M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Lampstand and the Holy Bread
24 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from crushed olives. That oil is for the lamps. These lamps must never go out. 3 Aaron will keep the lamps burning in the Meeting Tent. They will burn from evening until morning before the Lord. This will be in front of the curtain of the Ark of the Covenant. This law will continue from now on. 4 Aaron must always keep the lamps burning. They are on the lampstands of pure gold before the Lord.
5 “Take fine flour and bake 12 loaves of bread with it. Use four quarts of flour for each loaf. 6 Put them in two rows on the golden table before the Lord. Six loaves will be in each row. 7 Put pure incense on each row. This is the memorial portion to take the place of the bread. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath day Aaron will put the bread in order before the Lord. This agreement with the people of Israel will continue forever. 9 That bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place. This is because it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the Lord. That bread is their share forever.”
The Man Who Cursed God
10 Now there was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father. The son was walking among the Israelites. And a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman began cursing and speaking against the Lord. So the people took him to Moses. (The mother’s name was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Debri from the family of Dan.) 12 The people held him as a prisoner. They waited for the Lord’s command to be made clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 14 “Take the one who spoke against me outside the camp. Then bring together all the people who heard him. They must put their hands on his head.[a] Then all the people must throw stones at him and kill him. 15 Tell the people of Israel this: ‘If anyone curses his God, he is guilty of sin. 16 Anyone who speaks against the Lord must be put to death. All the people must kill him by throwing stones at him. Foreigners must be punished just like the person born in Israel. If someone speaks against the Lord, he must be put to death.
17 “‘If someone kills another person, he must be put to death. 18 Someone might kill an animal that belongs to another person. If he does, he must give that person another animal to take its place. 19 And someone might cause an injury to his neighbor. If he does, the same kind of injury must be given back to him. 20 A broken bone must be paid for a broken bone, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In the same way someone injures another person, he must be injured in return. 21 So anyone who kills another person’s animal must give that person another animal to take its place. But the person who kills another person must be put to death.
22 “‘The law will be the same for the foreigner as for those from your own country. I am the Lord your God.’”
23 Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And they took the person who had cursed outside the camp. Then they killed him with stones. So the people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times
For the director of music. A song of David.
31 Lord, I trust in you.
Let me never be disgraced.
Save me because you do what is right.
2 Listen to me.
Save me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a strong city to save me.
3 You are my rock and my protection.
For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Set me free from the trap they set for me.
You are my protection.
5 I give you my life.
Save me, Lord, God of truth.
6 I hate those who worship false gods.
I trust only in the Lord.
7 I will be glad because of your love.
You saw my suffering.
You knew my troubles.
8 You have not let my enemies defeat me.
You have set me in a safe place.
9 Lord, have mercy. I am in misery.
My eyes are weak from so much crying.
My whole being is tired from grief.
10 My life is ending in sadness.
My years are spent in crying.
My troubles are using up my strength.
My bones are getting weaker.
11 Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me.
Even my neighbors look down on me.
When my friends see me,
they are afraid and run.
12 I am like a piece of a broken pot.
I am forgotten as if I were dead.
13 I have heard many insults.
Terror is all around me.
They make plans against me.
They want to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust you.
I have said, “You are my God.”
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from my enemies’ grasp.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
16 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Save me because of your love.
17 Lord, I called to you.
So do not let me be disgraced.
Let the wicked be disgraced.
Let them lie silent in the grave.
18 With pride and hatred
they speak against the righteous.
So shut their lying lips.
19 How great is your goodness!
You have stored it up for those who fear you.
You do good things for those who trust you.
You do this for all to see.
20 You protect them by your presence
from what people plan against them.
You keep them safe in your shelter
from evil words.
21 Praise the Lord.
His love to me was wonderful
when my city was attacked.
22 In my distress, I said,
“God cannot see me!”
But you heard my prayer
when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you who belong to him.
The Lord protects those who truly believe.
But he punishes the proud as much as they have sinned.
24 All you who put your hope in the Lord
be strong and brave.
Some Benefits of Serious Thinking
7 It is better to have respect than good perfume.
The day a person dies is better than the day he was born.
2 It is better to go to a funeral
than to a party.
We all must die.
Everyone living should think about this.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter.
Sadness has a good influence on you.
4 A wise man thinks about death,
but a foolish person thinks only about having a good time.
5 It is better to be criticized by a wise man
than to be praised by a foolish person.
6 The laughter of foolish people is useless.
It is like heating a pot by burning straw.
There is a lot of fire but no heat.
7 Even a wise man will become foolish
if he lets money change his thinking.
8 It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be patient
than to be proud.
9 Don’t become mad quickly,
because getting angry is foolish.
10 Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”
It is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom is as good to have as inheriting property.
It helps people see what to do.
12 Wisdom is like money.
They both help a person.
But wisdom is better than money,
because it can save a person’s life.
13 Stop and think about everything that God causes to happen.
You cannot change a thing,
even if you think it is wrong.
14 When life is good, enjoy it.
But when life is hard, remember:
God gives us good times and hard times.
And no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good
15 In my short life I have seen both of these:
I have seen good men die being good.
And I have seen evil men living a long time.
16 Don’t try to be too right all the time.
Don’t try to be too wise, either.
Why should you destroy yourself this way?
17 Don’t be too wicked.
And don’t be a foolish person.
You will die young if you do so.
18 Try to avoid going too far in doing anything.
Those who honor God will avoid doing too much of anything.
19 Wisdom gives a person strength.
One wise man is stronger than ten leaders in a city.
20 Surely there is not a good man on earth
who always does good and never sins.
21 Don’t listen to everything people say.
You might hear your servant insulting you.
22 You know that many times
you also have insulted others.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things.
I wanted to be wise,
but it was too hard for me.
24 I cannot understand why things are as they are.
It is too hard for anyone to understand.
25 I studied and tried very hard to find wisdom.
I tried to find some meaning for everything.
I learned that it is foolish to be evil.
And it is crazy to act like a fool.
26 I found that some women are worse than death.
They are as dangerous as traps.
Their love is like a net.
Their arms hold men like chains.
A man who follows God will run away from them.
But a sinner will be caught by them.
27 The Teacher says, “This is what I learned:
I added all these things together
to see if I could find some meaning for everything.
28 I am still looking for it,
but I have not found it.
But I did discover that truly good people are hard to find.
Such people are one in a million!
29 One thing I have learned:
God made people good.
But people have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
The Last Days
3 Remember this! There will be many troubles in the last days. 2 In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. 3 They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good. 4 In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God. 5 They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people. 6 Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have. 7 Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith. 9 But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.
Obey the Teachings
10 But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. 11 You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. 12 Everyone who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. 13 People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
14 But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. 17 Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.