M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon meets God a third time
11 In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, King Solomon loved many foreign women, including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 These came from the nations that the Lord had commanded the Israelites about: “Don’t intermarry with them. They will definitely turn your heart toward their gods.” Solomon clung to these women in love. 3 He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred secondary wives. They turned his heart. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. He wasn’t committed to the Lord his God with all his heart as was his father David. 5 Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes and wasn’t completely devoted to the Lord like his father David. 7 On the hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a shrine to Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and to Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 The Lord grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from being with the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 The Lord had commanded Solomon about this very thing, that he shouldn’t follow other gods. But Solomon didn’t do what the Lord commanded.
11 The Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done all this instead of keeping my covenant and my laws that I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 Even so, on account of your father David, I won’t do it during your lifetime. I will tear the kingdom out of your son’s hands. 13 Moreover, I won’t tear away the entire kingdom. I will give one tribe to your son on account of my servant David and on account of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
Solomon and Hadad
14 So the Lord raised up an opponent for Solomon: Hadad the Edomite from the royal line of Edom. 15 When David was fighting against Edom, Joab the general had gone up to bury the Israelite dead, and he had killed every male in Edom. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there six months, until he had finished off every male in Edom. 17 While still a youth, Hadad escaped to Egypt along with his father’s Edomite officials. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt and to Pharaoh its king. Pharaoh assigned him a home, food, and land. 19 Pharaoh was so delighted with Hadad that he gave him one of his wife’s sisters for marriage, a sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 This sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son, Genubath. Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh’s house. So it was that Genubath was raised in Pharaoh’s house, among Pharaoh’s children. 21 While in Egypt, Hadad heard that David had lain down with his ancestors and that Joab the general was also dead. Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go to my homeland.”
22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here with me that would make you want to go back to your homeland?”
Hadad said, “Nothing, but please let me go!”
Solomon and Rezon
23 God raised up another opponent for Solomon: Rezon, Eliada’s son, who had escaped from Zobah’s King Hadadezer. 24 Rezon recruited men and became leader of a band when David was killing them. They went to Damascus, stayed there, and ruled it. 25 Throughout Solomon’s lifetime, Rezon was Israel’s opponent and added to the problems caused by Hadad. Rezon hated Israel while he ruled as king of Aram.
Solomon and Jeroboam
26 Now Nebat’s son Jeroboam was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His mother’s name was Zeruah; she was a widow. Although he was one of Solomon’s own officials, Jeroboam fought against the king. 27 This is the story of why Jeroboam fought against the king:
Solomon had built the stepped structure and repaired the broken wall in his father David’s City. 28 Now Jeroboam was a strong and honorable man. Solomon saw how well this youth did his work. So he appointed him over all the work gang of Joseph’s house.
29 At that time, when Jeroboam left Jerusalem, Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new garment. The two of them were alone in the country. 30 Ahijah tore his new garment into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, because Israel’s God, the Lord, has said, ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten tribes. 32 But I will leave him one tribe on account of my servant David and on account of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am doing this because they have abandoned me[a] and worshipped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They haven’t walked in my ways by doing what is right in my eyes—keeping my laws and judgments—as Solomon’s father David did. 34 But I won’t take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will keep him as ruler throughout his lifetime on account of my servant David, who did keep my commands and my laws. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of Solomon’s son, and I will give you ten tribes. 36 I will give his son a single tribe so that my servant David will always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for myself to place my name. 37 But I will accept you, and you will rule over all that you could desire. You will be king of Israel. 38 If you listen to all that I command and walk in my ways, if you do what is right in my eyes, keeping my laws and my commands just as my servant David did, then I will be with you and I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I did for David. I will give you Israel. 39 I will humble David’s descendants by means of all this, though not forever.’”
40 Then Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam fled to Egypt and its king Shishak. Jeroboam remained in Egypt until Solomon died.
Solomon’s remaining days
41 The rest of Solomon’s deeds, including all that he did and all his wisdom, aren’t they written in the official records of Solomon? 42 The amount of time Solomon ruled over all Israel in Jerusalem was forty years. 43 Then Solomon lay down with his ancestors. He was buried in his father David’s City, and Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Imitate Christ
2 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, 2 complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. 3 Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. 4 Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. 5 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:
6 Though he was in the form of God,
he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
7 But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God highly honored him
and gave him a name above all names,
10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow
11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Carry out your salvation
12 Therefore, my loved ones, just as you always obey me, not just when I am present but now even more while I am away, carry out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out his good purposes. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, innocent children of God surrounded by people who are crooked and corrupt. Among these people you shine like stars in the world 16 because you hold on to the word of life. This will allow me to say on the day of Christ that I haven’t run for nothing or worked for nothing. 17 But even if I am poured out like a drink offering upon the altar of service for your faith, I am glad. I’m glad with all of you. 18 You should be glad about this in the same way. Be glad with me!
Sending Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to see you soon so that I may be encouraged by hearing about you. 20 I have no one like him. He is a person who genuinely cares about your well-being. 21 All the others put their own business ahead of Jesus Christ’s business. 22 You know his character, how he labors with me for the gospel like a son works with his father. 23 So he is the one that I hope to send as soon as I find out how things turn out here for me. 24 I trust in the Lord that I also will visit you soon.
