M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Gifts for Building the Temple
29 King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered together, “God chose my son Solomon. Solomon is young and does not know all that he needs to do this work. But the work is very important. This house is not for people; this house is for the Lord God. 2 I have done my best to provide what is needed for the building of my God’s Temple. I have given gold for the things made of gold. I have given silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze. I have given iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood. I have also given onyx stones for the settings,[a] mosaic tiles,[b] all kinds of valuable stones in many different colors, and white marble stones. 3 I am making a special gift of gold and silver things for my God’s Temple. I am doing this because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. I am giving all these things to build this holy Temple. 4 I have given 110 tons[c] of pure gold from Ophir. I have given 263 tons[d] of pure silver. The silver is for covering the walls of the buildings in the Temple. 5 I have given gold and silver for all the things made of gold and silver. I have given gold and silver so that skilled men can make all different kinds of things for the Temple. Now, how many of you Israelites are ready to give yourselves to the Lord today?”
6 The family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals, the captains, and the officials responsible for the king’s work, were all ready and gave their valuable things. 7 These are the things they gave for God’s house: 190 tons[e] of gold; 375 tons[f] of silver; 675 tons[g] of bronze; and 3750 tons[h] of iron. 8 People who had valuable stones gave them to the Lord’s Temple. Jehiel took care of the valuable stones. He was from the Gershon family. 9 The people were very happy because their leaders were willing to give so much. The leaders had given freely to the Lord from good hearts. King David was also very happy.
David’s Beautiful Prayer
10 Then David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered together. David said,
“Lord, the God of Israel, our Father,
may you be praised forever and ever!
11 Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you,
because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you!
The kingdom belongs to you, Lord!
You are the head, the Ruler over everything.
12 Riches and honor come from you.
You rule everything.
You have the power and strength in your hand!
And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful!
13 Now, our God, we thank you,
and we praise your glorious name!
14 All these things didn’t come from me and my people.
All these things come from you.
We are only giving back to you things that came from you.
15 We are only strangers traveling through this world
like our ancestors.
Our time on earth is like a passing shadow,
and we cannot stop it.
16 Lord our God, we gathered all these things to build your Temple.
We build it to honor your name.
But all these things have come from you.
Everything belongs to you.
17 My God, I know that you test people,
and that you are happy when people do what is right.
I gladly give you all these things
with a pure, honest heart.
I see your people gathered here,
and I see that they are happy about giving these things to you.
18 Lord, you are the God of our ancestors,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Please help your people plan the right things.
Help them be loyal and true to you.
19 And help my son Solomon be true to you.
Help him always obey your commands, laws, and rules.
Help Solomon do these things.
And help him build this Temple that I have planned.”
20 Then David said to all the group of people gathered together, “Now give praise to the Lord your God.” So all the people gave praise to the Lord God, the God their ancestors worshiped. They bowed to the ground to give honor to the Lord and to the king.
Solomon Becomes King
21 The next day the people offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord—1000 bulls, 1000 rams, 1000 lambs, and the drink offerings that go with them. They offered these and many other sacrifices to the Lord for all the Israelites. 22 That day the people were very happy as they ate and drank there together with the Lord.
And they made David’s son Solomon king the second time.[i] They anointed Solomon to be king, and they anointed Zadok to be priest. They did this in the place where the Lord was.
23 Then Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king. Solomon took his father’s place. He was very successful. All the Israelites obeyed him. 24 All the leaders, soldiers, and all of King David’s sons accepted Solomon as king and obeyed him. 25 The Lord made Solomon very great. All the Israelites knew that the Lord was making him great. He gave Solomon the honor that a king should have. No king in Israel before Solomon had such honor.
David’s Death
26-27 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel for 40 years. He was king in the city of Hebron for seven years. Then he was king in the city of Jerusalem for 33 years. 28 David died when he was old. He had lived a good, long life and had many riches and honors. His son Solomon became the new king after him.
29 The things that King David did, from beginning to end, are in the books written by Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer. 30 Those writings tell all about what David did as king of Israel. They tell about David’s power and what happened to him and to Israel and to all the kingdoms around them.
Jesus Will Come Again
3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. I wrote both letters to you to help your honest minds remember something. 2 I want you to remember the words that the holy prophets spoke in the past. And remember the command that our Lord and Savior gave us. He gave us that command through your apostles.
3 It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live following the evil they want to do. 4 They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.”
5 But these people don’t want to remember what happened long ago. The skies were there, and God made the earth from water and with water. All this happened by God’s word. 6 Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. 7 And that same word of God is keeping the skies and the earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of all people who are against God.
8 But don’t forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord is not being slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning.
