M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Final Speeches of Moses
1 1-5 (A) This book contains the speeches that Moses made while Israel was in the land of Moab, camped near the town of Suph in the desert east of the Jordan River. The town of Paran was in one direction from their camp, and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab[a] were in the opposite direction.
Earlier, Moses had defeated the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. Moses had also defeated King Og of Bashan, who used to live in Ashtaroth for part of the year and in Edrei for the rest of the year.
Although it takes only eleven days to walk from Mount Sinai[b] to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.[c]
The First Speech: Moses Reviews the Past
The Lord's Command at Mount Sinai
The Lord had given Moses his laws for the people of Israel. And on the first day of the eleventh month,[d] Moses began explaining those laws by saying:
6 People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai,[e] the Lord our God told us:
You have stayed here long enough. 7 Leave this place and go into the land that belongs to the Amorites and their neighbors the Canaanites. This land includes the Jordan River valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Southern Desert, the Mediterranean seacoast, the Lebanon Mountains, and all the territory as far as the Euphrates River. 8 I give you this land, just as I promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now you must go and take the land.
Leaders Were Appointed
(Exodus 18.13-27)
Moses said:
9 Right after the Lord commanded us to leave Mount Sinai,[f] I told you:
Israel, being your leader is too big a job for one person. 10 The Lord our God has blessed us, and so now there are as many of us as there are stars in the sky. 11 God has even promised to bless us a thousand times more, and I pray that he will. 12 But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone. 13 Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.
14 You answered, “That's a good idea!” 15 Then I took these men, who were already wise and respected leaders, and I appointed them as your official leaders. Some of them became military officers in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10, 16 and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions:
When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn't matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community. 17 And it doesn't matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don't be afraid of anyone! No matter who shows up in your court, God will help you make a fair decision.
If any case is too hard for you, bring the people to me, and I will make the decision.
18 After I gave these instructions to the judges, I taught you the Lord's commands.
Men Were Sent To Explore the Hill Country
(Numbers 13.1-33)
Moses said to Israel:
19 The Lord had commanded us to leave Mount Sinai[g] and go to the hill country that belonged to the Amorites, so we started out into the huge desert. You remember how frightening it was, but soon we were at Kadesh-Barnea, 20-21 and I told you, “We have reached the hill country. It belongs to the Amorites now, but the Lord our God is giving it to us. He is the same God our ancestors worshiped, and he has told us to go in and take this land, so don't hesitate and be afraid.”
22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Before we go into the land, let's send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there.”
23 It seemed like a good idea, so I chose twelve men, one from each tribe. 24 They explored the hill country as far as Bunch Valley[h] 25 and even brought back some of the fruit. They said, “The Lord our God is giving us good land.”
Israel Refused To Obey the Lord
(Numbers 14.1-45)
Moses said to Israel:
26 (B) You did not want to go into the land, and you refused to obey the Lord your God. 27 You stayed in your tents and grumbled, “The Lord must hate us—he brought us out of Egypt, just so he could hand us over to the Amorites and get rid of us. 28 We are afraid, because the men who explored the land told us that the cities are large, with walls that reach to the sky. The people who live there are taller and stronger than we are,[i] and some of them are Anakim.[j] We have nowhere to go.”
29 Then I said, “Don't worry! 30 The Lord our God will lead the way. He will fight on our side, just as he did when we saw him do all those things to the Egyptians. 31 (C) And you know that the Lord has taken care of us the whole time we've been in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children.”
32 (D) But you still would not trust the Lord, 33 even though he had always been with us in the desert. During the daytime, the Lord was in the cloud, leading us in the right direction and showing us where to camp. And at night, he was there in the fire.[k]
34 (E) You had made the Lord angry, and he said:
35 You people of this generation are evil, and I refuse to let you go into the good land that I promised your ancestors. 36 Caleb son of Jephunneh is the only one of your generation that I will allow to go in. He obeyed me completely, so I will give him and his descendants the land he explored.
37 The Lord was even angry with me because of you people, and he said, “Moses, I won't let you go into the land either. 38 Instead, I will let Joshua[l] your assistant lead Israel to conquer the land. So encourage him.”
39 Then the Lord spoke to you again:
People of Israel, you said that your innocent young children would be taken prisoner in the battle for the land. But someday I will let them go into the land, and with my help they will conquer it and live there.
40 Now, turn around and go back into the desert by way of Red Sea[m] Road.
41 Then you told me, “We disobeyed the Lord our God, but now we want to obey him. We will go into the hill country and fight, just as he told us to do.” So you picked up your weapons, thinking it would be easy to take over the hill country.
42 But the Lord said, “Moses, warn them not to go into the hill country. I won't help them fight, and their enemies will defeat them.”
43 I told you what the Lord had said, but you paid no attention. You disobeyed him and went into the hill country anyway. You thought you were so great! 44 But when the Amorites in the hill country attacked from their towns, you ran from them as you would run from a swarm of bees. The Amorites chased your troops into Seir[n] as far as Hormah, killing them as they went. 45 Then you came back to the place of worship at Kadesh-Barnea and wept, but the Lord would not listen to your prayers.
Israel Spent Years in the Desert
Moses said to Israel:
46 After we had been in Kadesh for a few months, we obeyed the Lord and headed back into the desert by way of Red Sea[o] Road.
(By Asaph for the music leader.[a])
God Makes Us Strong
1 Be happy and shout to God
who makes us strong!
Shout praises to the God
of Jacob.
2 Sing as you play tambourines
and the lovely sounding
stringed instruments.
