M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Meets Esau
32 When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So Jacob named that place Mahanaim.[a]
3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. 4 Jacob told the messengers, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’”
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. And he has 400 men with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him into two camps. He also divided all the flocks, herds and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp. But the other camp can run away and be saved.”
9 Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would do good to me. 10 I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick. But now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will do good to you. I will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’”
13 Jacob stayed there for the night. He prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him. 14 It was 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. 15 There were 30 female camels and their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants. Then he said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you. He will ask you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? Whose animals are these?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘These animals belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you my master, Esau. And Jacob also is coming behind us.’”
19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” Jacob thought, “If I send this gift ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gift to Esau. But Jacob stayed that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing. He took his 2 wives, his 2 slave girls and his 11 sons with him. 23 He sent his family and everything he had across the river. 24 But Jacob stayed behind alone. And a man came and wrestled with him until the sun came up. 25 The man saw that he could not defeat Jacob. So he struck Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. 26 Then the man said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”
But Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.”
27 The man said to him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “Jacob.”
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel,[b] because you have wrestled with God and with men. And you have won.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 So Jacob named that place Peniel.[c] He said, “I have seen God face to face. But my life was saved.” 31 Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place. Jacob was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals. This is because Jacob was touched there.
Jesus Heals a Man’s Crippled Hand
3 Another time when Jesus went into a synagogue, a man with a crippled hand was there. 2 Some people there wanted to see Jesus do something wrong so they could accuse him. They watched him closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day.
3 Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand up here in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked the people, “Which is right on the Sabbath day: to do good, or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?” But they said nothing to answer him.
5 Jesus was angry as he looked at the people. But he felt very sad because they were stubborn. Then he said to the man, “Let me see your hand.” The man put his hand out for Jesus, and it was healed. 6 Then the Pharisees left and began making plans with the Herodians[a] about a way to kill Jesus.
Many People Follow Jesus
7 Jesus left with his followers for the lake. A large crowd from Galilee followed him. 8 Also many people came from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from the lands across the Jordan River, and from the area of Tyre and Sidon. They came because they had heard about all the things Jesus was doing. 9 Jesus saw the crowds. So he told his followers to get a boat ready for him. He wanted the boat so that the many people would not crowd themselves against him. 10 He had healed many people. So all the sick were pushing toward him to touch him. 11 Some had evil spirits in them. When the evil spirits saw Jesus, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus strongly commanded the spirits not to tell who he was.
Jesus Chooses His 12 Apostles
13 Then Jesus went up on a hill and called some men to come to him. These were the men Jesus wanted, and they went up to him. 14 Jesus chose 12 men and called them apostles.[b] He wanted these 12 to be with him, and he wanted to send them to other places to preach. 15 He also wanted them to have the power to force demons out of people. 16 These are the 12 men he chose: Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter); 17 James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder”); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot. Judas is the one who gave Jesus to his enemies.
People Say Jesus Has a Devil
20 Then Jesus went back home. But again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 His family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind.
22 And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and used stories to teach them. He said, “Satan will not force his own demons out of people. 24 A kingdom that fights against itself cannot continue. 25 And a family that is divided cannot continue. 26 And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, then he cannot continue. And that is the end of Satan. 27 If a person wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things, first he must tie up the strong man. Then the thief can steal the things from the strong man’s house. 28 I tell you the truth. All sins that people do can be forgiven. And all the bad things people say against God can be forgiven. 29 But any person who says bad things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that continues forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that Jesus had an evil spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus. They said to him, “Your mother and brothers[c] are waiting for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Then Jesus looked at those sitting around him. He said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do the things God wants.”
The King Helps the Jews
8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther everything Haman had left when he died. Haman had been the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came in to see the king. He came because Esther had told the king how he was related to her. 2 Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman. And he gave it to Mordecai. Then Esther put Mordecai in charge of everything Haman had left when he died.
3 Once again Esther spoke to the king. She fell at the king’s feet and cried. She begged the king to stop the evil plan of Haman the Agagite. Haman had thought up the plan against the Jews. 4 The king held out the gold scepter to Esther. Esther got up and stood in front of the king.
