M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Jeroboam’s son Abijah now became very sick. 2 Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as the queen, and go to Ahijah the prophet at Shiloh—the man who told me that I would become king. 3 Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some fig bars, and a jar of honey, and ask him whether the boy will recover.”
4 So his wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. 5 But the Lord told him that the queen, pretending to be someone else, would come to ask about her son, for he was very sick. And the Lord told him what to tell her.
6 So when Ahijah heard her at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have sad news for you. 7 Give your husband this message from the Lord God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you king of Israel. 8 I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you, but you have not obeyed my commandments as my servant David did. His heart’s desire was always to obey me and to do whatever I wanted him to. 9 But you have done more evil than all the other kings before you; you have made other gods and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have refused to acknowledge me, 10 I will bring disaster upon your home and will destroy all of your sons—this boy who is sick and all those who are well.[a] I will sweep away your family as a stable hand shovels out manure. 11 I vow that those of your family who die in the city shall be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field shall be eaten by birds.’”
12 Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you step into the city, the child will die. 13 All of Israel will mourn for him and bury him, but he is the only member of your family who will come to a quiet end. For this child is the only good thing that the Lord God of Israel sees in the entire family of Jeroboam. 14 And the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. 15 Then the Lord will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream; he will uproot the people of Israel from this good land of their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the Lord by worshiping idol-gods. 16 He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made all of Israel sin along with him.”
17 So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah; and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home. 18 And there was mourning for him throughout the land, just as the Lord had predicted through Ahijah.
19 The rest of Jeroboam’s activities—his wars and the other events of his reign—are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. 20 Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years, and when he died, his son Nadab took the throne.
21 Meanwhile, Rehoboam the son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he was on the throne seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which, among all the cities of Israel, the Lord had chosen to live in. (Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.) 22 During his reign the people of Judah, like those in Israel, did wrong and angered the Lord with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. 23 They built shrines and obelisks and idols on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There was homosexuality throughout the land, and the people of Judah became as depraved as the heathen nations which the Lord drove out to make room for his people.
25 In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, King Shishak of Egypt attacked and conquered Jerusalem. 26 He ransacked the Temple and the palace and stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 Afterwards Rehoboam made bronze shields as substitutes, and the palace guards used these instead. 28 Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards paraded before him and then took the shields back to the guard chamber.
29 The other events in Rehoboam’s reign are written in The Annals of the Kings of Judah. 30 There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 When Rehoboam died—his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess—he was buried among his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Abijam took the throne.
1 From: Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ’s messenger, and from Brother Timothy.
2 To: The faithful Christian brothers—God’s people—in the city of Colosse.
May God our Father shower you with blessings and fill you with his great peace.
3 Whenever we pray for you, we always begin by giving thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard how much you trust the Lord, and how much you love his people. 5 And you are looking forward to the joys of heaven, and have been ever since the Gospel first was preached to you. 6 The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world and changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood about God’s great kindness to sinners.
7 Epaphras, our much-loved fellow worker, was the one who brought you this Good News. He is Jesus Christ’s faithful slave, here to help us in your place. 8 And he is the one who has told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
9 So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; 10 and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better.
11 We are praying, too, that you will be filled with his mighty, glorious strength so that you can keep going no matter what happens—always full of the joy of the Lord, 12 and always thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the Kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins.
15 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all,[a] and, in fact, 16 Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. 17 He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 18 He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church—which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead,[b] so that he is first in everything; 19 for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.
20 It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him—all things in heaven and on earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. 22 He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for; 23 the only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting him to save you. This is the wonderful news that came to each of you and is now spreading all over the world. And I, Paul, have the joy of telling it to others.
24 But part of my work is to suffer for you; and I am glad, for I am helping to finish up the remainder of Christ’s sufferings for his body, the Church.
25 God has sent me to help his Church and to tell his secret plan to you Gentiles. 26-27 He has kept this secret for centuries and generations past, but now at last it has pleased him to tell it to those who love him and live for him, and the riches and glory of his plan are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory.
28 So everywhere we go we talk about Christ to all who will listen, warning them and teaching them as well as we know how. We want to be able to present each one to God, perfect because of what Christ has done for each of them. 29 This is my work, and I can do it only because Christ’s mighty energy is at work within me.
