M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Absalom Makes Secret Plans Against David

15 Some time later, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself. He also got 50 men to run in front of him. ² He would get up early. He would stand by the side of the road that led to the city gate. Sometimes a person would come with a case for the king to decide. Then Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “I’m from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are based on the law. So you have every right to make them. But the king doesn’t have anyone here who can listen to your case.” ⁴ Absalom would continue, “I wish I were appointed judge in the land! Then anyone who has a case or a claim could come to me. I would make sure they are treated fairly.”

⁵ Sometimes people would approach Absalom and bow down to him. Then he would reach out his hand. He would take hold of them and kiss them. ⁶ Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to the king with their cases or claims. That’s why the hearts of the people were turned toward him.

⁷ After Absalom had lived in Jerusalem for four years, he went and spoke to the king. He said, “Let me go to Hebron. I want to keep a promise I made to the Lord. ⁸ When I was living at Geshur in Aram, I made a promise. I said, ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I’ll go to Hebron and worship him there.’ ”

⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent messengers secretly to all the tribes of Israel. They said, “Listen for the sound of trumpets. As soon as you hear them, say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron.’ ” ¹¹ Absalom had taken 200 men from Jerusalem with him to Hebron. He had invited them to be his guests. They went without having any idea what was going to happen. ¹² While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel. Ahithophel was David’s adviser. He came to Absalom from Giloh, his hometown. The number of people who followed Absalom kept growing. So he became more and more able to carry out his plans against David.

David Runs Away From Absalom

¹³ A messenger came and spoke to David. He told him, “The hearts of the Israelites are turned toward Absalom.”

¹⁴ Then David spoke to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem. He said, “Come on! We have to leave right away! If we don’t, none of us will escape from Absalom. He’ll move quickly to catch up with us. He’ll destroy us. His men will kill everyone in the city with their swords.”

¹⁵ The king’s officials answered him, “You are our king and master. We’re ready to do anything you want.”

¹⁶ The king started out. Everyone in his whole family went with him. But he left ten concubines behind to take care of the palace. ¹⁷ So the king and all those with him left. They stopped at the edge of the city. ¹⁸ All of David’s officials marched past him. All the Kerethites and Pelethites marched along with them. And all of the 600 men who had come with him from Gath marched in front of him.

¹⁹ The king spoke to Ittai. He was from Gath. The king said to him, “Why do you want to come along with us? Go back. Stay with King Absalom. You are an outsider. You left your own country. ²⁰ You came to join me only a short time ago. So why should I make you wander around with us now? I don’t even know where I’m going. So go on back. Take your people with you. And may the Lord be kind and faithful to you.”

²¹ But Ittai replied to the king, “You are my king and master. I want to be where you are. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.”

²² David said to Ittai, “Go ahead then. Keep marching with my men.” So Ittai, the Gittite, kept marching. All his men and their families marched with him.

²³ All the people in the countryside wept out loud as David and all his followers passed by. The king went across the Kidron Valley. He and all the people with him moved on toward the desert.

²⁴ Zadok also went with them. Some of the Levites went with him. They were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark. Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had left the city.

²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he’ll bring me back. He’ll let me see the ark again. He’ll also let me see Jerusalem again. That’s the place where he lives. ²⁶ But suppose he says, ‘I am not pleased with you.’ Then I accept that. Let him do to me what he thinks is best.”

²⁷ The king said again to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you. Also take Abiathar and his son Jonathan with you. ²⁸ I’ll wait at the place in the desert where we can go across the Jordan River. I’ll wait there until you send word to let me know what’s happening.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem. They stayed there.

³⁰ But David went on up the Mount of Olives. He was weeping as he went. His head was covered, and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too. And they were weeping as they went up. ³¹ David had been told, “Ahithophel, along with Absalom, is one of the people making secret plans against you.” So David prayed, “Lord, make Ahithophel’s advice look foolish.”

³² David arrived at the top of the Mount of Olives. That’s where people used to worship God. Hushai, the Arkite, was there to meet him. His robe was torn. There was dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be too much trouble for me. ³⁴ So return to the city. Say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I’ll be your servant. In the past, I was your father’s servant. But now I’ll be your servant.’ If you do that, you can help me by making sure Ahithophel’s advice fails. ³⁵ Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there with you. Tell them everything you hear in the king’s palace. ³⁶ They have their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan there with them. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”

³⁷ So David’s trusted friend Hushai went to Jerusalem. He arrived just as Absalom was entering the city.

Giving Freely to the Lord’s People

8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given to the churches in Macedonia. ² They have suffered a great deal. But in their suffering, their joy was more than full. Even though they were very poor, they gave very freely. ³ I tell you that they gave as much as they could. In fact, they gave even more than they could. Completely on their own, ⁴ they begged us for the chance to share in serving the Lord’s people in that way. ⁵ They did more than we expected. First they gave themselves to the Lord. Then they gave themselves to us because that was what God wanted. ⁶ Titus had already started collecting money from you. So we asked him to help you finish making your kind gift. ⁷ You do well in everything else. You do well in faith and in speaking. You do well in knowledge and in complete commitment. And you do well in the love we have helped to start in you. So make sure that you also do well in the grace of giving to others.

