M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Elijah Runs Away to Mount Horeb
19 Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He told her how Elijah had killed all the prophets of Baal with his sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a message to Elijah. She said, “You can be sure that I will kill you, just as I killed the other prophets. I’ll do it by this time tomorrow. If I don’t, may the gods punish me greatly.”
3 Elijah was afraid. So he ran for his life. He came to Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there. 4 Then he traveled for one day into the desert. He came to a small bush. He sat down under it. He prayed that he would die. “Lord, I’ve had enough,” he said. “Take my life. I’m no better than my people of long ago.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush. And he fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel touched him. The angel said, “Get up and eat.” 6 Elijah looked around. Near his head he saw some bread. It had been baked over hot coals. A jar of water was also there. So Elijah ate and drank. Then he lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came to him a second time. He touched him and said, “Get up and eat. Your journey will be long and hard.” 8 So he got up. He ate and drank. The food gave him new strength. He traveled for 40 days and 40 nights. He kept going until he arrived at Horeb. It was the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
10 He replied, “Lord God who rules over all, I’ve been very committed to you. The Israelites have turned their backs on your covenant. They have torn down your altars. They’ve put your prophets to death with their swords. I’m the only one left. And they are trying to kill me.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out. Stand on the mountain in front of me. I am going to pass by.”
As the Lord approached, a very powerful wind tore the mountains apart. It broke up the rocks. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake a fire came. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. And after the fire there was only a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his coat over his face. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
14 He replied, “Lord God who rules over all, I’ve been very committed to you. The Israelites have turned their backs on your covenant. They have torn down your altars. They’ve put your prophets to death with their swords. I’m the only one left. And they are trying to kill me.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came. Go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also anoint Jehu as king over Israel. He is the son of Nimshi. And anoint Elisha from Abel Meholah as the next prophet after you. He is the son of Shaphat. 17 Jehu will put to death anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword. And Elisha will put to death anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. 18 But I will keep 7,000 people in Israel for myself. They have not bowed down to Baal. And they have not kissed him.”
The Lord Chooses Elisha
19 Elijah left Mount Horeb. He saw Elisha, the son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing in a field. He was driving the last of 12 pairs of oxen. Elijah went up to him. He threw his coat around him. 20 Then Elisha left his oxen. He ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said. “Then I’ll come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He got his two oxen and killed them. He burned the plow to cook the meat. He gave it to the people, and they ate it. Then he started to follow Elijah. He became Elijah’s servant.
Paul’s Work for God in Thessalonica
2 Brothers and sisters, you know that our visit to you produced results. 2 You know what happened earlier in the city of Philippi. We suffered, and people treated us very badly there. But God gave us the boldness to tell you his good news. We preached to you even when people strongly opposed us. 3 The appeal we make is based on truth. It comes from a pure heart. We are not trying to trick you. 4 In fact, it is just the opposite. God has approved us to preach. He has trusted us with the good news. We aren’t trying to please people. We want to please God. He tests our hearts. 5 As you know, we never praised you if we didn’t mean it. We didn’t put on a mask to cover up any sinful desire. God is our witness that this is true. 6 We were not expecting people to praise us. We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else. Yet as Christ’s apostles, we could have used our authority over you. 7 Instead, we were like young children when we were with you.
As a mother feeds and cares for her little children, 8 we cared for you. We loved you so much. So we were happy to share with you God’s good news. We were also happy to share our lives with you. 9 Brothers and sisters, I am sure you remember how hard we worked. We labored night and day while we preached to you God’s good news. We didn’t want to cause you any expense. 10 You are witnesses of how we lived among you believers. God is also a witness that we were holy and godly and without blame. 11 You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We gave you hope and strength. We comforted you. We really wanted you to live in a way that is worthy of God. He chooses you to enter his glorious kingdom.
13 We never stop thanking God for the way you received his word. You heard it from us. But you didn’t accept it as a human word. You accepted it for what it really is. It is God’s word. It is really at work in you who believe. 14 Brothers and sisters, you became like the members of God’s churches in Judea. They are believers in Christ Jesus, just as you are. Your own people made you suffer. You went through the same things the church members in Judea suffered from the Jews. 15 The Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets also forced us to leave. They do not please God. They are enemies of everyone. 16 They try to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles. These Jews don’t want the Gentiles to be saved. In this way, these Jews always increase their sins to the limit. God’s anger has come on them at last.
Paul Wants to See the Believers in Thessalonica
17 Brothers and sisters, we were separated from you for a short time. Apart from you, we were like children without parents. We were no longer with you in person. But we kept you in our thoughts. We really wanted to see you. So we tried very hard to do so. 18 We wanted to come to you. Again and again I, Paul, wanted to come. But Satan blocked our way. 19 What is our hope? What is our joy? When our Lord Jesus returns, what is the crown we will delight in? Isn’t it you? 20 Yes, you are our glory and our joy.
Daniel Is Trained in Babylon
1 It was the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. His armies surrounded the city and attacked it. 2 The Lord handed Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, over to him. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the objects from God’s temple. He carried them off to the temple of his god in Babylon. He put them among the treasures of his god.
