah, together with their children went first, followed by Leah and her children, then by Rachel and Joseph. ³ Jacob himself walked in front of them all, bowing to the ground seven times as he came near his brother.

⁴ But Esau ran toward Jacob and hugged and kissed him. Then the two brothers started crying.

⁵ When Esau noticed the women and children he asked, “Whose children are these?”

Jacob answered, “These are the children the Lord has been kind enough to give to me, your servant.”

⁶ Then the two servant women and their children came and bowed down to Esau. ⁷ Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down; finally, Joseph and Rachel also came and bowed down.

⁸ Esau asked Jacob, “Why did you send those herds I met along the road?”

“Master,” Jacob answered, “I sent them so you would be friendly to me.”

⁹ “But, brother, I already have plenty,” Esau replied. “Keep them for yourself.”

¹⁰ “No!” Jacob said. “Please accept them as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. ¹¹ Please accept these as gifts I brought to you. God has been good to me, and I have everything I need.” Jacob kept insisting until Esau agreed.

¹² “Let's get ready to travel,” Esau said. “I'll go along with you.”

¹³ But Jacob answered, “Master, you know traveling is hard on children, and I have to look after the sheep and goats that are nursing their young. If my animals travel too much in one day, they will all die. ¹⁴ Why don't you go on ahead and let me travel along slowly with the children, the herds, and the flocks. We can meet again in the country of Edom.”

¹⁵ Esau replied, “Let me leave some of my men with you.”

“You don't have to do that,” Jacob answered. “I am happy, simply knowing that you are friendly to me.”

¹⁶ So Esau left for Edom. ¹⁷ But Jacob went to Succoth,^[a] where he built a house for himself and set up shelters for his animals. That's why the place is called Succoth.

Jacob Arrives at Shechem

¹⁸ After leaving northern Syria,^[b] Jacob arrived safely at Shechem in Canaan and set up camp outside the city. ^19 (A) The land where he camped was owned by the descendants of Hamor, the father of Shechem. So Jacob paid them 100 pieces of silver^[c] for the property, ²⁰ then he set up his tents and built an altar there to honor the God of Israel.

A Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)

4 ^(A) The next time Jesus taught beside Lake Galilee, a big crowd gathered. It was so large that he had to sit in a boat out on the lake, while the people stood on the shore. ² He used stories to teach them many things, and this is part of what he taught:

³ Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. ⁴ While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. ⁵ Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. ⁸ But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was scattered.

⁹ Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.”

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Matthew 13.10-17; Luke 8.9,10)

¹⁰ When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. ¹¹ He answered:

I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. ^12 (B) The reason is,

Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer

(Matthew 13.18-23; Luke 8.11-15)

¹³ Jesus then told them:

If you don't understand this story, you won't understand any others. ¹⁴ What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. ¹⁵ The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. ¹⁶ The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it at once. ¹⁷ But they don't have roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

¹⁸ The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. ¹⁹ But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. ²⁰ The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was planted.

Light

(Luke 8.16-18)

^21 (C) Jesus also said:

You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? ^22 (D) There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. ²³ If you have ears, pay attention!

^24 (E) Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated—and even worse. ^25 (F) Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.

Another Story about Seeds

²⁶ Again Jesus said:

God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. ²⁷ The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. ²⁸ It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. ^29 (G) Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.^[a]

A Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13.31,32; Luke 13.18,19)

³⁰ Finally, Jesus said:

What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? ³¹ It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. ³² But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.

The Reason for Teaching with Stories

(Matthew 13.34,35)

³³ Jesus used many other stories when he spoke to the people, and he taught them as much as they could understand. ³⁴ He did not tell them anything without using stories. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Luke 8.22-25)

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's cross to the east side.” ³⁶ So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along. ³⁷ Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.

³⁸ Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?”

³⁹ Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.

⁴⁰ Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don't you have any faith?”

⁴¹ Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 The first law that the king had made was to be followed on the thirteenth day of Adar,^[a] the twelfth month. This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to do away with them. But the Jews turned things around, ² and in the cities of every province they came together to attack their enemies. Everyone was afraid of the Jews, and no one could do anything to oppose them.

³ The leaders of the provinces, the rulers, the governors, and the court officials were afraid of Mordecai and took sides with the Jews. ⁴ Everyone in the provinces knew that the king had promoted him and had given him a lot of power.

