M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Solomon Builds the House of God

3 Then Solomon began to build the Lord’s house in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. It was there that the Lord had shown Himself to his father David. It was the place that David had chosen, on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² Solomon began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. ³ He laid the base for building the house of God. It was thirty long steps, using the old way to find the length. And it was ten long steps wide. ⁴ The porch in front of the house was as long as the house was wide, ten long steps. It was thirty-three times taller than a man. And he covered the inside with pure gold. ⁵ He covered the large room with cypress wood, and covered that with fine gold. Then he made palm trees and chains on it. ⁶ He put stones of much worth on the house for beauty. And the gold was from Parvaim. ⁷ He covered the house with gold. He covered its cross-pieces, its door-ways, its walls, and its doors. And he cut pictures of cherubim on the walls.

⁸ He made the most holy place. It was as long as the house was wide, ten long steps. And it was as wide as ten long steps. He covered it with fine gold weighing as much as 600 men. ⁹ The nails weighed as much as fifty pieces of gold. He covered the rooms on the second floor with gold also.

¹⁰ Then he made two cherubim of wood in the most holy place, and covered them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim spread as far as ten long steps. The wing of one was as long as three steps, and touched the wall of the house. Its other wing was as long as three steps, and touched the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other cherub was as long as three steps, and touched the wall of the house. Its other wing was as long as three steps, and was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim spread as far as ten long steps. And they stood on their feet with their faces toward the holy place. ¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. And he worked cherubim on it. ¹⁵ He made two pillars in front of the house that were ten times taller than a man. The top piece of each one was as tall as a man can raise his hand. ¹⁶ For the inside holy place he made chains, and put them on the tops of the pillars. Then he made 100 pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He put up the pillars in front of the house of God. One was on the right and the other was on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin, and the one on the left Boaz.

Objects for Worship

4 Then he made a brass altar. It was ten steps long, and ten steps wide, and three times taller than a man. ² He melted brass and made a pool. It was round, and five long steps from one side to the other. It was as tall as a man can raise his hand. And it took fifteen steps to walk around it. ³ There were objects that looked like oxen under the pool and all around it, (ten long steps around it). The oxen were in two rows, and were made of one piece. ⁴ The pool was put on the twelve oxen. Three had their faces toward the north, three toward the west, three toward the south, and three toward the east. The pool was put on top of them. All their tails were toward the center. ⁵ The brass of the pool was as thick as a hand is wide. Its round top was made like the top of a cup, like a lily flower. It could hold 22,000 bottles of water. ⁶ He made ten pots in which to wash. He put five on the right side and five on the left side. They were to wash what was used for the burnt gifts. But the pool was for the religious leaders to wash in.

⁷ Then he made ten gold lamp-stands, as was shown in the plan. He put them in the house of God, five on the right side and five on the left. ⁸ He made ten tables and put them in the house of God. Five were on the right side and five on the left. And he made 100 deep dishes out of gold. ⁹ Then he made the open space of the religious leaders, the large open space, and the doors for the open space. And he covered their doors with brass. ¹⁰ He set the pool at the south-east corner of the house.

¹¹ Then Huram made the pails, the tools for digging, and the pots. So Huram finished the work of God’s house that he did for King Solomon. ¹² He finished making the two pillars, the pots, and the two pieces on top of the pillars. He finished the two networks to cover the two pots of the pieces on top of the pillars. ¹³ He finished the 400 pomegranates for the two networks. There were two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two pots of the pieces on top of the pillars. ¹⁴ He made the stands and he made the pots on the stands. ¹⁵ He made the one pool with the twelve oxen under it. ¹⁶ Huram-abi made the pails, the tools for digging, the meat-hooks, and all their objects. He made them of shining brass for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷ The king had them made on the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ Solomon made so many of these objects that the weight of the brass could not be known.

