The Living Bible (402 page)

Bible Reading Plan

Introduction

We usually think of the Bible as one book. That’s logical because it looks like one book and claims to come from one Author. We also speak of it as God’s Word. But when we read and study the Bible, we discover that it is actually an entire library between two covers. Not one book, but 66 (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament)! Each book has its own style and uniqueness—yet each book contributes to the message God wants to convey throughout his Word. What’s more, though we use the word book, some parts of the Bible are letters (like Paul’s letter to the Romans) or song collections (like Psalms). Still, the overall message of the Bible is one message because it has one main Author—God. The styles throughout the Bible vary because God teamed up with dozens ofpeople to write his Word.

How This Plan Is Different

There are many plans to help you read through the Bible library. You can even start at page one and read straight through. The approach taken here, however, is designed to help you get a taste of the whole Bible by reading short selections from it each day throughout the year. You will be reading the best-known stories and many of the most important passages. Some parts of the Bible offer so much help that they can be read every day. Among these are the Gospels, Psalms, and Proverbs. One way or another, you need to get into God’s Word!

The Months of the Year

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Old Testament

January 1

Genesis 1:1–2:3
/ How It All Began

January 2

Genesis 2:15–3:24
/ Adam and Eve

January 3

Genesis 4:1-16
/ Cain and Abel

January 4

Genesis 6:9-22
/ Noah Builds a Boat

January 5

Genesis 7:1-24
/ The Great Flood

January 6

Genesis 8:1-22
/ A Long Wait

January 7

Genesis 9:1-17
/ Rules and Rainbows

January 8

Genesis 11:1-9
/ Tower of Babel

January 9

Genesis 12:1-9
;
17:1-8
/ God’s Promises to Abraham

January 10

Genesis 18:1-15
/ Unusual Visitors

January 11

Genesis 19:15-29
/ Sodom and Gomorrah

January 12

Genesis 21:8-21
/ Hagar and Ishmael

January 13

Genesis 22:1-19
/ Abraham’s Painful Decision

January 14

Genesis 24:1-27
/ A Man Named Eliezer

January 15

Genesis 24:28-67
/ Isaac and Rebekah

January 16

Genesis 25:19-34
/ Jacob and Esau

January 17

Genesis 27:1-40
/ Jacob Tricks His Father

January 18

Genesis 28:10-22
/ Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

January 19

Genesis 29:14-30
/ Jacob’s Marriages

January 20

Genesis 32:1–33:16
/ Jacob Returns Home

January 21

Genesis 37:1-36
/ Jacob’s Children

January 22

Genesis 39:1-23
/ Joseph in Trouble

January 23

Genesis 40:1-23
/ Dreams in the Prison

January 24

Genesis 41:1-36
/ Dreams in the Palace

January 25

Genesis 41:37-57
/ Joseph Made Ruler

January 26

Genesis 42:1-38
/ Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

January 27

Genesis 43:1-34
/ The Brothers Return to Egypt

January 28

Genesis 44:1-34
/ Crisis in the Palace

January 29

Genesis 45:1-28
/ Joseph Reveals His Identity

January 30

Genesis 49:1-33
/ Jacob’s Final Words

January 31

Exodus 1:8–2:10
/ The Birth of Moses

February 1

Exodus 2:11-25
/ Moses on the Run

February 2

Exodus 3:1-22
/ God’s Burning Bush

February 3

Exodus 4:1-17
/ Moses Is Uncertain

February 4

Exodus 5:1-23
/ Moses Confronts Pharaoh

February 5

Exodus 6:1-13
/ God Promises Deliverance

February 6

Exodus 7:1-14
/ Pharaoh’s Stubbornness

February 7

Exodus 7:15–9:7
/ The First Five Plagues

February 8

Exodus 9:8–10:29
/ Four More Plagues

February 9

Exodus 11:1-10
;
12:29-36
/ The Ultimate Plague

February 10

Exodus 13:17–14:31
/ A Narrow Escape

February 11

Exodus 15:22-27
;
17:1-7
/ God Provides Water

February 12

Exodus 16:1-36
/ God’s Food Supply

February 13

Exodus 18:1-27
/ Helpful Advice

February 14

Exodus 19:1-25
/ A Meeting with God

February 15

Exodus 20:1-22
/ The Ten Commandments

February 16

Exodus 32:1-29
/ The Calf of Gold

February 17

Exodus 40:1-38
/ Instructions for God’s Tent

February 18

Numbers 12:1-16
/ Moses under Fire

February 19

Numbers 13:1–14:4
/ Spying out the Land

February 20

Numbers 14:5-45
/ A Majority That Was Wrong

February 21

Numbers 21:4-9
/ Another Hard Lesson

February 22

