M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joash Rebuilds the Temple
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba. 2 Joash did right in front of the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was living. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. Joash had sons and daughters.
4 Then later on, Joash decided to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. 5 Joash called the priests and the Levites together. He said to them, “Go out to the towns of Judah and gather the money all the Israelites pay every year. Use that money to rebuild your God’s Temple. Hurry and do this.” But the Levites didn’t hurry.
6 So King Joash called Jehoiada the leading priest. The king said, “Jehoiada, why haven’t you made the Levites bring in the tax money from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the Israelites used that tax money for the Tent of the Agreement.”
7 In the past, Athaliah’s sons broke into God’s Temple and used the holy things in the Lord’s Temple for their worship of the Baal gods. Athaliah was a very wicked woman.
8 King Joash gave a command for a box to be made and put outside the gate at the Lord’s Temple. 9 Then the Levites made an announcement in Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people to bring in the tax money for the Lord. That tax money is what Moses the servant of God had required the Israelites to give while they were in the desert. 10 All the leaders and the people were happy. They brought their money and put it in the box. They continued giving until the box was full. 11 Then the Levites would take the box to the king’s officials. They saw that the box was full of money. The king’s secretary and the leading priest’s officer came and took the money out of the box. Then they took the box back to its place again. They did this often and gathered much money. 12 Then King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the Lord’s Temple. And the people who worked on the Lord’s Temple hired skilled woodcarvers and carpenters to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. They also hired workers who knew how to work with iron and bronze to rebuild the Lord’s Temple.
13 The men who supervised the work were very faithful. The work to rebuild the Temple was successful. They built God’s Temple the way it was before and they made it stronger. 14 When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make things for the Lord’s Temple. These things were used for the service in the Temple and for offering burnt offerings. They also made bowls and other things from gold and silver. The priests offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s Temple every day while Jehoiada was alive.
15 Jehoiada became old. He had a very long life, and he died when he was 130 years old. 16 The people buried Jehoiada in the City of David where the kings are buried. The people buried Jehoiada there because in his life he did much good in Israel for God and for God’s Temple.
17 After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah came and bowed to King Joash. The king listened to the leaders. 18 They all stopped worshiping at the Temple of the Lord, the God their ancestors worshiped. Instead, they started worshiping Asherah poles and other idols. Because they sinned in this way, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 19 God sent prophets to the people to bring them back to the Lord. The prophets warned them, but they refused to listen.
20 The Spirit of God filled Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood in front of the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you people refuse to obey the Lord’s commands? You will not be successful. You have left the Lord. So he has also left you!’”
21 But the people made plans against Zechariah. The king commanded the people to kill Zechariah, so they threw rocks at him until he was dead. The people did this in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. 22 Joash the king didn’t remember Jehoiada’s kindness to him. Jehoiada was Zechariah’s father. But Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Before Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you!”
23 At the end of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the valuable things to the king of Damascus. 24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord let them defeat the much larger army of Judah. This was a punishment for Joash because the people of Judah had left the Lord, the God their ancestors worshiped. 25 When the Arameans left Joash, he was badly wounded. His own servants made plans against him. They did this because Joash killed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest. The servants killed Joash on his own bed. After he died, the people buried him in the City of David, but not in the place where the kings are buried.
26 These are the servants who made plans against Joash: Zabad and Jehozabad. Zabad’s mother was Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad’s mother was Shimrith from Moab. 27 The story about Joash’s sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he rebuilt God’s Temple are written in the book, Commentary on the Kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became the new king after him.
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a measuring rod as long as a walking stick. I was told, “Go and measure the temple[a] of God and the altar, and count the people worshiping there. 2 But don’t measure the yard outside the temple. Leave it alone. It has been given to those who are not God’s people. They will show their power over the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses. And they will prophesy for 1260 days. They will be dressed in sackcloth.”
4 These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to hurt the witnesses, fire comes from the mouths of the witnesses and kills their enemies. Anyone who tries to hurt them will die like this. 6 These witnesses have the power to stop the sky from raining during the time they are prophesying. These witnesses have power to make the water become blood. They have power to send every kind of plague to the earth. They can do this as many times as they want.
7 When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast will fight against them. This is the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit. It will defeat and kill them. 8 The bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city. This city is named Sodom and Egypt. These names for the city have a special meaning. This is the city where the Lord was killed. 9 People from every race of people, tribe, language, and nation will look at the bodies of the two witnesses for three and a half days. The people will refuse to bury them. 10 Everyone on the earth will be happy because these two are dead. They will have parties and send each other gifts. They will do this because these two prophets brought much suffering to the people living on earth.
