M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah
19 When King Hezekiah heard Eliakim’s report,[a] he tore his clothes, put on a sackcloth covering, entered the Lord’s Temple, 2 and sent Eliakim the household supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests—all of them covered in sackcloth—to Amoz’s son, the prophet Isaiah. 3 They announced to him:
“This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy,[b] because children are about to be born, but there is no strength to bring them to birth. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will take note of everything that Rab-shakeh has said, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to taunt the living God, and then he will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the survivors who remain.’”
5 That is how the King Hezekiah’s servants approached Isaiah.
6 In reply, Isaiah responded to them, “Here’s how you’re to report to your master:
‘This is what the Lord says: “Never be afraid of the words that you have heard by which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Look! I’m going to cause an attitude[c] to grow within him so that he’ll hear a rumor and return to his own territory, where I’ll make him die by the sword in his own land!”’”
Sennacherib Defies God(A)
8 So Rab-shakeh returned and found the king of Assyria at war with Libnah, because Rab-shakeh had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 When he heard that it was being said about King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,[d] “Look! He has come out to attack you!” he again sent messengers to Hezekiah.
The messengers were told, 10 “This is what you are to say to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust deceive you by telling you[e] “Jerusalem won’t be turned over to the control[f] of Assyria’s king.” 11 ‘Look! you’ve heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands—they completely destroyed them! Will you be spared? 12 Did the gods of those nations whom my ancestors destroyed deliver them, including Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Eden’s descendants in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephar-vaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer for Help
14 Hezekiah took the messages from the couriers, read them, went up to the Lord’s Temple, and laid them out in the presence of the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed in the presence of the Lord, “Lord God of Israel! You live between the cherubim! You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have fashioned the heavens and the earth. 16 Turn[g] your ear, Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message sent by Sennacherib to insult the living God! 17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated nations and their territories, 18 throwing their gods into the fire, since they weren’t gods but rather were the product of men’s handiwork—wood and stone. And so they destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, I’m praying that you will deliver us from his control, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God!”
God’s Answer through Isaiah the Prophet
20 Then Amoz’s son Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, I have listened.’”
21 “This is what the Lord has spoken against him:
‘She despises and mocks you,
this virgin daughter of Zion!
Behind your back she shakes her head,
this daughter of Jerusalem!
22 Who are you reproaching and blaspheming?
Against whom have you raised your voice?
And against whom[h] have you lifted up your eyes in arrogance?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have insulted the Lord.
You have claimed,
“With my many chariots
I ascended the heights of the mountains,
including the remotest regions of Lebanon;
I cut down its tall cedars
and the best of its cypress trees.
I entered its most remote lodging place
and its most fruitful[i] forest.
24 I myself dug for and drank foreign water.
With the sole of my foot I dried up all the streams of Egypt!”
25 ‘Didn’t you hear?
I determined it years ago!
I planned this from ancient times,
and now I’ve brought it to pass,
to turn fortified cities
into piles of ruins
26 while their inhabitants, lacking strength,
stand dismayed and confused.
They were like vegetation out in the fields,
and like green herbs—
just as grass that grows on a housetop
dries out before it can grow.
27 ‘But when you sit down,
when you go out,
and when you come in,
I’m aware of it!
28 Because of your rage against me,
your complacency has reached my ears.
I’ll put my hook into your nostrils
and my bit into your mouth.
Then I’ll turn you back on the road
by which you came.’
29 “This will serve as a sign for you: you’ll eat this year from what grows by itself, in the second year what grows from that, and in the third year you’ll sow, reap, plant vineyards, and enjoy[j] their fruit. 30 Those who survive from Judah’s household will again put down deep roots and bear fruit extensively,[k] 31 because a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord[l] will bring this about.”
32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘Not only will he not approach this city or shoot an arrow in its direction, he won’t approach it with so much as a shield, nor will he throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 He’ll return on the same route by which he came—he won’t come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘I will defend this city and preserve it for my own reasons, and because of my servant David.’”
