M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon puts the Covenant Box in the temple
8 Then Solomon told all the leaders of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem. They were all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families. He wanted them to bring the Lord's Covenant Box from Mount Zion, the City of David, to put it in the temple.[a] 2 So all the Israelite leaders came together to meet with King Solomon. This happened during the Festival of Huts in the seventh month of the year, called Ethanim.[b] 3 When all Israel's leaders had arrived, the priests lifted up the Covenant Box.
4 The priests and the Levites carried the Lord's Covenant Box, the Tent of Meeting and all the holy things that were in the tent.
5 King Solomon and all the Israelites who were with him walked in front of the Covenant Box. They offered many sheep and bulls as sacrifices. There were more animals than anyone could count.
6 Then the priests brought the Lord's Covenant Box to its proper place in the inside room of the temple. That was the Most Holy Place. They put it under the wings of the cherubs. 7 The wings of the cherubs touched each other above the place where the Covenant Box was. The cherubs covered the Covenant Box and the poles that the Levites used to carry it.[c] 8 The poles were very long. The priests could see their ends from the Holy Place, if they stood in front of the Most Holy Place. But nobody could see the poles from outside the temple. And they are still there today.
9 There was nothing in the Covenant Box, except the two flat stones that Moses had put there at Sinai. That was where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out from Egypt.
10 When the priests came out from the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Lord's temple. 11 The priests could not do their work to serve the Lord, because of the cloud. The Lord's bright glory filled his temple.
12 Then Solomon prayed, ‘Lord, you have said that you live in a dark cloud. 13 Now I have built a great temple for you. It is a place where you can live for ever.’
Solomon speaks to his people
14 While all the Israelite people stood there, the king turned round towards them. He prayed that God would bless them. 15 He said, ‘Praise the Lord, Israel's God, as he deserves. He has used his power to do what he promised to do for my father David. 16 He told David, “I brought my people, the Israelites, out from Egypt. From that time, I have not chosen a city in any of Israel's tribes to build a temple where my people would worship me. Now I have chosen David to rule Israel, my people, as king.” 17 My father David wanted very much to build a temple to give honour to the Lord, Israel's God. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, “It was good that you wanted to build a temple to give me honour. 19 But you will not build the temple. Instead, one of your own sons will build it to give honour to me.” 20 Now the Lord has done what he promised to do. I now rule Israel as king on the throne of my father David, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple to give honour to the Lord, Israel's God. 21 I have made a place there for the Covenant Box. It contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.’
Solomon prays in the temple
22 Then Solomon stood in front of the Lord's altar. All the Israelite people who had come together there could see him. He lifted up his hands towards the sky.[d] 23 He prayed,
‘Lord, Israel's God, there is no God like you, either in heaven above or down here on the earth. You continue to do what you have promised to do for your people. You faithfully love those who want to serve you. 24 You have done what you promised to do for your servant, my father David. You have used your power to finish today everything that you said you would do. 25 Now Lord, Israel's God, there is another promise that you spoke to my father David. I pray that you will do that too. You said to David, “There will always be one of your descendants to rule Israel as my chosen king. But for this to happen, your sons must be careful to serve me well, as you have done.” 26 So now, God of Israel, please cause what you promised to my father, your servant David, to happen.
27 But surely God, you do not live on the earth! The whole sky, or even heaven itself, is too small to contain you! So how can you live in this temple that I have built? 28 But Lord, my God, please listen to my prayer, as I ask you for help. Please answer me, your servant, because I need your help today. 29 Watch over this temple and take care of it day and night. This is the place about which you said, “People will give honour to my name there.” Please answer my prayers when I turn towards this place to pray to you. 30 Hear the prayers of me, your servant, and the prayers of your people, the Israelites. Please answer us when we turn towards this place and we pray to you. Hear us from heaven, the place where you live. And when we pray, forgive us for our sins.
31 Somebody may do a bad thing against another person. Then he may come to this temple and stand in front of your altar. He may say to you that he is not guilty of any wrong thing. 32 Then listen from heaven to what these people are saying. Decide who is right. Punish the guilty person as he deserves. Show clearly that the other person is right, because he has not done any wrong thing.