25 I think it is also necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. He is my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier; and he is your representative who serves my needs. 26 He misses you all, and he was upset because you heard he was sick. 27 In fact, he was so sick that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him—and not just on him but also on me, because his death would have caused me great sorrow. 28 Therefore, I am sending him immediately so that when you see him again you can be glad and I won’t worry. 29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy and show great respect for people like him. 30 He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ, and he did this to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.
41 He brought me to the main hall, and he measured the arches. They were nine feet deep on both sides, so that was also the depth of the tent. 2 The entrance was fifteen feet wide, and the facades on either side of the entrance were seven and a half feet. When he measured its length, it was sixty feet, and its width was thirty feet. 3 Then he went into the inner room, and he measured the arches on both sides of the entrance; they were each three feet. The entrance was nine feet wide, and its depth was ten and a half feet. 4 When he measured the length of the inner room, it was thirty feet, and the width of the side adjoining the main hall was also thirty feet. He said to me, “This is the most holy place.”
5 When he measured the wall of the temple, it was nine feet, and the side chambers that went all the way around the temple were six feet. 6 Now these side chambers adjoined each other, thirty chambers in three stories. The side chambers had a ledge in the temple wall all the way around to serve as supports, but these supports were not inserted into the temple wall itself. 7 A wide ramp ascended stage by stage to the side chambers all the way around the temple. In this way, the ascent stage by stage all around the temple added to the temple’s width. One ascended from the foundation to the top by way of the middle story. 8 Then I looked at the temple: Its roof all around rested on the side chambers. Each raised section was ten and a half feet, and the indentations between them were nine feet.[a] 9 The width of the outer wall of the side chambers was seven and a half feet. The space left free between the temple’s side chambers and 10 the other chambers was thirty feet wide all the way around the temple. 11 There were two entrances from the side chambers to the free space, one facing north, the other facing south. And the width of the place that was left free was seven and a half feet all the way around. 12 The structure facing the yard on the west was one hundred five feet wide. The structure’s wall was seven and a half feet wide all the way around, and its length was one hundred thirty-five feet.
13 Then he measured the temple. It was one hundred fifty feet long. The yard, the structure, and its walls were also one hundred fifty feet. 14 The area in front of the house and the yard to the east was one hundred fifty feet also. 15 Then he measured the length of the structure along the side of the yard, including its promenades on both sides: one hundred fifty feet.
Now the interior of the main hall as well as the porches in the courtyard 16 were paneled all around, including the ceilings,[b] closed windows, and its three courses of promenades that adjoined the ceiling. From the ground up to the windows was covered. 17 Above the entrance, from the interior to the exterior of the temple, and on every interior and exterior wall, 18 there were carved winged creatures and palm trees. The palm trees were positioned between the winged creatures, and each winged creature had two faces. 19 A human face turned toward one palm tree, and the face of a lion turned toward another. They were carved on the temple all the way around. 20 From the ground to above the entrance, the walls of the main hall were carved with winged creatures and palm trees. 21 In the main hall itself, there were square doorposts in front of the holy place, where there was the appearance of 22 the altar. It was four and a half feet high and three feet wide. It was made of wood, and its corners, base, and sides were also wood. He said to me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”
23 The main hall and the holy place each had two doors, 24 and each door had two turning panels, two for one door and two for the other. 25 Like the walls, the doors of the main hall were carved with winged creatures and palm trees. A single luxuriant[c] tree stood outside, in front of the porch, 26 while closed windows and palm trees decorated both sides of the facade of the porch, the temple’s side chambers, and the beams.
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, Most High;
2 to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
your faithfulness at nighttime
3 with the ten-stringed harp,
with the melody of the lyre
4 because you’ve made me happy, Lord,
by your acts.
I sing with joy because of your handiwork.
5 How awesome are your works, Lord!
Your thoughts are so deep!
6 Ignorant people don’t know—
fools don’t understand this:
7 though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers seem to blossom,
they do so only to be destroyed forever.
8 But you, Lord, are exalted forever!
9 Look at your enemies, Lord!
Look at how your enemies die,
how all evildoers are scattered abroad!
10 But you’ve made me as strong as a wild ox.
I’m soaked in precious ointment.
11 My eyes have seen my enemies’ defeat;
my ears have heard the downfall of my evil foes.
12 The righteous will spring up like a palm tree.
They will grow strong like a cedar of Lebanon.
13 Those who have been replanted in the Lord’s house
will spring up in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will bear fruit even when old and gray;
they will remain lush and fresh 15 in order to proclaim:
“The Lord is righteous.
He’s my rock.
There’s nothing unrighteous in him.”
Psalm 93
93 The Lord rules!
He is robed in majesty—
the Lord is robed,
clothed with strength.
Yes, he set the world firmly in place;[a]
it won’t be shaken.
2 Your throne is set firm for a very long time.
You are eternal!
3 Lord, the floods have raised up—
the floods have raised up their voices;
the floods raise up a roar!
4 But mightier than the sound of much water,
mightier than the sea’s waves,
mighty on high is the Lord!
5 Your laws are so faithful.
Holiness decorates your house, Lord, for all time.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible