M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Aaron’s Walking Stick Buds
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 walking sticks from them. Get 1 from the leader of each tribe. Write the name of each man on his stick. 3 On the stick from Levi, write Aaron’s name. There must be 1 stick for the head of each tribe. 4 Put them in the Meeting Tent. Place them in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I meet with you. 5 I will choose one man. His stick will begin to grow leaves. And I will stop the Israelites from always complaining against you.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of the 12 leaders gave him a walking stick. And Aaron’s walking stick was among them. 7 Moses put them before the Lord in the Tent of the Agreement.
8 The next day Moses entered the Tent. He saw that Aaron’s stick had grown leaves. (It stood for the family of Levi.) It had even budded, blossomed and produced almonds. 9 So Moses brought out to the Israelites all the walking sticks from the Lord’s presence. They all looked, and each man took back his stick.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s walking stick back. Put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant. It will be a sign to these people who are always turning against me. This will stop their complaining against me. Now they won’t die.” 11 So Moses obeyed what the Lord commanded him.
12 The people of Israel said to Moses, “We are going to die! We are lost. We are all lost! 13 Anyone who even comes near the Holy Tent of the Lord will die. Will we all die?”
The Work of the Priests and Levites
18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are now responsible for any wrongs done against the Holy Place. You and your sons are responsible for any wrongs done against the priests. 2 Bring with you your fellow Levites from your tribe. They will help you and your sons serve in the Tent of the Agreement. 3 They are under your control. They will do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or near the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. 4 They will join you. They will take care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent. No one else may come near you.
5 “You must take care of the Holy Place and the altar. Then I won’t become angry with the Israelites again. 6 I myself chose your fellow Levites from among the Israelites. They are a gift given for you to the Lord. Their work is at the Meeting Tent. 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests. Only you may serve at the altar or go behind the curtain. I am giving you this gift of serving as a priest. Anyone else who comes near the Holy Place will be put to death.”
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself make you responsible for the offerings given to me. All the holy offerings that the Israelites give to me, I give to you. They are for you and your sons as your share. They will be your continual portion. 9 Your share of the holy offerings is that part which is not burned. The people will bring me gifts as most holy offerings. These are grain or sin or penalty offerings. These will be set apart for you and your sons. 10 You must eat it in a most holy place. Any male may eat it. But you must respect it as holy.
11 “I also give you the offerings the Israelites present to me. I give these to you and your sons and daughters. This is your share. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat it.
12 “And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. This is what the Israelites give to me, the Lord. These are the first things they harvest. 13 They bring to the Lord all the first things they harvest. They will be yours. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat these things.
14 “Everything in Israel that is given to the Lord is yours. 15 The first one born to any family will be offered to the Lord. This is true for both men and animals. And that will be yours. But you must make a payment for every firstborn son and every firstborn animal that is unclean. 16 When they are one month old, you must make a payment for them. The cost will be two ounces of silver as set by the Holy Place measure.
17 “But you must not make a payment for the firstborn ox or sheep or goat. Those animals are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat. This is an offering made by fire. The smell is pleasing to the Lord. 18 But the meat will be yours. Also the breast that is presented and the right thigh will be yours. 19 Anything the Israelites present as holy gifts I, the Lord, give to you. It goes to you, your sons and daughters. It is your continual portion. This is a lasting promise before the Lord to you and your children forever.”
20 The Lord also said to Aaron, “You will not inherit any of the land. And you will not own any land among the other people. I will be yours. Out of all the Israelites, only you will inherit me.
21 “The people of Israel will give a tenth of what they make. I give that tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work they do serving at the Meeting Tent. 22 But the other Israelites must never go near the Meeting Tent. If they do, they will die for their sin. 23 Only the Levites should work in the Meeting Tent. They are responsible for any sins against it. This is a rule from now on. The Levites will not get any land among the other Israelites. 24 But the Israelites will give a tenth of everything they make to me. And I will give that tenth to the Levites. That is why I said about the Levites: ‘They will not get any land among the Israelites.’”
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites. Tell them: ‘You will receive a tenth of everything the Israelites make. I give that to you. But you must give a tenth of that back to the Lord. 27 I will accept your offering just as much as I accept the offerings from others. They give new grain or new wine. 28 In this way you will present an offering to the Lord as the other Israelites do. You will receive a tenth from the Israelites. Then you will give a tenth of that to Aaron the priest as the Lord’s share. 29 Choose the best and holiest part from what you are given. This is the portion you must give to the Lord.’
30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best it will be accepted as much as the grain and wine from the other people. 31 You and your families may eat all that is left anywhere. This is your pay for your work in the Meeting Tent. 32 And if you always give the best part to the Lord, you will never be guilty. If you do not sin against the holy offerings of the Israelites, you will not die.’”
A Prayer About a False Friend
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
55 God, listen to my prayer.
Do not ignore my prayer.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am troubled and upset
3 by what the enemy says
and how the wicked look at me.
They bring troubles down on me.
In anger they attack me.
4 I am frightened inside.
The terror of death has attacked me.
5 I am scared and shaking.
Terror grips me.
6 I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove.
Then I would fly away and rest.
7 I would wander far away.
I would stay in the desert. Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of escape,
far away from the wind and storm.”
9 Lord, destroy and confuse their words.
I see violence and fighting in the city.
10 Day and night they are all around its walls.
Evil and trouble are everywhere inside.
11 Destruction is everywhere in the city.
Trouble and lying never leave its streets.
12 It was not an enemy insulting me.
I could stand that.
It was not someone who hated me.
I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a person like me.
You were my companion and good friend.
14 We had a good friendship.
We went together to God’s Temple.
