M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Absalom Becomes Friends with Men Of Israel

15 After this, Absalom got a war-wagon and horses, and fifty men to run in front of him. ² He used to get up early and stand beside the way to the gate. When any man had a problem to be decided upon by the king, Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would answer, “Your servant is from one of the families of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Your side of the problem is good and right. But there is no man to listen to you for the king.” ⁴ And Absalom would say, “If only I were chosen to be the one to be judge in the land! Then every man who has a problem could come to me. And I would do for him what is right and fair.” ⁵ When a man came near to put his face to the ground in front of him, Absalom would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ He acted this way toward all those of Israel who came with a problem for the king to judge. So Absalom became friends with the men of Israel.

⁷ At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “I ask you, let me go to Hebron and keep my promise that I have promised to the Lord. ⁸ For your servant made a promise while I was living at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord will bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” ⁹ And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent men to go in secret through all the families of Israel. He said to them, “As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron.’” ¹¹ With Absalom went 200 men from Jerusalem. They had been asked to come, and did not know what Absalom had planned. ¹² While Absalom was giving gifts on the altar in worship, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city Giloh. He was the man who talked with David about what to do. The plans against David became strong. For more and more people joined Absalom.

David Runs from Jerusalem

¹³ Then a man came to David with news, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” ¹⁴ David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Get up and let us run. Or else none of us will be safe from Absalom. Hurry and go, or he will be quick to catch us and bring trouble upon us. He would destroy the city with the sword.” ¹⁵ The king’s servants said to him, “See, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.” ¹⁶ So the king left with all those of his house. But he left ten of his women to take care of the house. ¹⁷ The king left with all the people, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸ All his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, Pelethites, Gittites, and 600 men who had come with him from Gath. They all passed by the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you go with us also? Return and stay with the king. For you are from another land and have been driven from your home. ²⁰ You came only yesterday. Should I make you go with us today, when I do not know where I am going? Return with your brothers. May loving-kindness and faith be with you.” ²¹ But Ittai said to the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, your servant will be where my lord the king may be, in death or in life.” ²² So David said to him, “Go then, pass on.” And Ittai the Gittite passed on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³ All the country was crying with a loud voice as all the people passed by. The king crossed the river Kidron, and all the people went on toward the desert.

²⁴ Zadok came also, with all the Levites who carried the special box with the Law of God. Abiathar had the special box of God put down until all the people had passed out of the city. ²⁵ The king said to Zadok, “Return the special box of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will have me return. And He will have me see both it and His family. ²⁶ But if He says, ‘I have no joy in you,’ then here I am. Let Him do to me what He thinks is good.” ²⁷ And the king said to Zadok the religious leader, “Are you not a man who speaks for God? Return to the city in peace with Abiathar and your two sons, your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. ²⁸ See, I will wait in the desert by the place where the river is crossed, until I hear from you.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the special box of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰ David went up the Mount of Olives and cried as he went. His head was covered and he wore no shoes. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up crying as they went. ³¹ Now David was told, “Ahithophel is among those who are making plans with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, make the words of Ahithophel foolish.” ³² As David was coming to the top of the mountain, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite met him. His coat was torn and there was dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be trouble for me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, you can bring trouble to the words of Ahithophel for me. Say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. I will work for you as I have worked for your father in the past.’ Then you can make the words of Ahithophel foolish for me. ³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the religious leaders be there with you? Tell Zadok and Abiathar whatever you hear from the king’s house. ³⁶ Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. By them you can send me news of all that you hear.” ³⁷ So David’s friend Hushai came into Jerusalem, just as Absalom was coming into the city.

