M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Samuel's Farewell Speech
12 Samuel told the Israelites:
I have given you a king, just as you asked. 2 You have seen how I have led you ever since I was a young man. I'm already old. My hair is gray, and my own sons are grown. Now you must see how well your king will lead you.
3 (A) Let me ask this. Have I ever taken anyone's ox or donkey or forced you to give me anything? Have I ever hurt anyone or taken a bribe to give an unfair decision? Answer me so the Lord and his chosen king can hear you. And if I have done any of these things, I will give it all back.
4 “No,” the Israelites answered. “You've never cheated us in any way!”
5 Samuel said, “The Lord and his chosen king are witnesses to what you have said.”
“That's true,” they replied.
6 (B) Then Samuel told them:
The Lord brought your ancestors out of Egypt and chose Moses and Aaron to be your leaders. 7 Now the Lord will be your judge. So stand here and listen, while I remind you how often the Lord has saved you and your ancestors from your enemies.
8 (C) After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and led them here to settle this land. 9 (D) But your ancestors forgot the Lord, so he let them be defeated by the Philistines, the king of Moab, and Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army.
10 (E)(F) Again your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have sinned! We stopped worshiping you, our Lord, and started worshiping Baal and Astarte. But now, if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you.”
11 (G) The Lord sent Gideon,[a] Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to rescue you from your enemies, and you didn't have to worry about being attacked. 12 (H) Then you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was going to attack you. And even though the Lord your God is your king, you told me, “This time it's different. We want a king to rule us!”
13 You asked for a king, and you chose one. Now he stands here where all of you can see him. But it was really the Lord who made him your king. 14 If you and your king want to be followers of the Lord, you must worship him[b] and do what he says. Don't be stubborn! 15 If you're stubborn and refuse to obey the Lord, he will turn against you and your king.[c]
16 Just stand here and watch the Lord show his mighty power. 17 Isn't this the dry season?[d] I'm going to ask the Lord to send a thunderstorm. When you see it, you will realize how wrong you were to ask for a king.
18 Samuel prayed, and that same day the Lord sent a thunderstorm. Everyone was afraid of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 They told Samuel, “Please, pray to the Lord your God for us! We don't want to die. We have sinned many times in the past, and we were very wrong to ask for a king.”
20 Samuel answered:
Even though what you did was wrong, you don't need to be afraid. But you must always follow the Lord and worship him with all your heart. 21 Don't worship idols! They don't have any power, and they can't help you or save you when you're in trouble. 22 But the Lord has chosen you to be his own people. He will always take care of you so that everyone will know how great he is.
23 I would be disobeying the Lord if I stopped praying for you! I will always teach you how to live right. 24 You also must obey the Lord—you must worship him with all your heart and remember the great things he has done for you. 25 But if you and your king do evil, the Lord will wipe you out.
10 Dear friends, my greatest wish and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know they love God, but they don't understand 3 what makes people acceptable to him. So they refuse to trust God, and they try to be acceptable by obeying the Law. 4 But Christ makes the Law no longer necessary[a] for those who become acceptable to God by faith.
Anyone Can Be Saved
5 (A) Moses said a person could become acceptable to God by obeying the Law. He did this when he wrote, “If you want to live, you must do all the Law commands.”
6 (B) But people whose faith makes them acceptable to God will never ask, “Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?” 7 Neither will they ask, “Who will go down into the world of the dead to raise him to life?”
8 All who are acceptable because of their faith simply say, “The message is as near as your mouth or your heart.” And this is the same message we preach about faith. 9 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. 10 God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others.
11 (C) The Scriptures say no one who has faith will be disappointed, 12 no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. 13 (D) All who call out to the Lord will be saved.
14 How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? 15 (E) And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news. 16 (F) Yet not everyone has believed the message. For example, the prophet Isaiah asked, “Lord, has anyone believed what we said?”
17 No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ. 18 (G) But am I saying that the people of Israel did not hear? No, I am not! The Scriptures say,
“The message was told
everywhere on earth.
It was announced
all over the world.”
19 (H) Did the people of Israel understand or not? Moses answered this question when he told that the Lord had said,
“I will make Israel jealous
of people
who are a nation
of nobodies.
I will make them angry
with people
who don't understand
a thing.”
20 (I) Isaiah was fearless enough to tell that the Lord had said,
“I was found by people
who were not looking
for me.
I appeared to the ones
who were not asking
about me.”
21 (J) And Isaiah said about the people of Israel,
“All day long the Lord
has reached out
to people who are stubborn
and refuse to obey.”
What the Lord Says about Ammon
49 (A) The Lord has this to say about the nation of Ammon:
The people of Israel
have plenty of children
to inherit their lands.
So why have you worshipers
of the god Milcom[a]
taken over towns and land
belonging to the tribe of Gad?
2 Someday I will send an army
to attack you in Rabbah,
your capital city.
It will be left in ruins,
and the surrounding villages
will lie in ashes.
You took some of Israel's land,
but on that day
Israel will take yours!
3 Cry, people of Heshbon;[b]
your town will become
a pile of rubble.[c]
You will turn here and there,
but your path will be blocked.[d]
Put on sackcloth[e] and mourn,
you citizens of Rabbah,
because the idol you worship[f]
will be taken
to a foreign country,
along with its priests
and temple officials.
4 You rebellious Ammonites
trust your wealth and ask,
“Who could attack us?”
But I warn you not to boast
when your strength is fading.[g]
5 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will send neighboring nations
to strike you with terror.
You will be scattered,
with no one to care
for your refugees.
6 Yet someday, I will bring
your people back home.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Edom
7 (B)(C) The Lord All-Powerful says about Edom:
Wisdom and common sense
have vanished from Teman.[h]
8 I will send disaster to punish
you descendants of Esau,[i]
so anyone from Dedan[j]
had better turn around
and run back home.[k]
9 People who harvest grapes
leave some for the poor.