Numbers 22:5-38
/ Balaam and His Donkey

February 23

Deuteronomy 29:1-29
/ Moses Reviews God’s Actions

February 24

Deuteronomy 30:1-20
/ Moses Challenges the People

February 25

Deuteronomy 31:1-8
/ Moses Appoints New Leaders

February 26

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
/ The Death of Moses

February 27

Joshua 1:1-18
/ The Lord Takes Command

February 28

Joshua 2:1-24
/ Spies Visit Jericho

March 1

Joshua 3:1-17
/ The Invasion of Canaan

March 2

Joshua 5:13–6:27
/ The Battle of Jericho

March 3

Joshua 7:1-26
/ Ultimate Consequences

March 4

Joshua 10:1-15
/ The Longest Day

March 5

Joshua 23:1-16
/ Joshua Warns the Leaders

March 6

Joshua 24:1-31
/ Joshua’s Last Words

March 7

Judges 4:4-24
/ Deborah Judges Israel

March 8

Judges 6:1-40
/ Gideon Called to Lead

March 9

Judges 7:1-25
/ Gideon and the Midianites

March 10

Judges 13:1-25
/ The Birth of Samson

March 11

Judges 14:1-20
/ Samson’s Riddle

March 12

Judges 15:1-20
/ Samson and the Jawbone

March 13

Judges 16:1-21
/ Samson and Delilah

March 14

Judges 16:22-31
/ The Death of Samson

March 15

Ruth 1:1-22
/ Ruth and Naomi

March 16

Ruth 2:1-23
/ Ruth Meets Boaz

March 17

Ruth 3:1-18
/ Ruth Finds a Husband

March 18

Ruth 4:1-22
/ A Happy Ending

March 19

1 Samuel 1:1-28
/ A Serious Prayer

March 20

1 Samuel 3:1-21
/ God Calls Samuel

March 21

1 Samuel 8:1-5
/ Samuel’s Sons

March 22

1 Samuel 8:6-22
/ The People Want a King

March 23

1 Samuel 9:1-21
/ Saul and the Lost Donkeys

March 24

1 Samuel 10:1-27
/ Saul Becomes King

March 25

1 Samuel 14:1-23
/ Saul’s Son Jonathan

March 26

1 Samuel 16:1-13
/ Samuel Appoints David

March 27

1 Samuel 17:1-31
/ Goliath’s Challenge

March 28

1 Samuel 17:32-58
/ David Kills Goliath

March 29

1 Samuel 18:1-30
/ Saul Becomes Jealous

March 30

1 Samuel 20:1-42
/ David and Jonathan

March 31

1 Samuel 24:1-22
/ David Spares Saul’s Life

April 1

1 Samuel 25:1-42
/ David and Abigail

April 2

1 Samuel 28:1-25
/ Saul Consults a Medium

April 3

2 Samuel 5:1-12
/ David Rules All Israel

April 4

2 Samuel 9:1-13
/ King David’s Kindness

April 5

2 Samuel 11:1-27
/ David and Bathsheba

April 6

2 Samuel 12:1-25
/ David and Nathan

April 7

2 Samuel 13:1-19
/ Consequences of Sin

April 8

2 Samuel 13:20-39
/ Family Revenge

April 9

2 Samuel 15:1-37
/ Family Betrayal

April 10

2 Samuel 18:1-18
/ The Death of Absalom

April 11

1 Kings 1:5-27
/ Conflict over the Throne

April 12

1 Kings 1:28-53
/ Solomon Chosen as King

April 13

1 Kings 3:1-15
/ Solomon’s Wisdom

April 14

1 Kings 3:16-28
/ Solomon Solves a Conflict

April 15

1 Kings 6:1-38
/ Solomon Builds the Temple

April 16

1 Kings 10:1-13
/ Solomon’s Royal Visitor

April 17

1 Kings 12:10-24
/ Solomon’s Unwise Son

April 18

1 Kings 17:1-24
/ God Cares for Elijah

April 19

1 Kings 18:16-46
/ Contest on Mount Carmel

April 20

1 Kings 19:1-21
/ Elijah Flees to Sinai

April 21

1 Kings 21:1-29
/ The Stolen Vineyard

April 22

1 Kings 22:29-40
/ King Ahab Dies

April 23

2 Kings 2:1-12
/ Elijah Disappears

April 24

2 Kings 2:13-25
/ Elisha’s Miracles

April 25

2 Kings 5:1-27
/ The Healing of Naaman

April 26

2 Kings 11:1-21
/ Joash Is Crowned King

April 27

2 Kings 22:1–23:3
/ Finding the Lost Scroll

April 28

Ezra 3:7-13
/ Rebuilding the Temple

April 29

Nehemiah 2:1-20
/ Nehemiah Returns to Jerusalem

April 30

Nehemiah 5:1-19
/ Nehemiah’s Concern for the Poor

May 1

Nehemiah 8:1-18
/ Reading God’s Word

May 2

Esther 1:1-22
/ The Fall of a Queen

May 3

Esther 2:1-23
/ A New Queen Chosen

May 4

Esther 3:1-15
/ The Jews in Danger

May 5

Esther 4:1-17
/ Esther Decides to Help

May 6

Esther 5:1-14
/ Esther Risks Her Life

May 7

Esther 6:1–7:10
/ God Protects His People

May 8

Job 1:1-22
/ The Testing of Job

May 9

Job 2:1-13
/ Job and His Friends

May 10

Job 38:1-41
/ God Speaks to Job

May 11

Job 42:1-17
/ The Rest of Job’s Story

May 12

Psalm 1:1-6
/ Two Kinds of Lives

May 13

Psalm 8:1-9
/ The Value of Humans

May 14

Psalm 23:1-6
/ A Sheep’s Song

May 15

Psalm 51:1-19
/ A Confession of Sin

May 16

Psalm 103:1-22
/ What God Is Like

May 17

Psalm 139:1-24
/ God Knows Us Deeply

May 18

Psalm 145:1-21
/ God for all People

May 19

Proverbs 4:1-27
/ Wise Words for Life

May 20