M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul’s Reign Gets Off to a Bad Start
13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.[a]
2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul at Mikmash and in the hill country near Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah[b] of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.
3 Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison[c] that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. The people were summoned to meet Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines assembled their forces to fight against Israel with three thousand[d] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because their army was under pressure, the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets,[e] among the rocks, in dugouts,[f] and in cisterns. 7 Some of the Hebrews had gone across the Jordan River to the territory of Gad and Gilead, but Saul remained in Gilgal, and all the people who remained with him were shaking with fear. 8 He waited there seven days, the time specified by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were starting to scatter from Saul. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.” He then presented the burnt offering.
10 No sooner had he finished presenting the burnt offering than Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him with a blessing. 11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “I saw that the people were scattering from me, that you did not come within the set number of days, and that the Philistines had assembled their forces at Mikmash. 12 So I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”
13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave to you. The Lord would have established your kingship over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingship will not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not obeyed the command the Lord gave you.”
15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal. ⎣The rest of the people followed Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal⎦[g] to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him. There were about six hundred men. 16 Saul, and his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba[h] of Benjamin, but the Philistines camped at Mikmash.
17 Raiding parties set out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One group headed down the road toward Ophrah, toward the land of Shual. 18 Another group headed down the road to Beth Horon, and the third group headed toward the position on the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness.
19 At that time no blacksmith could be found throughout the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “If we allow this, the Hebrews will make swords or spears for themselves.” 20 So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to get their plowshares, mattocks,[i] axes, and sickles[j] sharpened. 21 The price was two thirds of a shekel[k] to sharpen plowshares and mattocks and one third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes and to repair ox goads.
22 The result was that when the day of battle came, no swords or spears were found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan’s Heroics
23 A garrison of the Philistines took up a position by the pass at Mikmash.
God Graciously Chose a Remnant
11 So I say, did God reject his people? Absolutely not! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people whom he foreknew—or don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah, how he was pleading with God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life.”[a] 4 But what did God’s answer tell him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[b]
5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.[c] 6 Now if it is by grace, then it is not the result of works—otherwise grace would no longer be grace.[d]
God Planned a Way to Recover Some Hardened Jews
7 What then? Israel did not receive what it was striving to get. The elect did, but the rest were hardened. 8 Just as it is written:
God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
right up to the present day.[e]
9 And David says:
Let their table be a trap and a net,
and a snare and a retribution for them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened so they do not see,
and let their backs be always bent.[f]
11 So I ask, “Did they stumble in order to fall permanently?” Absolutely not! Rather, by their trespass, salvation came to the Gentiles to make the Israelites jealous. 12 Now if their trespass meant riches for the world, and their failure meant riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean!
13 I am speaking to you Gentiles. For as long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I am going to speak highly of my ministry. 14 Perhaps I may make my own people jealous, and so save some of them. 15 For if their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, what does their acceptance mean other than the dead coming to life?
Gentiles Should Not Become Proud
16 If the part offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you—a wild olive branch—were grafted in among them and share in the rich sap from the root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast that you are better than the branches. If you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, but the root is supporting you. 19 Then you will say: “Branches were broken off so that I am grafted in.” 20 That is true—but remember that they were broken off because of unbelief, and you remain in place by faith. Do not be conceited, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. 22 So take note of God’s kindness and his severity: severity on those who have fallen, but God’s kindness on you—if you remain in his kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off.
Some Jews Will Be Grafted in Again
23 And if they do not remain in unbelief, those branches will be grafted in again, because God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from a wild olive tree and, contrary to nature, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more easily will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not want you to be uninformed about this mystery, brothers, so that you are not conceited in your opinion of yourselves. There has been a hardening of part of Israel until the full number of Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.[g]
The Paradox of How God Shows Mercy
28 In regard to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But, in regard to election, they are especially dear for the sake of the patriarchs, 29 because God’s gracious gifts and call are not regretted. 30 For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so also now they have become disobedient, so that by the mercy shown to you they may be shown mercy too. 32 For God imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
and how untraceable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his adviser?”[h]
35 “Or who has first given to God
that he will be repaid?”[i]
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
A Prophecy About Babylon and Israel
50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 Declare and proclaim this among the nations.
Set up a signal flag.
Proclaim and do not hide it.
Say this:
Babylon has been taken.
Bel has been put to shame.
Marduk is terrified.
Babylon’s images have been put to shame.
Her filthy idols are terrified.
3 A nation has come up against her out of the north.
It will make her land desolate,
and no one will dwell in it.
Both man and animal have wandered away.
They are gone.
4 In those days, and in that time, declares the Lord,
the people of Israel will come,
they and the people of Judah together with them.
They will come weeping,
and they will seek the Lord their God.
5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn toward it,
saying, “Come, join yourselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.”
6 My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have turned them aside on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill.
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who found them have devoured them.
Their enemies said, “We are not guilty,
because they sinned against the Lord,
who is their rightful pasture,
the Lord, the hope of their fathers.”
8 Flee from Babylon!
Leave the land of the Chaldeans.
Be like the male goats that lead the flock.
9 Watch, I will stir up and bring against Babylon
an assembly of great nations from the land of the north.
They will array themselves against her,
and she will be taken away captive from there.
Their arrows will be like those of a skilled warrior
who does not return empty-handed.