¹⁹ Solomon made all the things that were in the house of God. He made the gold altar, and the tables for the holy bread. ²⁰ He made the lamp-stands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the most holy place in the way given. ²¹ He made the flowers, the lamps and their objects of pure gold. ²² He made the things to put out the lamps, the pots and the fire-holders of pure gold. And he made the front of the house, its inside doors for the most holy place, and the doors of the holy place, all of gold.

We Are God’s Children

3 See what great love the Father has for us that He would call us His children. And that is what we are. For this reason the people of the world do not know who we are because they did not know Him. ² Dear friends, we are God’s children now. But it has not yet been shown to us what we are going to be. We know that when He comes again, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. ³ The person who is looking for this to happen will keep himself pure because Christ is pure.

⁴ The person who keeps on sinning is guilty of not obeying the Law of God. For sin is breaking the Law of God. ⁵ You know that Christ came to take away our sins. There is no sin in Him. ⁶ The person who lives by the help of Christ does not keep on sinning. The person who keeps on sinning has not seen Him or has not known Him. ⁷ My children, let no one lead you in the wrong way. The man who does what is right, is right with God in the same way as Christ is right with God. ⁸ The person who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. The devil has sinned from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No person who has become a child of God keeps on sinning. This is because the Holy Spirit is in him. He cannot keep on sinning because God is his Father. ¹⁰ This is the way you can know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. The person who does not keep on doing what is right and does not love his brother does not belong to God. ¹¹ This is what you have heard from the beginning, that we should love each other. ¹² Do not be like Cain. He was a child of the devil and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? It was because he did what was sinful and his brother did what was right.

¹³ Do not be surprised if the world hates you, Christian brothers. ¹⁴ We know we have passed from death into life. We know this because we love the Christians. The person who does not love has not passed from death into life. ¹⁵ A man who hates his brother is a killer in his heart. You know that life which lasts forever is not in one who kills.

¹⁶ We know what love is because Christ gave His life for us. We should give our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ What if a person has enough money to live on and sees his brother in need of food and clothing? If he does not help him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ My children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do and in truth. ¹⁹ This is how we know we are Christians. It will give our heart comfort for sure when we stand before Him. ²⁰ Our heart may say that we have done wrong. But remember, God is greater than our heart. He knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our heart does not say that we are wrong, we will have no fear as we stand before Him. ²² We will receive from Him whatever we ask if we obey Him and do what He wants. ²³ This is what He said we must do: Put your trust in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other. Christ told us to do this. ²⁴ The person who obeys Christ lives by the help of God and God lives in him. We know He lives in us by the Holy Spirit He has given us.

Nineveh Is Destroyed

2 The one who destroys has come against you, O Nineveh. Put men on the battle-walls. Watch the road. Be strong. Be ready for battle. ² For the Lord will make Jacob great again, like the greatness of Israel, even when destroyers have destroyed them and their vine branches.

³ The battle-coverings of his strong men are red. His men of war are dressed in red. The war-wagons shine like fire when they are made ready. The cypress spears are waved. ⁴ The war-wagons race in the streets. They rush through the city. They look like fire and move like lightning. ⁵ The leaders are called. They lose their step as they go, and hurry to the wall. The battle-covering is set up. ⁶ The river gates are opened, and the king’s house falls down. ⁷ The city is laid waste and the people are carried away. Her women servants are crying like doves, beating on their breasts.

⁸ Nineveh is like a pool, where water runs away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry. But no one turns back. ⁹ Take the silver! Take the gold! For there is no end of the riches, every kind of thing of great worth. ¹⁰ Everything has been taken from her! Yes, she is an empty waste! Hearts are melting in fear and knees are knocking! All bodies suffer, and all their faces turn white! ¹¹ Where is the home of the lions, the place where they feed their young, where the male and female and young lions went, with nothing to be afraid of? ¹² The lion killed enough for his young, and for his female lions. He filled his home with food, with torn flesh. ¹³ “I am against you,” says the Lord of All. “I will burn up your war-wagons in smoke. A sword will destroy your young lions. I will cut off your food from the land. And the voice of your men who came with news will never be heard again.”

