M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel Destroys Ai
8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go up and attack Ai. Take the whole army with you. I have handed the king of Ai over to you. I have given you his people, his city and his land. 2 Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise.”
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night. 4 He gave them orders. He said, “Listen carefully to what I’m saying. You must hide behind the city. Don’t go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it. 5 I and all those with me will march up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we’ll run away from them. 6 They’ll chase us until we’ve drawn them away from the city. They’ll say, ‘They are running away from us, just as they did before.’ When we run away from them, 7 come out of your hiding place. Capture the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 When you have taken it, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. Make sure you obey my orders.”
9 Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place where they had planned to hide. They hid in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night with his troops.
10 Early the next morning Joshua brought together his army. He and the leaders of Israel marched in front of them to Ai. 11 The whole army that was with him marched up to the city. They stopped in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had chosen about 5,000 soldiers. He had ordered them to hide in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. 13 The men took up their battle positions. All the men in the camp north of the city took up their positions. So did those who were supposed to hide west of the city. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14 The king of Ai saw what the troops with Joshua were doing. So the king and all his men hurried out of the city early in the morning. They marched out to meet Israel in battle. They went to a place that looked out over the Arabah Valley. The king didn’t know that some of Israel’s fighting men were hiding behind the city. 15 Joshua and all his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The Israelites ran away toward the desert. 16 All the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city. 17 Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand. I will give the city to you.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin in his hand. 19 As soon as he did, the men hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn’t escape in any direction. The Israelites had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those chasing them. 21 Joshua and all his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw that smoke was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn’t let anyone remain alive or get away. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive. They brought him to Joshua.
24 Israel finished killing all the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck down every one of them with their swords. Then all the Israelites returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it. 25 The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. The Israelites put to death all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua continued to hold out his javelin toward Ai. He didn’t lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there. 27 But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.
28 So Joshua burned down Ai. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day. 29 Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this day.
Joshua Reads the Book of the Law to the People
30 Joshua built an altar to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. He built it on Mount Ebal. 31 Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Israelites to do that. Joshua built the altar according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Joshua built the altar out of stones that iron tools had never touched. Then the people offered on the altar burnt offerings to the Lord. They also sacrificed friendship offerings on it. 32 Joshua copied the law of Moses on stones. He did it while all the Israelites were watching. 33 They were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All the Israelites, including outsiders and citizens, were there. Israel’s elders, officials and judges were also there. All of them faced the priests, who were Levites. They were carrying the ark. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had earlier told them to do it. Moses told them to do it when he had given directions to bless the Israelites.
34 Then Joshua read all the words of the law out loud. He read the blessings and the curses. He read them just as they are written in the Book of the Law. 35 Joshua read every word Moses had commanded. He read them to the whole community of Israel. That included the women and children. It also included the outsiders living among them.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have seen what is in my heart.
You know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know what I’m thinking even though you are far away.
3 You know when I go out to work and when I come back home.
You know exactly how I live.
4 Lord, even before I speak a word,
you know all about it.
5 You are all around me, behind me and in front of me.
You hold me safe in your hand.
6 I’m amazed at how well you know me.
It’s more than I can understand.
7 How can I get away from your Spirit?
Where can I go to escape from you?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I lie down in the deepest parts of the earth, you are also there.
9 Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east.
Suppose I travel to the west where it sinks into the ocean.
10 Your hand would always be there to guide me.
Your right hand would still be holding me close.
11 Suppose I were to say, “I’m sure the darkness will hide me.
The light around me will become as dark as night.”
12 Even that darkness would not be dark to you.
The night would shine like the day,
because darkness is like light to you.
13 You created the deepest parts of my being.
You put me together inside my mother’s body.
14 How you made me is amazing and wonderful.
I praise you for that.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know that very well.
15 None of my bones was hidden from you
when you made me inside my mother’s body.
That place was as dark as the deepest parts of the earth.
When you were putting me together there,
16 your eyes saw my body even before it was formed.
You planned how many days I would live.
You wrote down the number of them in your book
before I had lived through even one of them.
17 God, your thoughts about me are priceless.
No one can possibly add them all up.
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than the grains of sand.
If I were to fall asleep counting and then wake up,
you would still be there with me.
19 God, I wish you would kill the people who are evil!
I wish those murderers would get away from me!
20 They are your enemies. They misuse your name.
They misuse it for their own evil purposes.
21 Lord, I really hate those who hate you!
I really hate those who rise up against you!
22 I have nothing but hatred for them.
I consider them to be my enemies.
23 God, see what is in my heart.
Know what is there.
Test me.
Know what I’m thinking.
24 See if there’s anything in my life you don’t like.
Help me live in the way that is always right.
Israel Deserts the Lord
2 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2 “Go. Announce my message to the people in Jerusalem. I want everyone to hear it. Tell them,
“Here is what the Lord says.
“ ‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were young.
You loved me as if you were my bride.
You followed me through the desert.
Nothing had been planted there.
3 Your people were holy to me.
They were the first share of my harvest.
All those who destroyed them were held guilty.
And trouble came to their enemies,’ ”
announces the Lord.
4 People of Jacob, hear the Lord’s message.
Listen, all you tribes of Israel.
5 The Lord says,
“What did your people of long ago find wrong with me?
Why did they wander so far away from me?
They worshiped worthless statues of gods.
Then they themselves became worthless.
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?
He brought us up out of Egypt.
