M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Balaam and Balak
22 Then the people of Israel went to the plains of Moab. They camped near the Jordan River across from Jericho.
2 Balak son of Zippor saw everything the Israelites had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was scared of so many Israelites. Truly, Moab was terrified by them.
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will take everything around us. It will be like an ox eating grass.”
Balak son of Zippor was the king of Moab at this time. 5 He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor. It was near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. Balak said, “A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. They have camped next to me. 6 They are too powerful for me. So come and put a curse on them. Maybe then I can defeat them and make them leave the area. I know that if you bless someone, the blessings happen. And if you put a curse on someone, it happens.”
7 The elders of Moab and Midian went with payment in their hands. They found Balaam. Then they told him what Balak had said.
8 Balaam said to them, “Stay here for the night. I will tell you what the Lord tells me.” So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.
9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam said to God, “The king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, sent them. He sent me this message: 11 ‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. So come and put a curse on them. Then maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.’”
12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Don’t put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”
13 The next morning Balaam awoke and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your own country. The Lord will not let me go with you.”
14 So the Moabite leaders went back to Balak. They said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 So Balak sent other leaders. He sent more leaders this time. And they were more important. 16 They went to Balaam and said, “Balak son of Zippor says this: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to me. 17 I will pay you well. I will do what you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”
18 But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “King Balak could give me his palace full of silver and gold. But I cannot disobey the Lord my God in anything, great or small. 19 You stay here tonight as the other men did. I will find out what more the Lord tells me.”
20 That night God came to Balaam. He said, “These men have come to ask you to go with them. Go. But only do what I tell you.”
Balaam and His Donkey
21 Balaam got up the next morning. He put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went with the Moabite leaders. 22 But God became angry because Balaam went. So the angel of the Lord stood in the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding his donkey. And he had two servants with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. The angel had a sword in his hand. So the donkey left the road and went into the field. Balaam hit the donkey to force her back on the road.
24 Later, the angel of the Lord stood on a narrow path between two vineyards. There were walls on both sides. 25 Again the donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So the donkey walked close to one wall. This crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he hit her again.
26 The angel of the Lord went ahead again. The angel stood at a narrow place. It was too narrow to turn left or right. 27 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So she lay down under Balaam. Balaam was very angry and hit her with his stick. 28 Then the Lord made the donkey talk. She said to Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”
30 But the donkey said to Balaam, “I am your very own donkey. You have ridden me for years. Have I ever done this to you before?”
“No,” Balaam said.
31 Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel. The angel of the Lord was standing in the road with his sword drawn. Then Balaam bowed facedown on the ground.
32 The angel of the Lord asked Balaam, “Why have you hit your donkey three times? I have stood here to stop you. What you are doing is wrong. 33 The donkey saw me. She turned away from me three times. If she had not turned away, I would have killed you by now. But I would let her live.”
34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back.”
35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with these men. But say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s leaders.
36 Balak heard that Balaam was coming. So he went out to meet him at Ar in Moab. It was beside the Arnon, at the edge of his country. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “I had asked you before to come quickly. Why didn’t you come to me? I am able to reward you well.”
38 But Balaam answered, “I have come to you now. But I can’t say just anything. I can only say what God tells me to say.”
39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak offered cattle and sheep as a sacrifice. He gave some meat to Balaam and the leaders with him.
41 The next morning Balak took Balaam to Bamoth Baal. From there he could see the edge of the Israelite camp.
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of David.
62 I wait patiently for God.
Only he can save me.
2 He is my rock, who saves me.
He protects me like a strong, walled city.
I will not be defeated.
3 How long will you attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I am like a leaning wall, like a fence ready to fall.
4 You are planning to make me fall.
You enjoy telling lies about me.
With your mouth you bless me.
But in your heart you curse me. Selah
5 I wait patiently for God to save me.
Only he gives me hope.
6 He is my rock, who saves me.
He protects me like a strong, walled city.
I will not be defeated.
7 My honor and salvation come from God.
He is my mighty rock and my protection.
8 People, trust God all the time.
Tell him all your problems.
God is our protection. Selah
9 People are only a breath.
Even the greatest men are just a lie.
On the scales, they weigh nothing.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in force.
Stealing is of no use.
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God has said this,
and I have heard it over and over:
God, you are strong.
12 Lord, you are loving.
You reward a person for what he does.
Wishing to Be Near God
A song of David when he was in the desert of Judah.
63 God, you are my God.
I want to follow you.
My whole being
thirsts for you,
like a man in a dry, empty land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the Temple.
I have seen your strength and glory.