The Picture-Story of the Woman Whose Husband Had Died

18 Jesus told them a picture-story to show that men should always pray and not give up. ² He said, “There was a man in one of the cities who was head of the court. His work was to say if a person was guilty or not. This man was not afraid of God. He did not respect any man. ³ In that city there was a woman whose husband had died. She kept coming to him and saying, ‘Help me! There is someone who is working against me.’ ⁴ For awhile he would not help her. Then he began to think, ‘I am not afraid of God and I do not respect any man. ⁵ But I will see that this woman whose husband has died gets her rights because I get tired of her coming all the time.’” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the sinful man who is head of the court. ⁷ Will not God make the things that are right come to His chosen people who cry day and night to Him? Will He wait a long time to help them? ⁸ I tell you, He will be quick to help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Picture-Story of the Proud Religious Law-Keepers and the Tax-Gatherers

⁹ Jesus told another picture-story to some people who trusted in themselves and thought they were right with God. These people did not think well of other men. ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Two men went up to the house of God to pray. One of them was a proud religious law-keeper. The other was a man who gathered taxes. ¹¹ The proud religious law-keeper stood and prayed to himself like this, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men. I am not like those who steal. I am not like those who do things that are wrong. I am not like those who do sex sins. I am not even like this tax-gatherer. ¹² I go without food two times a week so I can pray better. I give one-tenth part of the money I earn.’ ¹³ But the man who gathered taxes stood a long way off. He would not even lift his eyes to heaven. But he hit himself on his chest and said, ‘God, have pity on me! I am a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went back to his house forgiven, and not the other man. For whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important.”

Jesus Gives Thanks for Little Children ^(A)

¹⁵ People took their little children to Jesus so He could put His hand on them. When His followers saw it, they spoke sharp words to the people. ¹⁶ Jesus called the followers to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not try to stop them. The holy nation of God is made up of ones like these. ¹⁷ For sure, I tell you, whoever does not receive the holy nation of God as a child will not go into the holy nation.”

Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law ^(B)

¹⁸ A leader of the people asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is only One Who is good. That is God. ²⁰ You know the Laws. You must not do any sex sins. You must not kill another person. You must not steal. You must not tell a lie about someone else. Respect your father and your mother.” ²¹ The leader said, “I have obeyed all these Laws since I was a boy.”

²² When Jesus heard this, He said to the leader of the people, “There is still one thing you need to do. Sell everything you have. Give the money to poor people. Then you will have riches in heaven. Come and follow Me.” ²³ When the leader heard this, he was very sad because he had many riches. ²⁴ When Jesus saw that he was very sad, He said, “It is hard for those with riches to go into the holy nation of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the holy nation of God.”

²⁶ Those who heard this, said, “Then who can be saved from the punishment of sin?” ²⁷ Jesus said, “God can do things men cannot do.” ²⁸ Then Peter said, “See, we have left everything and have followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, anyone who has left his house or parents or brothers or wife or children because of the holy nation of God ³⁰ will receive much more now. In the time to come he will have life that lasts forever.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Third Time ^(C)

³¹ Then Jesus took the twelve followers to one side and said, “See! We are going up to Jerusalem. All the things the early preachers wrote about the Son of Man are going to happen. ³² He will be given over to the people who are not Jews. He will be made fun of. He will be hurt. He will be spit on. ³³ They will beat Him and kill Him. After three days He will be raised again.”

³⁴ The followers did not understand these words. The meaning of these words was hidden from them. They did not know what He said.

Healing of the Blind Man ^(D)

³⁵ Jesus was coming near Jericho. A blind man was sitting by the side of the road, begging. ³⁶ He heard many people going by and asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. ³⁸ Then he cried out and said, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” ³⁹ The people spoke sharp words to him and told him not to call out. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and told the people to bring the blind man to Him. When the man was near, Jesus asked, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” He answered, “Lord, I want to see.” ⁴² Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ At once he could see. He followed Jesus and gave thanks to God. All the people gave thanks to God when they saw it.