The Christian Way to Give

8 Christian brothers, we want you to know how the loving-favor of God has been shown in the churches in the country of Macedonia. ² They have been put to the test by much trouble, but they have much joy. They have given much even though they were very poor. ³ They gave as much as they could because they wanted to. ⁴ They asked from their hearts if they could help the Christians in Jerusalem. ⁵ It was more than we expected. They gave themselves to the Lord first. Then they gave themselves to us to be used as the Lord wanted. ⁶ We asked Titus to keep on helping you finish this act of love. He was the one to begin this. ⁷ You are rich in everything. You have faith. You can preach. You have much learning. You have a strong desire to help. And you have love for us. Now do what you should about giving also. ⁸ I am not saying that you must do this, but I have told you how others have helped. This is a way to prove how true your love is. ⁹ You know of the loving-favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, but He became poor for your good. In that way, because He became poor, you might become rich.

¹⁰ This is what I think. You had better finish what you started a year ago. You were the first to want to give a gift of money. ¹¹ Now do it with the same strong desires you had when you started. ¹² If a man is ready and willing to give, he should give of what he has, not of what he does not have. ¹³ This does not mean that others do not have to give and you have to give much. You should share alike. ¹⁴ You have more than you need now. When you have need, then they can help you. You should share alike. ¹⁵ The Holy Writings say, “The man who gathered much did not have too much. The man who did not gather much had enough.” ^(A)

Titus Will Be Coming

¹⁶ I thank God that He gave Titus the same desire to help you. ¹⁷ He was glad when we asked him to help you. He decided himself to go to you. ¹⁸ We are sending the Christian brother along. He is respected in the churches for his preaching. ¹⁹ Not only that, but he has been asked by the churches to travel with me to Jerusalem. He will help in giving them the gift. The Lord will be honored by it because it shows how we want to help each other.

²⁰ We want everyone to trust us with the way we take this large gift of money to them. ²¹ We want to do the right thing. We want God and men to know we are honest. ²² We are sending another Christian brother with them. We have tested him many times. His faith has proven to be true. He wants very much to help because he trusts you. ²³ Titus works with me to help you. The other two Christian brothers have been sent by the churches. Their lives honor Christ. ²⁴ Show these men you love them and let the churches see your love. Show them the reason I am proud of you.

Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, will you judge? Will you judge this city of blood? Then tell the people about all their sinful acts. ³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “O city, because you have killed your own people and have made yourselves false gods to add to your sins, your time will come! ⁴ You have become guilty by killing your people, and sinful by the false gods you have made. You have brought the day of your punishment near. The end of your years has come. So I have made you a shame to the nations. All the countries laugh at you. ⁵ People both near and far will make fun of you, you who are full of shame and trouble. ⁶ See, each of the rulers of Israel who are in you has used his power to kill. ⁷ They have not honored father and mother within you. They have made it hard for the stranger living among you. They have done wrong to those in you who have lost their father or husband. ⁸ You have hated My holy things and have not kept My Days of Rest holy. ⁹ There are men in you who have lied about others to cause them to be put to death. Some have eaten at the altars on the mountains, and have done sex sins there. ¹⁰ Men have done sex sins with their fathers’ wives. Men have put women to shame during their time of the month when they are unclean. ¹¹ One has done sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Another has done sex sins with his daughter-in-law. And another has put his own sister to shame, his father’s daughter. ¹² In you they have taken pay to kill people. You have made others pay back more than they owe you. You have hurt your neighbors by making it hard for them to pay you. And you have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

¹³ “I will bring My hand down hard upon the money you have made by your sinful ways, and for the blood of those you have killed among you. ¹⁴ Can your strength of heart last? Or can your hands be strong, in the days that I punish you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say. ¹⁵ I will divide you among the nations and spread you out through the lands. I will take away from you all that is unclean. ¹⁶ You will become sinful in the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the people of Israel have become waste to Me. They are like brass, tin, iron, and lead in the fire and have become waste that is left after silver has gone through the fire. ¹⁹ So the Lord God says, ‘Because you have all become waste, I am going to gather you together in Jerusalem. ²⁰ As men gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the stove to blow fire on it and melt it, so I will gather you in My anger. I will put you in the city and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My anger, and you will be melted within it. ²² As silver is melted in the hot stove, so you will be melted in Jerusalem. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My anger upon you.’”

