M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Defeating Northern Kings
11 Jabin king of Hazor heard about all that had happened. He sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron and to the king of Acshaph. 2 He sent one to the kings in the northern mountains. Jabin also sent a message to the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Lake Galilee and in the western mountain slopes. He sent a message to the king of Naphoth Dor in the west. 3 Jabin also sent one to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the mountains. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites. They lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah. 4 So the armies of all these kings came together. There were many fighting men, horses and chariots. It was a huge army. It looked like there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore.
5 All of these kings met together at the Waters of Merom. They joined their armies together into one camp. They made plans to fight against the Israelites.
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. At this time tomorrow I will allow you to defeat them. You will kill all of them. You will cripple their horses and burn all their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy. They attacked them at the Waters of Merom. 8 The Lord allowed Israel to defeat them. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim and the Valley of Mizpah in the east. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive. 9 Joshua did what the Lord said to do. He cut the legs of their horses and burned their chariots.
10 Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor. He killed the king of Hazor. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.) 11 Israel killed everyone in Hazor. They completely destroyed them. There was nothing left alive. Then they burned Hazor itself.
12 Joshua captured all of these cities. He killed all of their kings. He completely destroyed everything in these cities. He did this the way Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their hills, except Hazor. That city alone was burned by Joshua. 14 The people of Israel kept for themselves everything they found in the cities. They kept all the animals they found. But they killed all the people there. They did not leave anyone alive. 15 Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this. Then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it. So Joshua obeyed God. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua defeated all the people in the land. He had control of the mountains and the area of southern Canaan. He controlled all the areas of Goshen, the western mountain slopes and the Jordan Valley. He controlled the mountains of Israel and all the hills near them. 17 Joshua controlled all the land from Mount Halak near Edom to Baal Gad. Baal Gad was in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured all the kings in the land and killed them. 18 He fought against them for many years. 19 The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace agreement with Israel. They were the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war. 20 The Lord made those people stubborn so they would fight against Israel. This way he could completely destroy them without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.
21 Now Joshua fought the Anakites who lived in the mountains of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah and Israel. And he completely destroyed them and their towns. 22 There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites. Only a few Anakites were left in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. 23 Joshua took control of all the land of Israel. This was what the Lord had told Moses to do long ago. He gave the land to Israel because he had promised it to them. Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel. The fighting had finally ended. And there was peace in the land.
A Prayer for Victory
Of David.
144 Praise the Lord, my Rock.
He trains me for war.
He trains me for battle.
2 He gives me love and protects me like a strong, walled city.
He is my place of safety and my Savior.
He is my shield and my protection.
He helps me rule my people.
3 Lord, why is man important to you?
Why do you even think about a human being?
4 A man is like a breath.
His life is like a passing shadow.
5 Lord, tear open the sky and come down.
Touch the mountains so they will smoke.
6 Send the lightning and scatter my enemies.
Shoot your arrows and force them away.
7 Reach down from above.
Pull me out of this sea of enemies.
Rescue me from these foreigners.
8 They are liars.
They are dishonest.
9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
I will play to you on the ten-stringed harp.
10 You give victory to kings.
You save your servant David from cruel swords.
11 Save me, rescue me from these foreigners.
They are liars.
They are dishonest.
12 Let our sons in their youth
grow like strong trees.
Let our daughters be
like the decorated stones in the Temple.
13 Let our barns be filled
with crops of all kinds.
Let our sheep in the fields have
thousands and thousands of lambs.
14 Let our cattle be strong.
Let no one break in.
Let there be no war.
Let there be no screams in our streets.
15 Happy are those who are like this.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
No One Is Right
5 The Lord says, “Walk up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and think about these things.
Search the public squares of the city.
See if you can find one person who does honest things.
Find just one who searches for the truth.
If you can, I will forgive this city.
2 The people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
But they don’t really mean it.”
3 Lord, don’t you look for truth in people?
You hit the people of Judah.
But they didn’t feel any pain.
You crushed them,
but they refused to learn what is right.