44 Then the Lord brought me back to the outer wall’s eastern passageway, but it was closed. 2 And he said to me:
“This gate shall remain closed; it shall never be opened. No man shall pass through it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, entered here, and so it shall remain shut. 3 Only the prince—because he is the prince—may sit inside the passageway to feast there before the Lord. But he shall go and come only through the entry hall of the passage.”
4 Then he brought me through the north passageway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord, and I fell to the ground with my face in the dust.
5 And the Lord said to me:
“Son of dust, notice carefully; use your eyes and ears. Listen to all I tell you about the laws and rules of the Temple of the Lord. Note carefully who may be admitted to the Temple and who is to be excluded from it. 6 And say to these rebels, the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says: O Israel, you have sinned greatly 7 by letting the uncircumcised into my sanctuary—those who have no heart for God—when you offer me my food, the fat and the blood. Thus you have broken my covenant in addition to all your other sins. 8 You have not kept the laws I gave you concerning these holy affairs, for you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.’”
9 The Lord God says: “No foreigner of all the many among you shall enter my sanctuary if he has not been circumcised and does not love the Lord. 10 And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from God to idols must be punished for their unfaithfulness. 11 They may be Temple guards and gatemen; they may slay the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people. 12 But because they encouraged the people to worship other gods, causing Israel to fall into deep sin, I have raised my hand and taken oath,” says the Lord God, “that they must be punished. 13 They shall not come near me to minister as priests; they may not touch any of my holy things, for they must bear their shame for all the sins they have committed. 14 They are the Temple caretakers, to do maintenance work and to assist the people in a general way.
15 “However, the sons of Zadok, of the tribe of Levi, continued as my priests in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men shall be my ministers; they shall stand before me to offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall enter my sanctuary and come to my Table to minister to me; they shall fulfill my requirements.
17 “They must wear only linen clothing when they enter the passageway to the inner court, for they must wear no wool while on duty in the inner court or in the Temple. 18 They must wear linen turbans and linen trousers; they must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire. 19 When they return to the outer court, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me, leaving them in the sacred chambers, and put on other clothes lest they harm the people by touching them with this clothing.
20 “They must not let their hair grow too long nor shave it off. Regular, moderate haircuts are all they are allowed. 21 No priest may drink wine before coming to the inner court. 22 He may marry only a Jewish maiden, or the widow of a priest; he may not marry a divorced woman.
23 “He shall teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is secular, what is right and what is wrong.[a]
24 “They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based upon my laws. And the priests themselves shall obey my rules and regulations at all the sacred festivals, and they shall see to it that the Sabbath is kept a sacred day.
25 “A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person, unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is all right. 26 But afterward he must wait seven days before he is cleansed and able to perform his Temple duties again. 27 The first day he returns to work and enters the inner court and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself,” the Lord God says.
28 “As to property, they shall not own any, for I am their heritage! That is enough![b]
29 “Their food shall be the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people—the cereal offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone gives to the Lord shall be the priests’. 30 The first of the first-ripe fruits and all the gifts for the Lord shall go to the priests. The first samples of each harvest of grain shall be donated to the priests too, so that the Lord will bless your homes. 31 Priests may never eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by other animals.
97 Jehovah is King! Let all the earth rejoice! Tell the farthest islands to be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes forth before him and burns up all his foes. 4 His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens declare his perfect righteousness; every nation sees his glory.
7 Let those who worship idols be disgraced—all who brag about their worthless gods—for every god must bow to him! 8-9 Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah have heard of your justice, Lord, and are glad that you reign in majesty over the entire earth and are far greater than these other gods.
10 The Lord loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people and rescues them from the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the godly and joy for the good. 12 May all who are godly be happy in the Lord and crown him,[a] our holy God.
98 Sing a new song to the Lord telling about his mighty deeds! For he has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness. 2-3 He has announced this victory and revealed it to every nation by fulfilling his promise to be kind to Israel. The whole earth has seen God’s salvation of his people. 4 That is why the earth breaks out in praise to God and sings for utter joy!
5 Sing your praise accompanied by music from the harp. 6 Let the cornets and trumpets shout! Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King! 7 Let the sea in all its vastness roar with praise! Let the earth and all those living on it shout, “Glory to the Lord.”
8-9 Let the waves clap their hands in glee and the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the world with perfect justice.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.