M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Box of the Agreement in the Temple
8 Then King Solomon told all the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of Israel to come together in Jerusalem. Solomon wanted them to join in moving the Box of the Lord’s Agreement from the City of David up to the Temple. 2 So during the special festival[a] in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month of the year, all the men of Israel came to the meeting with King Solomon.
3-4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests and Levites carried the Holy Box of the Lord up to the Temple. They also carried the Meeting Tent and all the holy things that were in it up to the Temple. 5 King Solomon and all Israel met together before the Box of the Agreement and sacrificed so many sheep and cattle that no one was able to count them all. 6 The priests carried the Box of the Lord’s Agreement to its proper place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the Cherub angels. 7 The wings of the Cherub angels spread out over the Holy Box, and they covered the Holy Box and its carrying poles. 8 The poles are still there today. They are too long for the Most Holy Place, so anyone standing in the Holy Place can see the ends of the poles, although no one outside can see them. 9 The only things inside the Holy Box are the two tablets that Moses put there at Mt. Horeb. This is where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
10 When the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud[b] filled the Lord’s Temple. 11 The priests could not continue their work because the Temple was filled with the Glory of the Lord. 12 Then Solomon said,
“The Lord caused the sun to shine in the sky,
but he chose to live in a dark cloud.[c]
13 Now, Lord, I have built a beautiful Temple for you,
where you may live forever.”
14 Then King Solomon turned toward all the Israelites who were standing there and asked God to bless them. 15 He prayed this long prayer to the Lord:
“The Lord, the God of Israel, is great. He has done what he promised my father David. He told my father, 16 ‘I brought my people, Israel, out of Egypt, but I had not yet chosen a city from among the tribes of Israel for a temple to honor me. And I had not chosen a man to be leader over my people, Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem to be the city where I will be honored.[d] And I have chosen David to rule over my people, Israel.’
17 “My father David wanted very much to build a temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father, ‘I know that you want very much to build a temple to honor me, and it is good that you want to build it. 19 But you are not the one to build my temple. Your son will build my temple.’
20 “So the Lord has kept his promises. I am the king now in place of my father David. I rule the people of Israel as the Lord promised. And I have built the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have made a place in the Temple for the Holy Box. Inside that Holy Box is the agreement that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
22 Then Solomon stood in front of whole assembly of Israel and faced the Lord’s altar. Solomon spread his hands and looked toward heaven 23 and said,
“Lord, God of Israel, there is no other god like you in heaven or on the earth. You keep the agreement that you made with your people. You are kind and loyal to those who follow you with all their heart. 24 You made a promise to your servant, my father David, and you kept that promise. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you made it come true today. 25 Now, Lord, God of Israel, keep the other promises you made to your servant David, my father. You said, ‘David, if your sons carefully obey me as you did, you will always have someone from your family ruling the people of Israel.’ 26 Again, God of Israel, I ask you to keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David.
27 “But, God, will you really live here with us on the earth? The whole sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you. Certainly this Temple that I built cannot contain you either. 28 But please listen to my prayer and my request. I am your servant, and you are the Lord my God. Hear this prayer that I am praying to you today. 29 In the past you said, ‘I will be honored there.’ So please watch over this Temple, night and day. And please listen to my prayer as I turn toward this Temple and pray to you. 30 And please listen to our prayers in the future when I and your people Israel turn to this place and pray to you. We know that you live in heaven. We ask you to hear our prayer there and forgive us.
31 “Those who wrong others will be brought to this altar. If they are not guilty, they will make an oath and promise that they are innocent. 32 Please listen from heaven and judge them. If they are guilty, please show us that they are guilty. And if they are innocent, please show us that they are not guilty.
33 “Sometimes your people Israel will sin against you, and their enemies will defeat them. Then the people will come back to you and praise you. They will pray to you in this Temple. 34 Please listen in heaven, please listen to the prayers of your people Israel. Forgive them for their sins and let them have their land again. You gave this land to their ancestors.
35 “Sometimes they will sin against you, and you will stop the rain from falling on their land. Then they will pray toward this place and praise your name. You make them suffer, and they will be sorry for their sins. 36 So please listen in heaven to their prayer. Then forgive us for our sins. Teach the people to live right. Then, Lord, please send rain to the land you gave them.
