M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Levites Receive Their Towns
35 On the plains of Moab, the Lord spoke to Moses. It was by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, 2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in. The towns must come from the shares of land the people will have as their own. Also give the Levites the grasslands around the towns. 3 Then the Levites will have towns to live in. They will also have grasslands for their cattle and all their other livestock.
4 “The grasslands around each town you give them will go out to 1,500 feet from the town wall. 5 Outside each town, the east side will measure 3,000 feet. So will the south side, the west side and the north side. The town must be in the center. And the Levites will own the grasslands around each town.
Cities to Run to for Safety
6 “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities to go to for safety. A person who has killed someone can run to one of them. Also give the Levites 42 other towns. 7 You must give the Levites a total of 48 towns. Also give them the grasslands around those towns. 8 The towns you give the Levites must come from the land the Israelites have as their own. So the number you give from each tribe will depend on the size of that tribe’s share. Take many towns from a tribe that has many towns. But take only a few towns from a tribe that has only a few.”
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘You will soon go across the Jordan River. You will enter Canaan. 11 When you do, choose the cities to go to for safety. People who have killed someone by accident can run to one of those cities. 12 They will be places of safety for them. People will be safe there from those who want to kill them. Then anyone charged with murder will not die before their case has been brought to the community court. 13 Six towns will be the cities you can go to for safety. 14 Three will be east of the Jordan River. The other three will be in Canaan. 15 Those six towns will be places where the Israelites can go for safety. Outsiders living in Israel can also go to them for safety. So anyone who has killed another person by accident can run there.
16 “ ‘Suppose a person uses an iron object to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 17 Or suppose a person is holding a stone that could kill. And they use it to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 18 Or suppose a person is holding a wooden object that could kill. And they use it to hit and kill someone. Then that person is a murderer and must be put to death. 19 The dead person’s nearest male relative must kill the murderer. When he meets up with him, he must kill the murderer. 20 What if a person makes evil plans against someone else? And what if that person pushes them so that they die? Or what if that person throws something at them so that they die? 21 Or what if that person hits another person with a fist so that the other dies? Then the person who does any of those things must be put to death. That person is a murderer. The dead person’s nearest male relative must kill the murderer. When he meets up with him, he must kill the murderer.
22 “ ‘But what if a person suddenly pushes someone else without being angry? Or what if that person throws something at someone else without meaning to? 23 Or what if that person does not see the other person and drops a stone on them that kills them? He was not the dead person’s enemy. He did not mean to harm them. 24 Then the court must decide between the person who did the act and the nearest male relative of the one who was killed. Here are the rules the court must follow. 25 The court must provide a safe place for the person accused of murder. It must keep the one accused of murder safe from those who want to kill them. The court must send the accused person back to the city they ran to for safety. The accused person must stay there until the high priest dies. That priest has been anointed with holy oil.
26 “ ‘But suppose the accused person goes outside that city. 27 And suppose the dead person’s nearest male relative finds them outside the city. Then the relative can kill the accused person. The relative will not be guilty of murder. 28 The accused person must stay in that city until the high priest dies. Only then may they return home.
29 “ ‘This is what the law requires of you for all time to come. It will apply to you no matter where you live.
30 “ ‘Suppose a person kills someone. Then that person must be put to death as a murderer. But do it only when there are witnesses who can tell what happened. Do not put anyone to death if only one witness tells what happened.
31 “ ‘Do not accept payment for a murderer’s life. A murderer deserves to die. They must certainly be put to death.
32 “ ‘Do not accept payment for anyone who has run to a city for safety. Do not let them buy their freedom to return home. They must not go back and live on their own land before the high priest dies.
33 “ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another’s blood must be spilled. 34 So do not make the land where you live “unclean,” because I live there too. I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’ ”
A psalm of Asaph.
79 God, an army from the nations has attacked your land.
They have polluted your holy temple.
They have completely destroyed Jerusalem.
2 They have left the dead bodies of your people.
They have left them as food for the birds in the sky.
They have left the bodies of your faithful people.
They have left them for the wild animals.
3 They have poured out the blood of your people like water.
It is all around Jerusalem.
No one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are something our neighbors joke about.
The nations around us laugh at us and make fun of us.
5 Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Will it be forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Bring your great anger against the nations
that don’t pay any attention to you.
Bring it against the kingdoms
that don’t worship you.
7 They have swallowed up the people of Jacob.
They have destroyed Israel’s homeland.
