M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel Defeats the Canaanites at Hormah
21 (A) The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Southern Desert of Canaan, and when he heard that the Israelites were on their way to the village of Atharim, he attacked and took some of them hostage.
2 The Israelites prayed, “Our Lord, if you will help us defeat these Canaanites, we will completely destroy their towns and everything in them, to show that they belong to you.”[a]
3 The Lord answered their prayer and helped them wipe out the Canaanite army and completely destroy their towns. That's why one of the towns is named Hormah, which means “Destroyed Place.”
Moses Makes a Bronze Snake
4 (B) The Israelites had to go around the territory of Edom, so when they left Mount Hor, they headed south toward the Red Sea.[b] But along the way, the people became so impatient 5 (C) that they complained against God and said to Moses, “Did you bring us out of Egypt, just to let us die in the desert? There's no water out here, and we can't stand this awful food!”
6 Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes that bit and killed many of them.
7 Some of the people went to Moses and admitted, “It was wrong of us to insult you and the Lord. Now please ask him to make these snakes go away.”
Moses prayed, 8 and the Lord answered, “Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and be saved from death.”
9 (D) Moses obeyed the Lord. And all of those who looked at the bronze snake lived, even though they had been bitten by the poisonous snakes.
Israel's Journey to Moab
10 As the Israelites continued their journey to Canaan, they camped at Oboth, 11 then at Iye-Abarim in the desert east of Moab, 12 and then in the Zered Gorge. 13 After that, they crossed the Arnon River gorge and camped in the Moabite desert bordering Amorite territory. The Arnon was the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14 A song in
16 From the Arnon, the Israelites went to the well near the town of Beer, where the Lord had said to Moses, “Call the people together, and I will give them water to drink.”
17 That's also the same well the Israelites sang about in this song:
Let's celebrate!
The well has given us water.
18 With their royal scepters,
our leaders pointed out
where to dig the well.
The Israelites left the desert and camped near the town of Mattanah, 19 then at Nahaliel, and then at Bamoth. 20 Finally, they reached Moabite territory, where they camped near Mount Pisgah[d] in a valley overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.
Israel Defeats King Sihon the Amorite
(Deuteronomy 2.26-37)
21 The Israelites sent this message to King Sihon of the Amorites:
22 Please let us pass through your territory. We promise to stay away from your fields and vineyards, and we won't drink any water from your wells. As long as we're in your land, we'll stay on the main road.[e]
23 But Sihon refused to let Israel travel through his land. Instead, he called together his entire army and marched into the desert to attack Israel near the town of Jahaz. 24 Israel defeated them and took over the Amorite territory from the Arnon River gorge in the south to the Jabbok River gorge in the north. Beyond the Jabbok was the territory of the Ammonites, who were much stronger than Israel.
25 The Israelites settled in the Amorite towns, including the capital city of Heshbon with its surrounding villages. 26 King Sihon had ruled from Heshbon, after defeating the Moabites and taking over their land north of the Arnon River gorge. 27 That's why the Amorites had written this poem about Heshbon:
Come and rebuild Heshbon,
King Sihon's capital city!
28 (E) His armies marched out
like fiery flames,
burning down the town of Ar
and destroying[f] the hills
along the Arnon River.
29 You Moabites are done for!
Your god Chemosh
deserted your people;
they were captured, taken away
by King Sihon the Amorite.
30 We completely defeated Moab.
The towns of Heshbon and Dibon,
of Nophah and Medeba
are ruined and gone.[g]
31 After the Israelites had settled in the Amorite territory, 32 Moses sent some men to explore the town of Jazer. Later, the Israelites captured the villages surrounding it and forced out the Amorites who lived there.
Israel Defeats King Og of Bashan
(Deuteronomy 3.1-11)
33 The Israelites headed toward the region of Bashan, where King Og ruled, and he led his entire army to Edrei to meet Israel in battle.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Don't be afraid of Og. I will help you defeat him and his army, just as you did King Sihon who ruled in Heshbon. Og's territory will be yours.”
35 So the Israelites wiped out Og, his family, and his entire army—there were no survivors. Then Israel took over the land of Bashan.
(For the music leader. To the tune “Lily of the Promise.” A special psalm by David for teaching. He wrote it during his wars with the Arameans of northern Syria,[a] when Joab came back and killed twelve thousand Edomites[b] in Salt Valley.)
You Can Depend on God
1 (A) You, God, are angry with us!
We are rejected and crushed.
Make us strong again!
2 You made the earth shake
and split wide open;
now heal its wounds
and stop its trembling.
3 You brought hard times
on your people,
and you gave us wine
that made us stagger.
4 You gave a signal to those
who worship you,
so they could escape
from enemy arrows.[c]
5 Answer our prayers, God!
Use your powerful arm
and give us victory.
Then the people you love
will be safe.
