M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The House of God Is Set Apart for God
7 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and burned up the burnt gift and gifts of worship. And the shining-greatness of the Lord filled the house. 2 The religious leaders could not go into the house of the Lord because it was filled with the Lord’s shining-greatness. 3 All the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the shining-greatness of the Lord upon the house. So they bowed their faces to the ground and worshiped. They gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good. For His loving-kindness lasts forever.”
4 Then the king and all the people gave gifts to the Lord. 5 King Solomon gave a gift of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people set apart the house of God. 6 The religious leaders stood in their places while the Levites were praising the Lord using objects King David had made. They were playing, “For His loving-kindness lasts forever.” As the religious leaders blew horns on the other side, all Israel stood.
7 Then Solomon set apart the center of the open space in front of the Lord’s house. There he gave the burnt gifts and the fat of the peace gifts. The brass altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt gift, the grain gift and the fat.
8 At that time Solomon gave the special supper for seven days, and all Israel with him. Many people were there. They had come from the gate of Hamath to the river of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they gathered together for a special time. For seven days they had to set apart the altar, and for seven days they had the special supper. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people to their tents. They were full of joy and happy in their heart for the good that the Lord had shown to David and Solomon and His people Israel.
God Comes to Solomon Again
11 Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the Lord’s house and in his own house was well done. 12 Then the Lord came to Solomon during the night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer. And I have chosen this place for Myself as a house of gifts given in worship. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, and if I tell the locust to destroy the land, or send disease upon My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name put away their pride and pray, and look for My face, and turn from their sinful ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open. And My ears will hear the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this house and have made it holy, that My name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will always be there. 17 As for you, if you walk in My ways as your father David walked and do all that I have told you to do and keep My Laws, 18 then I will make your throne to last as I promised your father David. I said, ‘You will never be without a man to rule Israel.’
19 “But if you turn away and leave My Laws and My Word which I have given you, if you go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will take you from the land I have given you. And I will turn My eyes away from this house which I have set apart for My name. I will make it so all people speak of it in shame. 21 Everyone will look with wonder at this house that was once honored. They will say, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘It is because they turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They have taken other gods, and worshiped them and served them. So the Lord has brought all this trouble on them.’”
1 The church leader writes to the chosen lady and to her children. I love you because of the truth. I am not the only one who loves you. All who know the truth love you. 2 It is because the truth is in us and will be with us forever. 3 Loving-favor and loving-kindness and peace are ours as we live in truth and love. These come from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Son of the Father.
4 I am happy to find some of your children living in the truth as the Father has said we should. 5 And now I ask you, lady, that we have love one for the other. I am not writing to you about a new Law but an old one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means that we should live by obeying His Word. From the beginning He has said in His Word that our hearts should be full of love.
7 There are many false teachers in the world. They do not say that Jesus Christ came in a human body. Such a person does not tell the truth. He is the false-christ. 8 Watch yourselves! You do not want to lose what we have worked for. You want to get what has been promised to you.
9 Anyone who goes too far and does not live by the teachings of Christ does not have God. If you live by what Christ taught, you have both the Father and the Son. 10 If a person comes to you with some other kind of teaching, do not take him into your home. Do not even greet him. 11 The person who does has a share in his sins.
12 I have many things to write to you. I do not want to write them in this letter. But I hope to come to you soon. Then we can talk about these things together that your joy may be full. 13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
2 I will take my stand and keep watch. I will take my place on the tower. And I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say, and how I should answer when He speaks strong words to me.
The Lord’s Answer to Habakkuk
2 Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the special dream on stone so that one may read it in a hurry. 3 For it is not yet time for it to come true. The time is coming in a hurry, and it will come true. If you think it is slow in coming, wait for it. For it will happen for sure, and it will not wait. 4 As for the proud one, his soul is not right in him. But the one who is right and good will live by his faith.
It Is Bad for the Wrong-Doers
5 “Also, wine fools the proud man, so he does not stay at home. He is like the grave who always wants more. Like death, he never has enough. He gathers all nations for himself, and gathers all people for his own. 6 “Will not all these people make fun of him and say, ‘It is bad for him who gathers what is not his and makes himself rich with other people’s money. How long will this go on?’ 7 Will not those to whom you owe money rise up all at once? Will they not wake up and make you afraid? Then they will take what belongs to you. 8 Because you have robbed many nations, the rest of them will rob you. For you have killed men. You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 “It is bad for him who builds his house by sinful ways, to put his nest in a high place to be safe from trouble! 10 You have brought shame upon your house by destroying many nations. You are sinning against yourself. 11 The stone will cry out from the wall, and the roof will answer it from the wood.
