M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Temple Dedicated to the Lord
7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned up the burnt offering and the sacrifices. The Glory of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Lord’s Temple because the Glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire come down from heaven and the Glory of the Lord on the Temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces low to the ground. They worshiped and thanked the Lord, singing,
“The Lord is good.
His faithful love will last forever.”
4 Then King Solomon and all the Israelites offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. So the king and the people showed that they had dedicated the Temple to God. 6 The priests stood ready to do their work. The Levites stood with the instruments they would use to play music to the Lord. King David had made these instruments to use when they gave thanks to the Lord and sang, “His faithful love will last forever.” The priests blew their trumpets as they stood across from the Levites. And all the Israelites were standing.
7 King Solomon also dedicated the middle of the courtyard, the part that is in front of the Temple of the Lord. There he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the animals that were used as fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar he had built was too small to hold all these offerings.
8 So there at the Temple, King Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the festival.[a] People came from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the border of Egypt in the south. This huge crowd of people enjoyed themselves for seven days. 9 On the eighth day, they had a holy meeting because they had celebrated for seven days. They made the altar holy and it was to be used only for worshiping the Lord. And they celebrated the festival for seven days. 10 On the 23rd day of the seventh month, Solomon told the people to go home. All the people thanked the king, said goodbye, and went home. They were happy because of all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant and for his people Israel.
The Lord Comes to Solomon
11 So Solomon finished building the Lord’s Temple and the king’s palace. Solomon did everything that he had planned to do in building a house for the Lord and for himself. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him,
“Solomon, I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself to be a house for sacrifices. 13 When I close the sky so that there is no rain, or command the locusts to destroy the land, or send sicknesses to my people 14 and if my people who are called by my name become humble and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now, my eyes are open, and my ears will pay attention to the prayers prayed in this place. 16 I have chosen this Temple, and I have made it a holy place. So I will be honored there forever. I will watch over it and think of it always. 17 You must serve me with a pure and honest heart, just as your father David did. You must obey my laws and do everything that I commanded you. If you obey all I have commanded, and if you obey my laws and rules, 18 then I will make you a strong king and your kingdom will be great. That is the agreement I made with David your father when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by one of his descendants.
19 “But if you don’t obey my laws and commands that I gave you, and if you worship other gods and serve them, 20 then I will take the Israelites out from my land that I gave them. And I will leave this Temple that I have made holy for my name. I will make this Temple something that all the nations will speak evil about. 21 Everyone who sees it will be amazed. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will say, ‘This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He brought them out of Egypt, but they decided to follow other gods. They began to worship and to serve those gods. That is why he caused all these bad things to happen to them.’”
1 Greetings from the Elder.[a]
To the lady[b] chosen by God and to her children.
I truly love all of you. And I am not the only one. All those who know the truth[c] love you in the same way. 2 We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us. That truth will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ, as we live in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we had from the beginning. 6 And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You heard this command from the beginning.
7 Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to accept this fact is a false teacher and the enemy of Christ. 8 Be careful! Don’t lose the reward we[d] have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward.
9 Everyone must continue to follow only the teaching about Christ. Whoever changes that teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching about Christ has both the Father and his Son. 10 Don’t accept those who come to you but do not bring this teaching. Don’t invite them into your house. Don’t welcome them in any way. 11 If you do, you are helping them with their evil work.
12 I have much to say to you. But I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. 13 The children of your sister[e] who was chosen by God send you their love.
2 I will stand like a guard and watch.
I will wait to see what the Lord will say to me.
I will wait and learn how he answers my questions.
God Answers Habakkuk
2 The Lord answered me, “Write down what I show you. Write it clearly on a sign so that the message will be easy to read.[a] 3 This message is about a special time in the future. This message is about the end, and it will come true. Just be patient and wait for it. That time will come; it will not be late. 4 This message cannot help those who refuse to listen to it, but those who are good will live because they believe it.
5 “Wine can trick a person. In the same way a strong man’s pride can fool him, but he will not find peace. He is like death—he always wants more and more. And, like death, he will never be satisfied. He will continue to defeat other nations and to make those people his prisoners. 6 But soon enough, all those people will laugh at him and tell stories about his defeat. They will laugh and say, ‘It’s too bad that the man who took so many things will not get to keep them! He made himself rich by collecting debts.’
