M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Army Sends for the Ark
4 Israel went to fight against the Philistines and camped near Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines organized their troops to meet Israel in battle. As the battle spread, the Philistines defeated Israel and killed about 4,000 soldiers in the field.
3 When the troops came back to the camp, the leaders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord used the Philistines to defeat us today? Let’s get the ark of the Lord’s promise from Shiloh so that he may be with us and save us from our enemies.” 4 The troops sent some men who brought back the ark of the promise of the Lord of Armies—who is enthroned over the angels.[a] Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with God’s ark. 5 When the Lord’s ark came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth rang with echoes.
6 As the Philistines heard the noise, they asked, “What’s ⌞all⌟ this shouting in the Hebrew camp?” The Philistines found out that the Lord’s ark had come into the camp. 7 Then they were frightened and said, “A god has come into ⌞their⌟ camp.” They also said, “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. 8 We’re in trouble now! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the desert. 9 Be strong, Philistines, and act like men, or else you will serve the Hebrews as they served you. Act like men and fight.”
The Ark Captured
10 The Philistines fought and defeated Israel. Every ⌞Israelite⌟ soldier fled to his tent. It was a major defeat in which 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers died. 11 The ark of God was captured. Both of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front line of the battle. He went to Shiloh that day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.[b] 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on a chair beside the road, watching. He was worried about the ark of God. The man went into the city to tell the news. The whole city cried out. 14 Hearing the cry, Eli asked, “What is this commotion?” So the man went quickly to tell Eli the news. 15 (Eli was 98 years old, and his eyesight had failed so that he couldn’t see.)
16 The man told Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from the front line today.”
“What happened, son?” Eli asked.
17 “Israel fled from the Philistines,” the messenger answered. “Our troops suffered heavy casualties. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
18 When the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from his chair backwards toward the gate. He broke his neck, and he died. (The man was old and heavy.) He had judged [c] Israel for 40 years.
19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to a son. 20 As she was dying, the women helping her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer or pay attention.
21 She called the boy Ichabod [No Glory], saying, “Israel’s glory is gone,” because the ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and her husband ⌞died⌟. 22 “Israel’s glory is gone because the ark of God has been captured,” she said.
We Have God’s Approval by Faith
4 What can we say that we have discovered about our ancestor Abraham? 2 If Abraham had God’s approval because of something he did, he would have had a reason to brag. But he could not brag to God about it. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.”
4 When people work, their pay is not regarded as a gift but something they have earned. 5 However, when people don’t work but believe God, the one who approves ungodly people, their faith is regarded as the basis of God’s approval. 6 David says the same thing about those who are blessed: God approves of people without their earning it. David said,
7 “Blessed are those whose disobedience is forgiven
and whose sins are pardoned.
8 Blessed is the person whom the Lord no longer considers sinful.”
9 Are only the circumcised people blessed, or are uncircumcised people blessed as well? We say, “Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of God’s approval.” 10 How was his faith regarded as the basis of God’s approval? Was he circumcised or was he uncircumcised at that time? He had not been circumcised. 11 Abraham’s faith was the basis of his approval by God while he was still uncircumcised. The mark of circumcision is the seal of that approval. Therefore, he is the father of every believer who is not circumcised, and their faith, too, is regarded as the basis of their approval by God. 12 He is also the father of those who not only are circumcised but also are following in the footsteps of his faith. Our father Abraham had that faith before he was circumcised.
13 So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through God’s approval that comes by faith. 14 If those who obey Moses’ Teachings are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless. 15 The laws in Moses’ Teachings bring about anger. But where those laws don’t exist, they can’t be broken. 16 Therefore, the promise is based on faith so that it can be a gift.[a] Consequently, the promise is guaranteed for every descendant, not only for those who are descendants by obeying Moses’ Teachings but also for those who are descendants by believing as Abraham did. He is the father of all of us, 17 as Scripture says: “I have made you a father of many nations.”
Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist. 18 When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you will have.” 19 Abraham didn’t weaken. Through faith he regarded the facts: His body was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah was unable to have children. 20 He didn’t doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, giving honor to God ⌞for the promise⌟, he became strong because of faith 21 and was absolutely confident that God would do what he promised. 22 That is why Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God.
23 But the words “his faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God” were written not only for him 24 but also for us. Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by God—each of us who believe in the one who brought Jesus, our Lord, back to life. 25 Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.
Jeremiah Warns the People of Judah Not to Go to Egypt
42 Then all the army commanders along with Kareah’s son Johanan and Hoshaiah’s son Jezaniah and all the people, from the least important to the most important, came to the prophet Jeremiah. 2 They said to him, “Please listen to our request, and pray to the Lord your God for all of us who are left here. As you can see, there are only a few of us left. 3 Let the Lord your God tell us where we should go and what we should do.”
