M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Micaiah Tells What Will Happen

18 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor. And by a marriage he was joined with Ahab. ² After some years he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria. Ahab killed many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him. And he wanted Jehoshaphat to fight against Ramoth-gilead. ³ King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” He answered, “I am as you are. And my people are as your people. We will be with you in the battle.”

⁴ Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Ask first for word from the Lord.” ⁵ So the king of Israel gathered together the 400 men who told what would happen in the future. He said to them, “Should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should I wait?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not another man who speaks for the Lord here whom we may ask?” ⁷ The king of Israel said to him, “There is yet one man whom we may ask of the Lord. But I hate him. For he never tells me anything good, only bad. He is Micaiah, the son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “You should not say that.” ⁸ Then the king of Israel called for one of his captains and said, “Hurry, bring Micaiah the son of Imla.” ⁹ The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on his throne, dressed in king’s clothing. They were sitting at the grain-floor at the gate of Samaria. All the men who told what would happen in the future were speaking in front of them. ¹⁰ Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “The Lord says that with these you will hurt the Syrians until they are destroyed.” ¹¹ All the men who told what would happen in the future were saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and win the battle. For the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹² Then the man who was sent to call Micaiah said to him, “See, all the men who tell what will happen in the future are speaking in the king’s favor. So I ask that you let your word be like one of them, and speak in the king’s favor.” ¹³ But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will speak what my God says.” ¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or should I wait?” Micaiah said, “Go up and win the battle. For they will be given into your hand.” ¹⁵ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I tell you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ So he said, “I saw all Israel spread out on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no owner. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’” ¹⁷ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not tell me anything good, but bad?” ¹⁸ Micaiah said, “So hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne. All the armies of heaven were standing on His right and on His left. ¹⁹ The Lord said, ‘Who will lead King Ahab of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. ²⁰ Then a spirit came and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will lead him to do it.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ ²¹ He said, ‘I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all Ahab’s men who tell what will happen in the future.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are to make him want to go, and you will do well. Go and do so.’ ²² So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of your men who speak for God. For the Lord has said that trouble will come to you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and hit Micaiah on the side of the face, and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁴ Micaiah said, “See, you will see on that day when you go into a room to hide yourself.” ²⁵ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city leader, and to Joash the king’s son. ²⁶ Tell them, ‘The king says to put this man in prison. Feed him only a little bread and water until I return in peace.’” ²⁷ Micaiah said, “If you do return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”

Ahab Dies in Battle

²⁸ So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. ²⁹ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will dress up to look like someone else and go into battle. But you wear your king’s clothing.” So the king of Israel dressed up to look like someone else, and they went into battle. ³⁰ Now the king of Syria had told the captains of his war-wagons, “Do not fight with small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³¹ So when the captains of the war-wagons saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” And they turned to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God made them go away from him. ³² When the captains of the war-wagons saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from going after him. ³³ But a certain man happened to shoot an arrow and hit the king of Israel in a joint of the battle-clothes. So the king said to the man on the war-wagon, “Turn around, and take me out of the battle. For I am hurt.” ³⁴ The battle was hard that day. And the king of Israel stood up against the sides of his war-wagon in front of the Syrians until the evening. When the sun went down, he died.

The Servants God Owns Are Marked

7 After this I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind would blow on the earth or the sea or on any tree. ² I saw another angel coming from the east. He was carrying the mark of the living God. He called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to hurt the earth and sea. ³ The angel from the east said, “Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put the mark of God on the foreheads of the servants He owns.”

⁴ I heard how many there were who received the mark of God. There were 144,000 people of the twelve family groups of Israel. ⁵ These received the mark of God: 12,000 from the family group of Judah, 12,000 from the family group of Reuben, 12,000 from the family group of Gad, ⁶ 12,000 from the family group of Asher, 12,000 from the family group of Naphtali, 12,000 from the family group of Manasseh, ⁷ 12,000 from the family group of Simeon, 12,000 from the family group of Levi, 12,000 from the family group of Issachar, ⁸ 12,000 from the family group of Zebulun, 12,000 from the family group of Joseph, and 12,000 from the family group of Benjamin.

