M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David addresses Israel’s leaders

28 David assembled all of Israel’s leaders in Jerusalem, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, as well as the officers, warriors, and all the valiant men. ² Then King David stood up and said:

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plan for the entrance hall, its buildings, treasuries, upper and inner rooms, and the room for the cover.^{[c] 12} He provided all of the plans he had in mind: for the courtyards of the Lord’s temple, and for all its surrounding rooms where the treasures of God’s temple and the dedicated gifts would be stored; ¹³ for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all their responsibilities within the Lord’s temple, and for all the equipment used in its service; ¹⁴ for the weight of all the gold equipment used for every kind of service, and the weight of all the silver equipment used for every kind of service; ¹⁵ for the weight of the gold lampstands and their gold lamps—the weight of gold for each lampstand with its lamps—and for the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps depending on how each would be used; ¹⁶ for the weight of gold for each table with the stacks of bread, and the silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ for the forks, bowls, and cups of pure gold; for the weight of each gold dish and the weight of each silver dish; ¹⁸ for the weight of the incense altar made of refined gold; and for the construction of the chariot—with the gold winged creatures spreading their wings and covering the chest containing the Lord’s covenant. ¹⁹ All of this the Lord made clear to David^[d] directly in a document, including the plan for all of the work.

²⁰ “Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is done. ²¹ Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites who will perform all the service of God’s temple. For all this work you will have willing and able workers with you to do it. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your instructions.”

Appearance of false teachers

2 But false prophets also arose among the people. In the same way, false teachers will come among you. They will introduce destructive opinions and deny the master who bought them, bringing quick destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow them in their unrestrained immorality, and because of these false teachers the way of truth will be slandered. ³ In their greed they will take advantage of you with lies. The judgment pronounced against them long ago hasn’t fallen idle, nor is their destruction sleeping.

Active judgment of God

⁴ God didn’t spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into the lowest level of the underworld and committed them to chains of darkness, keeping them there until the judgment. ⁵ And he didn’t spare the ancient world when he brought a flood on the world of ungodly people, even though he protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, along with seven others. ⁶ God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, reducing them to ashes as a warning to ungodly people. ⁷ And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. (⁸ While that righteous man lived among them he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard.) ⁹ These things show that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and how to keep the unrighteous for punishment on the Judgment Day. ¹⁰ This is especially true for those who follow after the corrupt cravings of the sinful nature and defy the Lord’s authority.

Evil character of the false teachers

These reckless, brash people aren’t afraid to insult the glorious ones, ¹¹ yet angels, who are stronger and more powerful, don’t use insults when pronouncing the Lord’s judgment on them. ¹² These false teachers are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They slander what they don’t understand and, like animals, they will be destroyed. ¹³ In this way, they will receive payment for their wrongdoing.

They even enjoy unruly parties in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, taking delight in their seductive pleasures while feasting with you. ¹⁴ They are always looking for someone with whom to commit adultery. They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sin. They ensnare people whose faith is weak. They have hearts trained in greed. They are under God’s curse. ¹⁵ Leaving the straight path, they have gone off course, following the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the payment of doing wrong. ¹⁶ But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing. A donkey, which has no voice, spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷ These false teachers are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. The underworld has been reserved for them. ¹⁸ With empty, self-important speech, they use sinful cravings and unrestrained immorality to ensnare people who have only just escaped life with those who have wandered from the truth. ¹⁹ These false teachers promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of immorality; whatever overpowers you, enslaves you. ²⁰ If people escape the moral filth of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, then get tangled up in it again and are overcome by it, they are worse off than they were before. ²¹ It would be better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having come to know it, to turn back from the holy commandment entrusted to them. ²² They demonstrate the truth of the proverb: “A dog returns to its own vomit, and a washed sow wallows in the mud.”

Call to arms; the future is secure

Doom for Israel’s enemies

Healing on the Sabbath

14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to share a meal in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely. ² A man suffering from an abnormal swelling of the body was there. ³ Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Does the Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they said nothing. Jesus took hold of the sick man, cured him, and then let him go. ⁵ He said to them, “Suppose your child or ox fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day. Wouldn’t you immediately pull it out?” ⁶ But they had no response.

Lessons on humility and generosity

⁷ When Jesus noticed how the guests sought out the best seats at the table, he told them a parable. ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding celebration, don’t take your seat in the place of honor. Someone more highly regarded than you could have been invited by your host. ⁹ The host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give your seat to this other person.’ Embarrassed, you will take your seat in the least important place. ¹⁰ Instead, when you receive an invitation, go and sit in the least important place. When your host approaches you, he will say, ‘Friend, move up here to a better seat.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. ¹¹ All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”

¹² Then Jesus said to the person who had invited him, “When you host a lunch or dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers and sisters, your relatives, or rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return and that will be your reward. ¹³ Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. ¹⁴ And you will be blessed because they can’t repay you. Instead, you will be repaid when the just are resurrected.”

¹⁵ When one of the dinner guests heard Jesus’ remarks, he said to Jesus, “Happy are those who will feast in God’s kingdom.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “A certain man hosted a large dinner and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the dinner to begin, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests, ‘Come! The dinner is now ready.’ ¹⁸ One by one, they all began to make excuses. The first one told him, ‘I bought a farm and must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹  Another said, ‘I bought five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check on them. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹  When he returned, the servant reported these excuses to his master. The master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go quickly to the city’s streets, the busy ones and the side streets, and bring the poor, crippled, blind, and lame.’ ²² The servant said, ‘Master, your instructions have been followed and there is still room.’ ²³ The master said to the servant, ‘Go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

Discipleship’s demands

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them, he said, ²⁶ “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. ³⁰ They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’ ³¹ Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand soldiers could go up against the twenty thousand coming against him? ³² And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. ³³ In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.

³⁴ “Salt is good. But if salt loses its flavor, how will it become salty again? ³⁵ It has no value, neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People throw it away. Whoever has ears to hear should pay attention.”