4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “I have listened to your request. I will pray to the Lord your God as you have requested, and I will tell you everything the Lord says. I won’t keep anything from you.”
5 They said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t do exactly what the Lord your God tells us to do. 6 We will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, whether it’s good or bad. Yes, we will obey the Lord our God so that everything will go well for us.”
7 After ten days the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. 8 So Jeremiah called Kareah’s son Johanan, all the army commanders who were with him, and all the people from the least important to the most important. 9 Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to plead your case humbly to the Lord. This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 10 Suppose you stay in this land. Then I will build you up and not tear you down. I will plant you and not uproot you. I will change my plans about the disaster I’ve brought on you. 11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Don’t be afraid of him, declares the Lord. I’m with you. I will save you and rescue you from his power. 12 I will have compassion on you. I will make him have compassion on you and return you to your land.
13 “But suppose you say, ‘We won’t stay in this land,’ and you disobey the Lord your God. 14 Then you say, ‘We’ll go to Egypt, where we won’t have to see war, hear the sound of a ram’s horn, or be hungry. We’ll stay there.’
15 “Now, listen to the Lord’s word, you people who are left in Judah. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Suppose you’re determined to go to Egypt, and you go and live there. 16 Then the wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt. The famines you dread will follow you to Egypt, and you will die there. 17 So all the people who decide to go and live in Egypt will die in wars, famines, and plagues. No one will survive or escape the disasters I will bring on them.
18 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: As my anger and my fury were poured out on those who live in Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become a curse word. You will become something ridiculed, cursed, and disgraced. You won’t see this place again.
19 “The Lord has told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. You need to know that I am warning you today. 20 You only deceived yourselves when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us, and tell us everything that the Lord our God says, and we’ll do it.’ 21 I have told you today, but you won’t obey anything the Lord your God sent me to tell you. 22 But now, you need to know that you will die in wars, famines, or plagues in the place where you want to go and live.”
For the choir director; by David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul. He said,
18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the strength of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 The Lord should be praised.
I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death had become tangled around me.
The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of the grave had surrounded me.
The clutches of death had confronted me.
6 I called on the Lord in my distress.
I cried to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked.
Even the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They shook violently because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and a raging fire came out of his mouth.
Glowing coals flared up from it.
9 He spread apart the heavens
and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.
10 He rode on one of the angels [a] as he flew,
and he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the darkness his hiding place,
the dark rain clouds his covering.
12 Out of the brightness in front of him,
those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning.
13 The Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them.
He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion.
15 Then the ocean floor could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were laid bare
at your stern warning, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from high above and took hold of me.
He pulled me out of the raging water.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
because they were too strong for me.
18 On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me,
but the Lord came to my defense.
19 He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord rewarded me
because of my righteousness,
because my hands are clean.
He paid me back
21 because I have kept the ways of the Lord
and I have not wickedly turned away from my God,
22 because all his judgments are in front of me
and I have not turned away from his laws.
23 I was innocent as far as he was concerned.
I have kept myself from guilt.
24 The Lord paid me back
because of my righteousness,
because he can see that my hands are clean.
25 ⌞In dealing⌟ with faithful people you are faithful,
with innocent people you are innocent,
26 with pure people you are pure.
⌞In dealing⌟ with devious people you are clever.
27 You save humble people,
but you bring down a conceited look.
28 O Lord, you light my lamp.
My God turns my darkness into light.
29 With you I can attack a line of soldiers.
With my God I can break through barricades.
30 God’s way is perfect!
The promise of the Lord has proven to be true.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31 Who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock except our God?
32 God arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer
and gives me sure footing on high places.
34 He trains my hands for battle
so that my arms can bend an ⌞archer’s⌟ bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand supports me.
Your gentleness makes me great.
36 You make a wide path for me to walk on
so that my feet do not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and caught up with them.
I did not return until I had ended their lives.
38 I wounded them so badly that they were unable to get up.
They fell under my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle.
You made my opponents bow at my feet.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them.
They cried out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust blown by the wind.
I threw them out as though they were dirt on the streets.
43 You rescued me from my conflicts with the people.
You made me the leader of nations.
A people I did not know will serve me:
44 As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
Foreigners will cringe in front of me.
45 Foreigners will lose heart,
and they will tremble when they come out of their fortifications.
46 The Lord lives!
Thanks be to my rock!
May God my Savior be honored.
47 God gives me vengeance!
He brings people under my authority.
48 He saves me from my enemies.
You lift me up above my opponents.
You rescue me from violent people.
49 That is why I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations
and make music to praise your name.
50 He gives great victories to his king.
He shows mercy to his anointed,
to David, and to his descendant [b] forever.
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