M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Becoming a Nazirite
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites, ‘Suppose a man or woman wants to make a special promise. They want to set themselves apart to the Lord for a certain period of time. They want to be Nazirites. 3 Then they must not drink any kind of wine. They must not drink vinegar made out of wine of any kind. They must not drink grape juice. They must not eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything grapevines produce. They must not even eat the seeds or skins of grapes.
5 “ ‘They must not use razors on their heads. They must not cut their hair during the whole time they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must be holy until that time is over. They must let the hair on their heads grow long.
6 “ ‘And they must not go near a dead body during that whole time. 7 But what if their father or mother dies? Or what if their brother or sister dies? Then they must not make themselves “unclean” because of them. The hair on their heads shows they are set apart for God. 8 During the whole time they are set apart they are holy to the Lord.
9 “ ‘Suppose someone dies suddenly in front of them. That makes the hair they have set apart to the Lord “unclean.” So they must shave their heads on the day they will be made “clean.” That is the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves. Or they can bring two young pigeons. They must bring them to the priest. He will be at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The priest must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other as a burnt offering. The sacrifices will pay for the sin of the Nazirite man or woman. They sinned by being near a dead body. That same day they must make their heads holy again. 12 They must set themselves apart to the Lord again. They must do it for the same period of time they had agreed to at first. And they must bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering. The days before that do not count. That is because they became “unclean” during the time they were set apart.
13 “ ‘The time when the Nazirites are set apart will come to an end. Here is the law that applies to them at that time. They must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. 14 There they must present their offerings to the Lord. They must bring a male lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a burnt offering. Then they must bring a female lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a sin offering. And they must bring a ram that does not have any flaws. It is for a friendship offering. 15 They must sacrifice the offerings together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. And they must also bring a basket of bread made with the finest flour. The bread must be made without yeast. The offering must include thick loaves with olive oil mixed in. And it must also include thin loaves brushed with olive oil.
16 “ ‘The priest must bring all these things to the Lord. He must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 He must bring the basket of bread made without yeast. And he must sacrifice the ram. It will be a friendship offering to the Lord. The priest must bring it together with its grain offering and drink offering.
18 “ ‘Then the Nazirites must shave off the hair that shows they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must do it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And they must put the hair in the fire that burns the sacrifice of the friendship offering.
19 “ ‘After the Nazirites have shaved off their hair, the priest must take a boiled shoulder of the ram. He must remove one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket. They must be made without yeast. And he must place the shoulder and the bread in the hands of the Nazirites. 20 Then he must lift up the shoulder and bread and wave them in front of the Lord. They are a wave offering. They are holy and belong to the priest. Other parts of the ram belong to the priest as well. They are the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. After the offering is waved, the Nazirites may drink wine.
21 “ ‘This is the law of the Nazirites. They promise to sacrifice offerings to the Lord. They do it when they set themselves apart. And they should bring anything else they can afford. They must fulfill the promises they have made. They must do so according to the law of the Nazirites.’ ”
How the Priests Bless the People
22 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘Here is how I want you to bless the Israelites. Say to them,
24 “ ‘ “May the Lord bless you
and take good care of you.
25 May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
26 May the Lord look on you with favor
and give you peace.” ’
27 “In that way they will put the blessing of my name on the Israelites. And I will bless them.”
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
40 I was patient while I waited for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2 I was sliding down into the pit of death, and he pulled me out.
He brought me up out of the mud and dirt.
He set my feet on a rock.
He gave me a firm place to stand on.
3 He gave me a new song to sing.
It is a hymn of praise to our God.
Many people will see and have respect for the Lord.
They will put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the person
who trusts in the Lord.
They don’t trust in proud people.
Those proud people worship statues of gods.
5 Lord my God,
no one can compare with you.
You have done many wonderful things.
You have planned to do these things for us.
There are too many of them
for me to talk about.
6 You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings.
You didn’t require burnt offerings and sin offerings.
You opened my ears so that I could hear you and obey you.
7 Then I said, “Here I am.
It is written about me in the book.
8 My God, I have come to do what you want.
Your law is in my heart.”
9 I have told the whole community of those who worship you.
I have told them what you have done to save me.
Lord, you know
that I haven’t kept quiet.
10 I haven’t kept to myself that what you did for me was right.
I have spoken about how faithful you were when you saved me.
I haven’t hidden your love and your faithfulness
from the whole community.
11 Lord, don’t hold back your mercy from me.
May your love and faithfulness always keep me safe.
12 There are more troubles all around me than I can count.
My sins have caught up with me, and I can’t see any longer.
My sins are more than the hairs of my head.
I have lost all hope.
13 Lord, please save me.
Lord, come quickly to help me.
14 Let all those who are trying to kill me be put to shame.
Let them lose their way.
Let all those who want to destroy me
be turned back in shame.