10 Chaldea will be plundered.
All who prey on her will have their fill, declares the Lord.
11 Because you are glad and rejoice,
you who plunder my inheritance,
because you leap like a heifer that treads out the grain,
and you neigh like strong horses,
12 your mother will be completely put to shame.
She who gave birth to you will be humiliated.
Watch, she will become the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a desert, a wasteland.
13 Because of the Lord’s wrath she will not be inhabited.
She will be completely desolate.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be astonished.
Everyone will mock her because of all her wounds.
14 Line up for battle against Babylon and surround her.
All you who bend the bow, shoot at her.
Don’t save any arrows,
because she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her from all sides.
She surrenders!
Her fortifications[a] have fallen.
Her walls have been thrown down.
This is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her!
Do to her as she has done to others!
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and the one who swings the sickle at harvest time.
They will each return to their own people.
They will each flee to their own land
because they fear the sword of the oppressor.
17 Israel is a scattered flock of sheep that lions have chased away.
First, the king of Assyria devoured him.
Now, the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
18 Therefore this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
I will certainly punish the king of Babylon and his land,
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 I will restore Israel to his pasture.
He will feed on Carmel and in Bashan.
His soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time, declares the Lord,
the guilt of Israel will be sought,
but there will be none.
The sins of Judah will be sought,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive the survivors whom I spare.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim
and against those who live in Pekod.
Kill them and destroy them, declares the Lord.
Do everything I have commanded you.
22 The noise of battle is in the land,
the noise of great destruction.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth
is smashed and broken to pieces!
How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
24 I set a trap for you, Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it.
You were found and captured,
because you fought against the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
and brought out his weapons of wrath,
for the Lord God of Armies has work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from far away.
Open up her granaries,
and pile her up like heaps of grain.
Destroy her completely.
Let nothing be left.
27 Kill all her young bulls.[b]
Let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
the time for their punishment.
28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon!
They proclaim in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
vengeance for what was done to his temple.
29 Call the archers to Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Set up camp all around her.
Don’t let her escape.
Pay her back for her deeds.
Do to her what she has done,
because she has defied the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore her young men will fall in the streets.
All her soldiers will be silenced in that day, declares the Lord.
31 Look, I am against you, you proud one, declares the Lord God of Armies.
Your day has come,
the time for your punishment.
32 The proud king[c] will stumble and fall,
and no one will help him up.
In his cities I will start a fire
that will consume everyone around him.
33 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed.
All their captors hold them fast.
They refuse to let them go.
34 But their Redeemer is strong.
The Lord of Armies is his name.
He himself will take up their cause
so that he may bring rest to the earth,
and unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against those who live in Babylon,
against her officials and her wise men!
36 A sword against her empty boasters!
They will become fools.
A sword against her strong warriors!
They will be filled with terror.
37 A sword against their horses and chariots!
All the foreigners in her ranks will become as weak as women.
A sword against her treasures!
They will be looted.
38 A sword against her waters!
They will be dried up,
because it is a land of idols,
and they are driven mad by those dreadful images.
39 That is why desert animals and hyenas[d] will live there,
and shrieking ostriches will dwell there.
It will never again be inhabited.
It will never be lived in from generation to generation.
40 Just as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord,
no one will dwell there.
No one will live there even as a temporary resident.
41 Look! A people comes from the north!
A great nation and many kings are being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.
42 They take up bow and spear.
They are cruel and merciless.
Their roar sounds like the sea.
They ride on horses,
arrayed in battle formation against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
and his hands hang limp.
Anguish grips him,
pains like a woman in labor.
44 Watch this!
Like a lion coming out of the thickets of the Jordan
into the pastures that are always green,
I will suddenly chase Babylon away from its land,
and I will appoint whomever I choose over it.
For who is like me?
Who can challenge me?
What shepherd can stand before me?
45 Therefore hear what the Lord has planned for Babylon,
and what he intends to do against the land of the Chaldeans:
Even the little ones of the flock will be dragged away.
He will make their pasture desolate because of them.
46 The earth will tremble at the noise of Babylon’s fall.
Their cry will be heard among the nations.
Psalm 28
My Rock
Heading
By David.
Protect Me From the Wicked
1 O Lord, I keep calling to you.
My Rock, do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the sound of my plea for mercy when I cry out to you,
when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those evildoers.
They speak peace to their neighbors but hide evil in their hearts.
Punish the Wicked
4 Give to them what they have done to others.
According to their evil actions,
according to the deeds of their hands,
punish them.
Repay to them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not recognize the works of the Lord
or the deeds of his hands,
he will tear them down and not build them up.
Then I Will Praise You
6 Blessed be the Lord,
because he has heard the sound of my plea for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I am helped.
My heart also celebrates.
With my song I will give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is their strength.
He is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed king.
9 Save your people, and bless the people that belong to you.
Shepherd them, and carry them forever.
Psalm 29
The God of Glory Thunders
Heading
A psalm by David.
The God of Glory Thunders
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you sons of God,[a]
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Bow down to the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is heard over the waters.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders above the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord thunders in power.
The voice of the Lord thunders in majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.
The Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Mount Lebanon skip like a calf.
Sirion[b] skips like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord slashes with flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness.
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord destroys the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
So in his temple they all say, “Glory!”
10 The Lord is seated over the flood.
The Lord is seated as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people.
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.