37 “The land might become very dry and no food will grow on it. Or maybe a great sickness will spread among the people. Maybe all the food that is growing will be destroyed by insects. Or your people might be attacked in some of their cities by their enemies. Or many of your people might get sick. 38 When any of these things happen, and people feel compelled in their hearts to spread their hands in prayer toward this Temple, 39 please listen to their prayer. Listen while you are in your home in heaven and forgive them and help them. Only you know what people are really thinking, so only you can judge them fairly. 40 Do this so that your people will fear and respect you all the time that they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.
41-42 “People from other places will hear about your greatness and your power. They will come from far away to pray at this Temple. 43 From your home in heaven, please listen to their prayers. Please do everything the people from other places ask you. Then they will fear and respect you the same as your people in Israel. Then all people everywhere will know that I built this Temple to honor you.
44 “Sometimes you will command your people to go and fight against their enemies. Then your people will turn toward the city that you have chosen and the Temple that I built in your honor, and they will pray to you, Lord. 45 Please listen to their prayers from your home in heaven, and help them.
46 “Your people will sin against you. I know this because everyone sins. And you will be angry with your people. You will let their enemies defeat them. Their enemies will make them prisoners and carry them to some faraway land. 47 In that faraway land, your people will think about what happened. They will be sorry for their sins, and they will pray to you. They will say, ‘We have sinned and done wrong.’ 48 They will be in that faraway land of their enemies, but they will turn back to you. They will feel sorry for their sins with their whole heart and soul. They will turn toward the land you gave their ancestors. They will look toward the city you chose and toward the Temple I built, and they will pray to you. 49 Please listen to their prayers from your home in heaven, and do what is right. 50 Forgive your sinful people for all the things they have done against you. Make their enemies be kind to them. 51 Remember that they are your people and that you brought them out of Egypt. It was as if you saved them by pulling them out of a hot oven!
52 “Please listen to my prayers and to the prayers of your people Israel. Listen to their prayers any time that they ask you for help. 53 You have chosen them from all the peoples of the earth to be your own special people. Lord God, you promised to do that for us. You used your servant Moses to make that promise when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
54 When Solomon prayed this prayer to the Lord, he was on his knees in front of the Lord’s altar and his arms were raised toward heaven. When he finished praying, he stood up. 55 Then, in a loud voice, he asked God to bless all the people of Israel. Solomon said,
56 “Praise the Lord! He promised to give rest to his people, Israel. And he has given us rest! He used his servant Moses and made many good promises to the people of Israel. And he has kept every one of them! 57 I pray that the Lord our God will be with us, as he was with our ancestors. I pray that he will never leave us. 58 I pray that we will turn to him and follow him. Then we will obey all the laws, decisions, and commands that he gave our ancestors. 59 I pray that the Lord our God will always remember this prayer and what I have asked. I pray that he will do these things for his servant, the king, and for his people, Israel. I pray that he will do this every day. 60 If he will do these things, all the people of the world will know that the Lord is the only true God. 61 You people must be loyal and true to the Lord our God. You must always follow and obey all of his laws and commands. You must continue to obey in the future as you do now.”
62 Then King Solomon and all the Israelites with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon killed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings to the Lord. In this way the king and the people showed that they had dedicated the Temple to the Lord.
64 King Solomon also dedicated the yard right in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the animals that were used as fellowship offerings. King Solomon made these offerings there in the yard. He did this because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold them all.
65 So there at the Temple, King Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the festival.[e] 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 ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves together with the Lord for seven days. Then they stayed for another seven days. They celebrated for a total of 14 days.[f] 66 The next day 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.
5 You are God’s dear children, so try to be like him. 2 Live a life of love. Love others just as Christ loved us. He gave himself for us—a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But there must be no sexual sin among you. There must not be any kind of evil or selfishly wanting more and more, because such things are not right for God’s holy people. 4 Also, there must be no evil talk among you. Don’t say things that are foolish or filthy. These are not for you. But you should be giving thanks to God. 5 You can be sure of this: No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God if that person commits sexual sins, or does evil things, or is a person who selfishly wants more and more. A greedy person like that is serving a false god.
