M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David and Jonathan Make an Agreement
20 David ran away from the camps at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done wrong? What is my crime? Why is your father trying to kill me?”
2 Jonathan answered, “That can’t be true! My father isn’t trying to kill you. My father doesn’t do anything without first telling me. It doesn’t matter how important it is, my father always tells me. Why would my father refuse to tell me that he wants to kill you? No, it is not true!”
3 But David answered, “Your father knows very well that I am your friend. Your father said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.’[a] But as surely as you and the Lord are alive, I am very close to death.”
4 Jonathan said to David, “I will do anything you want me to do.”
5 Then David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the evening. 6 If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David wanted to go home to Bethlehem. His family is having its own feast for this monthly sacrifice. David asked me to let him run down to Bethlehem and join his family.’ 7 If your father says, ‘Fine,’ then I am safe. But if your father becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me. 8 Jonathan, be kind to me. I am your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself, but don’t take me to your father.”
9 Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to hurt you, I will warn you.”
10 David said, “Who will warn me if your father says bad things to you?”
11 Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So Jonathan and David went together into the field.
12 Jonathan said to David, “I make this promise before the Lord, the God of Israel. I promise that I will learn how my father feels about you. I will learn if he feels good about you or not. Then, in three days, I will send a message to you in the field. 13 If my father wants to hurt you, I will let you know. I will let you leave in safety. May the Lord punish me if I don’t do this. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14-15 As long as I live, show me the same kindness the Lord does. And if I die, never stop showing this kindness to my family. Be faithful to us, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies[b] from the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made this agreement with David and his family, and he asked the Lord to hold them responsible for keeping it.[c]
17 Jonathan loved David as himself, and because of this love, he asked David to repeat this agreement for himself.
18 Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. Your seat will be empty, so my father will see that you are gone. 19 On the third day go to the same place you hid when this trouble began. Wait by that hill. 20 On the third day I will go to that hill and shoot three arrows as if I am shooting at a target. 21 Then I will tell the boy to go find the arrows. If everything is fine, I will tell the boy, ‘You went too far! The arrows are closer to me. Come back and get them.’ If I say that, you can come out of hiding. I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe. There is no danger. 22 But if there is trouble, I will say to the boy, ‘The arrows are farther away. Go get them.’ If I say that, you must leave. The Lord is sending you away. 23 Remember this agreement between you and me. The Lord is our witness forever.”
24 Then David hid in the field.
Saul’s Attitude at the Celebration
The time for the New Moon celebration came, and the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat next to the wall where he usually sat, and Jonathan sat across from him. Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 That day Saul said nothing. He thought, “Maybe something happened to David so that he is not clean.”
27 On the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to the New Moon celebration yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered, “David asked me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go. Our family is having a sacrifice in Bethlehem. My brother ordered me to be there. Now if I am your friend, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why David has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul was very angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a twisted, rebellious woman! I know that you have chosen to support that son of Jesse.[d] This will bring shame to you and to your mother. 31 As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will never be king and have a kingdom. Now, bring David to me! He is a dead man.”
32 Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What did he do wrong?”
33 But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father wanted very much to kill David. 34 Jonathan became angry and left the table. He was so upset and angry with his father that he refused to eat any food on the second day of the festival. He was angry because Saul humiliated him and because Saul wanted to kill David.
David and Jonathan Say Goodbye
35 The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. Jonathan brought a little boy with him. 36 He said to the boy, “Run. Go find the arrows I shoot.” The boy began to run, and Jonathan shot the arrows over his head. 37 The boy ran to the place where the arrows fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrows are farther away.” 38 Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go get them. Don’t just stand there.” The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to his master. 39 The boy knew nothing about what went on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40 Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to go back to town.
41 When the boy left, David came out from his hiding place on the other side of the hill. David gave a formal greeting by bowing to the ground three times to show his respect for Jonathan. But then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together. It was a very sad goodbye, especially for David.
42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have taken an oath in the Lord’s name to be friends forever. We have asked the Lord to be a witness between us and our descendants forever.”