3 The king gave Ashpenaz an order. Ashpenaz was the chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s court officials. The king told him to bring him some of the Israelites. The king wanted them to serve him in his court. He wanted nobles and men from the royal family. 4 He was looking for young men who were healthy and handsome. They had to be able to learn anything. They had to be well educated. They had to have the ability to understand new things quickly and easily. The king wanted men who could serve in his palace. Ashpenaz was supposed to teach them the Babylonian language and writings. 5 The king had his servants give them food and wine from his own table. They received a certain amount every day. The young men had to be trained for three years. After that, they could begin to serve the king.
6 Some of the men chosen were from Judah. Their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar. He gave Hananiah the name Shadrach. He gave Mishael the name Meshach. And he gave Azariah the name Abednego.
8 Daniel decided not to make himself “unclean” by eating the king’s food and drinking his wine. So he asked the chief official for a favor. He wanted permission not to make himself “unclean” with the king’s food and wine. 9 God had caused the official to be kind and friendly to Daniel. 10 But the official refused to do what Daniel asked for. He said, “I’m afraid of the king. He is my master. He has decided what you and your three friends must eat and drink. Other young men are the same age as you. Why should he see you looking worse than them? When he sees how you look, he might kill me.”
11 So Daniel spoke to one of the guards. The chief official had appointed him over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 12 Daniel said to him, “Please test us for ten days. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat. And give us only water to drink. 13 Then compare us with the young men who eat the king’s food. See how we look. After that, do what you want to.” 14 So the guard agreed. He tested them for ten days.
15 After the ten days Daniel and his friends looked healthy and well fed. In fact, they looked better than any of the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard didn’t require them to eat the king’s special food. He didn’t require them to drink the king’s wine either. He gave them vegetables instead.
17 God gave knowledge and understanding to these four young men. So they understood all kinds of writings and subjects. And Daniel could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 The three years the king had set for their training ended. So the chief official brought them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them. He didn’t find anyone equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they began to serve the king. 20 He asked them for advice in matters that required wisdom and understanding. The king always found their answers to be the best. Other men in his kingdom claimed to get knowledge by using magic. But the answers of Daniel and his friends were ten times better than theirs.
21 Daniel served in Babylon until the first year Cyrus ruled over the land of Babylon. Cyrus was king of Persia.
105 Give praise to the Lord and announce who he is.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
3 Praise him, because his name is holy.
Let the hearts of those who trust in the Lord be glad.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Always seek him.
5 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and how he judged our enemies.
6 Remember what he has done, you children of his servant Abraham.
Remember it, you people of Jacob, God’s chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
He judges the whole earth.
8 He will keep his covenant forever.
He will keep his promise for all time to come.
9 He will keep the covenant he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it stand as a law for Jacob.
He made it stand as a covenant for Israel that will last forever.
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will belong to you.”
12 At first there weren’t very many of God’s people.
There were only a few, and they were strangers in the land.
13 They wandered from nation to nation.
They wandered from one kingdom to another.
14 But God didn’t allow anyone to treat them badly.
To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.
15 He said to them, “Do not touch my anointed ones.
Do not harm my prophets.”
16 He made the people in the land go hungry.
He destroyed all their food supplies.
17 He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt.
That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.
18 The Egyptians put his feet in chains.
They put an iron collar around his neck.
19 He was in prison until what he said would happen came true.
The word of the Lord proved that he was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and let him out of prison.
The ruler of many nations set him free.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his palace.
He made him ruler over everything he owned.
22 Joseph was in charge of teaching the princes.
He taught the elders how to think and live wisely.
23 Then the rest of Jacob’s family went to Egypt.
The people of Israel lived as outsiders in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord gave his people so many children
that there were too many of them for their enemies.
25 He made the Egyptians hate his people.
The Egyptians made evil plans against them.
26 The Lord sent his servant Moses to the king of Egypt.
He sent Aaron, his chosen one, along with him.
27 The Lord gave them the power to do signs among the Egyptians.
They did his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 The Lord sent darkness over the land.
He did it because the Egyptians had refused to obey his words.
29 He turned their rivers and streams into blood.
He caused the fish in them to die.
30 Their land was covered with frogs.
Frogs even went into the bedrooms of the rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and large numbers of flies came.
Gnats filled the whole country.
32 He turned their rain into hail.
Lightning flashed all through their land.
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
He broke down the trees in Egypt.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came.
There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted.
35 They ate up every green thing in the land.
They ate up what the land produced.
36 Then he killed the oldest son of every family in Egypt.
He struck down the oldest of all their sons.
37 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
The Egyptians loaded them down with silver and gold.
From among the tribes of Israel no one got tired or fell down.
38 The Egyptians were glad when the people of Israel left.
They were terrified because of Israel.
39 The Lord spread out a cloud to cover his people.
He gave them a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for meat, and he brought them quail.
He fed them well with manna, the bread of heaven.
41 He broke open a rock, and streams of water poured out.
They flowed like a river in the desert.
42 He remembered the holy promise
he had made to his servant Abraham.
43 His chosen people shouted for joy
as he brought them out of Egypt.
44 He gave them the lands of other nations.
He let them take over what others had worked for.
45 He did it so they might obey his rules
and follow his laws.
Praise the Lord.
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