M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Adonijah Makes Himself King
1 Now King David was old. He had lived many years. They covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. 2 So his servants said to him, “Let a young woman who has never had a man be found for my lord the king. Let her help the king and become his nurse. And let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they looked through all the land of Israel for a beautiful girl, and found Abishag the Shunammite. And they brought her to the king. 4 The girl was very beautiful. She became the king’s nurse and helped him. But the king did not have sex with her.
5 Now Haggith’s son Adonijah honored himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he made war-wagons and horsemen ready for himself, with fifty men to run in front of him. 6 His father had never troubled him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” He was a very good-looking man also, and was born next after Absalom. 7 He spoke with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the religious leader. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. 8 But Zadok the religious leader, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the man of God, Shimei, Rei, and David’s strong men, were not with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah killed sheep and cattle and fat animals by the stone of Zoheleth, beside En-rogel. He asked all his brothers, the king’s sons and all the king’s men of Judah to come. 10 But he did not ask Nathan the man of God, Benaiah, the strong men or his brother Solomon to come.
11 Then Nathan said to Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know it? 12 So now come, let me give you words of wisdom and save your life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go to King David and say to him, ‘My lord, O king, have you not promised your woman servant, saying, “For sure your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 While you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and tell him your words are true.”
15 So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was helping him. 16 Bathsheba put her face to the ground in front of the king. And the king said, “What do you wish?” 17 She said to him, “My lord, you promised your woman servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘For sure your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne.’ 18 Now, see, Adonijah is king. And my lord the king, you do not know it. 19 He has killed many cattle and sheep and fat animals. He has asked all the king’s sons and Abiathar the religious leader and Joab the captain of the army to come. But he has not asked your servant Solomon to come. 20 Now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you. They are waiting for you to tell them who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Or else as soon as my lord the king is dead, I and my son Solomon will be thought of as wrong-doers.”
22 While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the man of God came in. 23 They told the king, “Here is Nathan who speaks for God.” When Nathan came in front of the king, he put his face to the ground. 24 Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah will be king after me, and he will sit on my throne’? 25 For he has gone down today and has killed many cattle and sheep and fat animals. He has asked all the king’s sons and the captains of the army and Abiathar the religious leader to come. They are eating and drinking with him, and are saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he has not asked me your servant, Zadok the religious leader, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon, to come. 27 Has this been done by my lord the king? Have you not shown your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
David Makes Solomon King
28 King David said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came and stood in front of the king. 29 The king made a promise and said, “As the Lord lives, Who has saved me from all trouble, 30 I promised you by the Lord the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne in my place.’ And I will even do so this day.” 31 Bathsheba put her face to the ground in front of the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever.”
32 Then King David said, “Call to me Zadok the religious leader, Nathan the man of God, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came to the king. 33 The king said to them, “Take the servants of your lord with you. Have my son Solomon go on my own horse. And bring him down to Gihon. 34 Let Zadok the religious leader and Nathan the man of God set him apart there as king over Israel. Sound the horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then come up after him. He will come and sit on my throne and be king in my place. For I have chosen him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Let it be so! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so! 37 May the Lord be with Solomon as He has been with my lord the king. May He make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”
38 So Zadok the religious leader, Nathan the man of God, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down to Gihon. And they brought Solomon with them, on King David’s horse. 39 There Zadok the religious leader took the horn of oil from the tent and poured it on Solomon. Then they sounded the horn and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him. They were playing music and were filled with joy. The earth shook with all the noise.
41 Adonijah and all who had been asked to be with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is there such a noise in the city?” 42 While he was still speaking, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the religious leader came. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a man to be trusted, and bring good news.” 43 But Jonathan said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the religious leader, Nathan the man of God, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they have made him travel on the king’s horse. 45 Zadok the religious leader and Nathan the man of God have set him apart as king in Gihon. They have come up from there filled with joy, so there is much noise in the city. This is the noise you have heard. 46 Solomon sits upon the throne of the king. 47 What is more, the king’s servants came to give honor to our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the king put his face down upon the bed. 48 The king said, ‘Thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel. He has given one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”
49 Then all those with Adonijah were filled with fear. Each of them got up and went his own way. 50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. He got up and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Solomon was told, “See, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon. See, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon promise me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 Solomon said, “If he will be a man of worth, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground. But if he is found to be bad, he will die.” 53 So King Solomon sent men to bring him down from the altar. Adonijah came and put his face to the ground in front of King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
Christ Made Us Free
5 Christ made us free. Stay that way. Do not get chained all over again in the Law and its kind of religious worship.
2 Listen to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you have the religious act of becoming a Jew done on you, Christ will be of no use to you at all. 3 I say it again. Every man who has the religious act of becoming a Jew done on him must obey every Law. 4 If you expect to be made right with God by obeying the Law, then you have turned away from Christ and His loving-favor. 5 We are waiting for the hope of being made right with God. This will come through the Holy Spirit and by faith. 6 If we belong to Jesus Christ, it means nothing to have or not to have gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. But faith working through love is important.
7 You were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth? 8 Whatever he used did not come from the One Who chose you to have life. 9 It only takes a little yeast to make the whole loaf of bread rise. 10 I feel I can trust you because of what the Lord has done in your life. I believe you will not follow another way. Whoever is trying to lead you in the wrong way will suffer for it. 11 Christian brothers, if I would still preach that people must go through the religious act of becoming a Jew to be a Christian, I would not be suffering from those who are making it hard for me. If I preached like that, the Jews would have no reason to be against the cross of Christ. 12 I wish those who are so willing to cut your bodies would complete the job by cutting themselves off from you.
