M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah were the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. ² They went and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence and said, ³ “Our father died in the wilderness without leaving any sons. He was not among the followers of Korah, who rebelled against the Lord; he died because of his own sin. ⁴ Just because he had no sons, why should our father's name disappear from Israel? Give us property among our father's relatives.”

⁵ Moses presented their case to the Lord, ⁶ and the Lord said to him, ^7 (A)“What the daughters of Zelophehad request is right; give them property among their father's relatives. Let his inheritance pass on to them. ⁸ Tell the people of Israel that whenever a man dies without leaving a son, his daughter is to inherit his property. ⁹ If he has no daughter, his brothers are to inherit it. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, his father's brothers are to inherit it. ¹¹ If he has no brothers or uncles, then his nearest relative is to inherit it and hold it as his own property. The people of Israel are to observe this as a legal requirement, just as I, the Lord, have commanded you.”

Joshua Is Chosen as Successor to Moses^(B)

^12 (C)The Lord said to Moses, “Go up the Abarim Mountains and look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelites. ¹³ After you have seen it, you will die, as your brother Aaron did, ¹⁴ because both of you rebelled against my command in the wilderness of Zin. When the whole community complained against me at Meribah, you refused to acknowledge my holy power before them.” (Meribah is the spring at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵ Moses prayed, ¹⁶ “Lord God, source of all life, appoint, I pray, a man who can lead the people ^17 (D)and can command them in battle, so that your community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

^18 (E)The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a capable man, and place your hands on his head. ¹⁹ Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and there before them all proclaim him as your successor. ²⁰ Give him some of your own authority, so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. ^21 (F)He will depend on Eleazar the priest, who will learn my will by using the Urim and Thummim.^[a] In this way Eleazar will direct Joshua and the whole community of Israel in all their affairs.” ²² Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. He had Joshua stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community. ^23 (G)As the Lord had commanded, Moses put his hands on Joshua's head and proclaimed him as his successor.

A Prayer for Help^{[a] (A)}

The Prayer of an Elderly Person

God Will Punish Syria and Israel

17 ^(A)The Lord said, “Damascus will not be a city any longer; it will be only a pile of ruins. ² The cities of Syria will be deserted forever.^[a] They will be a pasture for sheep and cattle, and no one will drive them away. ³ Israel will be defenseless, and Damascus will lose its independence. Those Syrians who survive will be in disgrace like the people of Israel. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”

⁴ The Lord said, “A day is coming when Israel's greatness will come to an end, and its wealth will be replaced by poverty. ⁵ Israel will be like a field where the grain has been cut and harvested, as desolate as a field in Rephaim Valley when it has been picked bare. ⁶ Only a few people will survive, and Israel will be like an olive tree from which all the olives have been picked except two or three at the very top, or a few that are left on the lower branches. I, the Lord God of Israel, have spoken.”

⁷ When that day comes, people will turn for help to their Creator, the holy God of Israel. ⁸ They will no longer rely on the altars they made with their own hands, or trust in their own handiwork—symbols of the goddess Asherah and altars for burning incense.

⁹ When that day comes, well-defended cities will be deserted and left in ruins like the cities that the Hivites and the Amorites^[b] abandoned as they fled from the people of Israel.

¹⁰ Israel, you have forgotten the God who rescues you and protects you like a mighty rock. Instead, you plant sacred gardens^[c] in order to worship a foreign god. ¹¹ But even if they sprouted and blossomed the very morning you planted them, there would still be no harvest. There would be only trouble and incurable pain.

Enemy Nations Are Defeated

¹² Powerful nations are in commotion with a sound like the roar of the sea, like the crashing of huge waves. ¹³ The nations advance like rushing waves, but God reprimands them and they retreat, driven away like dust on a mountainside, like straw in a whirlwind. ¹⁴ At evening they cause terror, but by morning they are gone. That is the fate of everyone who plunders our land.

God Will Punish Ethiopia

18 ^(B)Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia^[d] there is a land where the sound of wings is heard. ² From that land ambassadors come down the Nile in boats made of reeds. Go back home, swift messengers! Take a message back to your land divided by rivers, to your strong and powerful nation, to your tall and smooth-skinned people, who are feared all over the world.

³ Listen, everyone who lives on earth! Look for a signal flag to be raised on the mountaintops! Listen for the blowing of the bugle! ⁴ The Lord said to me, “I will look down from heaven as quietly as the dew forms in the warm nights of harvest time, as serenely as the sun shines in the heat of the day. ⁵ Before the grapes are gathered, when the blossoms have all fallen and the grapes are ripening, the enemy will destroy the Ethiopians^[e] as easily as a knife cuts branches from a vine. ⁶ The corpses of their soldiers will be left exposed to the birds and the wild animals. In summer the birds will feed on them, and in winter, the animals.”

⁷ A time is coming when the Lord Almighty will receive offerings from this land divided by rivers, this strong and powerful nation, this tall and smooth-skinned people, who are feared all over the world. They will come to Mount Zion, where the Lord Almighty is worshiped.

The Flock of God

5 I, who am an elder myself, appeal to the church elders among you. I am a witness of Christ's sufferings, and I will share in the glory that will be revealed. I appeal to you ^2 (A)to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and to take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve. ³ Do not try to rule over those who have been put in your care, but be examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown which will never lose its brightness.

^5 (B)In the same way you younger people must submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” ^6 (C)Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. ^7 (D)Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that other believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings. ¹⁰ But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. ¹¹ To him be the power forever! Amen.

Final Greetings

^12 (E)I write you this brief letter with the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful Christian. I want to encourage you and give my testimony that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

^13 (F)Your sister church in Babylon,^[a] also chosen by God, sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴ Greet one another with the kiss of Christian love.

May peace be with all of you who belong to Christ.