M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Solomon’s Leaders

4 Now King Solomon was the king of all Israel. ² These were the king’s men. Azariah the son of Zadok was the religious leader. ³ Shisha’s sons Elihoreph and Ahijah were the heads of meetings. Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the one who wrote down the things of the nation. ⁴ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was captain of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were religious leaders. ⁵ Azariah the son of Nathan was over the leaders. Zabud the son of Nathan was a religious leader and the king’s friend. ⁶ Ahishar was head of the king’s house. And Adoniram the son of Abda was head of the men who were made to work.

⁷ Solomon had twelve men over all Israel, who brought food for the king and those of his house. Each man had to bring food for one month in the year. ⁸ These were their names. There was Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim, ⁹ and Ben-deker in Makaz. There were Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, Elonbeth-hanan, ¹⁰ Ben-hesed in Arrubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him), ¹¹ and Ben-abinadab in all Naphath-Dor (Solomon’s daughter Taphath was his wife). ¹² There was Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as the other side of Jokmeam. ¹³ There was Bengeber in Ramoth-gilead. (The towns of Manasseh’s son Jair which are in Gilead were his. And he had the land of Argob in Bashan, where there were sixty big cities with walls and locks of brass.) ¹⁴ There was Ahinadab the son of Iddo in Mahanaim, ¹⁵ Ahimaaz in Naphtali (who married Solomon’s daughter Basemath), ¹⁶ and Baana the son of Hushai in Asher and Bealoth. ¹⁷ And there was Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar, ¹⁸ Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin, ¹⁹ and Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only leader in the land.

Solomon’s Riches

²⁰ There were many people in Judah and Israel, as much as the sand beside the sea. They were eating and drinking and full of joy.

²¹ Solomon ruled over all the nations from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the land of Egypt. They brought taxes and worked for Solomon all the days of his life. ²² The food brought to Solomon for one day was 300 baskets of fine flour, 600 baskets of seeds, ²³ ten fat bulls, twenty grass-fed bulls, 100 sheep, and deer, gazelles, roebucks and fat birds. ²⁴ Solomon ruled over everything west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. He ruled over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace around him on all sides. ²⁵ So Judah and Israel were safe. Every man was safe under his vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶ Solomon had 40,000 rooms for his war-wagon horses, and 12,000 horsemen. ²⁷ Those leaders brought food for King Solomon and all who came to his table, each during his month. They made sure nothing was missing. ²⁸ They brought barley and straw for the fast horses and the war-wagon horses, where it was needed. Each man did the work he had been given to do.

²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and much understanding and learning, as much as the sand beside the sea. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ He was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, Darda, and the sons of Mahol. His name was known in all the nations around him. ³² He spoke 3,000 wise sayings and wrote 1,005 songs. ³³ He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on the wall. He spoke of animals, birds, things that moved upon the ground, and fish. ³⁴ Men came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon. They came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon Gets Ready to Build the House of God

5 Now Hiram the king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had set him apart to be king in place of his father. Hiram had always loved David. ² Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that my father David was not able to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars all around him. The Lord had not yet put those who hated him under his feet. ⁴ But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is no trouble or anything bad happening. ⁵ So I plan to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. Because the Lord said to my father David, ‘I will set your son on your throne in your place. He will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ So tell them to cut cedar trees of Lebanon for me. My servants will join yours. And I will give you whatever you say to pay your servants. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut trees like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he was filled with joy and said, “Thanks be to the Lord today. He has given to David a wise son to rule this great people.” ⁸ Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the news you have sent me. I will do what you want with the cedar and cypress trees. ⁹ My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them ready to go on the sea to the place you choose. I will have them broken up there, and you can carry them away. Then you will do what I wish by giving food to those of my house.” ¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon as much as he wanted of the cedar and cypress trees. ¹¹ Then Solomon gave Hiram 200,000 baskets of grain as food for those of his house, and 200 jars of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram each year. ¹² And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made an agreement.

¹³ Now King Solomon made men work for him from all Israel. There were 30,000 men made to work for him. ¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 men each month. They were in Lebanon one month and at home two months. Adoniram ruled those who were made to work. ¹⁵ Now Solomon had 70,000 men to carry loads, and 80,000 stone cutters in the mountains. ¹⁶ And he had 3,300 men who were leaders of the work, and who ruled over the people doing the work. ¹⁷ Then as the king told them, they cut out large stones of much worth for the house of God to be built on. ¹⁸ Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them. They made the wood and the stones ready to build the house.