13 Christian brother, you were chosen to be free. Be careful that you do not please your old selves by sinning because you are free. Live this free life by loving and helping others. 14 You obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (A) 15 But if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.
16 I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves. 17 The things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you. 19 The things your sinful old self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living, 20 worshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the other groups are wrong, false teaching, 21 wanting something someone else has, killing other people, using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in the holy nation of God. 22 But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things. 24 Those of us who belong to Christ have nailed our sinful old selves on His cross. Our sinful desires are now dead.
25 If the Holy Spirit is living in us, let us be led by Him in all things. 26 Let us not become proud in ways in which we should not. We must not make hard feelings among ourselves as Christians or make anyone jealous.
King of Egypt Is Like a Dragon
32 On the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, ‘You compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, yet you are like the big dragon in the seas. You go through your rivers, troubling the water with your feet and making the rivers muddy.’” 3 The Lord God says, “Now I will throw My net over you with an army of many nations. They will lift you up in My net. 4 And I will leave you on the land. I will throw you on the open field. I will have all the birds of the air live on you. And I will feed you to the wild animals of the earth. 5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with what is left of you. 6 I will make the land drink your flowing blood as far as the mountains, and the deep valleys will be full of you. 7 When I destroy you, I will cover the heavens and make the stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 I will make all the shining lights in the heavens dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land,” says the Lord God. 9 “I will trouble the hearts of many people when I destroy you among the nations, among lands you have not known. 10 I will fill many nations with fear and wonder because of you. Their kings will shake in fear for you when I wave My sword in front of them. Every man will keep shaking in fear for his own life, on the day you are destroyed.”
11 For the Lord God says, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will cause your people to be killed by the swords of powerful men who will have no pity, all of them strong rulers of the nations. They will destroy the pride of Egypt and kill all its people. 13 I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters. No foot of man or animal will fill them with mud any more. 14 I will make their waters clear and make their rivers flow like oil,” says the Lord God. 15 “When I destroy the land of Egypt and take from the land everything that was in it, and when I punish all who live there, then they will know that I am the Lord. 16 This is the song of sorrow they will sing. The women of the nations will sing it. They will sing it over Egypt and all her people,” says the Lord God.
The Place of the Dead
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, cry in a loud voice for the people of Egypt. Send them down with the powerful nations to the place of the dead, with those who go down to the grave. 19 Say to them, ‘Do you think you are more favored than anyone else? Go down and make your bed with the sinful.’ 20 They will fall among those who are killed by the sword. The sword is ready to kill all of Egypt’s people. 21 From the place of the dead the powerful leaders will say of Egypt and her helpers, ‘They have come down. They lie with the sinful, with those killed by the sword.’
22 “Assyria is there, with all of her army. All around her are the graves of her dead, who have been killed by the sword. 23 Their graves lie in the farthest parts of the place of the dead. Her army is around her grave. All who had spread fear in the land of the living are dead, killed by the sword.
24 “Elam is there, with all of her people around her grave. All of them are dead, killed by the sword. They have gone to the lower parts of the earth having not gone through the religious act of the Jews. They filled the land of the living with fear, and carried their shame with those who went down to the place of the dead. 25 A bed is made for her among the dead with all her people. Their graves are around her. They are all sinful people, killed by the sword. They spread fear in the land of the living, and were put to shame with those who go down to the place of the dead and are among the dead.
26 “Meshech and Tubal are there, with all their people. Their graves are around them. All of them are sinful, killed by the sword, for they had spread fear in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie beside the graves of the powerful men of long ago, who went down to the place of the dead with their swords of war, whose swords were laid under their heads. But the punishment for their sin rested on their bones. For the fear of these powerful men was once in the land of the living. 28 You too, O Pharaoh, will be broken and lie among the sinful, with those killed by the sword.
29 “Edom is there, with its kings and all its leaders. Even with all their power they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the sinful, with those who go down to the place of the dead.
30 “All the leaders of the north and all the Sidonians are there. Even with the fear they caused by their power, they went down with the dead in shame. They lie as sinful people with those killed by the sword. They carried their shame with those who go down to the place of the dead.
31 “When Pharaoh and his army see them, they will be comforted for all his people who were killed by the sword,” says the Lord God. 32 “I spread fear of him in the land of the living, yet Pharaoh and all his people will be laid among the sinful, with those killed by the sword,” says the Lord God.
A Prayer for the Nation
80 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock! You Who sit on Your throne above the angels, let Your light shine! 2 Stir up Your power in front of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manassah, and come to save us! 3 O God, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God of all, how long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears. And You have made them drink a big amount of tears. 6 You have made us an object of arguing to our neighbors. Those who hate us laugh among themselves. 7 O God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and You planted it. 9 You cleared the land for it. And its roots went deep and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow. And the tall trees were covered with its branches. 11 It sent out its branches to the sea, and its new branches to the River. 12 Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? 13 The wild pig from among the trees eats it away. And whatever moves in the field eats from it.
14 O God of all, we beg You to return. Look down from heaven and see. Take care of this vine. 15 Take care of the root Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You have raised up for Yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire. It is cut down. May they be lost when they hear Your strong words. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, the son of man you have made strong for Yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from You. Give us new life again, and we will call on Your name. 19 O Lord God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.