10 But the day when the Lord comes again will surprise everyone like the coming of a thief. The sky will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the sky will be destroyed with fire. And the earth and everything in it will be burned up.[a] 11 Everything will be destroyed in this way. So what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and devoted to God. 12 You should be looking forward to the day of God, wanting more than anything else for it to come soon. When it comes, the sky will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the sky will melt with heat. 13 But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new sky and a new earth. That will be the place where goodness lives.
14 Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. 15 Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you that same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 That’s what he says in all his letters when he writes about these things. There are parts of his letters that are hard to understand, and some people give a wrong meaning to them. These people are ignorant and weak in faith. They also give wrong meanings to the other Scriptures. But they are destroying themselves by doing that.
17 Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Don’t let these evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful that you do not fall from your strong faith. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him, now and forever! Amen.
The Lord’s Complaint
6 Now hear what the Lord says:
“Present your argument to the mountains.
Let the hills hear your story.[a]
2 The Lord has a complaint against his people.
Mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint.
Foundations of the earth, hear the Lord.
He will prove that Israel is wrong!”
3 He says, “My people, tell me what I did!
Did I do something wrong against you?
Did I make life too hard for you?
4 I will tell you what I did.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to you.
I brought you from the land of Egypt.
I freed you from slavery.
5 My people, remember the evil plans of Balak king of Moab.
Remember what Balaam son of Beor said to Balak.
Remember what happened from Acacia to Gilgal,[b]
and you will know the Lord is right!”
What Does God Want From Us?
6 What must I bring when I come to meet with the Lord?
What must I do when I bow down to God above?
Should I come to him with burnt offerings
and a year-old calf?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams
or with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Should I offer him my first child to pay for my wrongs?
Should I sacrifice my very own child for my sins?
8 Human, the Lord has told you what goodness is.
This is what he wants from you:
Be fair to other people.
Love kindness and loyalty,
and humbly obey your God.
What Were the Israelites Doing?
9 The Lord shouts to the city:
“A wise person respects the Lord’s name.[c]
So pay attention to the punishing rod and to the one who uses it![d]
10 Do the wicked still hide treasures
that they have stolen?
Do they still cheat people
with baskets that are too small?[e]
Yes, all of this is still happening!
11 Some people carry special weights
that they use to cheat people when they weigh their goods.
Should I pardon them?
12 The rich in that city are still cruel.
The people there still tell lies.
Yes, they tell their lies.
13 So I have begun to punish you.
I will destroy you because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but you will not become full.
You will still be hungry and empty.[f]
You will try to bring people to safety,
but people with swords will kill the people you rescued.
15 You will plant your seeds,
but you will not gather food.
You will try to squeeze oil from your olives,
but you will not get any oil.
You will crush your grapes,
but you will not get enough juice to have wine to drink.
16 This is because you obey the laws of Omri.[g]
You do all the evil things that Ahab’s family does.
You follow their teachings,
so I will let you be destroyed.
People will whistle in amazement
when they see your destroyed city.
Then you will bear the shame
that the other nations bring to you.”[h]
Joy in Heaven(A)
15 Many tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus. 2 Then the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain, “Look, this man[a] welcomes sinners and even eats with them!”
3 Then Jesus told them this story: 4 “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but one of them gets lost. What will you do? You will leave the other 99 sheep there in the field and go out and look for the lost sheep. You will continue to search for it until you find it. 5 And when you find it, you will be very happy. You will carry it 6 home, go to your friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, heaven is a happy place when one sinner decides to change. There is more joy for that one sinner than for 99 good people who don’t need to change.
8 “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins,[b] but she loses one of them. She will take a light and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it. 9 And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’ 10 In the same way, it’s a happy time for the angels of God when one sinner decides to change.”
Story About Two Sons
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me now the part of your property that I am supposed to receive someday.’ So the father divided his wealth between his two sons.
13 “A few days later the younger son gathered up all that he had and left. He traveled far away to another country, and there he wasted his money living like a fool. 14 After he spent everything he had, there was a terrible famine throughout the country. He was hungry and needed money. 15 So he went and got a job with one of the people who lived there. The man sent him into the fields to feed pigs. 16 He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.
17 “The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father’s hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat. 18 I will leave and go to my father. I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.’ 20 So he left and went to his father.
The Younger Son Returns
“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and felt sorry for him. So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him. 21 The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet. 23 And bring our best calf and kill it so that we can celebrate with plenty to eat. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to have a party.
The Older Son Complains
25 “The older son had been out in the field. When he came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 So he called to one of the servant boys and asked, ‘What does all this mean?’ 27 The boy said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the best calf to eat. He is happy because he has his son back safe and sound.’
28 “The older son was angry and would not go in to the party. So his father went out and begged him to come in. 29 But he said to his father, ‘Look, for all these years I have worked like a slave for you. I have always done what you told me to do, and you never gave me even a young goat for a party with my friends. 30 But then this son of yours comes home after wasting your money on prostitutes, and you kill the best calf for him!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Oh, my son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But this was a day to be happy and celebrate. Your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International