M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Rules for Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron. Tell them, ‘A priest must not make himself “unclean” by going near the dead body of any of his people. ² But he can go near the body of a close relative. It could be his mother, father, son, daughter or brother. ³ He can also go near a sister who is not married. She would have depended on him because she did not have a husband. The priest can make himself “unclean” by going near her body. ⁴ But he must not make himself “unclean” by going near the bodies of people only related to him by marriage. Going near them would make him “unclean.”

⁵ “ ‘Priests must not shave any part of their heads. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not make cuts on their bodies when someone dies. ⁶ Priests must be holy. They must be set apart for me. I am their God. They must not treat my name as if it were not holy. They must be holy because they bring food offerings to me. That is my food.

⁷ “ ‘They must not get married to women who are “unclean” because they are prostitutes. They must not marry women who are divorced from their husbands. That is because priests are holy. They are set apart for me. I am their God. ⁸ Consider them as holy, because they offer up food to me. Consider them as holy, because I am holy. I am the Lord. I make you holy.

⁹ “ ‘Suppose a priest’s daughter makes herself “unclean” by becoming a prostitute. Then she brings shame on her father. She must be burned to death.

¹⁰ “ ‘The high priest is the one among his brothers whose head has been anointed with olive oil. He has been appointed to wear the priest’s clothes. When someone dies, the high priest must not let his own hair hang loose. He must not tear his clothes to show how sad he is. ¹¹ He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself “unclean,” even if his father or mother dies. ¹² He must not leave the sacred tent of the Lord to take part in burying a body. That would bring shame on the tent. The anointing oil has set the high priest apart. I am the Lord.

¹³ “ ‘The woman the high priest gets married to must be a virgin. ¹⁴ He must not marry a widow or a woman who is divorced. He must not marry a woman who is “unclean” because she is a prostitute. He must only marry a virgin. She must come from his own people. ¹⁵ If he doesn’t marry a virgin, he makes the children he has by her “unclean.” I am the Lord. I make him holy.’ ”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Speak to Aaron. Tell him, ‘No man in your family line with any flaws may come near to offer food to the Lord. This is true for all time to come. ¹⁸ No man who has any flaws can come near. No man who is blind or disabled can come. No man whose body is scarred or twisted can come. ¹⁹ No man whose foot or hand is disabled can come. ²⁰ No man whose back is bent can come. No man who is too short can come. No man who has anything wrong with his eyes can come. No man who has boils or running sores can come. No man whose sex glands are crushed can come. ²¹ No man with any flaws who is in the family line of Aaron the priest may come near me. He can’t come to bring the food offerings to the Lord. If he has any flaws, he must not come near to offer food to the Lord. ²² He can eat the holy food. He can also eat my very holy food. ²³ But because he has a flaw, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar. If he does, he will make my sacred tent “unclean.” I am the Lord. I make everything holy.’ ”

²⁴ So Moses told all these things to Aaron and his sons. He also told them to all the Israelites.

A psalm of David.

A psalm of David.

Suffering, Hard Work and No Friends

4 I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth.

⁴ I also saw that a person works hard and accomplishes a lot. But they do it only because they want what another person has. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.

⁷ Again I saw something on earth that didn’t mean anything.

Getting Ahead Is Meaningless

¹³ A poor but wise young man is better off than an old but foolish king. That king doesn’t pay attention to a warning anymore. ¹⁴ The young man might have come from prison to become king. Or he might have been born poor within the kingdom but still became king. ¹⁵ I saw that everyone was following the young man who had become the new king. ¹⁶ At first, all the people served him when he became king. But those who came later weren’t pleased with the way he was ruling. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.

6 All who are forced to serve as slaves should consider their masters worthy of full respect. Then people will not speak evil things against God’s name and against what we teach. ² Some slaves have masters who are believers. They shouldn’t show their masters disrespect just because they are also believers. Instead, they should serve them even better. That’s because their masters are loved by them as believers. These masters are committed to caring for their slaves.

People Who Teach Lies or Love Money

These are the things you are to teach. Try hard to get the believers to do them. ³ Suppose someone teaches something different than I have taught. Suppose that person doesn’t agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Suppose they don’t agree with godly teaching. ⁴ Then that person is proud and doesn’t understand anything. They like to argue more than they should. They can’t agree about what words mean. All of this results in wanting what others have. It causes fighting, harmful talk, and evil distrust. ⁵ It stirs up trouble all the time among people whose minds are twisted by sin. The truth they once had has been taken away from them. They think they can get rich by being godly.

⁶ You gain a lot when you live a godly life. But you must be happy with what you have. ⁷ We didn’t bring anything into the world. We can’t take anything out of it. ⁸ If we have food and clothing, we will be happy with that. ⁹ People who want to get rich are tempted. They fall into a trap. They are tripped up by wanting many foolish and harmful things. Those who live like that are dragged down by what they do. They are destroyed and die. ¹⁰ Love for money causes all kinds of evil. Some people want to get rich. They have wandered away from the faith. They have wounded themselves with many sorrows.

Paul Gives a Final Command to Timothy

¹¹ But you are a man of God. Run away from all these things. Try hard to do what is right and godly. Have faith, love and gentleness. Hold on to what you believe. ¹² Fight the good fight along with all other believers. Take hold of eternal life. You were chosen for it when you openly told others what you believe. Many witnesses heard you. ¹³ God gives life to everything. Christ Jesus told the truth when he was a witness in front of Pontius Pilate. In the sight of God and Christ, I give you a command. ¹⁴ Obey it until our Lord Jesus Christ appears. Obey it completely. Then no one can find fault with it or you. ¹⁵ God will bring Jesus back at a time that pleases him. God is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the greatest King of all. He is the most powerful Lord of all. ¹⁶ God is the only one who can’t die. He lives in light that no one can get close to. No one has seen him. No one can see him. Honor and power belong to him forever. Amen.

¹⁷ Command people who are rich in this world not to be proud. Tell them not to put their hope in riches. Wealth is so uncertain. Command those who are rich to put their hope in God. He richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ Command the rich to do what is good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. They must give freely. They must be willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way, they will store up true riches for themselves. It will provide a firm basis for the next life. Then they will take hold of the life that really is life.

²⁰ Timothy, guard what God has trusted you with. Turn away from godless chatter. Stay away from opposing ideas that are falsely called knowledge. ²¹ Some people believe them. By doing that they have turned away from the faith.

May God’s grace be with you all.