11 But after three and a half days, God let life enter the two witnesses again. They stood on their feet. All those who saw them were filled with fear. 12 Then the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven say, “Come up here!” And both of them went up into heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched them go.
13 At that same time there was a great earthquake. A tenth of the city was destroyed. And 7000 people were killed in the earthquake. Those who did not die were very afraid. They gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second terror is now past. The third terror is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet Blast
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet. Then there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said,
“The kingdom of the world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah.
And he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 elders bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. 17 The elders said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful.
You are the one who is and who always was.
We thank you because you have used your great power
and have begun to rule.
18 The people of the world were angry,
but now is the time for your anger.
Now is the time for the dead to be judged.
It is time to reward your servants, the prophets,
and to reward your holy people,
the people, great and small, who respect you.
It is time to destroy those people who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. The Box of the Agreement[b] could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
The Lord Wants Kindness and Mercy
7 Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius[a] was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev). 2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question. 3 They went to the prophets and to the priests at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. They asked them this question: “For many years we have shown our sadness for the destruction of the Temple. In the fifth month of each year, we have had a special time of crying and fasting. Should we continue to do this?”
4 I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful: 5 “Tell the priests and the other people in this country this: ‘For seventy years you fasted and showed your sadness in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But was that fasting really for me? 6 And when you ate and drank, was that for me? No, it was for your own good. 7 The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing long ago. That was when Jerusalem was still a rich city filled with people and there were still people living in the surrounding towns, in the Negev, and in the western foothills.’”
8 This is the Lord’s message to Zechariah:
9 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful said:
‘You must do what is right and fair.
You must be kind and
show mercy to each other.
10 Don’t hurt widows and orphans,
strangers, or poor people.
Don’t even think of doing bad things to each other!’”
11 But they refused to listen
and refused to do what he wanted.
They closed their ears so that they
could not hear what God said.
12 They were very stubborn
and would not obey the law.
The Lord All-Powerful used his Spirit
and sent messages to his people through the prophets.
But the people would not listen,
so the Lord All-Powerful became very angry.
13 So the Lord All-Powerful said,
“I called to them,
and they did not answer.
So now, if they call to me,
I will not answer.
14 I will bring the other nations against them like a storm.
They didn’t know those nations,
but the country will be destroyed
after those nations pass through.
This pleasant country will be destroyed.”
The Shepherd and His Sheep
10 Jesus said, “It is certainly true that when a man enters the sheep pen, he should use the gate. If he climbs in some other way, he is a robber. He is trying to steal the sheep. 2 But the man who takes care of the sheep enters through the gate. He is the shepherd. 3 The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. 4 He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. The sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 But sheep will never follow someone they don’t know. They will run away from him, because they don’t know his voice.”
6 Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.
Jesus Is the Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will be able to come in and go out. They will find everything they need. 10 A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good.
11 “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd. The paid worker does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep.
14-15 “I am the shepherd who cares for the sheep. I know my sheep just as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me just as I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep. 16 I have other sheep too. They are not in this flock here. I must lead them also. They will listen to my voice. In the future there will be one flock and one shepherd.[a] 17 The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. 18 No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me.”
19 Again the Jews were divided over what Jesus was saying. 20 Many of them said, “A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These aren’t the words of someone controlled by a demon. A demon cannot heal the eyes of a blind man.”
The Jewish Leaders Against Jesus
22 It was winter, and the time came for the Festival of Dedication[b] at Jerusalem. 23 Jesus was in the Temple area at Solomon’s Porch. 24 The Jewish leaders gathered around him. They said, “How long will you make us wonder about you? If you are the Messiah, then tell us clearly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I told you already, but you did not believe. I do miracles in my Father’s name. These miracles show who I am. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give my sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. 29 My Father is the one who gave them to me, and he is greater than all.[c] No one can steal my sheep out of his hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
31 Again the Jews there picked up stones to kill Jesus. 32 But he said to them, “The many wonderful things you have seen me do are from the Father. Which of these good things are you killing me for?”
33 They answered, “We are not killing you for any good thing you did. But you say things that insult God. You are only a man, but you say you are the same as God! That is why we are trying to kill you!”
34 Jesus answered, “It is written in your law that God said, ‘I said you are gods.’[d] 35 This Scripture called those people gods—the people who received God’s message. And Scripture is always true. 36 So why do you accuse me of insulting God for saying, ‘I am God’s Son’? I am the one God chose and sent into the world. 37 If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe what I say. 38 But if I do what my Father does, you should believe in what I do. You might not believe in me, but you should believe in the things I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39 They tried to get Jesus again, but he escaped from them.
40 Then he went back across the Jordan River to the place where John began his work of baptizing people. Jesus stayed there, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “John never did any miraculous signs, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 And many people there believed in Jesus.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International