M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Elisha and the Floating Ax Head

6 The disciples of the prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we’re staying is too small for us. ² Let’s go to the Jordan River. Each of us can get some logs and make a place for us to live there.”

Elisha said, “Go ahead.”

³ Then one of the disciples asked, “Won’t you please come with us?”

Elisha answered, “I’ll go.”

⁴ So he went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began to cut down trees. ⁵ As one of them was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh no, master! It was borrowed!”

⁶ The man of Elohim asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed Elisha the place, Elisha cut off a piece of wood. He threw it into the water at that place and made the ax head float. ⁷ Elisha said, “Pick it up.” The disciple reached for it and picked it up.

The Aramean Army Is Struck with Blindness

⁸ Whenever the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, he asked for advice from his officers about where they were to camp.

⁹ So the man of Elohim would send a message to the king of Israel, “Be careful not to go by that place. The Arameans are hiding there.” ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel would send someone to the place that the man of Elohim told him about. Elisha warned them so that they would be on their guard. He did this repeatedly.

¹¹ The king of Aram was very angry about this. He called his officers and asked them, “Won’t you tell me who among us is a spy for the king of Israel?”

¹² One of his officers answered, “No one, Your Majesty. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel everything you say—even what you say in your bedroom.”

¹³ The king said, “Find out where he is. Then I will send men to capture him.”

The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ So the king sent horses and chariots and a large fighting unit there. They came at night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of Elohim got up in the morning and went outside, he saw troops, horses, and chariots surrounding the city. Elisha’s servant asked, “Master, what should we do?”

¹⁶ Elisha answered, “Don’t be afraid. We have more forces on our side than they have on theirs.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “Yahweh, please open his eyes so that he may see.” Yahweh opened the servant’s eyes and let him see. The mountain around Elisha was full of fiery horses and chariots.

¹⁸ As the Arameans came down to get him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, “Please strike these people with blindness.” Yahweh struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. ¹⁹ Elisha told them, “This isn’t the way! This isn’t the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” So he led them into Samaria. ²⁰ When they came into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, and let them see.” Yahweh opened their eyes and let them see that they were in the middle of Samaria.

²¹ When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Master, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

²² Elisha answered, “Don’t kill them. Do you kill everyone you take captive in combat? Give them food and water. Let them eat and drink. Then let them go back to their master.”

²³ So the king prepared a great feast for them. They ate and drank, and then he sent them back to their master. After this, Aramean troops didn’t raid Israel’s territory anymore.

The Aramean Army Blockades Samaria

²⁴ Later King Benhadad of Aram assembled his whole army. They went to Samaria and blockaded it. ²⁵ The shortages caused by the blockade of Samaria became so severe that a donkey’s head sold for two pounds of silver and a half-pint of dove^[a] manure for two ounces of silver.

²⁶ As the king of Israel was walking on the city wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

²⁷ He answered, “If Yahweh doesn’t help you, how can I help you? I can’t give you something from the threshing floor^[b] or the winepress.” ²⁸ Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman told me, ‘Give up your son. Let’s eat him today. We’ll eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I told her, ‘Give up your son. We’ll eat him,’ but she hid her son.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman say this, he tore his clothes in distress. As he was walking on the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. ³¹ He said, “May Elohim strike me dead if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, stays on his body today.”

³² Elisha was sitting in his home with the city’s leaders. The king had sent one of his men ahead of him to Elisha’s house. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha asked the leaders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to tear off my head? When the messenger comes, close the door. Hold it shut because the king will be following him.”

³³ While he was still talking to them, the messenger arrived. He said to Elisha, “This severe famine is from Yahweh. Why should I wait any longer for Yahweh to help us?”

Guidelines for Leaders in the Church

3 This is a statement that can be trusted: If anyone sets his heart on being a bishop,^[a] he desires something excellent. ² A bishop must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife, be sober, use good judgment, be respectable, be hospitable, and be able to teach. ³ He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but he must be gentle. He must not be quarrelsome or love money. ⁴ He must manage his own family well. His children should respectfully obey him. ⁵ (If a man doesn’t know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a new Christian, or he might become arrogant like the devil and be condemned. ⁷ People who are not Christians must speak well of him, or he might become the victim of disgraceful insults that the devil sets as traps for him.

⁸ Deacons^[b] must also be of good character. They must not be two-faced or addicted to alcohol. They must not use shameful ways to make money. ⁹ They must have clear consciences about possessing the mystery of the Christian faith. ¹⁰ First, a person must be evaluated. Then, if he has a good reputation, he may become a deacon.

¹¹ Their wives must also be of good character. They must not be gossips, but they must control their tempers and be trustworthy in every way.

¹² A deacon must have only one wife. Deacons must manage their children and their families well. ¹³ Those deacons who serve well gain an excellent reputation and will have confidence as a result of their faith in Christ Yeshua.

¹⁴ I hope to visit you soon. However, I’m writing this to you ¹⁵ in case I’m delayed. I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

¹⁶ The mystery that gives us our reverence for God is acknowledged to be great:

An Angel Comes to Daniel with a Message

10 In Cyrus’ third year as king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar). The message was true. It was about a great war. Daniel understood the message because he was given insight during the vision.

² During those days I, Daniel, mourned for three whole weeks. ³ I didn’t eat any good-tasting food. No meat or wine entered my mouth. I didn’t wash myself until the entire three weeks were over.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was by the great Tigris River. ⁵ When I looked up, I saw a man dressed in linen, and he had a belt made of gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like beryl. His face looked like lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs looked like polished bronze. When he spoke, his voice sounded like the roar of a crowd. ⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision. The men with me didn’t see the vision. Yet, they started to tremble violently, and they quickly hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone to see this grand vision. I had no strength left in me. My face turned deathly pale, and I was helpless. ⁹ I heard the man speak, and as I listened to his words, I fainted facedown on the ground.

¹⁰ Then a hand touched me and made my hands and knees shake. ¹¹ The man said to me, “Daniel, you are highly respected. Pay attention to my words. Stand up, because I’ve been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, trembling. ¹² He told me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Elohim has heard everything that you said ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in front of your Elohim so that you could learn to understand things. I have come in response to your prayer. ¹³ The commander of the Persian kingdom opposed me for 21 days. But then Michael, one of the chief commanders, came to help me because I was left alone with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the last days, because the vision is about times still to come.”

¹⁵ When he said this to me, I bowed down with my face touching the ground and was silent. ¹⁶ Then someone who looked like a human touched my lips. I opened my mouth and began to talk. I said to the person standing in front of me, “Sir, because of this vision, pain has overwhelmed me, and I’m helpless. ¹⁷ How can I talk to you, sir? I have no strength left, and the wind has been knocked out of me.”

¹⁸ Again, the person who looked like a human touched me, and I became stronger. ¹⁹ He said, “Don’t be afraid. You are highly respected. Everything is alright! Be strong! Be strong!”

As he talked to me, I became stronger. I said, “Sir, tell me what you came to say. You have strengthened me.”

²⁰ He asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight the commander of Persia. When I go, the commander of Greece will come. ²¹ However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the true writings. No one will support me when I fight these commanders except your commander, Michael.

Psalm 119^[a]