God Saved Us from Sin

2 At one time you were dead because of your sins. ² You followed the sinful ways of the world and obeyed the leader of the power of darkness. He is the devil who is now working in the people who do not obey God. ³ At one time all of us lived to please our old selves. We gave in to what our bodies and minds wanted. We were sinful from birth like all other people and would suffer from the anger of God.

⁴ But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. ⁵ Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. ⁶ God raised us up from death when He raised up Christ Jesus. He has given us a place with Christ in the heavens. ⁷ He did this to show us through all the time to come the great riches of His loving-favor. He has shown us His kindness through Christ Jesus.

⁸ For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God. ⁹ It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud. ¹⁰ We are His work. He has made us to belong to Christ Jesus so we can work for Him. He planned that we should do this.

Followers Now Become the Body of Christ

¹¹ Do not forget that at one time you did not know God. The Jews, who had gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew by man’s hands, said you were people who do not know God. ¹² You were living without Christ then. The Jewish people who belonged to God had nothing to do with you. The promises He gave to them were not for you. You had nothing in this world to hope for. You were without God.

¹³ But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him. Christ did this for you when He gave His blood on the cross. ¹⁴ We have peace because of Christ. He has made the Jews and those who are not Jews one people. He broke down the wall that divided them. ¹⁵ He stopped the fighting between them by His death on the cross. He put an end to the Law. Then He made of the two people one new kind of people like Himself. In this way, He made peace. ¹⁶ He brought both groups together to God. Christ finished the fighting between them by His death on the cross. ¹⁷ Then Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to you who were far away from God. And He preached it to us who were near God. ¹⁸ Now all of us can go to the Father through Christ by way of the one Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ From now on you are not strangers and people who are not citizens. You are citizens together with those who belong to God. You belong in God’s family. ²⁰ This family is built on the teachings of the missionaries and the early preachers. Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone, which is the most important part of the building. ²¹ Christ keeps this building together and it is growing into a holy building for the Lord. ²² You are also being put together as a part of this building because God lives in you by His Spirit.

God Judges Edom

35 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Mount Seir and speak against it, ³ saying, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, Mount Seir. I will put out My hand against you and make you a waste land. ⁴ I will destroy your cities, and you will become a waste. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁵ You have always hated the people of Israel and have given them over to be killed at the time of their trouble, at the time of the punishment of the end. ⁶ So as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will give you over to death, and you will not get away from death. Since you have not hated killing, death will come after you. ⁷ I will destroy Mount Seir and make it a waste. And I will kill all who travel through it. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with its dead. Those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys. ⁹ I will destroy you forever, and no one will live in your cities. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “You have said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will own them,’ even when the Lord was there. ¹¹ So as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will punish you for your anger and the jealousy you showed because of your hate toward them. And I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the bad things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You have said, ‘They are destroyed. They are given to us for food.’ ¹³ You have spoken in pride against Me, with many words and I have heard you.” ¹⁴ The Lord God says, “While the whole earth is filled with joy, I will destroy you. ¹⁵ As you had joy because the land of Israel was destroyed, so I will do to you. You will be destroyed, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’

A Prayer for the Nation’s Good

85 O Lord, You showed favor to Your land. You have returned those of Jacob who were taken away. ² You have forgiven the sins of Your people. You have covered all their sin. ³ You have taken away all Your anger. You have turned away from Your burning anger.

⁴ O God Who saves us, give us life again. Make Your anger toward us stop. ⁵ Will You be angry with us forever? Will You spread out Your anger to families of all times? ⁶ Will You not bring us back to life again so that Your people may be happy in You? ⁷ Show us Your loving-kindness, O Lord, and save us.

⁸ I will listen to what God the Lord will say. For He will speak peace to His people, to those who are right with Him. But do not let them turn again to foolish things. ⁹ For sure His saving power is near those who fear Him, so His shining-greatness may live in the land. ¹⁰ Loving-kindness and truth have met together. Peace and what is right and good have kissed each other. ¹¹ Truth comes up from the earth. And what is right and good looks down from heaven. ¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good. And our land will give its fruit. ¹³ What is right and good will go before Him and make a way for His steps.