3 Your love is better than life.
I will praise you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands in prayer to your name.
5 I will be content as if I had eaten the best foods.
My lips will sing. My mouth will praise you.
6 I remember you while I’m lying in bed.
I think about you through the night.
7 You are my help.
Because of your protection, I sing.
8 I stay close to you.
You support me with your right hand.
9 Some people are trying to kill me.
But they will go down to the grave.
10 They will be killed with swords.
They will be eaten by wild dogs.
11 But the king will rejoice in his God.
All who make promises in his name will praise him.
But the mouths of liars will be shut.
The King of Peace Is Coming
11 A branch will grow
from a stump of a tree that was cut down.
So a new king will come
from the family of Jesse.[a]
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king.
The Spirit gives him wisdom, understanding, guidance and power.
And the Spirit teaches him to know and respect the Lord.
3 This king will be glad to obey the Lord.
He will not judge by the way things look.
He will not judge by what people say.
4 He will judge the poor honestly.
He will be fair in his decisions for the poor people of the land.
At his command evil people will be punished.
By his words the wicked will be put to death.
5 Goodness and fairness will give him strength.
They will be like a belt around his waist.
6 Then wolves will live in peace with lambs.
And leopards will lie down to rest with goats.
Calves, lions and young bulls will eat together.
And a little child will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together in peace.
Their young will lie down together.
Lions will eat hay as oxen do.
8 A baby will be able to play near a cobra’s hole.
A child will be able to put his hand into the nest of a poisonous snake.
9 They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the sea is full of water.
10 At that time the new king from the family of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people. The nations will come together around him. And the place where he lives will be filled with glory. 11 At that time the Lord will again reach out and take his people who are left alive. These are God’s people who are left alive in Assyria, North Egypt, South Egypt, Cush, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath and all the islands of the sea.
12 God will raise a banner as a sign for all people.
He will gather the people of Israel who were forced from their country.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
from all parts of the earth.
13 At that time Israel will not be jealous anymore.
Judah will have no enemies left.
Israel will not be jealous of Judah.
And Judah will not hate Israel.
14 But Israel and Judah will attack the Philistines on the west.
Together they will take the riches from the people of the east.
They will conquer Edom and Moab.
And the people of Ammon will be under their control.
15 The Lord will dry up
the Red Sea of Egypt.
He will wave his arm over the Euphrates River.
He will dry it up with a scorching wind.
He will divide it into seven small rivers.
And people will be able to walk across them with their sandals on.
16 So God’s people who are left alive
will have a way to leave Assyria.
It will be like the time the Israelites
went out of Egypt.
A Song of Praise to God
12 At that time you will say:
“I praise you, Lord!
You were angry with me.
But you are not angry with me now!
You have comforted me.
2 God is the one who saves me.
I trust him. I am not afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, gives me strength and makes me sing.
He has saved me.”
3 You will receive your salvation with joy.
You will take it as you would draw water from a well.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord, and worship him.
Tell everyone what he has done.
Tell them how great he is.
5 Sing praise to the Lord, because he has done great things.
Let all the world know what he has done.
6 Shout and sing for joy, you people of Jerusalem.
The Holy One of Israel does great things before your eyes.”
A Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the trouble that will come to you. 2 Your riches will rot, and your clothes will be eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver will rust, and rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. 4 Men worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They harvested your crops and are crying out against you. Now the Lord of heaven’s armies has heard their cries. 5 Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. 6 You showed no mercy to the innocent man. You murdered him. He cannot stand against you.
Be Patient
7 Brothers, be patient until the Lord comes again. A farmer is patient. He waits for his valuable crop to grow from the earth. He waits patiently for it to receive the first rain and the last rain. 8 You, too, must be patient. Do not give up hope. The Lord is coming soon. 9 Brothers, do not complain against each other. If you do not stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come! 10 Brothers, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they were patient. 11 We say they are happy because they were able to do this. You have heard about Job’s patience. You know that after all his trouble, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.
Be Careful What You Say
12 My brothers, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.
The Power of Prayer
13 If one of you is having troubles, he should pray. If one of you is happy, he should sing praises. 14 If one of you is sick, he should call the church’s elders. The elders should pour oil on him[a] in the name of the Lord and pray for him. 15 And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will heal him. And if he has sinned, God will forgive him. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. When a good man prays, great things happen. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! 18 Then Elijah prayed again. And the rain came down from the sky, and the land grew crops again.
Saving a Soul
19 My brothers, one of you may wander away from the truth. And someone may help him come back. 20 Remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death. By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.