They became more stubborn than a rock.
They refused to turn back to God.
4 But I thought,
“These are only the poor, foolish people.
They have not learned the way of the Lord.
They do not know what their God wants them to do.
5 So I will go to the leaders of Judah.
I will talk to them.
Surely they understand the way of the Lord.
They know what God wants them to do.”
But the leaders had all joined together to break away from the Lord.
They broke their ties with him.
6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is hiding and waiting for them near their towns.
It will tear to pieces anyone who comes out of the city.
This will happen because the people of Judah have sinned greatly.
They have wandered away from the Lord many times.
7 The Lord said, “Tell me why I should forgive you.
Your children have left me.
They have made promises to idols that are not gods at all.
I gave your children everything they needed.
But they still were like an unfaithful wife to me.
They spent much time in houses of prostitutes.
8 They are like well-fed, male horses filled with sexual desire.
Each one wants another man’s wife.
9 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.
10 “Go along and cut down Judah’s vineyards.
But do not completely destroy them.
Cut off all her people as if they were branches.
Do it because they do not belong to the Lord.
11 The families of Israel and Judah
have been completely unfaithful to me,” says the Lord!
12 Those people have lied about the Lord.
They have said, “The Lord will not do anything to us!
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We will never see war or hunger.
13 The prophets are like an empty wind.
The word of God is not in them.
Let these bad things they say happen to them.”
14 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“The people said I would not punish them.
So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire.
And these people will be like wood the fire burns up.
15 Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord.
“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.
The people there speak a language you do not know.
You cannot understand what they say.
16 Their arrows bring death.
All their men are strong warriors.
17 They will eat your crops and your food.
They will eat your sons and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and herds.
They will eat your grapes and figs.
They will destroy with their swords
the strong, walled cities you trust in!
18 “Yet even then,” says the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19 The people of Judah will ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done this terrible thing to us?’ Give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord. You have served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you!’
20 “Announce this message to the family of Jacob.
And tell it to the nation of Judah:
21 Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.
You have eyes, but you don’t really see.
You have ears, but you don’t really listen.
22 Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in my presence.
I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea.
They keep the water in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.
The waves may roar,
but they cannot go beyond it.
23 But the people of Judah are stubborn and have turned against me.
They have turned aside and gone away from me.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘We should fear the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons.
He makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
25 But your evil has kept away both rain and harvest.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
26 There are wicked men among my people.
They are like men who make nets for catching birds.
But they set their traps to catch men instead of birds.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of lies.
They have become rich and powerful.
28 They have grown big and fat.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They won’t plead the case of the orphan.
They won’t help the poor be judged fairly.
29 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.
30 “A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah:
31 The prophets tell lies.
The priests take power into their own hands.
And my people love it this way.
But what will you do when the end comes?
Jesus Teaches About Divorce
19 After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee. He went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed Jesus, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”
4 Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’[a] 5 And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.’[b] 6 So the two are not two, but one. God joined the two people together. No person should separate them.”
7 The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”
8 Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching. But divorce was not allowed in the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery.[c] The only reason for a man to divorce and marry again is if his first wife has been unfaithful to him.”
10 The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, then it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this truth about marriage. But God has made some able to accept it. 12 There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And other men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”[d]
Jesus Welcomes Children
13 Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so that he could put his hands on them[e] and pray for them. When his followers saw this, they told the people to stop bringing their children to Jesus. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children.” 15 After Jesus put his hands on the children, he left there.
A Rich Young Man’s Question
16 A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have life forever?”
17 Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have life forever, obey the commands.”
18 The man asked, “Which commands?”
Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. 19 Honor your father and mother.[f] Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”[g]
20 The young man said, “I have obeyed all these things. What else do I need to do?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all the things you own. Give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
22 But when the young man heard this, he became very sad because he was very rich. So he left Jesus.
23 Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth. It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the followers heard this, they were very surprised. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”
27 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth. When the new age comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. And all of you who followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. And you will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother,[h] children, or farms to follow me will get much more than he left. And he will have life forever. 30 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.