M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
4 1 Then Samuel would speak to the whole nation of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Sacred Chest
One day the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They set up camp near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines made a fierce attack. They defeated the Israelites and killed about 4,000 of them.
3 The Israelite army returned to their camp, and the leaders said, “Why did the Lord let us lose to the Philistines today? Let's get the sacred chest where the Lord's agreement with Israel is kept. Then the Lord[a] will help us and rescue us from our enemies.”
4 (A) The army sent some soldiers to bring back the sacred chest from Shiloh, because the Lord All-Powerful has his throne on the winged creatures on top of the chest.
As Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, 5 brought the chest into camp, the army cheered so loudly that the ground shook. 6 The Philistines heard the noise and said, “What are those Hebrews shouting about?”
When the Philistines learned that the sacred chest had been brought into the camp, 7 they were scared to death and said:
The gods have come into their camp. Now we're in real trouble! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. 8 We're in big trouble! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They're the same gods who made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians in the desert.
9 Philistines, be brave and fight hard! If you don't, those Hebrews will rule us, just as we've been ruling them. Fight and don't be afraid.
10 The Philistines did fight. They killed 30,000 Israelite soldiers, and all the rest ran off to their homes. 11 Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the sacred chest was captured.
Eli Dies
12 That same day a soldier from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefront to Shiloh. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show his sorrow. 13 He went into town and told the news about the battle, and everyone started crying.
Eli was afraid that something might happen to the sacred chest. So he was sitting on his chair beside the road, just waiting. 14-15 He was 98 years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying, and he asked, “What's all that noise?”
The soldier hurried over and told Eli, 16 “I escaped from the fighting today and ran here.”
“Young man, what happened?” Eli asked.
17 “Israel ran away from the Philistines,” the soldier answered. “Many of our people were killed, including your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured.”
18 Eli was still sitting on a chair beside the wall of the town gate. And when the man said that the Philistines had taken the sacred chest, Eli fell backwards. He was a very heavy old man, and the fall broke his neck and killed him. He had been a leader[b] of Israel for 40 years.
19 The wife of Phinehas was about to give birth. And soon after she heard that the sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and his father had died, her baby came. The birth was very hard, 20 and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, “Don't be afraid—it's a boy!”
She didn't pay any attention to them. 21-22 Instead she kept thinking about losing her husband and her father-in-law. So she said, “My son will be named Ichabod,[c] because the glory of Israel left our country when the sacred chest was captured.”
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,
7-8 (B) “What a blessing
when God forgives our sins
and our evil deeds.
What a blessing
when the Lord erases our sins
from his book.”
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.
42 1 Johanan, Jezaniah,[a] the other army officers, and everyone else in the group, came to me 2 and said, “Please, Jeremiah, pray to the Lord your God for us. Judah used to have many people, but as you can see, only a few of us are left. 3 Ask the Lord to tell us where he wants us to go and what he wants us to do.”
4 “All right,” I answered, “I will pray to the Lord your God, and I will tell you everything he says.”
5 They answered, “The Lord himself will be our witness that we promise to do whatever he says, 6 even if it isn't what we want to do. We will obey the Lord so that all will go well for us.”
7 Ten days later, the Lord gave me an answer for 8 Johanan, the officers, and the other people. So I called them together 9 and told them that the Lord God of Israel had said:
You asked Jeremiah to pray and find out what you should do. 10 I am sorry that I had to punish you, and so I now tell you to stay here in Judah, where I will plant you and build you up, instead of tearing you down and uprooting you. 11 Don't be afraid of the King of Babylonia. I will protect you from him, 12 and I will even force him to have mercy on you and give back your farms.
13 But you might keep on saying, “We won't stay here in Judah, and we won't obey the Lord our God. 14 We are going to Egypt, where there is plenty of food and no danger of war.”
15 People of Judah, you survived when the Babylonian army attacked. Now you are planning to move to Egypt, and if you do go, this is what will happen. 16-17 You are afraid of war, starvation, and disease here in Judah, but they will follow you to Egypt and kill you there. None of you will survive the disasters I will send.
18 I, the Lord, was angry with the people of Jerusalem and punished them. And if you go to Egypt, I will be angry and punish you the same way. You will never again see your homeland. People will be horrified at what I do to you, and they will use the name of your city as a curse word.
Jeremiah Gives a Warning
19 I told the people:
You escaped the disaster that struck Judah, but now the Lord warns you to stay away from Egypt. 20 You asked me to pray and find out what the Lord our God wants you to do, and you promised to obey him. But that was a terrible mistake, 21 because now that I have given you the Lord's answer, you refuse to obey him. 22 And so, you will die in Egypt from war, hunger, and disease.
(For the music leader. A psalm by David, the Lord's servant. David sang this to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.)
David's Song of Thanks
1 I love you, Lord God,
and you make me strong.
2 You are my mighty rock,[a]
my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon,[b]
and my place of shelter.
3 I praise you, Lord!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.
4 Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
5 Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
6 I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
7 The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry
8 and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
9 You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
10 You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.
11 Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
12 Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.
13 Lord Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.
14 You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
15 You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
16 You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
17 You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
18 On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
19 When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
20 You are good to me, Lord,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
21 I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
22 I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.
23 I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
24 You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
25 You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
26 With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
27 You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.
28 You, the Lord God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.
29 You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
30 Your way is perfect, Lord,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
31 You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.[c]
32 You give me strength
and guide me right.
33 (A) You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
34 You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
35 You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
36 You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.
37 I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
38 I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
39 You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
40 You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
41 They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
42 I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.
43 You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
44 They obey and come crawling.
45 They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.
46 You are the living Lord!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock.[d]
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
47 You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
48 You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.
49 (B) I will praise you, Lord,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
50 You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
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