He led us through a dry and empty land.
He guided us through deserts and deep valleys.
It was a land of total darkness where there wasn’t any rain.
No one lived or traveled there.’
7 But I brought you into a land that has rich soil.
I gave you its fruit and its finest food.
In spite of that, you made my land impure.
You turned it into something I hate.
8 The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who taught my law did not know me.
The leaders refused to obey me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal.
They worshiped worthless statues of gods.
9 “So I am bringing charges against you again,”
announces the Lord.
“And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look.
Send people to the land of Kedar and have them look closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
Actually, they are not even gods at all.
But my people have traded away their glorious God.
They have traded me for worthless statues of gods.
12 Sky above, be shocked over this.
Tremble with horror,”
announces the Lord.
13 “My people have sinned twice.
They have deserted me,
even though I am the spring of water that gives life.
And they have dug their own wells.
But those wells are broken.
They can’t hold any water.
14 Are you people of Israel servants?
You were not born as slaves, were you?
Then why have you been carried off like stolen goods?
15 Lions have roared.
They have growled at you.
They have destroyed your land.
Your towns are burned and deserted.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls.
17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves?
I am the Lord your God, but you deserted me.
You left me even while I was leading you.
18 Why do you go to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile River?
Why do you go to Assyria
to drink from the Euphrates River?
19 You will be punished because you have sinned.
You will be corrected for turning away from me.
I am the Lord your God.
If you desert me, bad things will happen to you.
If you do not respect me, you will suffer bitterly.
I want you to understand that,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
20 “Long ago you broke off the yoke I put on you.
You tore off the ropes I tied you up with.
You said, ‘I won’t serve you!’
In fact, on every high hill
you lay down like a prostitute.
You worshiped other gods under every green tree.
21 You were like a good vine when I planted you.
You were a healthy plant.
Then how did you turn against me?
How did you become a bad, wild vine?
22 You might wash yourself with soap.
You might use plenty of strong soap.
But I can still see the stains your guilt covers you with,”
announces the Lord and King.
23 “You say, ‘I am “clean.”
I haven’t followed the gods that are named Baal.’
How can you say that?
Remember how you acted in the valley.
Consider what you have done.
You are like a female camel running quickly here and there.
24 You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert.
She smells the wind when she longs for a mate.
Who can hold her back?
The males that run after her do not need to wear themselves out.
At mating time they will easily find her.
25 Do not run after other gods
until your sandals are worn out and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!
I love those gods.
I must go after them.’
26 “A thief is dishonored when he is caught.
And you people of Israel are filled with shame.
Your kings and officials are dishonored.
So are your priests and your prophets.
27 You say to a piece of wood, ‘You are my father.’
You say to a stone, ‘You are my mother.’
You have turned your backs to me.
You refuse to look at me.
But when you are in trouble, you say,
‘Come and save us!’
28 Then where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come when you are in trouble!
Let them save you if they can!
Judah, you have as many gods
as you have towns.
29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
All of you have refused to obey me,”
announces the Lord.
30 “I punished your people. But it did not do them any good.
They did not pay attention when they were corrected.
You have killed your prophets by swords.
You have swallowed them up like a hungry lion.
31 “You who are now living, consider my message. I am saying,
“Have I been like a desert to Israel?
Have I been like a land of deep darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to wander.
We won’t come to you anymore’?
32 Does a young woman forget all about her jewelry?
Does a bride forget her wedding jewels?
But my people have forgotten me
more days than anyone can count.
33 You are very skilled at chasing after love!
Even the worst of women can learn from how you act.
34 The blood of those you have killed is on your clothes.
You have destroyed poor people who were not guilty.
You did not catch them in the act of breaking in.
In spite of all this,
35 you say, ‘I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong.
The Lord isn’t angry with me.’
But I will judge you.
That’s because you say, ‘I haven’t sinned.’
36 Why do you keep on
changing your ways so much?
Assyria did not help you.
And Egypt will not help you either.
37 So you will also leave Egypt
with your hands tied together above your heads.
I have turned my back on those you trust.
They will not help you.
Jesus Is Asked for a Sign
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He replied, “In the evening you look at the sky. You say, ‘It will be good weather. The sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning you say, ‘Today it will be stormy. The sky is red and cloudy.’ You know the meaning of what you see in the sky. But you can’t understand the signs of what is happening right now. 4 An evil and unfaithful people look for a sign. But none will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 The disciples crossed over to the other side of the lake. They had forgotten to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 The disciples talked about this among themselves. They said, “He must be saying this because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8 Jesus knew what they were saying. So he said, “Your faith is so small! Why are you talking to each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? 10 Don’t you remember the seven loaves for the 4,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? 11 How can you possibly not understand? I wasn’t talking to you about bread. But watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then the disciples understood that Jesus was not telling them to watch out for the yeast used in bread. He was warning them against what the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.
Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah
13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere human showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you. 18 Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.” 20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Jesus Speaks About His Coming Death
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples what would happen to him. He told them he must go to Jerusalem. There he must suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. He must be killed and on the third day rise to life again.
22 Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This will never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are standing in my way. You do not have in mind the things God cares about. Instead, you only have in mind the things humans care about.”
24 Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow me. 25 Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? Or what can anyone trade for their soul? 27 The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory. His angels will come with him. And he will reward everyone in keeping with what they have done.
28 “What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
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