M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Elijah Announces No Dew or Rain

17 Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab, “I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won’t be any during the next few years. It won’t come until I say so.”

Elijah Is Fed by Ravens

² Then a message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, ³ “Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River. ⁴ You will drink water from the brook. I have directed some ravens to supply you with food there.”

⁵ So Elijah did what the Lord had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the Jordan River. He stayed there. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. They also brought him bread and meat in the evening. He drank water from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

⁷ Some time later the brook dried up. It hadn’t rained in the land for quite a while. ⁸ A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, ⁹ “Go right away to Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink.” ¹¹ She went to get the water. Then he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”

¹² “I don’t have any bread,” she replied. “And that’s just as sure as the Lord your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home. I’ll make one last meal for myself and my son. We’ll eat it. After that, we’ll die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home. Do what you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me. Make it out of what you have. Bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. The jug will always have oil in it. You will have flour and oil until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”

¹⁵ She went away and did what Elijah had told her to do. So Elijah had food every day. There was also food for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ The jar of flour wasn’t used up. The jug always had oil in it. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He got worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing. ¹⁸ The woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. What do you have against me? Did you come to bring my sin out into the open? Did you come to kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms. He carried him to the upstairs room where he was staying. He put him down on his bed. ²⁰ Then Elijah cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, I’m staying with this widow. Have you brought pain and sorrow even to her? Have you caused her son to die?” ²¹ Then he lay down on the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, give this boy’s life back to him!”

²² The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. He gave the boy’s life back to him. So the boy lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from the upstairs room into the house. He gave him to his mother. He said, “Look! Your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God. I know that the message you have brought from the Lord is true.”

4 Masters, give your slaves what is right and fair. Do it because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

More Teachings

² Give a lot of time and effort to prayer. Always be watchful and thankful. ³ Pray for us too. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to preach our message. Then we can preach the mystery of Christ. Because I preached it, I am being held by chains. ⁴ Pray that I will preach it clearly, as I should. ⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let the words you speak always be full of grace. Learn how to make your words what people want to hear. Then you will know how to answer everyone.

Final Greetings

⁷ Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother. He is a faithful worker. He serves the Lord together with us. ⁸ I am sending him to you for one reason. I want you to know what is happening here. I want him to encourage you and make your hearts strong. ⁹ He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother. He is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

¹⁰ Aristarchus is in prison with me. He sends you his greetings. So does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have been given directions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him.

¹¹ Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. They are the only Jews who have worked together with me for God’s kingdom. They have been a comfort to me.

¹² Epaphras sends greetings. He is one of you. He serves Christ Jesus. He is always praying hard for you. He prays that you will hold on tightly to all that God has in mind for us. He prays that you will keep growing in your knowledge of what God wants. He also prays that you will be completely sure about it. ¹³ I am happy to tell you that he is working very hard for you. He is also working hard for everyone in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴ Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, sends greetings. So does Demas.

¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea. Also give my greetings to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.

¹⁶ After this letter has been read to you, send it on. Be sure that it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And be sure that you read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷ Tell Archippus, “Be sure that you complete the work the Lord gave you to do.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember that I am being held by chains. May grace be with you.

A River Will Flow From the Temple

47 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple. I saw water flowing east from under a temple gateway. The temple faced east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple. It was flowing south of the altar. ² Then he brought me out through the north gate of the outer courtyard. He led me around the outside to the outer gate that faced east. The water was flowing from the south side of the east gate.

³ Then the man went toward the east. He had a measuring line in his hand. He measured off 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my ankles. ⁴ Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my knees. Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. He led me through water that was up to my waist. ⁵ Then he measured off another 1,700 feet. But now it was a river that I could not go across. The water had risen so high that it was deep enough to swim in. ⁶ He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ When I arrived there, I saw many trees. They were on both sides of the river. ⁸ The man said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern territory. It goes down into the Arabah Valley. There it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into it, the salt water there becomes fresh. ⁹ Many creatures will live where the river flows. It will have many schools of fish. This water flows there and makes the salt water fresh. So where the river flows everything will live. ¹⁰ People will stand along the shore to fish. From En Gedi all the way to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading fishnets. The Dead Sea will have many kinds of fish. They will be like the fish in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But none of the swamps will have fresh water in them. They will stay salty. ¹² Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry up. The trees will always have fruit on them. Every month they will bear fruit. The water from the temple will flow to them. Their fruit will be used for food. And their leaves will be used for healing.”

The Borders of the Land

¹³ Here is what the Lord and King says. “People of Israel, here are the borders of the land that you will divide up. You will divide up the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe will receive a share. But the family of Joseph will have two shares. ¹⁴ Divide the land into equal parts. Long ago I raised my hand and made a promise. I promised to give the land to your people of long ago. So all of it will belong to you.

¹⁵ “Here are the borders of the land.

²¹ “You must divide up this land among yourselves. Do this based on the number of men in your tribes. ²² Each of the tribes must receive a share of the land. You must also give some land to the outsiders who live among you and who have children. Treat them as if they had been born in Israel. Let them have some land among your tribes. ²³ Outsiders can live in the land of any tribe. There you must give them their share,” announces the Lord and King.

A psalm of David.