M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Abijah, King of Judah^(A)

15 Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijah became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maakah, the daughter of Abishalom.

³ He walked in all the sins of his father that he had done before him, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of his father David had been. ⁴ Nevertheless, for David’s sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem, ⁵ because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter involving Uriah the Hittite.

⁶ The war begun between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued all the days of his life. ⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Abijah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ⁸ Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David, and Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa, King of Judah^(B)

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem, and his grandmother’s name was Maakah, the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹ Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. ¹² He expelled the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ In addition he even deposed his grandmother Maakah as queen, because she had made an idol in a grove. Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the Kidron brook. ¹⁴ But the high places were not all removed, even though Asa’s heart was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ He brought into the house of the Lord the things that both his father and he himself had dedicated, the silver and gold and cups.

¹⁶ There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah so he could prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, as well as the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants, and he sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived at Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “There is a treaty between me and you and between my father and your father. I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so he will depart from me.”

²⁰ So Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah, and all Kinnereth, along with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard about it, he halted the fortification of Ramah and moved to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah—none was exempted—and they took away the stones of Ramah and the timber with which Baasha had built, and King Asa used them to build Geba of Benjamin as well as Mizpah.

²³ The rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? When he was old, he got a disease in his feet. ²⁴ Asa then slept with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab, King of Israel

²⁵ Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah and reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

²⁷ Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸ It was in the third year of Asa king of Judah that Baasha killed him and took his throne.

²⁹ When he became king, Baasha killed all the house of Jeroboam. No one from Jeroboam’s family was left breathing. He completely destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha, King of Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and he did so twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

2 I would like you to know what a great struggle I am having for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for everyone who has not seen my face in the flesh, ² that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and receive all the riches and assurance of full understanding, and knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ Now this I say lest anyone beguile you with enticing words. ⁵ For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your orderliness and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

Fullness of Life in Christ

⁶ As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving.

⁸ Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.

⁹ For in Him lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. ¹⁰ And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all authority and power. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead.

¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. ¹⁴ He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.

¹⁶ Therefore let no one judge you regarding food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or new moon or sabbath days. ¹⁷ These are shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, ¹⁹ and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase.

The New Life in Christ

²⁰ Therefore, if you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you subject yourself to legalistic rules? ²¹ “Do not touch! Do not taste! Do not handle!” ²² These all are to perish with use and are aligned with the commandments and doctrines of men. ²³ These things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but are worthless against the indulgence of the flesh.

The Holy District

45 Moreover, when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an allotment to the Lord, a holy portion of the land. The length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand cubits,^[a] and the width shall be twenty thousand.^[b] It shall be holy throughout its territory all around. ² Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary, five hundred by five hundred cubits,^[c] with fifty cubits^[d] for an open space around it. ³ Of this measure you shall measure the length of twenty-five thousand cubits and the width of ten thousand cubits.^[e] And in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ⁴ The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who shall come near to minister to the Lord. And it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ⁵ An area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple, and for their possession cities in which to dwell.

⁶ You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand cubits^[f] wide and twenty-five thousand cubits long adjacent to the allotment of the holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel.

The Portion for the Prince

⁷ A portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the holy allotment and property of the city, adjacent to the holy allotment and the property of the city, from the west side westward and from the east side eastward. And the length shall correspond to one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border. ⁸ In the land shall be his possession in Israel. And My officials shall no more oppress My people. And the rest of the land they shall give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Laws Governing the Prince

⁹ Thus says the Lord God: Let it suffice you officials of Israel. Remove violence and destruction, and execute justice and righteousness. Take away your exactions from My people, says the Lord God. ¹⁰ You shall have just balances and a just ephah^[g] and a just bath.^{[h] 11} The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure so that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer,^[i] and the ephah the tenth part of a homer. Their measure shall be after the homer. ¹² The shekel^[j] shall be twenty gerahs.^[k] Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.^[l]

¹³ This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah^[m] of a homer of wheat, and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah^[n] of a homer of barley. ¹⁴ Concerning the ordinance of oil that is the bath of oil, you shall offer the tenth part of a bath^[o] out of the kor,^[p] which is a homer or ten baths, for ten baths are a homer. ¹⁵ And one lamb shall be out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the watering places of Israel, as a grain offering and as a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, says the Lord God. ¹⁶ All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ It shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings and grain offerings and drink offerings in the feasts and in the New Moons and in the Sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering and the grain offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.

Observing the Feasts

¹⁸ Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary. ¹⁹ And the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court. ²⁰ So you shall do the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs and for him who is naive. So you shall make atonement for the temple.

²¹ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days. Unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² On that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull as a sin offering. ²³ For seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily for the seven days, and a male of the goats daily as a sin offering. ²⁴ He shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram and a hin^[q] of oil for an ephah.

²⁵ In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, he shall do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the grain offering, and according to the oil.

Psalm 99

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

Psalm 101

A Psalm of David.