M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah
21 Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve, and he reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hephzibah. 2 He did what the Lord considered to be evil, following the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord had expelled in full view of the people of Israel. 3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal, crafted an Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done, and worshipped and served the stars of heaven. 4 He also built altars in the Lord’s Temple, about which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will place my Name.” 5 He built two altars to every star in the heavens in the two courts of the Lord’s Temple. 6 He made his son into a burnt offering, practiced witchcraft, used divination, and consorted with mediums and spirit-channelers.[a] He practiced many things that the Lord considered to be evil and provoked him.
7 He also erected the carved image of Asherah that he had made inside the Temple about which the Lord had spoken to David and to his son Solomon, “I will put my Name forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel. 8 And I will not make Israel’s feet to wander anymore from the land that I have given to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them according to the entire Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they would not listen. Manasseh led them astray to practice more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed in the presence of the Israelis.
The Lord Rebukes Manasseh’s Idolatry
10 So the Lord announced through his prophets, 11 “Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these despicable things, acting more sinfully than did all of the Amorites who preceded him, including making Judah sin with its idols, 12 therefore this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look! I’m going to bring such a[b] disaster to Jerusalem and Judah that both ears of those who hear about it will ring. 13 I’ll stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line that is Samaria and the plumb line that is Ahab’s dynasty. Then I’ll wipe Jerusalem like one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down! 14 I will abandon the survivors of my heritage and hand them over to their enemies. They will become war booty and spoil to all of their enemies, 15 because they have done what I consider to be evil and they have provoked me from the day their ancestors left Egypt right up to this day!’”
16 In addition to this, Manasseh shed lots of innocent blood—until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another—besides his sin by which he caused Judah to sin by practicing what the Lord considered to be evil. 17 The rest of Manasseh’s deeds, including everything that he accomplished and the sin that he practiced, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 18 Manasseh died, as did[c] his ancestors, and he was buried in the garden at his home in the Garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.
Amon Reigns in Judah
19 Amon began to reign at the age of 22, and ruled for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his father Manasseh had done, 21 because he completely adopted his father’s lifestyle, serving the same idols his father had served and worshipped. 22 As a result, he abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not walk in the Lord’s way. 23 Later on, Amon’s staff conspired against him and killed the king inside his own home. 24 But afterward, the people of the land executed everyone who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land installed his son Josiah to be king in his place.
25 Now the rest of Amon’s activities that he undertook are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 26 He was buried in his own grave in the Garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.
The Messiah is Superior to Moses
3 Therefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s[a] household, 3 because he is worthy of greater glory than Moses in the same way that the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 After all, every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful in all God’s[b] household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later, 6 but the Messiah[c] was faithful[d] as the Son in charge of God’s[e] household, and we are his household if we hold on to our courage and the hope in which we rejoice.[f]
A Rest for the People of God
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as they did when they provoked me
during the time of testing in the wilderness.
9 There your ancestors tested me,
even though they had seen my actions 10 for 40 years.
That is why I was indignant with that generation and said,
‘They are always going astray in their hearts,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So in my anger I swore a solemn oath
that they would never enter my rest.”[g]
12 See to it, my brothers, that no evil, unbelieving heart is found in any of you, as shown by your turning away from the living God. 13 Instead, continue to encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, 14 because we are the Messiah’s[h] partners only if we hold on to our original confidence to the end.[i] 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as they did when they provoked me.”[j]
16 Now who heard him and provoked him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led[k] by Moses? 17 And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned and whose bodies fell dead in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.
A Call to Repentance
14 [a]“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have fallen due to your own iniquity.
2 Bring a prepared speech with you
as you return to the Lord. Say to him:
‘Take away all our[b] iniquity,
and accept what is good.
Then we will present the fruit[c] of our lips.
3 Assyria won’t save us;
we won’t be riding on horses,
Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands,
“You are[d] our God.”
Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’
4 “I will correct their apostasy,
loving them freely,
since my anger will have turned away from them.[e]
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
Israel[f] will blossom like a lily,
growing roots like the cedars of[g] Lebanon.
6 Israel’s[h] branches will spread out,
and its beauty will be like an olive tree,
with its scent like that of Lebanon.
7 Those who live under its protection[i] will surely return.
Their grain will flourish;
they will blossom like a vine,
and Israel’s[j] scent will be like wine from Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim, what have I in common with idols?
I have listened and will pay attention to him.
I am like a flourishing cypress;
in me will your fruit be found.”
Concluding Counsel
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things.
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right:
the righteous follow his example,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
God’s Knowledge and Presence
139 Lord, you have examined me;
you have known me.
2 You know when I rest[a]
and when I am active.[b]
You understand what I am thinking
when I am distant from you.[c]
3 You scrutinize my life and my rest;[d]
you are familiar with all of my ways.
4 Even before I have formed a word with my tongue,
you, Lord, know it completely!
5 You encircle me from back to front,
placing your hand upon me.
6 Knowledge like this is too amazing for me.
It is beyond my reach,
and I cannot fathom it.
The Magnitude of God
7 Where can I flee from your spirit?
Or where will I run from your presence?
8 If I rise to heaven, there you are!
If I lay down with the dead,[e] there you are!
9 If I take wings with the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon[f]
10 your hand will guide me there, too,
while your right hand keeps a firm grip on me.
11 If I say, “Darkness will surely conceal me,
and the light around me will become night,”[g]
12 even darkness isn’t dark to you,
darkness and light are the same to you.[h]
13 It was you who formed my internal organs,[i]
fashioning me within my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you,
because you are fearful and wondrous![j]
Your work is wonderful,
and I am fully aware of it.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being crafted in a hidden place,
knit together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes looked upon my embryo,
and everything was recorded in your book.
The days scheduled[k] for my formation were inscribed,
even though not one of them had come yet.[l]
17 How deep[m] are your thoughts, God!
How great is their number!
18 Were I to count them,
they would number more than the sand.
When I awake, I will be with you.
19 God, if only you would execute the wicked,
so that[n] the men guilty of bloodshed would get away from me,
20 who speak against you with evil motives,
your enemies who are acting in vain.
21 I hate those who hate you, Lord, do I not?
I loathe those who rebel against you, do I not ?
22 With consummate hatred I hate them;
I consider them my enemies.
23 Examine me, God, and know my mind,
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive tendency[o] in me,
and lead me in the eternal way.
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