33 Perhaps an enemy will win against your people, the Israelites, because we have not obeyed you. But then your people may turn back to you and worship you. They may come into this temple and pray that you will help them. 34 If they do that, please hear them from heaven! Please forgive the sins of your people, the Israelites. Please bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.
35 Sometimes, there may be no rain from the sky because your people have not obeyed you. Then they may turn towards this place and pray to you. They may give honour to your name and turn away from their sins, because you have punished them. 36 If they do that, please hear them from heaven! Please forgive the sins of your servants, your people, the Israelites. Teach them to live in the right way. And please send rain onto this land that you gave to your people to belong to them for ever.
37 Sometimes, there may be other troubles in our land. There may be a famine or a bad disease. Our crops may not grow and our animals may be ill. Locusts may destroy our crops. An enemy may attack some cities in our land. Or there may be other kinds of disease or trouble. 38 Then, some of your people may pray to you and ask you for help. If someone is sad and upset, he may turn towards this temple and lift up his hands in prayer. 39 If someone does that, please hear him from your home in heaven. Please forgive the sins of your people and help them. Only you know what people are thinking. So please give to each person as they deserve. 40 Then your people will respect and obey you as they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.
41 Foreigners, who do not belong to your people, the Israelites, will hear how great you are. Then they will come here from other countries far away. 42 They will hear about you and your power to do great things. Then they will turn towards this temple and pray to you. 43 When that happens, please hear them from your home in heaven. Please answer all the prayers of these foreign people. Then people from all the nations in the world will realize how great you are. They also will respect you and obey you, as your own people do. They will understand that this temple that I have built belongs to you.
44 Sometimes, your people will go to fight against their enemies at the place where you have sent them. Then they may turn towards this city and pray to the Lord. This is the city that you have chosen for me to build the temple to give you honour. 45 When they pray to you, please hear them from your home in heaven. Do what is right to help them win against their enemies.
46 There is nobody who never does a wrong thing. So when your people do not obey you, you will be angry with them. You will put them under the power of their enemies. Those enemies will take them as prisoners to their own country. Perhaps it will be a country that is far away. Perhaps it will be near. 47 Then your people may think about the bad things that they have done. While they are prisoners in their enemy's country, they may be sorry about their sins. They may pray to you and ask you to forgive them. They may say, “We have turned away from God and we have done wicked things.” 48 In the country where they are prisoners, they may turn back to you and worship you truly. They may turn towards this land that you gave to their ancestors. They may pray to you as they look towards this city that you have chosen. They may look towards the temple that I have built to give you honour. 49 If they do that, please hear them from your home in heaven. Please answer their prayers and do what is right to help them.
50 Please forgive your people for all the sins that they have done against you. Please cause their enemies to be kind to them. 51 Remember that they are your special people who belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt where they were like prisoners in a very hot oven.
52 I pray that you will carefully watch over me, your servant. Please answer my prayers and the prayers of your people, the Israelites. Whenever we pray to you, please listen to us. 53 From all the nations of the world you chose Israel to belong to you as your special people. Almighty Lord, this is what you promised to your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.’
54 So Solomon finished all his prayers and everything that he wanted to ask the Lord for. He had been down on his knees with his hands lifted up towards the sky in front of the Lord's altar. Now he stood up. 55 When he stood up, he asked God to bless all the people in Israel. He said with a loud voice, 56 ‘Praise the Lord as he deserves! He has given his people, the Israelites, a safe place to live, as he has promised to do. Every great promise that the Lord gave to his servant Moses has now happened! 57 I pray that the Lord our God will be with us, as he was with our ancestors. I pray that he will never leave us or turn away from us. 58 I pray that the Lord will cause us to respect his authority. Then we will do what he wants us to do. We will obey all his commands, rules and laws that he gave to our ancestors. 59 I pray that the Lord our God will continue to remember these words that I have prayed. May he keep them in his thoughts. I pray that he will do what is right to help me and his people, the Israelites. May he give us the help that we need each day. 60 Then all the nations of the earth will understand that the Lord is the only true God. There is no other God. 61 I pray that you will continue to serve the Lord our God faithfully. You must continue to obey his rules and his commands, as you do now.’