15 Some people make fun of me.
Let them be shocked when their plans fail.
16 But let all those who seek you
be joyful and glad because of what you have done.
Let those who count on you to save them always say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But I am poor and needy.
May the Lord be concerned about me.
You are the God who helps me and saves me.
You are my God, so don’t wait any longer.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 Blessed are those who care about weak people.
When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them.
2 The Lord guards them and keeps them alive.
They are counted among those who are blessed in the land.
The Lord won’t hand them over to the wishes of their enemies.
3 The Lord will take care of them when they are lying sick in bed.
He will make them well again.
4 I said, “Lord, have mercy on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
They say, “When will he die and his name be forgotten?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he says things that aren’t true.
At the same time, he thinks up lies to tell against me.
Then he goes out and spreads those lies around.
7 All my enemies whisper to each other about me.
They want something terrible to happen to me.
8 They say, “He is sick and will die very soon.
He will never get up from his bed again.”
9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, has failed me.
I even shared my bread with him.
10 But Lord, may you have mercy on me.
Make me well, so I can pay them back.
11 Then I will know that you are pleased with me,
because my enemies haven’t won the battle over me.
12 You will take good care of me because I’ve been honest.
You will let me be with you forever.
13 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
The king says to the Shulammite woman
4 “You are so beautiful, my love!
So beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair flows like a flock of black goats
coming down from the hills of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as clean as a flock of sheep.
Their wool has just been clipped.
They have just come up from being washed.
Each of your teeth has its twin.
Not one of them is alone.
3 Your lips are like a bright red ribbon.
Your mouth is so lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck is strong and beautiful like the tower of David.
That tower is built with rows of stones.
A thousand shields are hanging on it.
All of them belong to mighty soldiers.
5 Your breasts are lovely.
They are like two young antelopes
that eat among the lilies.
6 I will go to the mountain of myrrh.
I’ll go to the hill of incense.
I’ll stay there until the day begins
and the shadows fade away.
7 Every part of you is so beautiful, my love.
There is no flaw in you.
8 “Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from the top of Mount Amana.
Come down from the top of Senir.
Come to me from the peak of Mount Hermon.
Leave the dens where the lions live.
Leave the places in the mountains where the leopards stay.
9 My bride, you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes.
My sister, you have stolen my heart
with one jewel in your necklace.
10 My bride, your love is so delightful.
My sister, your love makes me happier than wine does.
Your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 Your lips are as sweet as honey, my bride.
Milk and honey are under your tongue.
Your clothes smell like the cedar trees in Lebanon.
12 My bride, you are like a garden that is locked up.
My sister, you are like a spring of water that has a fence around it.
You are like a fountain that is sealed up.
13 You are like trees whose branches are loaded
with pomegranates, fine fruits, henna and nard,
14 with nard and saffron, cane and cinnamon.
You are like every kind of incense tree.
You have myrrh, aloes
and all the finest spices.
15 You are like a fountain in a garden.
You are like a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.”
The woman says
16 “Wake up, north wind!
Come, south wind!
Blow on my garden.
Then its sweet smell will spread everywhere.
Let my love come into his garden.
Let him taste its fine fruits.”
God’s People Enter His Sabbath Rest
4 God’s promise of enjoying his rest still stands. So be careful that none of you fails to receive it. 2 The good news was announced to our people of long ago. It has also been preached to us. The message they heard didn’t have any value for them. That’s because they didn’t share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enjoy that rest. God said,
“When I was angry, I made a promise.
I said, ‘They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ” (Psalm 95:11)
Ever since God created the world, his works have been finished. 4 Somewhere he spoke about the seventh day. He said, “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” (Genesis 2:2) 5 In the part of Scripture I talked about earlier God spoke. He said, “They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.” (Psalm 95:11)
6 It is still true that some people will enjoy this rest. But those who had the good news announced to them earlier didn’t go in. That’s because they didn’t obey. 7 So God again chose a certain day. He named it Today. He did this when he spoke through David a long time later. Here is what was written in the Scripture already given.
“Listen to his voice today.
If you hear it, don’t be stubborn.” (Psalm 95:7,8)
8 Suppose Joshua had given them rest. If he had, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 So there is still a Sabbath rest for God’s people. 10 God rested from his work. Those who enjoy God’s rest also rest from their works. 11 So let us make every effort to enjoy that rest. Then no one will die by disobeying as they did.
12 The word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than any sword that has two edges. It cuts deep enough to separate soul from spirit. It can separate bones from joints. It judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. 13 Nothing God created is hidden from him. His eyes see everything. He will hold us responsible for everything we do.
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14 We have a great high priest. He has gone up into heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold firmly to what we say we believe. 15 We have a high priest who can feel it when we are weak and hurting. We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. But he did not sin. 16 So let us boldly approach God’s throne of grace. Then we will receive mercy. We will find grace to help us when we need it.
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