6 Don’t let anyone fool you with words that are not true. God gets very angry when people who don’t obey him talk like that. 7 So don’t have anything to do with them. 8 In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. 9 This light produces every kind of goodness, right living, and truth. 10 Try to learn what pleases the Lord. 11 Have no part in the things that people in darkness do, which produce nothing good. Instead, tell everyone how wrong those things are. 12 Actually, it is shameful to even talk about the things those people do in secret. 13 But the light makes clear how wrong those things are. 14 Yes, everything is made clear by the light. This is why we say,
“Wake up, you who are sleeping!
Rise from death,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. 16 I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. 17 So don’t be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life, but be filled with the Spirit. 19 Encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wives and Husbands
21 Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ.
22 Wives, be willing to serve your husbands the same as the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the Savior of the church, which is his body. 24 The church serves under Christ, so it is the same with you wives. You should be willing to serve your husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. 27 Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it.
28 And husbands should love their wives like that. They should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, 29 because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church 30 because we are parts of his body. 31 The Scriptures say, “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and join his wife, and the two people will become one.”[a] 32 That secret truth is very important—I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 But each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.
The Message Against Gog
38 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man,[a] look toward Gog in the land of Magog. He is the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Speak for me against Gog. 3 Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Gog, you are the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal, but I am against you. 4 I will capture you and bring you back. I will bring back all the men in your army, all the horses, and horse soldiers. I will put hooks in your mouths, and I will bring all of you back. All the soldiers will be wearing their uniforms with all their shields and swords. 5 Soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia, and Put will be with them. They will all be wearing their shields and helmets. 6 There will also be Gomer with all its groups of soldiers, and there will be the nation of Togarmah[b] from the far north with all its groups of soldiers. There will be many people in that parade of prisoners.
7 “‘Be prepared. Yes, prepare yourself and the armies that have joined with you. You must watch and be ready. 8 After a long time you will be called for duty. In the later years you will come into the land that has been healed from war. The people in that land were gathered from many nations and brought back to the mountains of Israel. In the past, the mountains of Israel had been destroyed again and again. But these people will have come back from those other nations. They all will have lived in safety. 9 But you will come to attack them. You will come like a storm. You will come like a thundercloud covering the land. You and all your groups of soldiers from many nations will come to attack them.’”
10 This is what the Lord God says: “At that time an idea will come into your mind. You will begin to make an evil plan. 11 You will say, ‘I will go attack the country that has towns without walls. The people there live in peace and think they are safe. There are no walls around the cities to protect them. They don’t have any locks on their gates—they don’t even have gates! 12 I will defeat them and take all their valuable things away from them. I will fight against the places that were destroyed but now have people living in them. I will fight against the people who were gathered from the nations. Now they have cattle and property. They live at the crossroads of the world.[c]’
13 “Sheba, Dedan, and merchants of Tarshish and all the cities they trade with will ask you, ‘Did you come to capture valuable things? Did you bring your groups of soldiers together to grab the good things and to carry away silver, gold, cattle, and property? Did you come to take all those valuable things?’
14 “Son of man, speak to Gog for me. Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You will come to attack my people while they are living in peace and safety. 15 You will come from your place out of the far north, and you will bring many people with you. All of them will ride on horses. You will be a large and a powerful army. 16 You will come to fight against my people Israel. You will be like a thundercloud covering the land. When that time comes, I will bring you to fight against my land. Then, Gog, the nations will learn how powerful I am! They will learn to respect me and know that I am holy. They will see what I will do to you!’”
17 This is what the Lord God says: “At that time people will remember that I spoke about you in the past. They will remember that I used my servants, the prophets of Israel. They will remember that the prophets of Israel spoke for me in the past and said that I would bring you to fight against them.”
18 The Lord God said, “At that time Gog will come to fight against the land of Israel. I will show my anger. 19 In my anger and strong emotions, I make this promise: I promise that there will be a strong earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 At that time all living things will shake with fear. The fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the wild animals in the fields, and all the little creatures crawling on the ground will shake with fear. The mountains will fall down and the cliffs will break apart. Every wall will fall to the ground!”