15 Let death take away my enemies.
Let them die while they are still young
because evil lives with them.
16 But I will call to God for help.
And the Lord will save me.
17 Morning, noon and night I am troubled and upset.
But he will listen to me.
18 Many are against me.
But he keeps me safe in battle.
19 God who lives forever
will hear me and punish them.
But they will not change.
They do not fear God. Selah
20 The one who was my friend attacks his friends.
He breaks his promises.
21 His words are slippery like butter.
But war is in his heart.
His words are smoother than oil,
but they cut like knives.
22 Give your worries to the Lord.
He will take care of you.
He will never let good people down.
23 But, God, you will bring down
the wicked to the grave.
Murderers and liars will live
only half a lifetime.
But I will trust in you.
Trouble with Aram
7 Now Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin and Pekah went up to Jerusalem to fight against it. Rezin was king of Aram. And Pekah son of Remaliah was king of Israel. But they were not able to defeat the city.
2 A message was told to Ahaz king of Judah. It said, “The armies of Aram and Israel[a] have joined together.”
When Ahaz heard this, he and the people became very frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blown by the wind.
3 Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear-Jashub should go out and talk to Ahaz. Go to the place where the water flows into the upper pool. This is on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 4 Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful. Be calm, and don’t be afraid. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah’s son Pekah, scare you. Don’t be afraid of their anger and Aram’s anger. Those two men are as weak as two barely burning sticks that are ready to go out. 5 They have made plans against you. They said, 6 “Let’s fight against Judah and tear it apart. We will divide Judah for ourselves. We will make the son of Tabeel the new king of Judah.” 7 But I, the Lord God, say,
Their plan will not succeed.
It will not happen.
8 That is because Aram is led by the city of Damascus.
And Damascus is led by its weak king, Rezin.
Within 65 years Israel will no longer be a nation.
9 Israel is led by the city of Samaria,
and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah.
If your faith is not strong,
then you will not have strength to last.’”
Immanuel—God Is with Us
10 Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again. 11 The Lord said, “Ask for a sign to prove to yourself that these things are true. It may be a sign from as deep as the place where the dead are or as high as the heavens.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Ahaz, descendant of David, listen very carefully! Isn’t it bad enough that you wear out the patience of people? Do you have to wear out the patience of my God also? 14 But the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin[b] will be pregnant. She will have a son, and she will name him Immanuel.[c] 15 He will be eating milk curds and honey when he learns to reject what is evil and to choose what is good. 16 You are afraid of the kings of Israel and Aram now. But before the child learns what is good and what is evil, the lands of Israel and Aram will be empty. 17 The Lord will bring some troubled times to you. Those troubles will come to your people and to the people of your father’s family. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria to fight against you.
18 “At that time the Lord will whistle to call for the Egyptians. And they will come like flies from the streams of Egypt. The Lord will call for the Assyrians. And they will come like bees from the land of Assyria. 19 These enemies will camp in the deep ravines and in the cliffs. They will camp by the thornbushes and watering holes. 20 The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor. It will be as if the Lord is shaving the hair from Judah’s head and legs and is shaving off Judah’s beard.
21 “At that time a person will be able to keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. 22 There will be only enough milk for that person to eat milk curds. All who remain in the land will go back to eating only milk curds and honey. 23 In this land there are now vineyards that have 1,000 grapevines. These grapevines are worth about 25 pounds of silver. But these fields will become full of weeds and thorns. 24 The land will become wild and useful only as a hunting ground. 25 People once worked and grew food on these hills. But at that time people will not go there. The land will be filled with weeds and thorns. Only sheep and cattle will go to those places.”
Faith and Wisdom
1 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world:
Greetings.
2 My brothers, you will have many kinds of troubles. But when these things happen, you should be very happy. 3 You know that these things are testing your faith. And this will give you patience. 4 Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete. You will have everything you need. 5 But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. God is generous. He enjoys giving to all people, so God will give you wisdom. 6 But when you ask God, you must believe. Do not doubt God. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down. 7-8 He who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
True Riches
9 If a believer is poor, he should take pride that God has made him spiritually rich. 10 If he is rich, he should take pride that God has shown him that he is spiritually poor. The rich person will die like a wild flower in the grass. 11 The sun rises and becomes hotter and hotter. The heat makes the plants very dry, and the flower falls off. The flower was beautiful, but now it is dead. It is the same with a rich person. While he is still taking care of his business, he will die.
Temptation Is Not from God
12 When a person is tempted and still continues strong, he should be happy. After he has proved his faith, God will reward him with life forever. God promised this to all people who love him. 13 When someone is being tempted, he should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. 14 It is the evil that a person wants that tempts him. His own evil desire leads him away and holds him. 15 This desire causes sin. Then the sin grows and brings death.
16 My dear brothers, do not be fooled about this. 17 Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars. God does not change like their shifting shadows. 18 God decided to give us life through the word of truth. He wanted us to be the most important of all the things he made.
Listening and Obeying
19 My dear brothers, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily. 20 Anger will not help you live a good life as God wants. 21 So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong you do. Don’t be proud but accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save your souls.
22 Do what God’s teaching says; do not just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 A person who hears God’s teaching and does nothing is like a man looking in a mirror. 24 He sees his face, then goes away and quickly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the truly happy person is the one who carefully studies God’s perfect law that makes people free. He continues to study it. He listens to God’s teaching and does not forget what he heard. Then he obeys what God’s teaching says. When he does this, it makes him happy.
The True Way to Worship God
26 A person might think he is religious. But if he says things he should not say, then he is just fooling himself. His “religion” is worth nothing. 27 Religion that God the Father accepts is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help; and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of religion that God accepts as pure and good.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.