Solomon offers the temple as a gift to God
62 Then the king and all the Israelite people who were with him offered sacrifices to the Lord.
63 These are the friendship offerings that Solomon offered to the Lord:
22,000 cows.
120,000 sheep and goats.
In this way, King Solomon and all the Israelite people offered the temple as a gift to the Lord.
64 On the same day, the king gave to the Lord the yard that was in front of the temple. King Solomon offered burnt offerings and grain offerings to the Lord. He also offered the fat from the friendship offerings. The bronze altar in front of the temple was too small to contain all these offerings.[e] So Solomon made these sacrifices in the middle of the yard instead. 65 At that time, Solomon and the big crowd of Israelites who were with him had a festival for seven days.[f] They gave honour to the Lord our God. There were people from everywhere in Israel, from Hamath in the north to the Stream of Egypt in the south. 66 The day after the festival, Solomon sent the people away to their homes. They thanked God for the king and were very happy. They were full of joy because the Lord had done many good things for his servant David and for his people, the Israelites.
Be very careful how you live
5 You are God's children and he loves you very much. So you must try to be like him. 2 Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
3 So, as God's people, you must never have sex with anyone that you are not married to. Do not do any kind of disgusting thing like that. Do not want many things for yourselves, just to make you happy. That is not how God's people should live. 4 Do not speak in a way which uses dirty words. Do not talk about silly things, like fools do. It is not right for God's people to talk like that. Instead, you should speak in a way which shows that you are thanking God.
5 You can be sure about this: If anyone has sex in a wrong way, that person does not belong to God's people. Nobody who does any kind of disgusting thing belongs to God's people. People who want many things just to please themselves are like people who worship an idol. They also do not belong to God's people. Nobody like that belongs to the kingdom where Christ and God rule. They will not receive the good things that God has prepared for his people.
6 Do not let anyone have a chance to deceive you with a false message about those kinds of bad things. God will certainly punish people who do not obey him. 7 So keep away from those kinds of people. 8 Once your minds were completely in the dark. But now you belong to the Lord. As a result, you have become full of light. So now you must live as people who belong to the light. 9 The light helps you to live in a way that is good, right and true. 10 You should learn more and more to do the things that please the Lord. 11 People whose minds are in the dark do things that have no good purpose. Keep away from wrong things like that. Instead, show how bad those things really are. 12 People like that should be ashamed of the things that they do secretly. Those things are too bad for us even to talk about. 13 But when God's light shines on something, people can see clearly its true nature. 14 Everything that becomes clear to see is in the light. That is why it says:
‘Wake up, you people who are asleep!
Rise up from among the dead people!
Then Christ will shine his light on you.’[a]
15 So you must be very careful how you live. Live like people who are wise. Do not live like fools. 16 Many bad things are happening in these days. So, whenever you have a chance to do something good, do as much as you can. 17 Do not live like fools. But instead, understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Do not drink too much wine so that you become drunk. That will destroy your life. Instead, let God's Spirit fill you. 19 He will help you to speak to each other with all kinds of spiritual songs. Sing psalms from the Bible, and Christian songs. Praise the Lord with songs from inside yourselves. 20 And always thank God, the Father, for everything, by our Lord Jesus Christ's name.
Wives and husbands
21 Serve one another to show that you respect Christ as your master.
22 Wives, obey your own husbands, as you obey the Lord. 23 A husband has authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has authority over the church. The church is like Christ's body. As its head, he saves her. 24 As the church serves Christ as its master, so wives should serve their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf. 26 He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us. 27 Christ himself did this to bring us to himself as a beautiful group of his people. His church would belong to him completely. It would be pure, without anything bad to spoil it.