Thieves who break in at night
take only what they want.
10 But I will take everything
that belongs to you,
people of Edom,
and I will uncover every place
where you try to hide.
Then you will die,
and so will your children,
relatives, and neighbors.
11 But I can be trusted
to care for your orphans
and widows.
12 Even those nations that don't deserve to be punished will have to drink from the cup of my anger. So how can you possibly hope to escape? 13 I, the Lord, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah[l] and all your towns will suffer a horrible fate. They will lie in ruins forever, and people will use the name “Bozrah” as a curse word.
14 I have sent a messenger
to command the nations
to prepare for war
against you people of Edom.
15 Your nation will be small,
yet hated by other nations.
16 Pride tricks you into thinking
that other nations
look at you with fear.[m]
You live along the cliffs
and high in the mountains
like the eagles,
but I am the Lord,
and I will bring you down.
17 People passing by your country
will be shocked and horrified
to see a disaster
18 (D) as bad as the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah
and towns nearby.
The towns of Edom will be empty.
19 (E) I, the Lord, will attack you
like a lion from the forest,
attacking sheep in a meadow
along the Jordan.
In a moment the flock runs,
and the land is empty.
Who will I choose to attack you?
I will do it myself!
No one can force me to fight
or chase me away.
20 Listen to my plans for you,
people of Edom.[n]
Your children will be dragged off
and your country destroyed.
21 The sounds of your destruction
will reach the Red Sea[o]
and cause the earth to shake.
22 An enemy will swoop down
to attack you,
like an eagle spreading its wings
and circling over Bozrah.
Your warriors will be as fearful
as women giving birth.[p]
What the Lord Says about Damascus
23 (F) The Lord says about Damascus:
The towns of Hamath and Arpad[q]
have heard your bad news.
They have lost hope,
and worries roll over them
like ocean waves.[r]
24 You people of Damascus
have lost your courage,
and in panic you turn to run,
gripped by fear and pain.[s]
25 Once I was pleased
with your famous city.
But now I warn you, “Escape
while you still can!”[t]
26 Soon, even your best soldiers
will lie dead in your streets.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
27 I will set fire to your city walls
and burn down the fortresses
King Benhadad built.
Nebuchadnezzar and the People of the Desert
28 Here is what the Lord says about the Kedar tribe and the desert villages[u] that were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar[v] of Babylonia:
Listen, you people of Kedar
and the other tribes
of the eastern desert.
I have told Nebuchadnezzar
to attack and destroy you.
29 His fearsome army
will surround you,
taking your tents and possessions,
your sheep and camels.
30 Run and hide,
you people of the desert
who live in villages![w]
Nebuchadnezzar has big plans
for you.
31 You have no city walls
and no neighbors to help,
yet you think you're safe—
so I told him to attack.
32 Then your camels
and large herds
will be yours no longer.
People of the Arabian Desert,[x]
disaster will strike you
from every side,
and you will be scattered
everywhere on earth.
33 Only jackals[y] will live
where your villages[z] once stood.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
What the Lord Says about Elam
34-35 Not long after Zedekiah[aa] became king of Judah, the Lord told me to say:
People of Elam,[ab]
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will kill the archers
who make your army strong.
36 Enemies will attack
from all directions,
and you will be led captive
to every nation on earth.
37 Their armies will crush
and kill you,
and you will face the disaster
that my anger brings.
38 Your king and his officials
will die, and I will rule
in their place.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
39 But I promise that someday
I will bring your people
back to their land.
(By David.)
The Prayer of an Innocent Person
1 Show that I am right, Lord!
I stay true to myself,
and I have trusted you
without doubting.
2 Test my thoughts and find out
what I am like.
3 I never forget your kindness,
and I am always faithful
to you.[a]
4 I don't spend my time
with worthless liars
5 or go with evil crowds.
6 I wash my hands, Lord,
to show my innocence,
and I worship at your altar,
7 while gratefully singing
about your wonders.
8 I love the temple
where you live, and where
your glory shines.
9 Don't sweep me away,
as you do sinners.
Don't punish me with death
as you do those people
who are brutal
10 or full of meanness
or who bribe others.
11 I stay true to myself.
Be kind and rescue me.
12 Now I stand on solid ground!
And when your people meet,
I will praise you, Lord.
(By David.)
A Prayer of Praise
1 You, Lord, are the light
that keeps me safe.
I am not afraid of anyone.
You protect me,
and I have no fears.
2 Brutal people may attack
and try to kill me,
but they will stumble.
Fierce enemies may attack,
but they will fall.
3 Armies may surround me,
but I won't be afraid;
war may break out,
but I will trust you.
4 I ask only one thing, Lord:
Let me live in your house
every day of my life
to see how wonderful you are
and to pray in your temple.
5 In times of trouble, Lord,
you will protect me.
You will hide me in your tent
and keep me safe
on top of a mighty rock.[b]
6 You will let me defeat
all my enemies.
Then I will celebrate,
as I enter your tent
with animal sacrifices
and songs of praise.
7 Please listen when I pray!
Have pity. Answer my prayer.
8 My heart tells me to pray.
I am eager to see your face,
9 so don't hide from me.
I am your servant, Lord,
and you have helped me.
Don't turn from me in anger.
You alone keep me safe.
Don't reject or desert me.
10 Even if my father and mother
should desert me,
you will take care of me.
11 Teach me to follow, Lord,
and lead me on the right path
because of my enemies.
12 Don't let them do to me
what they want.
People tell lies about me
and make violent threats,
13 but I know I will live
to see how kind you are.
14 Trust the Lord!
Be brave and strong
and trust the Lord.
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