⁸ I am not commanding you to do it. But I want to test you. I want to find out if you really love God. I want to compare your love with that of others. ⁹ You know the grace shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though he was rich, he became poor to help you. Because he became poor, you can become rich.

¹⁰ Here is my opinion about what is best for you in that matter. Last year you were the first to give. You were also the first to want to give. ¹¹ So finish the work. Then your desire to do it will be matched by your finishing it. Give on the basis of what you have. ¹² Do you really want to give? Then the gift is measured by what someone has. It is not measured by what they don’t have.

¹³ We don’t want others to have it easy at your expense. We want things to be equal. ¹⁴ Right now you have plenty in order to take care of what they need. Then they will have plenty to take care of what you need. The goal is to even things out. ¹⁵ It is written, “The one who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And the one who gathered a little had enough.” (Exodus 16:18)

Paul Sends Titus to Corinth to Receive the Offering

¹⁶ God put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. Thanks should be given to God for this. ¹⁷ Titus welcomed our appeal. He is also excited about coming to you. It was his own idea. ¹⁸ Along with Titus, we are sending another brother. All the churches praise him for his service in telling the good news. ¹⁹ He was also chosen by the churches to go with us as we bring the offering. We are in charge of it. We want to honor the Lord himself. We want to show how ready we are to help. ²⁰ We want to keep anyone from blaming us for how we take care of that large gift. ²¹ We are trying hard to do what both the Lord and people think is right.

²² We are also sending another one of our brothers with them. He has often proved to us in many ways that he is very committed. He is now even more committed because he has great faith in you. ²³ Titus is my helper. He and I work together among you. Our brothers are messengers from the churches. They honor Christ. ²⁴ So show them that you really love them. Show them why we are proud of you. Then the churches can see it.

The Lord Judges Jerusalem for Its Sins

22 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,

² “Son of man, are you going to judge Jerusalem? Will you judge this city that has so many murderers in it? Then tell its people they have done many evil things. I hate those things. ³ Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Your city brings death on itself. You spill blood inside its walls. You make yourselves ‘unclean’ by making statues of gods. ⁴ You are guilty of spilling blood. Your statues have made you ‘unclean.’ You have brought your days to a close. The end of your years has come. So the nations will make fun of you. All the countries will laugh at you. ⁵ Those who are near you will tell jokes about you. So will those who are far away. Trouble fills the streets of your sinful city.

⁶ “ ‘ “The princes of Israel are in your city. All of them use their power to spill blood. ⁷ They have made fun of fathers and mothers alike. They have crushed outsiders. They have treated badly the children whose fathers have died. They have done the same thing to widows. ⁸ You have looked down on the holy things that were set apart to me. You have misused my Sabbath days. ⁹ You have spread lies about others so you can spill someone’s blood. You eat at the mountain temples. You commit impure acts. ¹⁰ You bring shame on your fathers by having sex with their wives. You have sex with women during their monthly period. That is when they are ‘unclean.’ ¹¹ One of you has sex with another man’s wife. I hate that sin. Another brings shame on his daughter-in-law by having sex with her. Still another has sex with his sister, even though she is his own father’s daughter. ¹² You accept money from people who want special favors. You do this to spill someone’s blood. You charge interest to poor people when you lend them money. You make money from them. You get rich by cheating your neighbors. And you have forgotten me,” announces the Lord and King.

¹³ “ ‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city. ¹⁴ Will you be brave on the day I deal with you? Will you be strong at that time? I have spoken. I will do this. I am the Lord. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations. I will send you to other countries. I will put an end to your ‘uncleanness.’ ¹⁶ You will be ‘unclean’ in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

¹⁷ A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the people of Israel have become like scum to me. All of them are like the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are only the scum that is removed from silver.” ¹⁹ So the Lord and King says, “People of Israel, all of you have become like scum. So I will gather you together in Jerusalem. ²⁰ People put silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace. They melt it with a blazing fire. In the same way, I will gather you. I will pour out my burning anger on you. I will put you inside the city and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you together. My burning anger will blaze out at you. And you will be melted inside Jerusalem. ²² Silver is melted in a furnace. And you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I have poured out my burning anger on you. I am the Lord.”

²³ Another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ²⁴ “Son of man, speak to the land. Tell it, ‘You have not been washed clean with rain. That’s because I am angry with you.’ ²⁵ Ezekiel, the princes of the land are like a roaring lion that tears its food apart. They eat people up. They take treasures and other valuable things. They cause many women in the land to become widows. ²⁶ Its priests break my law. They treat things set apart to me as if they were not holy. They treat holy and common things as if they were the same. They teach that there is no difference between things that are ‘clean’ and things that are not. They refuse to keep my Sabbath days. So they treat me as if I were not holy. ²⁷ The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich. ²⁸ The prophets cover up these acts for them. The visions of these prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say, ‘The Lord and King says.’ But I have not spoken to them. ²⁹ The people of the land get rich by cheating others. They steal. They crush those who are poor and in need. They treat outsiders badly. They refuse to be fair to them.

³⁰ “I looked for someone among them who would stand up for Jerusalem. I tried to find someone who would pray to me for the land. Then I would not have to destroy it. But I could not find anyone who would pray for it. ³¹ So I will pour out my anger on its people. I will destroy them because of my great anger against them. And anything that happens to them will be their own fault,” announces the Lord and King.

For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “Lilies.”