M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

A Good Land to Be Possessed

8 “Obey faithfully all the laws that I have given you today, so that you may live, increase in number, and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you on this long journey through the desert these past forty years, sending hardships to test you, so that he might know what you intended to do and whether you would obey his commands. ^3 (A)He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that you must not depend on bread alone to sustain you, but on everything that the Lord says. ⁴ During these forty years your clothes have not worn out, nor have your feet swollen up. ^5 (B)Remember that the Lord your God corrects and punishes you just as parents discipline their children. ⁶ So then, do as the Lord has commanded you: live according to his laws and obey him. ⁷ The Lord your God is bringing you into a fertile land—a land that has rivers and springs, and underground streams gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land that produces wheat and barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. ⁹ There you will never go hungry or ever be in need. Its rocks have iron in them, and from its hills you can mine copper. ¹⁰ You will have all you want to eat, and you will give thanks to the Lord your God for the fertile land that he has given you.

Warnings against Forgetting the Lord

^11 (C)“Make certain that you do not forget the Lord your God; do not fail to obey any of his laws that I am giving you today. ¹² When you have all you want to eat and have built good houses to live in ¹³ and when your cattle and sheep, your silver and gold, and all your other possessions have increased, ¹⁴ be sure that you do not become proud and forget the Lord your God who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. ¹⁵ He led you through that vast and terrifying desert where there were poisonous snakes and scorpions. In that dry and waterless land he made water flow out of solid rock for you. ¹⁶ In the desert he gave you manna to eat, food that your ancestors had never eaten. He sent hardships on you to test you, so that in the end he could bless you with good things. ¹⁷ So then, you must never think that you have made yourselves wealthy by your own power and strength. ¹⁸ Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because he is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors. ¹⁹ Never forget the Lord your God or turn to other gods to worship and serve them. If you do, then I warn you today that you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰ If you do not obey the Lord, then you will be destroyed just like those nations that he is going to destroy as you advance.

God Our Protector

The Assyrians Threaten Jerusalem^(A)

36 In the fourteenth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² Then he ordered his chief official to go from Lachish to Jerusalem with a large military force to demand that King Hezekiah surrender. The official occupied the road where the cloth makers work, by the ditch that brings water from the upper pool. ³ Three Judeans came out to meet him: the official in charge of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah; the court secretary, Shebna; and the official in charge of the records, Joah son of Asaph. ⁴ The Assyrian official told them that the emperor wanted to know what made King Hezekiah so confident. ⁵ He demanded, “Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might? Who do you think will help you rebel against Assyria? ^6 (B)You are expecting Egypt to help you, but that would be like using a reed as a walking stick—it would break and would jab your hand. That is what the king of Egypt is like when anyone relies on him.”

⁷ The Assyrian official went on, “Or will you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God? It was the Lord's shrines and altars that Hezekiah destroyed when he told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship at one altar only. ⁸ I will make a bargain with you in the name of the emperor. I will give you two thousand horses if you can find that many riders. ⁹ You are no match for even the lowest ranking Assyrian official, and yet you expect the Egyptians to send you chariots and horsemen. ¹⁰ Do you think I have attacked your country and destroyed it without the Lord's help? The Lord himself told me to attack it and destroy it.”

¹¹ Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah told the official, “Speak Aramaic to us. We understand it. Don't speak Hebrew; all the people on the wall are listening.”

¹² He replied, “Do you think you and the king are the only ones the emperor sent me to say all these things to? No, I am also talking to the people who are sitting on the wall, who will have to eat their excrement and drink their urine, just as you will.”

¹³ Then the official stood up and shouted in Hebrew, “Listen to what the emperor of Assyria is telling you. ¹⁴ He warns you not to let Hezekiah deceive you. Hezekiah can't save you. ¹⁵ And don't let him persuade you to rely on the Lord. Don't think that the Lord will save you and that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing your city. ¹⁶ Don't listen to Hezekiah! The emperor of Assyria commands you to come out of the city and surrender. You will all be allowed to eat grapes from your own vines and figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells— ¹⁷ until the emperor resettles you in a country much like your own, where there are vineyards to give wine and there is grain for making bread. ¹⁸ Don't let Hezekiah fool you into thinking that the Lord will rescue you. Did the gods of any other nations save their countries from the emperor of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are they now, the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Did anyone save Samaria? ²⁰ When did any of the gods of all these countries ever save their country from our emperor? Then what makes you think the Lord can save Jerusalem?”

²¹ The people kept quiet, just as King Hezekiah had told them to; they did not say a word. ²² Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes in grief and went and reported to the king what the Assyrian official had said.

The Seals

6 Then I saw the Lamb break open the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice that sounded like thunder, “Come!” ^2 (A)I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown. He rode out as a conqueror to conquer.

³ Then the Lamb broke open the second seal; and I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ^4 (B)Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given the power to bring war on the earth, so that people should kill each other. He was given a large sword.

^5 (C)Then the Lamb broke open the third seal; and I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living creatures, which said, “A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages. But do not damage the olive trees and the vineyards!”

⁷ Then the Lamb broke open the fourth seal; and I heard the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ^8 (D)I looked, and there was a pale-colored horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades^[a] followed close behind. They were given authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill by means of war, famine, disease, and wild animals.

⁹ Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing. ¹⁰ They shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” ^11 (E)Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.

^12 (F)And I saw the Lamb break open the sixth seal. There was a violent earthquake, and the sun became black like coarse black cloth, and the moon turned completely red like blood. ^13 (G)The stars fell down to the earth, like unripe figs falling from the tree when a strong wind shakes it. ^14 (H)The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. ^15 (I)Then the kings of the earth, the rulers and the military chiefs, the rich and the powerful, and all other people, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and under rocks on the mountains. ^16 (J)They called out to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the eyes of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb! ^17 (K)The terrible day of their anger is here, and who can stand up against it?”