The Robert Murray M‘Cheyne
Bible Reading Plan
December 10
Private Reading
Zephaniah 2
Judgments on Judah’s Enemies
1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather,
O nation without shame,
2 Before the decree takes effect—
The day passes like the chaff—
Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 Seek the Lord,
All you humble of the earth
Who have carried out His ordinances;
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For Gaza will be abandoned
And Ashkelon a desolation;
Ashdod will be driven out at noon
And Ekron will be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
And I will destroy you
So that there will be no inhabitant.
6 So the seacoast will be pastures,
With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast will be
For the remnant of the house of Judah,
They will pasture on it.
In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
For the Lord their God will care for them
And restore their fortune.
8 “I have heard the taunting of Moab
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have taunted My people
And become arrogant against their territory.
9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“
Surely Moab will be like Sodom
And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—
A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will plunder them
And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”
10 This they will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and
become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the
earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from
his own place.
12 “You also, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north
And destroy Assyria,
And He will make Nineveh a desolation,
Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
All beasts which range in herds;
Both the pelican and the hedgehog
Will lodge in the tops of her pillars;
Birds will sing in the window,
Desolation will be on the threshold;
For He has laid bare the cedar work.
15 This is the exultant city
Which dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“
I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a desolation,
A resting place for beasts!
Everyone who passes by her will hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.
Luke 24
The Resurrection
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing
the spices which they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them
in dazzling clothing;
5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men
said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while
He was still in Galilee,
7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
8 And they remembered His words,
9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and
to all the rest.
10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also
the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.
11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he *?saw the
linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
The Road to Emmaus
13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus,
which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken
place.
15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began
traveling with them.
16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with
one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only
one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in
these days?”
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The
things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in
the sight of God and all the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of
death, and crucified Him.
21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed,
besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb
early in the morning,
23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision
of angels who said that He was alive.
24 “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly
as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in
all that the prophets have spoken!
26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter
into His glory?”
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them
the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though
He were going farther.
29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward
evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.
30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed
it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from
their sight.
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while
He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to
us?”
33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered
together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized
by them in the breaking of the bread.
Other Appearances
36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and
*?said to them, “Peace be to you.”
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a
spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise
in your hearts?
39 “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for
a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement,
He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
43 and He took it and ate it before them.
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while
I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of
Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer
and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 “You are witnesses of these things.
49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but
you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed
them.
51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)