3 (A) Sound the trumpets and start
the New Moon Festival.[b]
We must also celebrate
when the moon is full.
4 This is the law in Israel,
and it was given to us
by the God of Jacob.
5 The descendants of Joseph
were told to obey it,
when God led them out
from the land of Egypt.
In a voice unknown to me,
I heard someone say:
6 “I lifted the burden
from your shoulder
and took the heavy basket
from your hands.
7 (B) When you were in trouble,
I rescued you,
and from the thunderclouds,
I answered your prayers.
Later I tested you
at Meribah Spring.[c]
8 “Listen, my people,
while I, the Lord,
correct you!
Israel, if you would only
pay attention to me!
9 (C) Don't worship foreign gods
or bow down to gods
you know nothing about.
10 I am the Lord your God.
I rescued you from Egypt.
Just ask, and I will give you
whatever you need.
11 “But, my people, Israel,
you refused to listen,
and you would have nothing
to do with me!
12 So I let you be stubborn
and keep on following
your own advice.
13 “My people, Israel,
if only you would listen
and do as I say!
14 I, the Lord, would quickly
defeat your enemies
with my mighty power.
15 Everyone who hates me
would come crawling,
and that would be the end
of them.
16 But I would feed you
with the finest bread
and with the best honey[d]
until you were full.”
(A psalm by Asaph.)
Please Do Something, God!
1 When all the other gods[e]
have come together,
the Lord God judges them
and says:
2 “How long will you
keep judging unfairly
and favoring evil people?
3 Be fair to the poor
and to orphans.
Defend the helpless
and everyone in need.
4 Rescue the weak and homeless
from the powerful hands
of heartless people.
5 “None of you know
or understand a thing.
You live in darkness,
while the foundations
of the earth tremble.[f]
6 (D) “I, the Most High God, say
that all of you are gods[g]
and also my own children.
7 But you will die,
just like everyone else,
including powerful rulers.”
8 Do something, God!
Judge the nations of the earth;
they belong to you.
Jerusalem Will Suffer
The Lord said:
29 Jerusalem, city of David,
the place of my altar,[a]
you are in for trouble!
Celebrate your festivals
year after year.
2 I will still make you suffer,
and your people will cry
when I make an altar of you.[b]
3 I will surround you and prepare
to attack from all sides.[c]
4 From deep in the earth,
you will call out for help
with only a faint whisper.
5 Then your cruel enemies
will suddenly be swept away
like dust in a windstorm.
6 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will come to your rescue
with a thundering earthquake
and a fiery whirlwind.
7 Every brutal nation
that attacks Jerusalem
and makes it suffer
will disappear like a dream
when night is over.
8 Those nations that attack
Mount Zion
will suffer from hunger
and thirst.
They will dream of food and drink
but wake up weary and hungry
and thirsty as ever.
Prophets Who Fool Themselves
9 Be shocked and stunned,
you prophets!
Refuse to see.
Get drunk and stagger,
but not from wine.
10 (A) The Lord has made you drowsy;
he put you into a deep sleep
and covered your head.
11 Now his message is like a sealed letter to you. Some of you say, “We can't read it, because it's sealed.” 12 Others say, “We can't read it, because we don't know how to read.”
13 (B) The Lord has said:
“These people praise me
with their words,
but they never really
think about me.
They worship me by repeating
rules made up by humans.
14 (C) So once again I will do things
that shock and amaze them,
and I will destroy the wisdom
of those who claim to know
and understand.”
15 You are in for trouble,
if you try to hide your plans
from the Lord!
Or if you think what you do
in the dark can't be seen.
16 (D) You have it all backwards.
A clay dish doesn't say
to the potter,
“You didn't make me.
You don't even know how.”
Hope for the Future
17 Soon the forest of Lebanon
will become a field with crops,
thick as a forest.[d]
18 The deaf will be able to hear
whatever is read to them;
the blind will be freed
from a life of darkness.
19 The poor and the needy
will celebrate and shout
because of the Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
20 All who are cruel and arrogant
will be gone forever.
Those who live by crime
will disappear,
21 together with everyone
who tells lies in court
and keeps innocent people
from getting a fair trial.
22 The Lord who rescued Abraham
has this to say
about Jacob's descendants:
“They will no longer
be ashamed and disgraced.
23 When they see how great
I have made their nation,
they will praise and honor me,
the holy God of Israel.
24 Everyone who is confused
will understand,
and all who have complained
will obey my teaching.”
1 (A) From the church leader.[a]
To my dear friend Gaius.
I love you because we follow the truth, 2 dear friend, and I pray all goes well for you. I hope you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit. 3 It makes me very happy when the Lord's followers come by and speak openly of how you obey the truth. 4 Nothing brings me greater happiness than to hear that my children[b] are obeying the truth.
Working Together
5 Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn't know before. 6 They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way God's servants deserve. 7 When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn't a follower. 8 We must support people like them, so we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth.
9 I wrote to the church. But Diotrephes likes to be the number-one leader, and he won't pay any attention to us. 10 So if I come, I will remind him of how he has been attacking us with gossip. Not only has he been doing this, but he refuses to welcome any of the Lord's followers who come by. And when other church members want to welcome them, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don't imitate the evil deeds of others, but follow the example of people who do kind deeds. They are God's children, but those who are always doing evil have never seen God.
12 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.
Final Greetings
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and then we can talk in person.
15 I pray that God will bless you with peace!
Your friends send their greetings. Please give a personal greeting to each of our friends.
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