My Message: Jesus Christ on the Cross
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I told you the secret truth of God. But I did not use fancy words or great wisdom. 2 I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. 4 My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives. 5 I did this so that your faith would be in God’s power, not in human wisdom.
God’s Wisdom
6 We teach wisdom to people who are mature, but the wisdom we teach is not from this world. It is not the wisdom of the rulers of this world, who are losing their power. 7 But we speak God’s secret wisdom that has been hidden from everyone until now. God planned this wisdom for our glory. He planned it before the world began. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood this wisdom. If they had understood it, they would not have killed our great and glorious Lord on a cross. 9 But as the Scriptures say,
“No one has ever seen,
no one has ever heard,
no one has ever imagined
what God has prepared for those who love him.” (A)
10 But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.
The Spirit knows all things. The Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God. 11 It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only the person’s spirit that lives inside knows those thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit. 12 We received the Spirit that is from God, not the spirit of the world. We received God’s Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us.
13 When we say this, we don’t use words taught to us by human wisdom. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 People who do not have God’s Spirit do not accept the things that come from his Spirit. They think these things are foolish. They cannot understand them, because they can only be understood with the Spirit’s help. 15 We who have the Spirit are able to make judgments about all these things. But anyone without the Spirit is not able to make proper judgments about us. 16 As the Scriptures say,
“Who can know what is on the Lord’s mind?
Who is able to give him advice?” (B)
But we have been given Christ’s way of thinking.
A Prayer to the Lord
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
Look and see our shame.
2 Our land has been turned over to strangers.
Our houses have been given to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans.
We have no father.
Our mothers have become like widows.
4 We have to buy the water that we drink.
We have to pay for the wood that we use.
5 We are forced to wear a yoke on our necks.
We get tired, and we have no rest.
6 We made an agreement with Egypt.
We also made an agreement with Assyria to get enough bread.
7 Our ancestors sinned against you, and now they are dead.
And we are suffering because of their sins.
8 Slaves have become our rulers.
No one can save us from them.
9 We risk our lives to get food.
There are men in the desert with swords.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven.
We have a high fever because of our hunger.
11 The enemy raped the women of Zion.
They raped the women in the cities of Judah.
12 The enemy hanged our princes.
They didn’t honor our elders.
13 The enemy made our young men grind grain at the mill.
Our young men stumbled under loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit at the gates of the city.
The young men no longer make music.
15 We have no more joy in our hearts.
Our dancing has changed to crying for the dead.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Things have gone bad for us because we sinned.
17 For this reason, our hearts have become sick,
and our eyes cannot see clearly.
18 Mount Zion is a wasteland.
Foxes run around on Mount Zion.
19 But you rule forever, Lord.
Your kingly chair lasts forever and ever.
20 You seem to have forgotten us forever.
You seem to have left us alone for such a long time.
21 Bring us back to you, Lord.
We will gladly come back to you.
Make our lives as they were before.
22 You were very angry with us.
Have you completely rejected us?
To the director: A song of David, the Lord’s servant.
36 Deep in the hearts of the wicked a voice tells them to do wrong.
They have no respect for God.
2 They lie to themselves.
They don’t see their own faults,
so they are not sorry for what they do.
3 Their words are wicked lies.
They have stopped doing anything wise or good.
4 They make wicked plans in bed at night.
They choose a way of life that does no good.
And they never say no to anything evil.
5 Lord, your faithful love reaches to the sky.
Your faithfulness is as high as the clouds.
6 Your goodness is higher than the highest mountains.
Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean.
Lord, you protect people and animals.
7 Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness.
All people can find protection close to you.
8 They get strength from all the good things in your house.
You let them drink from your wonderful river.
9 The fountain of life flows from you.
Your light lets us see light.
10 Continue to love those who really know you,
and do good to those who are true to you.[a]
11 Don’t let proud people trap me.
Don’t let the wicked force me to run away.
12 Put this on their grave markers:
“Here fell the wicked.
They were crushed.
They will never stand up again.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International