21 The Lord God says, “On the mountains of Israel, I will call for every kind of terror against[d] Gog. His soldiers will be so afraid that they will attack each other and kill each other with their swords. 22 I will punish Gog with diseases and death. I will cause hailstones, fire, and sulfur to rain down on Gog and his groups of soldiers from many nations. 23 Then I will show how great I am. I will prove that I am holy. Many nations will see me do these things, and they will learn who I am. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
A maskil from Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing forever about the Lord’s love.
I will sing about his faithfulness forever and ever!
2 I will say, “Your faithful love will last forever.
Your loyalty is like the sky—there is no end to it!”
3 You said, “I made an agreement with my chosen king.
I made this promise to my servant David:
4 ‘There will always be someone from your family to rule.
I will make your kingdom continue forever and ever.’” Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for the amazing things you do.
The assembly of holy ones sings about your loyalty.
6 No one in heaven is equal to the Lord.
None of the “gods” can compare to the Lord.
7 When God’s holy ones—the angels around his throne—meet together,
they fear and respect him;
he is more awesome than all those around him.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, there is no one like you.
You are strong, Lord, and always faithful.
9 You rule the stormy sea.
You can calm its angry waves.
10 You defeated Rahab.
You scattered your enemies with your own powerful arm.
11 Everything in heaven and earth belongs to you.
You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created everything north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing praises to your name.
13 You have the power!
Your power is great!
Victory is yours!
14 Your kingdom is built on truth and justice.
Love and faithfulness are servants before your throne.
15 Lord, your loyal followers are happy.
They live in the light of your kindness.
16 Your name always makes them happy.
They praise your goodness.
17 You are their amazing strength.
Their power comes from you.
18 The king, our protector, belongs to the Lord,
who is the Holy One of Israel.
19 Lord, you once spoke in a vision to your followers:
“I have made a young soldier strong.
From among my people I chose him for an important position.
20 I have found my servant David
and anointed him as king with my special oil.
21 I will support him with my right hand,
and my arm will make him strong.
22 So no enemy will ever control him.
The wicked will never defeat him.
23 I will destroy his enemies before his eyes.
I will defeat those who hate him.
24 I will always love and support him.
I will always make him strong.
25 I will put him in charge of the sea.
He will control the rivers.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my father.
You are my God, my Rock, my Savior.’
27 And I will make him my firstborn son.
He will be the great king on earth.
28 My love will protect him forever.
My agreement with him will never end.
29 I will make his family continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the skies.
30 If his descendants stop following my law
and stop obeying my commands,
31 if they break my laws
and ignore my commands,
32 I will punish them severely
for their sins and wrongs.
33 But I will never take my love from him.
I will never stop being loyal to him.
34 I will not break my agreement with David.
I will never change what I said.
35 By my holiness, I made a promise to him,
and I would not lie to David.
36 His family will continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
37 Like the moon, it will continue forever.
The sky is a witness to the agreement that can be trusted.” Selah
38 But now, Lord, you have become angry with your chosen king,[a]
and you have left him all alone.
39 You ended the agreement you made with your servant.
You threw the king’s crown into the dirt.
40 You pulled down the walls of his city.
You destroyed all his fortresses.
41 Everyone passing by steals from him.
His neighbors laugh at him.
42 You made all the king’s enemies happy
and let his enemies win the war.
43 You helped them defend themselves.
You did not help your king win the battle.
44 You did not let him win.
You threw his throne to the ground.
45 You cut his life short.
You shamed him. Selah
46 Lord, how long will this continue?
Will you ignore us forever?
Will your anger burn like a fire forever?
47 Remember how short my life is.
You created us to live a short life and then die.
48 Is there anyone alive who will never die?
Will anyone escape the grave? Selah
49 Lord, where is the love you showed in the past?
You promised David that you would be loyal to his family.
50-51 My Lord, please remember how people insulted your servant.
Lord, I had to listen to all the insults from your enemies.
They insulted your chosen king wherever he went.
52 Praise the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen!
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International