God Destroys the Assyrian Army(B)
35 That very night, the angel of the Lord went out to the camp of the Assyrian army and killed 185,000 men. Early the next morning, when the army of Israel[m] arose, all 185,000 soldiers[n] were dead. 36 As a result, King Sennacherib of Assyria left and returned to Nineveh where he lived. 37 Later on, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech[o] and Sharezer killed him with a sword and fled into the territory of Ararat. Then Sennacherib’s[p] son Esarhaddon became king in his place.
God Has Spoken to Us
1 God, having spoken in former times in fragmentary and varied fashion to our forefathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe. 3 He is the reflection[a] of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty 4 and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.
God’s Son is Superior to the Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God[b] ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father”?[c] Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?[d] 6 And again, when he brings[e] his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”[f] 7 Now about the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”[g]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a righteous scepter.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you rather than your companions
with the oil of gladness.”[h]
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord,[i]
you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will come to an end,
but you will remain forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will roll them up like a robe,
and they will be changed like clothes.
But you remain the same,
and your life[j] will never end.”[k]
13 But to which of the angels did he ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?[l]
14 All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?
Israel’s Sin
12 [a]“Ephraim feeds on the wind,
chasing after the eastern winds,
storing up lies and desolation day after day.
They are making a contract with the Assyrians,
and sending oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord accuses Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him for what he does.
3 He circumvented his brother[b] in the womb,
and as an adult he fought with God.
4 He even fought the angel and won;
he cried and prayed to him.
Then at Bethel he found him,
and there he spoke with us—
5 the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies—
the Lord is his name.[c]
6 So you, return to your God;
guard grace and justice,
and look to your God always.
7 “Now as for the merchant,[d]
deceitful balances remain in his hand,
and he loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim claims,
‘I have become rich,
I have made a fortune!
Because of all my wealth,
no one will find any iniquity or sin in me.’
9 “Yet I remain the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the festival of that name.[e]
10 I spoke to the prophets,
giving revelation after revelation,
and employing parables in the prophetic writings.[f]
11 “There’s iniquity in Gilead, isn’t there?
They have become truly vain.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.
12 Jacob fled into the land of Aram;[g]
Israel served there to obtain his wife,
tending sheep to gain[h] his wife.
13 “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet he[i] was rescued.
14 Ephraim has stirred up violent anger;
therefore the guilt of his blood will remain on him,
and his Lord will repay him for his contempt.”
Praising God for His Graciousness
135 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Give praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who are standing in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyards of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord,
because the Lord is good;
Sing to his name,
for he is gracious.
4 It is Jacob whom the Lord chose for himself—
Israel as his personal possession.
5 Indeed, I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord[a] surpasses all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all its[b] deep regions.
7 He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
fashioning lightning for the rain,
bringing the wind from his storehouses.
8 It was the Lord[c] who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
before[d] Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations,
killing many kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and every kingdom of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, exists forever,
and your reputation, Lord, throughout the ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and he will show compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
worked by[e] the hands of human beings.
16 Mouths are attributed to them,
but they cannot speak;
sight is attributed to them,
but they cannot see;
17 ears are attributed to them,
but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who craft them—
and all[f] who trust in them—
will become like them.
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who lives in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
God’s Gracious Love
136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
4 To the one who alone does great and wondrous things,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
5 to the one who by wisdom made the heavens,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
6 to the one who spread out the earth over the waters,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
7 to the one who made the great lights,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
8 the sun to illumine[g] the day,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
9 and the moon and stars to illumine[h] the night,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
10 to the one who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
12 with a strong hand and an active[i] arm,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
13 To the one who split the Reed[j] Sea in two
for his gracious love is everlasting—
14 and made Israel pass through the middle of it,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
15 and cast Pharaoh and his armies into the Reed[k] Sea,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
16 To the one who led his people into the wilderness,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
18 and killed famous kings,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
19 including Sihon king of the Amorites,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
20 and Og king of Bashan,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
22 to Israel his servant as a possession,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
23 He it is who remembered us in our lowly circumstances,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
24 and rescued us from our enemies,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
25 He gives food to all creatures,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the God of Heaven,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
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