8 Don’t hold against us the sins of our people who lived before us.
May you be quick to show us your tender love.
We are in great need.
9 God our Savior, help us.
Then glory will come to you.
Save us and forgive our sins.
Then people will honor your name.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Show the nations that you punish those who kill your people.
We want to see it happen.
11 Listen to the groans of the prisoners.
Use your strong arm
to save people sentenced to death.
12 Lord, our neighbors have laughed at you.
Pay them back seven times for what they have done.
13 We are your people, your very own sheep.
We will praise you forever.
For all time to come
we will keep on praising you.
Israel Will Be Saved
27 At that time
the Lord will punish Leviathan with his sword.
His great, powerful and deadly sword will punish
the serpent that glides through the sea.
He will kill that twisting sea monster.
2 At that time the Lord will sing about his fruitful vineyard. He will say,
3 “I am the Lord. I watch over my vineyard.
I water it all the time.
I guard it day and night.
I do it so no one can harm it.
4 I am not angry with my vineyard.
I wish thorns and bushes would come up in it.
Then I would march out against them in battle.
I would set all of them on fire.
5 So the enemies of my people should come to me for safety.
They should make peace with me.
I will say it again.
They should make peace with me.”
6 In days to come, Jacob’s people will put down roots like a vine.
Israel will bud and bloom.
They will fill the whole world with fruit.
7 The Lord struck down those who struck down Israel.
But he hasn’t punished Israel as much.
The Lord killed those who killed many of his people.
But he hasn’t punished his people as much.
8 The Lord will use war to punish Israel.
He will make them leave their land.
With a strong blast of his anger he will drive them out.
It will be as if the east wind were blowing.
9 The people of Jacob will have to pay for their sin.
Here is how they will show that their sin has been removed.
They will make all the altar stones like limestone.
They will crush them to pieces.
No poles used to worship the female god named Asherah will be left standing.
No incense altars will be left either.
10 Cities that have high walls around them will become empty.
They will be settlements with no one in them.
They will be like a desert.
Calves will eat and lie down in them.
They will strip bare the branches of their trees.
11 When their twigs are dry, they will be broken off.
Then women will come and make fires with them.
The people of Jacob don’t understand the Lord.
So the God who made them won’t be concerned about them.
Their Creator won’t be kind to them.
12 At that time the Lord will separate Israel from other people. He will gather the Israelites together one by one. He will gather them from the Euphrates River to the Wadi of Egypt. 13 At that time a loud trumpet will be blown. Those who were dying in Assyria will come and worship the Lord. So will those who were taken away to Egypt. All of them will worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Faith in God’s Son Who Became a Human Being
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children as well. 2 Here is how we know that we love God’s children. We know it when we love God and obey his commands. 3 In fact, here is what it means to love God. We love him by obeying his commands. And his commands are not hard to obey. 4 That’s because everyone who is a child of God has won the battle over the world. Our faith has won the battle for us. 5 Who is it that has won the battle over the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ was born as we are, and he died on the cross. He wasn’t just born as we are. He also died on the cross. The Holy Spirit is a truthful witness about him. That’s because the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that are witnesses about Jesus. 8 They are the Holy Spirit, the birth of Jesus, and the death of Jesus. And the three of them agree. 9 We accept what people say when they are witnesses. But it’s more important when God is a witness. That’s because it is what God says about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts what God says about him. Whoever does not believe God is calling him a liar. That’s because they have not believed what God said about his Son. 11 Here is what God says about the Son. God has given us eternal life. And this life is found in his Son. 12 Whoever belongs to the Son has life. Whoever doesn’t belong to the Son of God doesn’t have life.
Final Words
13 I’m writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. I’m writing so you will know that you have eternal life. 14 Here is what we can be sure of when we come to God in prayer. If we ask anything in keeping with what he wants, he hears us. 15 If we know that God hears what we ask for, we know that we have it.
16 Suppose you see any brother or sister commit a sin. But this sin is not the kind that leads to death. Then you should pray, and God will give them life. I’m talking about someone whose sin does not lead to death. But there is a sin that does lead to death. I’m not saying you should pray about that sin. 17 Every wrong thing we do is sin. But there are sins that do not lead to death.
18 We know that those who are children of God do not keep on sinning. The Son of God keeps them safe. The evil one can’t harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God. We know that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We also know that the Son of God has come. He has given us understanding. So we can know the God who is true. And we belong to the true God by belonging to his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from statues of gods.
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