M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joash Becomes King
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he ruled forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the religious leader. 3 Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
4 After this Joash decided to do the work that was needed on the Lord’s house. 5 He gathered the religious leaders and Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah. And gather money from all Israel to pay for the work needed to be done on the house of your God from year to year. Be quick about it.” But the Levites did not hurry. 6 So the king called for Jehoiada the head religious leader, and said to him, “Why have you not made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax set by Moses the Lord’s servant? All the people of Israel were to pay taxes for the tent of the Law.” 7 For the sons of that sinful woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God. They even used the holy things of the Lord’s house for the false gods of Baal.
8 So the king had them make a box and set it outside by the gate of the Lord’s house. 9 And they made it known in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax set by God’s servant Moses on Israel in the desert must be brought to the Lord. 10 Then all the leaders and all the people were filled with joy. They brought in their taxes and put the money into the box until they had finished. 11 The Levites would bring the box in to the king’s helper. And when they saw that there was much money, the king’s writer and the head religious leader’s helper would come and empty the box. They would take out the money and return the box to its place. They did this each day, and gathered much money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who watched over the work being done on the Lord’s house. They paid those who worked with stone and wood and iron and brass, for the work done on the Lord’s house. 13 So the workmen worked hard doing what needed to be done. The house of God was like new again, just as it was planned. They made it strong. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. From it were made the objects used in the Lord’s house. These things were made for the worship and the burnt gifts. Then dishes and pots of gold and silver were made. And they gave burnt gifts in the house of the Lord all the time, all the days of Jehoiada.
15 When Jehoiada had lived a long time, he died. He died when he was 130 years old. 16 They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel, and to God and His house. 17 But after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down in front of the king. And the king listened to them. 18 They left the house of the Lord the God of their fathers, and worshiped the false gods of Asherah and the objects made to look like them. So anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their sin. 19 Yet God sent men who speak for God to bring them back to the Lord. These men of God spoke against them, but they would not listen. 20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. He stood where he could be seen by the people and said to them, “God says, ‘Why do you sin against the Laws of the Lord, and bring trouble on yourselves? Because you have left the Lord, He has left you.’” 21 So they made plans against him. At the king’s word, they killed Zechariah with stones in the open space of the Lord’s house. 22 So Joash the king did not remember the kindness his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And when Zechariah was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and punish!”
The Death of Joash
23 At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people. And they sent all they had taken in battle to the king of Damascus. 24 The army of the Syrians came with a small number of men. But the Lord let them win against a very large army. Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem had turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Syrians were used to punish Joash. 25 When they had left Joash, leaving him very sick, his own servants made plans against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. And they killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David. But they did not bury him in the graves of the kings. 26 The men who made plans against Joash were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. 27 Now the story of his sons, and the words spoken by wise men against him, and the work done on the house of God, are written in the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king in his place.
The House of God
11 I was given a stick that is used to see how big things are. Someone said, “Go up to the house of God and find out how big it is. Find out about the altar also. See how many people are worshiping. 2 Do not find out about the porch of the house of God. It has been given over to the nations who do not know God. They will walk over all the Holy City to wreck it for forty-two months. 3 I will give power to my two men who tell what they know. They will speak for God for 1,260 days (forty-two months). They will be dressed in clothes made from the hair of animals.”
The Two Men Who Tell What They Know
4 These two men who tell what they know are the two olive trees and the two lights that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone hates them and tries to hurt them, fire comes out of the mouths of these two men. The fire kills those who try to hurt them. 6 They have power to shut up the sky. During the time they speak for God, there will be no rain. They have power to change all waters into blood. They can send every kind of trouble to the earth whenever they want to.
The Death of the Two Men Who Speak for God
7 When they have finished speaking for God, the wild animal will make war with them. It will come up out of the hole without a bottom. This wild animal will have power over them and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem. It is where their Lord was nailed to a cross. The city is sometimes called Sodom and Egypt. 9 For three-and-one-half days those from every people and from every family and from every language and from every nation will look at their dead bodies. People will not allow the dead bodies of these two men to be put in a grave. 10 Those who are living on the earth will be happy because of the death of these two men. They will do things to show they are happy. They will send gifts to each other. They will do this because these two men brought much trouble and suffering to the people of the earth.
The Two Men Come to Life Again
11 After three-and-one-half days, life from God came into them again. They stood on their feet. Those who saw them were very much afraid.
12 Then the two men who told what they knew heard a loud voice from heaven. It said, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud. All those who hated them watched them go. 13 At the same time the earth shook. One-tenth part of the buildings of the city fell down. Seven thousand people were killed. The rest of the people were afraid and gave honor to the God of heaven.
