M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Saul Takes His Own Life

31 The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.

⁴ Saul spoke to the man carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don’t, these fellows who aren’t circumcised will come. They’ll stick their swords through me and hurt me badly.”

But the man was terrified. He wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ The man saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died with him. ⁶ Saul and his three sons died together that same day. The man who carried his armor also died with them that day. So did all of Saul’s men.

⁷ The Israelites who lived along the valley saw that their army had run away. So did those who lived across the Jordan River. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and made their homes in them.

⁸ The day after the Philistines had won the battle, they came to take what they wanted from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off Saul’s head. They took his armor from his body. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news in the temple where they had set up statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people. ¹⁰ They put Saul’s armor in the temple where they had set up statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They hung his body up on the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ The people of Jabesh Gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul. ¹² So all their brave men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They brought them to Jabesh. There they burned them. ¹³ Then they got the bones of Saul and his sons and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh. They didn’t eat anything for seven days.

11 ¹ Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.

Proper Worship

² I praise you for being faithful in remembering me. I also praise you for staying true to the teachings of the past. You have stayed true to them, just as I gave them to you. ³ But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. The head of the woman is the man. And the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame on his head. ⁵ But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered brings shame on her head. It is the same as having her head shaved. ⁶ What if a woman does not cover her head? She might as well have her hair cut off. But it is shameful for her to cut her hair or shave her head. So she should cover her head.

⁷ A man should not cover his head. He is the likeness and glory of God. But woman is the glory of man. ⁸ Man did not come from woman. Woman came from man. ⁹ Also, man was not created for woman. Woman was created for man. ¹⁰ That’s why a woman should have authority over her own head. She should have this because of the angels. ¹¹ But here is how things are for those who belong to the Lord. Woman is not independent of man. And man is not independent of woman. ¹² Woman came from man, and man is born from woman. But everything comes from God.

¹³ You be the judge. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God without covering her head? ¹⁴ Suppose a man has long hair. Doesn’t the very nature of things teach you that it is shameful? ¹⁵ And suppose a woman has long hair. Doesn’t the very nature of things teach you that it is her glory? Long hair is given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ If anyone wants to argue about this, we don’t have any other practice. And God’s churches don’t either.

Celebrating the Lord’s Supper in the Right Way

¹⁷ In the following matters, I don’t praise you. Your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ First, here is what people are telling me. When you come together as a church, you take sides. And in some ways I believe it. ¹⁹ Do you really think you need to take sides? You probably think God favors one side over the other! ²⁰ So when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. ²¹ As you eat, some of you go ahead and eat your own private meals. Because of this, one person stays hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? You are shaming those in the church who have nothing. Do you think so little of God’s church that you do this? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? Certainly not about the Lord’s Supper!

²³ I passed on to you what I received from the Lord. On the night the Lord Jesus was handed over to his enemies, he took bread. ²⁴ When he had given thanks, he broke it. He said, “This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do it in memory of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do it in memory of me.” ²⁶ You eat the bread and drink the cup. When you do this, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

²⁷ Eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in the right way. Don’t do it in a way that isn’t worthy of him. If you do, you will be guilty. You’ll be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Everyone should take a careful look at themselves before they eat the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ Whoever eats and drinks must recognize the body of Christ. If they don’t, judgment will come upon them. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and sick. That is why a number of you have died. ³¹ We should think more carefully about what we are doing. Then we would not be found guilty for this. ³² When the Lord judges us in this way, he corrects us. Then in the end we will not be judged along with the rest of the world.

³³ My brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, you should all eat together. ³⁴ Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home. Then when you come together, you will not be judged.

When I come, I will give you more directions.

The Lord Judges Those Who Worship Other Gods

9 Then I heard the Lord call out in a loud voice. He said, “Bring here those who are appointed to bring my judgment on the city. Make sure each of them has a weapon in his hand.” ² I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate. It faces north. Each of them had a deadly weapon in his hand. A man wearing linen clothes came along with them. He was carrying a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ The glory of the God of Israel had been above the cherubim. It moved from there to the doorway of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man who was dressed in linen clothes. He had the writing kit. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go all through Jerusalem. Look for those who are sad and sorry about all the things being done there. I hate those things. Put a mark on the foreheads of those people.”

⁵ I heard him speak to the six men. He said, “Follow him through the city. Do not show any pity or concern. ⁶ Kill the old men and women, the young men and women, and the children. But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Start at my temple.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

⁷ Then he said to the men, “Make the temple ‘unclean.’ Fill the courtyards with dead bodies. Go!” So they went out and started killing people all through the city. ⁸ While they were doing it, I was left alone. I fell with my face toward the ground. I cried out, “Lord and King, are you going to destroy all the Israelites who are still left alive? Will you pour out your great anger on all those who remain in Jerusalem?”

⁹ He answered me, “The sin of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is full of murderers. Its people are not being fair to one another anywhere in Jerusalem. They say, ‘The Lord has deserted the land. He doesn’t see us.’ ¹⁰ So I will not spare them or feel sorry for them. Anything that happens to them will be their own fault.”

¹¹ Then the man wearing linen clothes returned. He had the writing kit. He reported, “I’ve done what you commanded.”

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.