M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Angel of the Lord Warns Israel at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. There he said to the Israelites, “I brought you up out of Egypt. I led you into this land. It is the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At that time I said, ‘I will never break the covenant I made with you. ² So you must not make a covenant with the people of this land. Instead, you must tear down their altars.’ But you have disobeyed me. Why did you do it? ³ I have said something else. I said, ‘I will not drive out those people to make room for you. They and their gods will become traps for you.’ ”

⁴ The angel of the Lord spoke these things to all the Israelites. Then the people wept out loud. ⁵ So that place was called Bokim. The people offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

The People Disobey the Lord and Lose Their Battles

⁶ Joshua sent the Israelites away. Then they went to take over the land. All of them went to their own shares of land. ⁷ The people served the Lord as long as Joshua lived. They also served him as long as the elders lived. Those were the elders who lived longer than Joshua did. They had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

⁸ Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died. He was the son of Nun. He was 110 years old when he died. ⁹ His people buried him on his own property at Timnath Heres. It’s north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.

¹⁰ All the people of Joshua’s time joined the members of their families who had already died. Then those who were born after them grew up. They didn’t know the Lord and what he had done for Israel. ¹¹ The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served gods that were named Baal. ¹² They deserted the Lord, the God of their people. He had brought them out of Egypt. But now the Israelites served other gods and worshiped them. They served the gods of the nations that were around them. They made the Lord angry ¹³ because they deserted him. They served Baal. They also served female gods that were named Ashtoreth. ¹⁴ The Lord became angry with the Israelites. So he handed them over to robbers. The robbers stole everything from them. The Lord handed the Israelites over to their enemies all around them. Israel wasn’t able to fight against them anymore and win. ¹⁵ When the Israelites went out to fight, the Lord’s power was against them. He let their enemies win the battle over them. The Lord had warned them that it would happen. And now they were suffering terribly.

¹⁶ Then the Lord gave them leaders. The leaders saved them from the power of those robbers. ¹⁷ But the people wouldn’t listen to their leaders. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. They served other gods and worshiped them. They didn’t obey the Lord’s commands as their people before them had done. They quickly turned away from the path their people had taken. ¹⁸ When the Lord gave them a leader, he was with that leader. The Lord saved the people from the power of their enemies. He did it as long as the leader lived. The Lord felt very sorry for the people. They groaned because of what their enemies did to them. Their enemies treated them badly. ¹⁹ But when the leader died, the people returned to their evil ways. The things they did were even more sinful than the things their people before them had done. They served other gods and worshiped them. They refused to give up their evil practices. They wouldn’t change their stubborn ways.

²⁰ So the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said, “This nation has broken my covenant. I made it with their people of long ago. But this nation has not listened to me. ²¹ Joshua left some nations in the land when he died. I will no longer drive out those nations to make room for Israel. ²² I will use those nations to test Israel. I will see whether Israel will live the way I, the Lord, want them to. I will see whether they will be like their people of long ago. I will see whether they will follow my path.” ²³ The Lord had let those nations remain in the land. He didn’t drive them out right away. He didn’t hand them over to Joshua.

Seven Leaders Are Chosen

6 In those days the number of believers was growing. The Greek Jews complained about the non-Greek Jews. They said that the widows of the Greek Jews were not being taken care of. They weren’t getting their fair share of food each day. ² So the 12 apostles gathered all the believers together. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to give up teaching God’s word. And we’d have to stop teaching to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men. They must be known as men who are wise and full of the Holy Spirit. We will turn this important work over to them. ⁴ Then we can give our attention to prayer and to teaching God’s word.”

⁵ This plan pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen. He was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon and Parmenas were chosen too. The group also chose Nicolas from Antioch. He had accepted the Jewish faith. ⁶ The group brought them to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on them.

⁷ So God’s word spread. The number of believers in Jerusalem grew quickly. Also, a large number of priests began to obey Jesus’ teachings.

Stephen Is Arrested

⁸ Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ But members of the group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to oppose him. Some of them were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. Others were Jews from Cilicia and Asia Minor. They all began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰ But he was too wise for them. That’s because the Holy Spirit gave Stephen wisdom whenever he spoke.

¹¹ Then in secret they talked some men into lying about Stephen. They said, “We heard Stephen speak evil things against Moses and against God.”

¹² So the people were stirred up. The elders and the teachers of the law were stirred up too. They arrested Stephen and brought him to the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They found witnesses who were willing to tell lies. These liars said, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place. He also speaks against the law. ¹⁴ We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He says Jesus will change the practices that Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked right at Stephen. They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Suppose Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me. Even then my heart would not feel sorry for these people. Send them away from me! Let them go! ² Suppose these people ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ Then tell them, ‘The Lord says,

³ “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” announces the Lord. “Swords will kill them. Dogs will drag them away. Birds will eat them up. And wild animals will destroy them. ⁴ I will make all the kingdoms on earth hate them. That will happen because of what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. He was king of Judah and the son of Hezekiah.

¹¹ The Lord said,

¹⁹ So the Lord says to Jeremiah,

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 This is the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. ² Long ago Isaiah the prophet wrote,

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the desert. He preached that people should be baptized and turn away from their sins. Then God would forgive them. ⁵ All the people from the countryside of Judea went out to him. All the people from Jerusalem went too. When they admitted they had sinned, John baptized them in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothes made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ Here is what John was preaching. “After me, there is someone coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not good enough to bend down and untie his sandals. ⁸ I baptize you with water. But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ Jesus was coming up out of the water. Just then he saw heaven being torn open. Jesus saw the Holy Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice spoke to him from heaven. It said, “You are my Son, and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”

¹² At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the desert. ¹³ He was in the desert 40 days. There Satan tempted him. The wild animals didn’t harm Jesus. Angels took care of him.

Jesus Preaches the Good News

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee. He preached the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Turn away from your sins and believe the good news!”

Jesus Chooses His First Disciples

¹⁶ One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake. They were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹ Then Jesus walked a little farther. As he did, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat preparing their nets. ²⁰ Right away he called out to them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men. Then they followed Jesus.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²¹ Jesus and those with him went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue. There he began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching. That’s because he taught them like one who had authority. He did not talk like the teachers of the law. ²³ Just then a man in their synagogue cried out. He was controlled by an evil spirit. He said, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus firmly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶ The evil spirit shook the man wildly. Then it came out of him with a scream.

²⁷ All the people were amazed. So they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching! And with so much authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about Jesus spread quickly all over Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

²⁹ Jesus and those with him left the synagogue. Right away they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever. They told Jesus about her right away. ³¹ So he went to her. He took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her. Then she began to serve them.

³² That evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought all who were controlled by demons. ³³ All the people in town gathered at the door. ³⁴ Jesus healed many of them. They had all kinds of sicknesses. He also drove out many demons. But he would not let the demons speak, because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays in a Quiet Place

³⁵ It was very early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. ³⁷ When they found him, they called out, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhere else. I want to go to the nearby towns. I must preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he traveled all around Galilee. He preached in their synagogues. He also drove out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Had a Skin Disease

⁴⁰ A man who had a skin disease came to Jesus. On his knees he begged Jesus. He said, “If you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”

⁴¹ Jesus became angry. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” Jesus said. “Be ‘clean’!” ⁴² Right away the disease left the man, and he was “clean.”

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once. He gave the man a strong warning. ⁴⁴ “Don’t tell this to anyone,” he said. “Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be a witness to the priest and the people that you are ‘clean.’ ” ⁴⁵ But the man went out and started talking right away. He spread the news to everyone. So Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. He stayed outside in lonely places. But people still came to him from everywhere.