28 So husbands should love their wives, just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife shows that he loves himself. 29 There is nobody who hates his own body. Everyone feeds his body and he takes care of it. In the same way, the church is like Christ's body that he takes care of. 30 We are like the parts of Christ's body. 31 The Bible says this: ‘When a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become like one body.’[b] 32 This is God's secret and it is difficult to understand. But I am saying that it teaches us about Christ and the church. 33 But each one of you husbands should understand this: love your own wife as you love yourself. And every wife among you must respect her husband.
38 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Gog, in the land of Magog. He is the most important prince of Meshech and Tubal. Speak my message to warn him. 3 Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am your enemy, Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around. I will put hooks into your mouth and catch you. I will take hold of you and your great army, with its horses and their riders. I will take hold of all your soldiers, who are ready to fight with their swords and their shields. I will pull them all away. 5 Soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will be there with your army. They all have shields and helmets. 6 All the soldiers from Gomer will join you. An army from Beth Togarmah will also come with all its soldiers from far away in the north. So armies from many nations will be with you.”
7 Say to Gog, “Prepare to fight! You must be ready to command all the armies that are with you. 8 After many days you will have to bring your soldiers together to fight a battle. In the years at the end of time, you will go to attack the land of Israel. It will be a land that has become strong again after war. The people there will have returned from other nations. They will all be living safely in that land that had become heaps of stones. They will all be together on Israel's mountains. 9 Then you will attack them. You, with your armies and all the people with you, will attack them like a great storm. You will be like a dark cloud that covers the land.
10 This is what the Almighty Lord says: On that day you will have evil thoughts. You will decide to do a wicked thing. 11 You will say: ‘We will attack a land where the villages have no walls around them. The people are living quietly in peace and we will attack them. They have no walls or strong gates to keep them safe. 12 We will fight them and take their things for ourselves. The people there have come back from other nations where they lived. They are living in their homes which had become heaps of stones. Now they have got many animals and valuable things. Their land has become an important place in the middle of everywhere.’
13 The people of Sheba and Dedan, and the traders and leaders of Tarshish will ask you questions. They will say, ‘Why have you brought all your armies together? Have you come to attack Israel and take away their valuable things for yourselves? Will you take away their silver and their gold? Will you take their animals and all their things? Will you carry away such a great load of things for yourselves? ’ ”
14 So, son of man, you must prophesy to Gog. Say to him, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: That is what you will decide to do at that time. You will do it when you see that my people, the Israelites, are living safely. 15 You will come from your country far away in the north. You will bring many soldiers with you. All of them will be riding on horses. They will be a great army of many soldiers. 16 Your army will be like a cloud that covers the land when you attack my people, the Israelites. In the days at the end of time I will bring you to attack my land. Yes, Gog, I will use you to show the nations that I am holy. Then they will know who I am.
17 This is what the Almighty Lord says: In years long ago, I gave my servants, the prophets of Israel, messages about you. At that time they prophesied that I would bring you to attack my people. 18 I, the Almighty Lord, say this: On the day that Gog attacks the land of Israel, I will become more and more angry. 19 I promise you this, because I am so very angry. On that day, there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 Everything that lives will shake with fear when they see what I am doing. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the wild animals, the small animals that move along the ground and all the people on earth will be very afraid. I will make the mountains and hills break into pieces. All the walls in the cities will fall down.
21 I will command the soldiers on all the mountains of my land to attack Gog. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, say. Gog's soldiers will fight against each other with their swords. 22 I will judge Gog. I will punish his men with disease and death. I will send storms of rain, hail, fire and sulphur. They will pour down from the sky on him and on his armies. 23 I will show all the nations that I am great and I am holy. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” ’
This is a special song that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote.
God's special love[a]
89 I will always sing about the Lord's faithful love.
I will tell my children and my grandchildren
that you are always faithful.
2 Yes! Your faithful love will always continue to be strong.
You will always be faithful,
as the skies will always be there.
3 The Lord has said,
‘I have made a covenant with the king that I chose.
I have made this strong promise to my servant David:
4 “Someone from your family will always be king.
They will rule for ever.” ’
Selah.