The Many People Who Belonged to God

⁹ After this I saw many people. No one could tell how many there were. They were from every nation and from every family and from every kind of people and from every language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white clothes and they held branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were crying out with a loud voice, “We are saved from the punishment of sin by our God Who sits on the throne and by the Lamb!” ¹¹ Then all of the angels standing around the throne and around the leaders and the four living beings got down on their faces before God and worshiped Him. ¹² They said, “Let it be so! May our God have worship and shining-greatness and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength forever. Let it be so!”

¹³ Then one of the twenty-four leaders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white clothes? Where did they come from?” ¹⁴ I answered him, “Sir, you know.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who came out of the time of much trouble. They have washed their clothes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God. They help Him day and night in the house of God. And He Who sits on the throne will care for them as He is among them. ¹⁶ They will never be hungry or thirsty again. The sun or any burning heat will not shine down on them. ¹⁷ For the Lamb Who is in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to wells of the water of life. God will take away all tears from their eyes.”

Zechariah Sees a Religious Leader

3 Then he showed me Joshua the head religious leader standing before the angel of the Lord. And Satan was standing at his right side to blame him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord’s Word be sharp against you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem speak sharp words against you! Is not this a burning stick saved from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes and standing in front of the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing in front of him, “Take off his dirty clothes.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken your sin away from you, and will dress you in beautiful clothes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Let them put a clean covering on his head.” So they put a clean covering on his head and dressed him in clothes, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ The angel of the Lord told Joshua in strong words, ⁷ “The Lord of All says, ‘If you will walk in My ways and do My work, then you will rule My house and everything around it. And I will give you a place among these who are standing here. ⁸ Now listen, Joshua the head religious leader, and your friends who are sitting in front of you are men who show a part of the good things to come in the future. See, I am going to bring My Servant the Branch. ⁹ See the stone that I have set in front of Joshua. There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will cut writings on it,’ says the Lord of All. ‘And I will take away the sin of that land in one day. ¹⁰ In that day,’ says the Lord of All, ‘every one of you will ask his neighbor to come sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Feeding of the Five Thousand ^(A)

6 After this Jesus went over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is sometimes called Tiberias. ² Many people followed Him. They saw the powerful works He did on those who were sick. ³ Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down with His followers. ⁴ The special religious supper to remember how the Jews left Egypt was soon.

⁵ Jesus looked up and saw many people coming to Him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” ⁶ He said this to see what Philip would say. Jesus knew what He would do. ⁷ Philip said to Him, “The money we have is not enough to buy bread to give each one a little.”

⁸ One of His followers was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He said to Jesus, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish. What is that for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was much grass in that place. About five thousand men sat down.

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. Then He gave the bread to those who were sitting down. The fish were given out the same way. The people had as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, Jesus said to His followers, “Gather up the pieces that are left. None will be wasted.” ¹³ The followers gathered the pieces together. Twelve baskets were filled with pieces of barley bread. These were left after all the people had eaten.

¹⁴ The people saw the powerful work Jesus had done. They said, “It is true! This is the One Who speaks for God Who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Water ^(B)

¹⁵ Jesus knew they were about to come and take Him to make Him king, so He went to the mountain by Himself. ¹⁶ When evening had come, His followers went down to the lake. ¹⁷ They got into a boat and started to cross the lake to go to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark. Jesus had not come back to them yet. ¹⁸ A strong wind was making high waves on the lake. ¹⁹ They were about half way across the lake when they saw Jesus walking on the water. As He got near the boat, they were afraid. ²⁰ But Jesus called to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” ²¹ They were glad to take Him into the boat. At once they got to the other side where they wanted to go.