7 “Strong man, you have taken money from people. One day they will wake up and realize what is happening, and they will stand against you. Then they will take things from you, and you will be very afraid. 8 You have stolen things from many nations, so they will take much from you. You have killed many people and destroyed lands and cities. You have killed all the people there.
9 “Look at you people! You get rich by cheating people, and it hurts your own family! You build your houses high on the cliffs to protect yourself from danger. 10 You planned shameful things, and that will bring shame to your own family. You have done wrong, and it will cost you your life. 11 The stones of the walls will cry out against you. Even the wooden rafters[b] in your own house will prove that you are wrong.
12 “Look at them! They kill people to build their city and do wicked things to make their walled city strong. 13 But the Lord All-Powerful has decided that a fire will destroy everything that those people worked to build. All their work will be for nothing. 14 Then people everywhere will know about the Glory of the Lord. This news will spread just as water spreads out into the sea. 15 It will be very bad for those who become angry and make other people suffer. Like an angry drunk, they knock others to the ground and strip them naked, just to see their naked bodies.[c]
16 “But they will know the Lord’s anger. It will be like a cup of poison in the Lord’s right hand. They will taste that anger, and then they will fall to the ground like drunks.
“Evil ruler, you will drink from that cup. You will get shame, not honor. 17 You hurt many people in Lebanon and stole many animals there. So you will be afraid because of the people who died and because of the bad things you did to that country. You will be afraid because of what you did to those cities and to the people who lived there.”
The Message About Idols
18 Their false god will not help them, because it is only a statue that someone covered with metal. It is only a statue, so whoever made it cannot expect it to help. That statue cannot even speak! 19 Look at them! They speak to a wooden statue and tell it, “Get up! Rescue me.” They talk to a stone that cannot speak and say, “Wake up!” Don’t you know those things cannot help you? That statue may be covered with gold and silver, but there is no life in it.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple, so the whole earth should be silent in his presence and show him respect.
True Giving(A)
21 Jesus looked up and saw some rich people putting their gifts to God into the Temple collection box. 2 Then he saw a poor widow put two small copper coins into the box. 3 He said, “This poor widow gave only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. 4 They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on.”
Jesus Warns About the Future(B)
5 Some of the followers were talking about the Temple. They said, “This is a beautiful Temple, built with the best stones. Look at the many good gifts that have been offered to God.”
6 But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone of these buildings will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
7 Some followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will show us that it is time for these things to happen?”
8 Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah[a]’ and ‘The right time has come!’ But don’t follow them. 9 When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things must happen first. Then the end will come later.”
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. 11 There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other bad things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Terrible things will happen, and amazing things will come from heaven to warn people.
12 “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and do bad things to you. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. They will do all these things to you because you follow me. 13 But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. 14 Decide now not to worry about what you will say. 15 I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies can answer. 16 Even your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn against you. They will have some of you killed. 17 Everyone will hate you because you follow me. 18 But none of these things can really harm you. 19 You will save yourselves by continuing strong in your faith through all these things.
The Destruction of Jerusalem(C)
20 “You will see armies all around Jerusalem. Then you will know that the time for its destruction has come. 21 The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must leave quickly. If you are near the city, don’t go in! 22 The prophets wrote many things about the time when God will punish his people. The time I am talking about is when all these things must happen. 23 During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies, because very bad times will come to this land. God will be angry with these people. 24 Some of the people will be killed by soldiers. Others will be made prisoners and taken to all the different countries. The holy city of Jerusalem will be under the control of foreigners until their time is completed.
Don’t Fear(D)
25 “Amazing things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. And people all over the earth will be upset and confused by the noise of the sea and its crashing waves. 26 They will be afraid and worried about what will happen to the world. Everything in the sky will be changed. 27 Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up tall and don’t be afraid. Know that it is almost time for God to free you!”
My Words Will Live Forever(E)
29 Then Jesus told this story: “Look at all the trees. The fig tree is a good example. 30 When it turns green, you know that summer is very near. 31 In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is very near.
32 “I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. 33 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.
Be Ready All the Time
34 “Be careful not to spend your time having parties and getting drunk or worrying about this life. If you do that, you won’t be able to think straight, and the end might come when you are not ready. 35 It will come as a surprise to everyone on earth. 36 So be ready all the time. Pray that you will be able to get through all these things that will happen and stand safe before the Son of Man.”
37 During the day Jesus taught the people in the Temple area. At night he went out of the city and stayed all night on the Mount of Olives. 38 Every morning all the people got up early to go listen to Jesus at the Temple.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International