14 The second time of trouble is past. But look, the third time of trouble is coming soon.
The Seventh Horn—Worship in Heaven
15 The seventh angel blew his horn. There were loud voices in heaven saying, “The nations of the world have become the holy nation of our Lord and of His Christ. He will be the Leader forever.” 16 Then the twenty-four leaders who sat on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God. 17 They said, “All-powerful Lord God, the One Who is and Who was and Who is to come, we thank You because You are using Your great power and have become Leader. 18 The people who do not know God have become angry with You. Now it is time for You to be angry with them. It is time for the dead to stand before You and to be judged. It is time for the servants You own who are the early preachers and those who belong to You to get the reward that is coming to them. It is time for the important people and those not important who honor Your name to get the pay that is coming to them. It is time to destroy those who have made every kind of trouble on the earth.”
19 God’s house in heaven was opened. The special box which held the Old Way of Worship was seen in the house of God. There was lightning and thunder and noise. The earth shook and large hail stones fell.
It Is Better to Obey Than Go without Food
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to ask for the Lord’s favor. 3 They asked the religious leaders of the house of the Lord of All, and the men who speak for God, “Should I cry and go without food in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the Word of the Lord of All came to me saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the religious leaders, ‘When you went without food and cried in sorrow in the fifth and seventh months these 70 years, was it to honor Me? 6 When you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words the Lord made known through the men who spoke for Him in the past? They spoke these words when Jerusalem was full of people and riches, together with the cities around it, and when the Negev and the lower hills were full of people.’”
People Taken Away Because Of Not Obeying
8 Then the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, 9 “The Lord of All said, ‘Do what is right and be kind and show loving-pity to one another. 10 Do not make it hard for the woman whose husband has died, or the child who has no parents, or the stranger, or the poor. Do not make sinful plans in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they would not listen. They turned away and stopped their ears from hearing. 12 They made their hearts like hard stone, so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of All had sent by His Spirit through the men who spoke for Him in the past. So the Lord of All became very angry. 13 When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of All. 14 “With the wind of a storm I sent them everywhere among all the nations that they had not known. The land was laid waste behind them, so that no one could come or go. They turned the good land into an empty waste.”
The Shepherd and the Door
10 “For sure, I tell you, the man who goes into the sheep-pen some other way than through the door is one who steals and robs. 2 The shepherd of the sheep goes in through the door. 3 The one who watches the door opens it for him. The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. 4 When the shepherd walks ahead of them, they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow someone they do not know because they do not know his voice. They will run away from him.” 6 Jesus told this picture-story to them. Yet they did not understand what He said.
Jesus Is the Door
7 Again Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, I am the Door of the sheep. 8 All others who came ahead of Me are men who steal and rob. The sheep did not obey them. 9 I am the Door. Anyone who goes in through Me will be saved from the punishment of sin. He will go in and out and find food. 10 The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.
Jesus Teaches about the Good Shepherd
11 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 One who is hired to watch the sheep is not the shepherd. He does not own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep. He runs away while the wolf gets the sheep and makes them run everywhere. 13 The hired man runs away because he is hired. He does not care about the sheep.
14 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. 15 I know My Father as My Father knows Me. I give My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep which are not from this sheep-pen. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock with one shepherd.
17 “For this reason My Father loves Me. It is because I give My life that I might take it back again. 18 No one takes my life from Me. I give it by Myself. I have the right and the power to take it back again. My Father has given Me this right and power.”
19 Because of what He said, the Jews did not agree in their thinking. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon and is crazy. Why listen to Him?” 21 Others said, “A man who has a demon does not talk this way. Can a demon open the eyes of a blind man?”
Jesus Tells Who He Is
22 It was time for the religious gathering of remembering how the house of God was opened in Jerusalem. 23 It was winter and Jesus was there. He was walking in Solomon’s porch in the house of God. 24 The Jews gathered around Him. They said, “How long are You going to keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us.”
25 Jesus answered, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name speak of Me. 26 You do not believe because you are not My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice and I know them. They follow Me. 28 I give them life that lasts forever. They will never be punished. No one is able to take them out of My hand. 29 My Father Who gave them to Me is greater than all. No one is able to take them out of My Father’s hand. 30 My Father and I are one!”
Jesus Talks to Angry Men
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to throw at Him. 32 Jesus said to them, “Many good things have I shown you from My Father. For which of these things are you going to throw stones at Me?” 33 They said, “We are not going to throw stones at You for any good work. It is because of the way You talk against God. It is because You make Yourself to be God when You are only a man.” 34 Jesus said to them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? (A) 35 The Holy Writings were given to them and God called them gods. (The Word of God cannot be put aside.) 36 But God has set Me apart for Himself. He sent Me into the world. Then how can you say that I am speaking against God because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not believe Me. 38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works that I do. Then you will know the Father is in Me and I am in Him.” 39 They tried again to take Him but He got out of their hands.
Jesus Goes to the Other Side of the Jordan River
40 Jesus went away to the other side of the Jordan River to the place where John was baptizing people. Jesus stayed there. 41 Many people came to Him and said, “John did no powerful work, but what John said about this Man is true.” 42 Many people put their trust in Jesus there.
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