12 “It is bad for him who builds a city with blood, and builds a town with wrong-doing! 13 Is it not the will of the All-powerful Lord that people work for what will burn up and nations make themselves tired for nothing? 14 For the earth will be filled with knowing of the Lord’s shining-greatness, as the waters cover the sea.
15 “It is bad for him who makes his neighbors drink, mixing in his poison to make them drunk, so he can look on their shame! 16 You will be filled with shame instead of honor. Now you yourself drink and let your own shame be seen. The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and your greatness will turn to shame. 17 The bad things you have done to Lebanon will come back to you. Because you have killed its animals, now they will make you afraid. This will happen because of all the killing you have done. You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what worth is a false god when a workman has made it? Of what worth is an object of worship, a teacher of lies? For the workman trusts in his own work when he makes these false gods that cannot speak. 19 It is bad for him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Wake up!’ or to a stone that cannot speak, ‘Get up!’ Can this teach you? See, it is covered with gold and silver. There is no breath in it. 20 But the Lord is in His holy house. Let all the earth be quiet before Him.”
A Woman Whose Husband Had Died Gave All She Had (A)
21 Jesus looked up and saw rich men putting their money into the money box in the house of God. 2 He saw a poor woman whose husband had died. She put in two very small pieces of money. 3 He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor woman has put in more than all of them. 4 For they have put in a little of the money they had no need for. She is very poor and has put in all she had. She has put in what she needed for her own living.”
Jesus Tells of the House of God (B)
5 Some people were talking about the house of God. They were saying that the stones were beautiful and that many gifts had been given. Jesus said, 6 “As for these things you see, all these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left on another.” 7 They asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will this take place? What are we to look for to show us these things are about to happen?” 8 He said, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. For many people will come in My name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ.’ The time is near. Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and fighting in different places, do not be afraid. These things have to happen first, but the end is not yet.”
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. 11 The earth will shake and break apart in different places. There will be no food. There will be bad diseases among many people. Very special things will be seen in the sky that will make people much afraid.
12 “But before all this happens, men will take hold of you and make it very hard for you. They will give you over to the places of worship and to the prisons. They will bring you in front of kings and the leaders of the people. This will all be done to you because of Me. 13 This will be a time for you to tell about Me. 14 Do not think about what you will say ahead of time. 15 For I will give you wisdom in what to say and I will help you say it. Those who are against you will not be able to stop you or say you are wrong.
16 “You will be handed over by your parents and your brothers and your family and your friends. They will kill some of you. 17 All men will hate you because of Me. 18 Yet not one hair of your head will be lost. 19 But stay true and your souls will have life.
Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow
20 “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, know that it will soon be destroyed. 21 Those in the country of Judea must run to the mountains. Those in the city must leave at once. Those in the country must not go into the city. 22 People will be punished in these hard days. All things will happen as it is written.
23 “It will be hard for women who will soon be mothers. It will be hard for those feeding babies in those days. It will be very hard for the people in the land and anger will be brought down on them. 24 People will be killed by the sword. They will be held in prison by all nations. Jerusalem will be walked over by the people who are not Jews until their time is finished.
Jesus Will Come Again in His Shining-Greatness
25 “There will be special things to look for in the sun and moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be troubled and will not know what to do. They will be troubled at the angry sea and waves. 26 The hearts of men will give up because of being afraid of what is coming on the earth. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and much greatness. 28 When these things begin to happen, lift up your heads because you have been bought by the blood of Christ and will soon be free.”
The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree
29 Jesus told them a picture-story. He said, “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. 30 When you see their leaves coming out, you know summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know the holy nation of God is near. 32 For sure, I tell you, that the people of this day will not die before all these things happen.
33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. 34 Watch yourselves! Do not let yourselves be loaded down with too much eating and strong drink. Do not be troubled with the cares of this life. If you do, that day will come on you without you knowing it. 35 It will come on all people over all the earth. 36 Be sure you watch. Pray all the time so that you may be able to keep from going through all these things that will happen and be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Everyday Jesus taught in the house of God. At night He went to the Mount of Olives and stayed there. 38 Early in the morning all the people came to the house of God to hear Him.
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