M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

9 When Solomon had finished building the Temple and the palace and all the other buildings he had always wanted, ^2-3 the Lord appeared to him the second time (the first time had been at Gibeon) and said to him, “I have heard your prayer. I have hallowed this Temple that you have built and have put my name here forever. I will constantly watch over it and rejoice in it. ⁴ And if you live in honesty and truth as your father David did, always obeying me, ⁵ then I will cause your descendants to be the kings of Israel forever, just as I promised your father David when I told him, ‘One of your sons shall always be upon the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “However, if you or your children turn away from me and worship other gods and do not obey my laws, ⁷ then I will take away the people of Israel from this land that I have given them. I will take them from this Temple which I have hallowed for my name, and I will cast them out of my sight; and Israel will become a joke to the nations and an example and proverb of sudden disaster. ⁸ This Temple will become a heap of ruins, and everyone passing by will be amazed and will whistle with astonishment, asking, ‘Why has the Lord done such things to this land and this Temple?’ ⁹ And the answer will be, ‘The people of Israel abandoned the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt; they worshiped other gods instead. That is why the Lord has brought this evil upon them.’”

¹⁰ At the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built the Temple and the palace, ^11-12 he gave twenty cities in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre as payment for all the cedar and cypress lumber and gold he had furnished for the construction of the palace and Temple. Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities, but he wasn’t at all pleased with them.

¹³ “What sort of deal is this, my brother?” he asked. “These cities are a wasteland!” (And they are still known as “The Wasteland” today.) ¹⁴ For Hiram had sent gold to Solomon valued at $3,500,000!

¹⁵ Solomon had conscripted forced labor to build the Temple, his palace, Fort Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶ Gezer was the city the king of Egypt conquered and burned, killing the Israeli population; later he had given the city to his daughter as a dowry—she was one of Solomon’s wives. ^17-18 So now Solomon rebuilt Gezer along with Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar, a desert city. ¹⁹ He also built cities for grain storage, cities in which to keep his chariots, cities for homes for his cavalry and chariot drivers, and resort cities near Jerusalem and in the Lebanon mountains and elsewhere throughout the land.

^20-21 Solomon conscripted his labor forces from those who survived in the nations he conquered—the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. For the people of Israel had not been able to wipe them out completely at the time of the invasion and conquest of Israel, and they continue as slaves even today. ²² Solomon didn’t conscript any Israelis for this work, although they became soldiers, officials, army officers, chariot commanders, and cavalrymen. ²³ And there were 550 men of Israel who were overseers of the labor forces.

Miscellaneous Notes:

²⁴ King Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David—the old sector of Jerusalem—to the new quarters he had built for her in the palace. Then he built Fort Millo.

²⁵ After the Temple was completed, Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings three times a year on the altar he had built. And he also burned incense upon it.

²⁶ King Solomon had a shipyard in Ezion-geber near Eloth on the Red Sea in the land of Edom, where he built a fleet of ships.

^27-28 King Hiram supplied experienced sailors to accompany Solomon’s crews. They used to sail back and forth from Ophir, bringing gold to King Solomon, the total value of which was several million dollars each trip.

6 Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you. ² Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. ³ And this is the promise: that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing.

⁴ And now a word to you parents. Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves, with suggestions and godly advice.

⁵ Slaves, obey your masters; be eager to give them your very best. Serve them as you would Christ. ^6-7 Don’t work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when he isn’t looking; work hard and with gladness all the time, as though working for Christ, doing the will of God with all your hearts. ⁸ Remember, the Lord will pay you for each good thing you do, whether you are slave or free.

⁹ And you slave owners must treat your slaves right, just as I have told them to treat you. Don’t keep threatening them; remember, you yourselves are slaves to Christ; you have the same Master they do, and he has no favorites.

¹⁰ Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. ¹² For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

¹³ So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.

¹⁴ But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. ¹⁵ Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. ¹⁶ In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. ¹⁷ And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. ¹⁹ Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles too. ²⁰ I am in chains now for preaching this message from God. But pray that I will keep on speaking out boldly for him even here in prison, as I should.

²¹ Tychicus, who is a much-loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work, will tell you all about how I am getting along. ²² I am sending him to you for just this purpose: to let you know how we are and be encouraged by his report.