5 She said, “My king, I hope you are pleased with me. And maybe it will please you to do this. You might think it is the right thing to do. And maybe you are happy with me. If so, let an order be written to cancel the letters Haman wrote. 6 I could not stand to see that terrible thing happen to my people. I could not stand to see my family killed.”
7 King Xerxes answered Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew. He said, “Because Haman was against the Jews, I have given his things to Esther. And my soldiers have hanged him. 8 Now write another order in the king’s name. Write it to the Jews as it seems best to you. Then seal the order with the king’s signet ring. No letter written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can be canceled.”
9 At that time the king’s secretaries were called. This was done on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is Sivan. The secretaries wrote out all of Mordecai’s orders. They wrote to the Jews and to the governors and to the captains of the soldiers in each area. And they wrote to the important men of the 127 areas which reached from India to Cush. They wrote to each area in its own form of writing. And they wrote to each group of people in their own language. They also wrote to the Jews in their own form of writing and their own language. 10 Mordecai wrote orders in the name of King Xerxes. And he sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the king’s orders by messengers on horses. The messengers rode fast horses, which were raised just for the king.
11 These were the king’s orders: The Jews in every city have the right to gather together to protect themselves. They have the right to destroy, kill and completely wipe out the army of any area or people who attack them. And they are to do the same to the women and children of that army. The Jews also have the right to take by force the property of the enemies. 12 The one day set for the Jews to do this was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. This was the month of Adar. They were allowed to do this in all the empire of King Xerxes. 13 A copy of the king’s order was to be sent out as a law in every area. It was to be made known to the people of every nation living in the kingdom. This was so the Jews would be ready on that set day. The Jews would be allowed to pay back their enemies.
14 The messengers hurried out, riding on the royal horses. The king commanded those messengers to hurry. And the order was also given in the palace at Susa.
15 Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal clothes. They were blue and white. And he had on a large gold crown. He also had a purple robe made of the best linen. And the people of Susa shouted for joy. 16 It was a time of happiness, joy, gladness and honor for the Jews. 17 The king’s order went to every area and city. And there was joy and gladness among the Jews. This happened in every area and city to which the king’s order went. The Jews were having feasts and celebrating. And many people through all the empire became Jews. They did that because they were afraid of the Jews.
3 So, do Jews have anything that other people do not have? Is there anything special about being circumcised? 2 Yes, of course, there is in every way. The most important thing is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings. 3 It is true that some Jews were not faithful to God. But will that stop God from doing what he promised? 4 No! God will continue to be true even when every person is false. As the Scriptures say:
“So your words may be shown to be right.
You are fair when you judge me.” Psalm 51:4
5 When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say that God is wrong to punish us? (I am talking as men might talk.) 6 No! If God could not punish us, then God could not judge the world.
7 A person might say, “When I lie, it really gives God glory, because my lie shows God’s truth. So why am I judged a sinner?” 8 It would be the same to say, “We should do evil so that good will come.” Some people find fault with us and say that we teach this. Those who say such things about us are wrong, and they should be punished.
All People Are Guilty
9 So are we Jews better than others? No! We have already said that Jews and non-Jews are the same. They are all guilty of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say:
“There is no one without sin. None!
11 There is no one who understands.
There is no one who looks to God for help.
12 All have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.” Psalm 14:1-3
13 “Their throats are like open graves.
They use their tongues for telling lies.” Psalm 5:9
“Their words are like snake’s poison.” Psalm 140:3
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.” Psalm 10:7
15 “They are always ready to kill people.
16 Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery.
17 They don’t know how to live in peace.” Isaiah 59:7-8
18 “They have no fear of or respect for God.” Psalm 36:1
19 The law commands many things. We know that those commands are for those who are under the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.
How God Makes People Right
21 But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. 22 God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same. 23 All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. 24 People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair. God was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26 And God gave Jesus to show today that God does what is right. God did this so that he could judge rightly and also make right any person who has faith in Jesus.
27 So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of following the law. 28 A person is made right with God through faith, not through what he does to follow the law. 29 Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of the non-Jews? 30 Of course he is, for there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith. And he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith. 31 So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.