M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Water Out of the Rock
17 The whole community of Israel started out from the Desert of Sin. They traveled from place to place, just as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim. But there wasn’t any water for the people to drink. 2 So they argued with Moses. They said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses replied, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there. So they told Moses they weren’t happy with him. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Did you want us, our children and our livestock to die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord. He said, “What am I going to do with these people? They are almost ready to kill me by throwing stones at me.”
5 The Lord answered Moses. “Go out in front of the people. Take some of the elders of Israel along with you. Take in your hand the walking stick you used when you struck the Nile River. Go. 6 I will stand there in front of you by the rock at Mount Horeb. Hit the rock. Then water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses hit the rock while the elders of Israel watched. 7 Moses called the place Massah and Meribah. That’s because the people of Israel argued with him there. They also tested the Lord. They asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Joshua Wins the Battle Over the Amalekites
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men. Then go out and fight against the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I’ll stand there holding the walking stick God gave me.”
10 So Joshua fought against the Amalekites, just as Moses had ordered. Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hand, the Israelites were winning. But every time he lowered his hands, the Amalekites began to win. 12 When Moses’ arms got tired, Aaron and Hur got a stone and put it under him. Then he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron was on one side, and Hur was on the other. Moses’ hands remained steady until sunset. 13 So Joshua destroyed the Amalekite army with swords.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is something to be remembered. So write it on a scroll. Make sure Joshua knows you have done it. I will completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”
15 Then Moses built an altar. He called it The Lord Is My Banner. 16 He said, “The Amalekites opposed the authority of the Lord. So the Lord will fight against the Amalekites for all time to come.”
The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned
20 One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard. He was announcing the good news to them. The chief priests and the teachers of the law came up to him. The elders came with them. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they all said. “Who gave you this authority?”
3 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 was John’s baptism from heaven? Or did it come from people?”
5 They talked to one another about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will throw stones at us and kill us. They believe that John was a prophet.”
7 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know where John’s baptism came from.”
8 Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.”
The Story of the Renters
9 Jesus went on to tell the people a story. “A man planted a vineyard,” he said. “He rented it out to some farmers. Then he went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a slave to the renters. They were supposed to give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the renters beat the slave. Then they sent him away with nothing. 11 So the man sent another slave. They beat that one and treated him badly. They also sent him away with nothing. 12 The man sent a third slave. The renters wounded him and threw him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I have a son, and I love him. I will send him. Maybe they will respect him.’
14 “But when the renters saw the son, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard. And they killed him.
“What will the owner of the vineyard do to the renters? 16 He will come and kill them. He will give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “We hope this never happens!”
17 Jesus looked right at them and said, “Here is something I want you to explain the meaning of. It is written,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.’ (Psalm 118:22)
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Jesus at once. They knew he had told that story against them. But they were afraid of the people.
Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?
20 The religious leaders sent spies to keep a close watch on Jesus. The spies pretended to be sincere. They hoped they could trap Jesus with something he would say. Then they could hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right. We know you don’t favor one person over another. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 Jesus saw they were trying to trick him. So he said to them, 24 “Show me a silver coin. Whose picture and words are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”
26 They were not able to trap him with what he had said there in front of all the people. Amazed by his answer, they became silent.
Marriage When the Dead Rise
27 The Sadducees do not believe that people rise from the dead. Some of them came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us about a man’s brother who dies. Suppose the brother leaves a wife but has no children. Then the man must marry the widow. He must provide children to carry on his dead brother’s name. 29 There were seven brothers. The first one married a woman. He died without leaving any children. 30 The second one married her. 31 And then the third one married her. One after another, the seven brothers married her. They all died. None left any children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, when the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers were married to her.”
34 Jesus replied, “People in this world get married. And their parents give them to be married. 35 But it will not be like that when the dead rise. Those who are considered worthy to take part in the world to come won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. 36 They can’t die anymore. They are like the angels. They are God’s children. They will be given a new form of life when the dead rise. 37 Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush. Even Moses showed that the dead rise. The Lord said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) 38 He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. In his eyes, everyone is alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law replied, “You have spoken well, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Jesus said to them, “Why do people say that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
43 until I put your enemies
under your control.” ’ (Psalm 110:1)
44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
45 All the people were listening. Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes. They love to be greeted with respect in the market. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. They also love to have the places of honor at banquets. 47 They take over the houses of widows. They say long prayers to show off. God will punish these men very much.”
35 Elihu continued,
2 “Job, do you think it’s fair for you to say,
‘I am the one who is right, not God’?
3 You ask him, ‘What good is it for me not to sin?
What do I get by not sinning?’
4 “I’d like to reply to you
and to your friends who are with you.
5 Look up at the heavens.
Observe the clouds that are high above you.
6 If you sin, what does that mean to God?
If you sin many times, what does that do to him?
7 If you do what is right, how does that help him?
What does he get from you?
8 The evil things you do only hurt people like yourself.
The right things you do only help other human beings.
9 “People cry out when they are treated badly.
They beg to be set free from the power of those who are over them.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is the God who made me?
He gives us songs even during the night.
11 He teaches us more than he teaches the wild animals.
He makes us wiser than the birds in the sky.’
12 He doesn’t answer sinful people when they cry out to him.
That’s because they are so proud.
13 In fact, God doesn’t listen to their empty cries.
The Mighty One doesn’t pay any attention to them.
14 So he certainly won’t listen to you.
When you say you don’t see him, he won’t hear you.
He won’t listen when you state your case to him.
He won’t pay attention even if you wait for him.
15 When you say his anger never punishes sin, he won’t hear you.
He won’t listen when you say he doesn’t pay any attention to evil.
16 So you say things that don’t mean anything.
You use a lot of words,
but you don’t know what you are talking about.”
Waiting for Our New Bodies
5 We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it. 2 During our time on earth we groan. We long to put on our house in heaven as if it were clothing. 3 Then we will not be naked. 4 While we live in this tent of ours, we groan under our heavy load. We don’t want to be naked. Instead, we want to be fully dressed with our house in heaven. What must die will be swallowed up by life. 5 God has formed us for that very purpose. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment. The Spirit makes us sure of what is still to come.
6 So here is what we can always be certain about. As long as we are at home in our bodies, we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by believing, not by seeing. 8 We are certain about that. We would rather be away from our bodies and at home with the Lord. 9 So we try our best to please him. We want to please him whether we are at home in our bodies or away from them. 10 We must all stand in front of Christ to be judged. Each one of us will be judged for what we do while in our bodies. We’ll be judged for the good things and the bad things. Then each of us will receive what we are supposed to get.
Christ Brings Us Back to God
11 We know what it means to have respect for the Lord. So we try to help other people to understand it. What we are is plain to God. I hope it is also plain to your way of thinking. 12 We are not trying to make an appeal to you again. But we are giving you a chance to take pride in us. Some people take pride in their looks rather than what’s in their hearts. If you take pride in us, you will be able to answer them. 13 Are we “out of our minds,” as some people say? If so, it is because we want to serve God. Does what we say make sense? If so, it is because we want to serve you. 14 Christ’s love controls us. We are sure that one person died for everyone. And so everyone died. 15 Christ died for everyone. He died so that those who live should not live for themselves anymore. They should live for Christ. He died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we don’t look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don’t anymore. 17 When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here! 18 All this is from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ’s death on the cross. And he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ. 19 God was bringing the world back to himself through Christ. He did not hold people’s sins against them. God has trusted us with the message that people may be brought back to him. 20 So we are Christ’s official messengers. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do. Come back to God! 21 Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.
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