6 Our God, you solemnly promised,
“I would gladly divide up
the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley
piece by piece.
7 The lands of Gilead
and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is the symbol
of my royal power.
8 Moab is merely my washbasin.
Edom belongs to me,
and I shout in triumph
over the Philistines.”
9 Our God, who will bring me
to the fortress,
or lead me to Edom?
10 Have you rejected us
and deserted our armies?
11 Help us defeat our enemies!
No one else can rescue us.
12 You will give us victory
and crush our enemies.
(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)
Under the Protection of God
1 Please listen, God,
and answer my prayer!
2 I feel hopeless,
and I cry out to you
from a faraway land.
Lead me to the mighty rock[d]
high above me.
3 You are a strong tower,
where I am safe
from my enemies.
4 Let me live with you forever
and find protection
under your wings, my God.
5 You heard my promises,
and you have blessed me,
just as you bless everyone
who worships you.
6 Let the king have a long
and healthy life.
7 May he always rule
with you, God, at his side;
may your love and loyalty
watch over him.
8 I will sing your praises
forever, God, and will always
keep my promises.
The Lord's Purpose and the King of Assyria
5 (A) The Lord says:
I am furious! And I will use the king of Assyria[a] as a club 6 to beat down you godless people. I am angry with you, and I will send him to attack you. He will take what he wants and walk on you like mud in the streets. 7 He has even bigger plans in mind, because he wants to destroy many nations.
8 The king of Assyria says:
My army commanders are kings! 9 They have already captured[b] the cities of Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus. 10-11 (B) The gods of Jerusalem and Samaria are weaker than the gods of those powerful nations. And I will destroy Jerusalem, together with its gods and idols, just as I did Samaria.
12 The Lord will do what he has planned against Jerusalem and Mount Zion. Then he will punish the proud and boastful king of Assyria, 13 who says:
I did these things by my own power because I am smart and clever. I attacked kings like a wild bull, and I took the land and the treasures of their nations. 14 I have conquered the whole world! And it was easier than taking eggs from an unguarded nest. No one even flapped a wing or made a peep.
15 King of Assyria, can an ax or a saw overpower the one who uses it? Can a wooden pole lift whoever holds it? 16 The mighty Lord All-Powerful will send a terrible disease to strike down your army, and you will burn with fever under your royal robes. 17 The holy God, who is the light of Israel, will turn into a fire, and in one day you will go up in flames, just like a thornbush. 18 The Lord will make your beautiful forests and fertile fields slowly rot. 19 There will be so few trees that even a young child can count them.
Only a Few Will Come Back
20 A time is coming when the survivors from Israel and Judah will completely depend on the holy Lord of Israel, instead of the nation[c] that defeated them. 21-22 (C) There were as many people as there are grains of sand along the seashore, but only a few will survive to come back to Israel's mighty God. This is because he has threatened to destroy their nation, just as they deserve. 23 The Lord All-Powerful has promised that everyone on this earth[d] will be punished.
24 Now the Lord God All-Powerful says to his people in Jerusalem:
The Assyrians will beat you with sticks and abuse you, just as the Egyptians did. But don't be afraid of them. 25 Soon I will stop being angry with you, and I will punish them for their crimes.[e] 26 I will beat the Assyrians with a whip, as I did the people of Midian near the rock at Oreb. And I will show the same mighty power that I used when I made a path through the sea in Egypt. 27 Then they will no longer rule your nation. All will go well for you,[f] and your burden will be lifted.
28 Enemy troops have reached the town of Aiath.[g] They have gone through Migron, and they stored their supplies at Michmash, 29 before crossing the valley and spending the night at Geba.[h] The people of Ramah are terrified; everyone in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, has run away. 30 Loud crying can be heard in the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and sorrowful Anathoth. 31 No one is left in Madmenah or Gebim. 32 Today the enemy will camp at Nob[i] and shake a threatening fist at Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
33 But the Lord All-Powerful
will use his fearsome might
to bring down the tallest trees
and chop off every branch.
34 With an ax, the glorious Lord
will destroy every tree
in the forests of Lebanon.[j]
Friendship with the World
4 Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn't it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? 2 You want something you don't have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won't get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it. 3 Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.
4 You people aren't faithful to God! Don't you know if you love the world, you are God's enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”?[a] 6 (A) In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say,
“God opposes everyone
who is proud,
but he blesses all who are humble
with undeserved grace.”
7 Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can't make up your mind. 9 Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad. 10 Be humble in the Lord's presence, and he will honor you.
Saying Cruel Things about Others
11 My friends, don't say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God's Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it 12 or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?
Warning against Bragging
13 (B)(C) You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!” 14 What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. 15 You should say, “If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things.” 16 Yet you are stupid enough to brag, and it is wrong to be so proud. 17 If you don't do what you know is right, you have sinned.
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