⁵ The Jews took their swords and did away with their enemies, without showing any mercy. ^6-10 They killed 500 people in Susa,^[b] but they did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Haman had been one of the worst enemies of the Jews, and ten of his sons were among those who were killed. Their names were Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

¹¹ Later that day, someone told the king how many people had been killed in Susa.^{[c] 12} Then he told Esther, “Five hundred people, including Haman's ten sons, have been killed in Susa alone. If that many were killed here, what must have happened in the provinces? Is there anything else you want done? Just tell me, and it will be done.”

¹³ Esther answered, “Your Majesty, please let the Jews in Susa fight to defend themselves tomorrow, just as they did today. And order the bodies of Haman's ten sons to be hanged in public.”

¹⁴ King Xerxes did what Esther had requested, and the bodies of Haman's sons were hung in Susa. ¹⁵ Then on the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of the city got together and killed 300 more people. But they still did not take anything that belonged to their enemies.

^16-17 On the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews in the provinces had come together to defend themselves. They killed 75,000 of their enemies, but the Jews did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Then on the fourteenth day of the month the Jews celebrated with a feast.

^18 (A) On the fifteenth day of the month the Jews in Susa held a holiday and celebrated, after killing their enemies on the thirteenth and the fourteenth. ¹⁹ This is why the Jews in the villages now celebrate on the fourteenth day of the month. It is a joyful holiday that they celebrate by feasting and sending gifts of food to each other.

The Festival of Purim

²⁰ Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces ²¹ and told them:

Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar, ²² the days when we Jews defeated our enemies. Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other.

²³ They followed Mordecai's instructions and set aside these two days every year as a time of celebration.

The Reason for the Festival of Purim

^24 (B) Haman was the son of Hammedatha and a descendant of Agag. He hated the Jews so much that he planned to destroy them, but he wanted to find out the best time to do it. So he cast lots.^[d]

²⁵ Esther went to King Xerxes and asked him to save her people. Then the king gave written orders for Haman and his sons to be punished in the same terrible way that Haman had in mind for the Jews. So they were hanged. ²⁶ Mordecai's letter had said that the Jews must celebrate for two days because of what had happened to them. This time of celebration is called Purim,^[e] which is the Hebrew word for the lots that were cast. ²⁷ Now every year the Jews set aside these two days for having parties and celebrating, just as they were told to do. ²⁸ From now on, all Jewish families must remember to celebrate Purim on these two days each year.

²⁹ Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, wanted to give full authority to Mordecai's letter about the Festival of Purim, and with his help she wrote a letter about the feast. ³⁰ Copies of this letter were sent to Jews in the 127 provinces of King Xerxes. In the letter they said:

We pray that all of you will live in peace and safety.

³¹ You and your descendants must always remember to celebrate Purim at the time and in the way that we have said. You must also follow the instructions that we have given you about mourning and going without eating.^[f]

³² These laws about Purim are written by the authority of Queen Esther.

The Greatness of Xerxes and Mordecai

10 King Xerxes made everyone in his kingdom pay taxes, even those in lands across the sea. ² All the great and famous things that King Xerxes did are written in the record books of the kings of Media and Persia. These records also tell about the honors that the king gave to Mordecai. ³ Next to the king himself, Mordecai was the highest official in the kingdom. He was a popular leader of the Jews, because he helped them in many ways and would even speak to the king on their behalf.

The Example of Abraham

4 Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? ² If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. ^3 (A) The Scriptures say, “God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him.”

⁴ Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. ⁵ But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. ⁶ In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings. David says,

⁹ Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. ¹⁰ But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.

^11 (C) Abraham let himself be circumcised to show he had been accepted because of his faith even before he was circumcised. This makes Abraham the father of all who are acceptable to God because of their faith, even though they are not circumcised. ¹² This also makes Abraham the father of everyone who is circumcised and has faith in God, as Abraham did before he was circumcised.

The Promise Is for All Who Have Faith

^13 (D) God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. ^14 (E) If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.

¹⁵ God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. ^16 (F) Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his gift of undeserved grace. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. ^17 (G) The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

^18 (H) God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. ^19 (I) Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly 100 years old. He knew he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. ²⁰ But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

²¹ Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. ²² So God accepted him, ²³ just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. ²⁴ They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. ^25 (J) God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.