²³ May God give peace to you, my Christian brothers, and love, with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ May God’s grace and blessing be upon all who sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely, Paul

39 “Son of dust, prophesy this also against Gog. Tell him:

“‘I stand against you, Gog, leader of Meshech and Tubal. ² I will turn you and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north. And I will destroy 85 percent of your army^[a] in the mountains. ³ I will knock your weapons from your hands and leave you helpless. ⁴ You and all your vast armies will die upon the mountains. I will give you to the vultures and wild animals to devour you. ⁵ You will never reach the cities—you will fall upon the open fields; for I have spoken, the Lord God says. ⁶ And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts, and they shall know I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘Thus I will make known my holy name among my people Israel; I will not let it be mocked at anymore. And the nations, too, shall know I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ⁸ That day of judgment will come; everything will happen just as I have declared it.

⁹ “‘The people of the cities of Israel will go out and pick up your shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, to use for fuel—enough to last them seven years. ¹⁰ For seven years they will need nothing else for their fires. They won’t cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all they need. They will use the possessions of those who abused them.

¹¹ “‘And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his armies in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the path of the travelers. There Gog and all his armies will be buried. And they will change the name of the place to “The Valley of Gog’s Army.” ¹² It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies. ¹³ Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel on that day when I demonstrate my glory, says the Lord. ¹⁴ At the end of the seven months, they will appoint men to search the land systematically for any skeletons left and bury them, so that the land will be cleansed. ^15-16 Whenever anyone sees some bones, he will put up a marker beside them so that the buriers will see them and take them to the Valley of Gog’s Army to bury them. A city named “Multitude” is there! And so the land will finally be cleansed.’

¹⁷ “And now, son of dust, call all the birds and animals and say to them: ‘Gather together for a mighty sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel. Come, eat the flesh and drink the blood! ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes—they are the rams, the lambs, the goats, and the fat young bulls of Bashan for my feast! ¹⁹ Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted, drink blood until you are drunk; this is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you. ²⁰ Feast at my banquet table—feast on horses, riders, and valiant warriors, says the Lord God.’

²¹ “Thus I will demonstrate my glory among the nations; all shall see the punishment of Gog and know that I have done it. ²² And from that time onward the people of Israel will know I am the Lord their God. ²³ And the nations will know why Israel was sent away to exile—it was punishment for sin, for they acted in treachery against their God. Therefore, I turned my face away from them and let their enemies destroy them. ²⁴ I turned my face away and punished them in proportion to the vileness of their sins.

²⁵ “But now,” the Lord God says, “I will end the captivity of my people and have mercy upon them and restore their fortunes, for I am concerned about my reputation! ²⁶ Their time of treachery and shame will all be in the past; they will be home again, in peace and safety in their own land, with no one bothering them or making them afraid. ²⁷ I will bring them home from the lands of their enemies—and my glory shall be evident to all the nations when I do it. Through them I will vindicate my holiness before the nations. ²⁸ Then my people will know I am the Lord their God—responsible for sending them away to exile, and responsible for bringing them home. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations. ²⁹ And I will never hide my face from them again, for I will pour out my Spirit upon them,” says the Lord God.

90 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! ² Before the mountains were created, before the earth was formed, you are God without beginning or end.

³ You speak, and man turns back to dust. ⁴ A thousand years are but as yesterday to you! They are like a single hour!^{[a] 5-6} We glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing river and vanish as quickly as a dream. We are like grass that is green in the morning but mowed down and withered before the evening shadows fall. ⁷ We die beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your wrath. ⁸ You spread out our sins before you—our secret sins—and see them all. ⁹ No wonder the years are long and heavy here beneath your wrath. All our days are filled with sighing.

¹⁰ Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to eighty. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone. ¹¹ Who can realize the terrors of your anger? Which of us can fear you as he should?

¹² Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.

¹³ O Jehovah, come and bless us! How long will you delay? Turn away your anger from us. ¹⁴ Satisfy us in our earliest^[b] youth with your loving-kindness, giving us constant joy to the end of our lives. ¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. ¹⁶ Let us see your miracles again; let our children see glorious things, the kind you used to do, ¹⁷ and let the Lord our God favor us and give us success. May he give permanence to all we do.