²³ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, tell Israel, ‘You are a land that is not made clean or rained on in the day of anger.’ ²⁵ Israel’s false religious leaders are making plans within her. They are like a lion making noise over the food it has killed. They have taken human lives and also riches and things of much worth. They have made many women in Israel lose their husbands. ²⁶ Her religious leaders have broken My Law, and have made My holy things unclean. It makes no difference to them if something is holy or unclean. They have not taught the difference between what is clean and unclean. They hide their eyes from My Days of Rest, and I am not honored among them. ²⁷ Her leaders are like wolves tearing apart the animals they have killed. They kill and destroy lives to get things by doing wrong. ²⁸ Her men who speak in My name have covered these sins with whitewash for the people. They see false dreams and lie to them using their secret ways, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have made it hard for others and have stolen. They have done wrong to the poor and those in need. And they have made it hard for the stranger who lives among them, taking away his rights. ³⁰ I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the place where it is broken, to stop Me from destroying the land, but I found no one. ³¹ So I have become angry with them. I have destroyed them with the fire of My anger. I am punishing them for what they have done,” says the Lord God.

A Cry for Help

69 Save me, O God, for the waters have almost taken my life. ² I have gone down into deep mud and there is no place to put my feet. I have come into deep waters and a flood comes over me. ³ I have cried until I am tired. My mouth is dry. My eyes become weak while I wait for my God. ⁴ Those who hate me, without a reason, are more than the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are powerful. I am made to return things that I did not steal.

⁵ O God, You know how foolish I am. My sins are not hidden from You. ⁶ May those who wait for You not be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of All. May those who look for You not lose respect because of me, O God of Israel. ⁷ I have been put to shame because of You. Shame has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons. ⁹ For the strong desire for Your house has burned me up. And the bad things said about You have fallen on me. ¹⁰ When I cried and went without food, I was put to shame. ¹¹ When I put on clothes made from hair, they made fun of me. ¹² Those who sit by the gate talk about me. And I am the song of those who drink too much.

¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to You at the right time, O Lord. Answer me with Your saving truth in Your great loving-kindness, O God. ¹⁴ Take me out of the mud and do not let me go down in it. Take me away from those who hate me and from the deep waters. ¹⁵ Keep the flood water from covering me. Do not let the sea swallow me up. Do not let the deep hole close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is good. Turn to me because of Your great loving-pity. ¹⁷ Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble. Hurry to answer me. ¹⁸ Come near to me and save me. Pay the price to set me free from those who hate me. ¹⁹ You know how I have been put to shame by the bad things said about me. All those who hate me are before You.

²⁰ Being put to shame has broken my heart, and I feel very sick. I looked for pity but there was none. I looked for someone to comfort me but there was no one. ²¹ They gave me bitter drink in my food. And because I was thirsty they gave me sour wine.

²² May their table in front of them become a net. May it become a trap when they are in peace. ²³ May their eyes grow dark so they cannot see. And may their backs always shake. ²⁴ Pour out Your anger on them. May Your burning anger catch up with them. ²⁵ May their place of living be empty and may no one live in their tents. ²⁶ For they have made it hard for the one You have punished. And they talk about the pain of those You have hurt. ²⁷ Let their sins add up, and may they not become right with You. ²⁸ May they be taken out of the book of life, and not be written down with those who are right with You.

²⁹ But I am suffering and in pain. O God, may You save me and set me up on high. ³⁰ I will praise the name of God with song. And I will give Him great honor with much thanks. ³¹ This will please the Lord more than any ox or young bull with horns and hoofs. ³² Those without pride will see it and be glad. You who look for God, let your heart receive new strength. ³³ For the Lord hears those who are in need, and does not hate His people in prison.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth and the seas and all the things that move in them give thanks to Him. ³⁵ For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah. Then His people may live there and have it for their own. ³⁶ And the children of those who obey Him will have it given to them. Those who love His name will live there.