This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
23 When many days had passed, the Jews1 plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,2 lowering him in a basket.
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists.3 But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.4 She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics5 and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
[1] 9:23
[2] 9:25
[3] 9:29
[4] 9:36
[5] 9:39
(ESV)
I began to notice it during Vacation Bible School. A couple of summers ago, the church where I worked was holding its annual VBS. A couple of days into the event, I began to notice that the contact in my left eye was very uncomfortable and even seemed to be clouding my vision. So, I swapped my old contacts for a new pair. But it didn't change a thing. My left eye was still red and watering and my vision was still cloudy.
I finally decided that it was time to visit the optometrist. The prognosis was not good. "Your left eye is infected," he informed me. You're going to need to get rid of your contacts, wear glasses for a couple of months, and make a visit to the ophthalmologist to get some prescription eye drops. And so began a long road to recovery in my left eye. According to my optometrist, I had been harboring this infection for some time. I had just gotten so used to my blurry eyesight, however, I had barely even noticed.
One of the accusations that Jesus levels against the religious leaders of his day is that they are "blind guides" (Matthew 23:16,24). The religious leaders would have been deeply offended at such a statement, for they prided themselves on their ability to see and discern spiritual truth. As Paul writes concerning the pious Jews of his day: "You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth" (Romans 2:19-20). These Jews, of course, are not nearly so lucid as they perceive themselves to be. Paul continues, "You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law" (Romans 2:21-23)? The religious elite, it seems, had a spiritual eye infection of sorts. But they had gotten so used to their blurry - and even blinded - eyesight, they had barely even noticed.
Our reading for today from Acts 9 recounts one of the most important stories in all Christian history - the conversion of Saul to Christianity. One commentator duly notes about this event:
The most important event in human history apart from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the conversion to Christianity of Saul of Tarsus. If Saul had remained a Jewish rabbi, we would be missing thirteen of twenty-seven books of the New Testament and Christianity's early major expansion to the Gentiles. (William J. Larkin, IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Acts)
The story is well known. Saul is "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (verse 1). Indeed, he stood guard at the stoning of Christianity's first martyr, Stephen (cf. Acts 8:1). And now he's journeying to Damascus to continue his crusade against Christianity. But as he's on his way, "a light from heaven flashes around him" (verse 3) and the living Lord speaks to him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me" (verse 4)? Following his encounter with Christ, Luke makes this important note about Paul's eyesight: "Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing" (verse 8). It seems as though Jesus had given Saul a physical manifestation of his sad spiritual state. For Saul was one of the blind guides that Jesus had so acerbically condemned during his earthly ministry.
Blessedly, Saul's blindness was only temporary. Three days later, after he was filled with the Holy Spirit, "something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized" (verse 18). Saul has gone from a blinded spiritual reprobate to a seeing regenerated child of God!
Most everyone has sung the words of the old John Newton hymn: "I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see." This was most certainly the case - spiritually and physically - in Saul's life. But it is true in our lives too. For, as God's children, we can see! Although this sinful world and our depraved natures prevent us from seeing perfectly (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12), we can nevertheless see all we need to see for our salvation - for we can see the cross.
15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,1 16 Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.2 This shall be the north side.3
18 “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.4 This shall be the east side.
19 “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt5 to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.
20 “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.
21 “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.
48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending6 from the east side to the west,7 Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.
8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits8 in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,0009 in breadth. 10 These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.10 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.
[1] 47:15
[2] 47:17
[3] 47:17
[4] 47:18
[5] 47:19
[6] 48:1
[7] 48:1
[8] 48:8
[9] 48:9
[10] 48:13
(ESV)
It is impossible for us today to identify all of the locations that were cited by Ezekiel to designate the borders of the restored nation of Israel. The northern border was with what is today Lebanon and Syria. The eastern border no longer included the region to the east side of the Jordan River, which is today the country of Jordan. The southern border was a dry riverbed with seasonal flow from KadeshBarnea northwest to the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean was the western border from south of Gaza to the northern border with what is now Lebanon. The aliens who sojourned in the land with the Jews were to be welcomed and well treated, and their children born in the land were to be considered native-born Israelites. The tribe in which the alien settled was to provide him with an inheritance of land. Five tribes were allocated land south of the New Temple and its holy district. These included Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun and Gad. North of the New Temple were Judah, and the other remaining tribes, Reuben, Ephraim, Manasseh, Naphtali, Asher, and Dan being the northernmost allotment.The allotment of land for the temple complex, including the land occupied by the priests and the Levites, was once again set forth by Ezekiel.
1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
(ESV)