5 Lord, everything in heaven praises you
for the great things that you have done.
Yes, your angels meet together to praise you,
because you are always faithful.
6 In all the heavens,
there is no one like you, Lord!
No angel in heaven is equal to you.
7 When the angels meet together in heaven,
they respect you with fear.
All who meet round your throne in heaven respect you,
as you deserve.
8 Lord God Almighty,
no one is as powerful as you!
You are always faithful in all that you do!
9 You rule over the powerful sea.
When the waves rise up,
you make them quiet again.
10 You caught the monster Rahab
and you killed it!
With your power,
you chased away your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you
and so does the earth.
You made the world
and everything that is in it.
12 You made everything,
from the north to the south.
Tabor and Hermon are happy to praise your name.[b]
13 You have great strength,
and you can do great things.
You hold up your right hand,
as you win against your enemies.
14 As King, you rule with justice,
and you always do what is right.
You show your faithful love and you are faithful.
15 You have truly blessed the people
who know how to praise you, Lord.
They know that you are pleased with them.
16 They praise your name all the time.
Your justice makes them happy.
17 You give strength and glory to your people.
Because you are kind to us,
we win against our enemies.
18 Yes! Our king belongs to the Lord,
and he protects us like a shield.
Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
God's covenant with David
19 A long time ago, Lord,
you spoke to your servants.
In a vision, you said to them,
‘I have helped a brave soldier to be strong.
I have chosen as king
a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David, my servant.
I have poured my special oil on him,
to make him king.
21 I will help him with my power,
so that he is strong.
22 No enemy will win against him.
No cruel people will have power to hurt him.
23 I will destroy his enemies in front of him
I will kill those who hate him.
24 I will always be faithful
and show him my faithful love.
By my name he will win against his enemies.
25 I will cause his kingdom to reach
beyond the sea and the rivers.
26 The king will say to me, “You are my Father.
You are my God.
You protect me and you rescue me.”
27 Also, I will make him my firstborn son.
He will be the greatest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will always love him with my faithful love.
I will never change the covenant
that I have made with him.
29 Someone from his family will always be king.
They will rule for ever,
as long as there are skies above us.
30-31 But I will punish his descendants,
if they do not accept my laws.
If they do not obey my teaching, my rules, or my commands,
32 I will punish them.
Because of their sins,
I will give them much pain.
33 But I will not take my faithful love away from David.
I will always be faithful,
and I will do what I have promised to him.
34 I will not spoil the covenant that I have made with him.
I will always keep my promises.
35 I made that promise to David at one time,
and that will not change.
I promised him by my holy name
and I will never deceive him.
36 His descendants will always rule.
His kingdom will continue to be there for ever,
as long as the sun shines.
37 As the moon is always there in the sky,
to show that God is faithful,
David's kingdom will also continue.’
Selah.
A sad song
38 But now you have turned against your king.
You have become angry with the king that you have chosen.
39 You have spoiled the covenant
that you made with your servant.
You have thrown his crown into the dirt.
40 You have knocked down all the walls of his city.
You have destroyed all his strong places.
41 Every stranger robs him of his things.
His neighbours laugh at him.
42 You have made his enemies strong,
so that they win against him and they are happy.
43 You have made his weapons useless,
so that he cannot beat his enemies in war.
44 You have taken away his authority as king.
You have knocked down his throne to the ground.
45 He no longer has the strength of a young man.
You have dressed him in clothes of shame.
Selah.
46 Lord, how long will this continue?
Will you hide yourself from us for ever?
Will your anger continue to burn like a fire?
47 Remember that my life is very short!
People are weak and their lives seem useless.
Why do you make people like that?
48 Nobody can continue to live and never die.
Nobody can escape from the power of death.
49 My Lord, where is the faithful love
that you showed to us in past times?
Where are the blessings that you promised to David?
50 My Lord, look at how people are insulting me!
People from all nations laugh at me, your servant.
51 Lord, your enemies insult the king that you have chosen.
Wherever I go, they insult me!
52 Praise the Lord as he deserves!
Yes! Amen! We agree!
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