Jesus Teaches Many People

²² The next day the people on the other side of the lake saw no other boat there but the one His followers had been in. The people knew Jesus had not gone with His followers in the boat because they had gone alone. ²³ There were other boats from Tiberias that had come near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ The people saw that Jesus and His followers were not there. They got into boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

²⁵ The people found Him on the other side of the lake. They said to Him, “Teacher, when did You come here?” ²⁶ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, you are not looking for Me because of the powerful works. You are looking for Me because you ate bread and were filled. ²⁷ Do not work for food that does not last. Work for food that lasts forever. The Son of Man will give you that kind of food. God the Father has shown He will do this.”

Jesus Teaches about Doing the Work of God

²⁸ Then the people said to Him, “What are the works God wants us to do?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “This is the work of God, that you put your trust in the One He has sent.” ³⁰ They said to Him, “Can You show us some powerful work? Then we can see it and believe You. What will You do? ³¹ Our early fathers ate bread that came from heaven in the desert. This happened as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ^(C)

Jesus Is the Bread of Life

³² Then Jesus said to the people, “For sure, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. ³³ The Bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to Him, “Sir, give us this Bread all the time.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry. He who puts his trust in Me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ I said to you that you have seen Me and yet you do not put your trust in Me. ³⁷ All whom My Father has given to Me will come to Me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me. ³⁸ I came down from heaven. I did not come to do what I wanted to do. I came to do what My Father wanted Me to do. He is the One Who sent Me.

³⁹ “The Father sent Me. He did not want Me to lose any of all those He gave Me. He wants Me to raise them to life on the last day. ⁴⁰ He wants everyone who sees the Son to put his trust in Him and have life that lasts forever. I will raise that one up on the last day.”

⁴¹ The Jews talked among themselves against Him. They did not like it because He said, “I am the Bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They asked each other, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know His father and mother. How can He say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³ Jesus said to them, “Do not talk among yourselves against Me. ⁴⁴ The Father sent Me. No man can come to Me unless the Father gives him the desire to come to Me. Then I will raise him to life on the last day. ⁴⁵ The early preachers wrote, ‘They will all be taught of God.’ ^(D) Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father. I am the only One Who has seen Him. ⁴⁷ For sure, I tell you, he who puts his trust in Me has life that lasts forever. ⁴⁸ I am the Bread of Life. ⁴⁹ Your early fathers ate bread that came from heaven in the desert. They died. ⁵⁰ But this is the Bread that comes down from heaven. The one who eats it never dies. ⁵¹ I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this Bread, he will live forever. The Bread which I will give is My flesh. I will give this for the life of the world.” ⁵² The Jews argued among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life that lasts forever. I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me and I live in him. ⁵⁷ The living Father sent Me and I live because of Him. In the same way, the one who eats Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ I am this Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the bread that your early fathers ate and they died. Whoever eats this Bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus said these things in the Jewish place of worship while He was teaching in the city of Capernaum.

The Troubled Followers Leave Jesus

⁶⁰ After hearing this, many of His followers said, “This teaching is too hard! Who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ Jesus knew His followers talked against what He had said. He said to them, “Does this trouble you? ⁶² Then what would you say if you saw the Son of Man going up where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh is of no help. The words I speak to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But some of you do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning who would not put their trust in Him. He knew who would hand Him over to the leaders of the country. ⁶⁵ He said, “That is why I told you no one can come to Me unless the Father allows it.” ⁶⁶ From that time on, many of His followers turned back to their old ways of living. They would not go along with Him after that.

Peter Knows Who Jesus Is

⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve followers, “Will you leave Me also?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, who else can we go to? You have words that give life that lasts forever. ⁶⁹ We believe and know You are the Christ. You are the Son of the Living God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus said to them, “I chose you twelve as My followers. And one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ He was speaking of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was one of the twelve followers. He was ready to hand Jesus over to the leaders of the country.