M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah Succeeds Amon
22 Josiah was an eight year old child when he began to reign, and he reigned for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, living the way his ancestor David had lived, turning neither to the right nor to the left.
3 Eighteen years after King Josiah had begun to reign, the king sent Azaliah’s son Shaphan, grandson of Meshullam the scribe, to the Lord’s Temple. He told him, 4 “Go to the high priest Hilkiah, so he can count the money that has been brought into the Lord’s Temple by the doorkeepers who have been gathering it from the people. 5 Have them deliver it to the workmen who are supervising the Lord’s Temple, so that they may pay it over to the workmen who serve in the Lord’s Temple to repair its damages, 6 including paying[a] the carpenters, builders, and masons, as well as buying timber and pre-carved stone to repair the Temple. 7 But you won’t need to force them to be accountable for money already paid to them, since they’re faithful.”
Hilkiah Discovers an Ancient Archive
8 Later on, Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I’ve discovered the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he began to read it.
9 Shaphan the scribe reported to King Josiah, brought up the matter to him, and told him, “Your servants have distributed the money that was found in the Temple by giving it to the workmen who supervise the Lord’s Temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” Then Shaphan read from it in the king’s presence.
11 When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes 12 and issued these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micaiah’s son Achbor, Shaphan the scribe, and the king’s servant Asaiah: 13 “Go ask the Lord for me, for the people, and for all of Judah about what’s written in this book that has been discovered, because the Lord’s anger is burning against us, since our ancestors have not listened to the words written in this book and have not lived according to everything that is written concerning us.”
Huldah Predicts Disaster
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Tikvah’s son Shallum, the grandson of Harhas and supervisor of the royal wardrobe, who lived in the Second Quarter in Jerusalem. They spoke with her, 15 and she told them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me: 16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look! I’m bringing disaster on this place and on its inhabitants—everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read— 17 because they have abandoned me, burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger with everything that they’ve done. Therefore my anger is kindled against this place and it won’t be quenched!’” 18 Nevertheless, tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord about this,[b] “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Now about what you’ve heard, 19 because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself in the Lord’s presence when you heard what I had to say against this place and against its inhabitants—that they would become a desolation and a curse—and you have torn your clothes and cried out before me, be assured that I have truly heard you,’ declares the Lord. 20 ‘Therefore, look! I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be placed in your grave in peace. Your eyes will never see all the evil that I will bring on this place.’”’”
We Must Enter the Rest
4 Therefore, as long as the promise of entering his rest remains valid, let us be afraid! Otherwise, some of you will fail[a] to reach it, 2 because we have had the good news told to us as well as to them. But the message they heard did not help them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened to it. 3 We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said,
“So in my anger I swore a solemn oath
that they would never enter my rest,”[b]
even though his actions had been finished since the creation[c] of the world. 4 Somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day as follows: “On the seventh day God rested from all his actions,”[d] 5 and again in this passage,[e] “They will never enter my rest.”[f] 6 Therefore, since it is still true that some will enter it, and since those who once heard the good news failed to enter it because of their disobedience, 7 he again fixes a definite day—“Today”—saying long afterward through David, as already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”[g]
8 For if Joshua[h] had given them rest, he would not have spoken later about another day.
9 There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God to keep, 10 because the one who enters God’s[i] rest has himself rested from his own actions, just as God did[j] from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. 13 No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.
Our Compassionate High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us live our lives consistent with[k] our confession of faith.[l] 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned. 16 So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The Coming Invasion
1 This message from the Lord came to Pethuel’s son Joel.[a]
2 “Hear this, you elders!
Listen, all of you residents of the land!
Has there ever been anything like this during your lifetime,[b]
or even when your ancestors were alive?[c]
3 Pass it on to your children,
and from[d] your children to their children,
and from[e] their children to the following generation.
4 Whatever the devouring locust left behind
the locust swarm has consumed!
Whatever the locust swarm has left behind,
the young locust[f] has consumed!
Whatever the young locust[g] has left behind,
the ravaging locust has consumed!”
A Call to Mourning
5 “Wake up, you drunkards!
Cry aloud and howl, you wine drinkers,
because your supply of new wine has been snatched from you.[h]
6 Indeed, a nation has invaded my land—
it is strong and its population is too large to count[i]—
with teeth like a lion
and fangs[j] like a lioness.
7 That nation[k] laid waste my vines,
and stripped bare my fig tree,
discarding it.
It stripped off[l] its bark.
8 “Grieve like a virgin,
who, dressed in her mourner’s clothes,[m]
cries out in memory[n] of the man she was going to marry.[o]
9 Both grain offering and wine offering have been removed from the Lord’s Temple;[p]
the priests and ministering servants of the Lord are mourning.”
The Coming Famine
10 “The fields lie in ruins
and the ground is dried up.[q]
Indeed, the grain is ruined,
the new wine has evaporated,
and the olive oil has run out.
11 Be dismayed, you farmers!
Cry aloud, you vintners,
for the wheat and barley,
because the harvest in your fields has been lost.
12 The grapevine is shriveled
and the fig tree is withered,
along with the pomegranate tree, the palm tree, the apple tree
and all of the cultivated trees.[r]
Truly, joy has evaporated from Adam’s children.”[s]
A Call to Mourn and Repent
13 “Put on your mourning clothes, you priests;
and cry aloud, you ministering servants at the altar!
Come! Stay the night in mourner’s clothes,[t] you ministers of my God,
because the grain offering and the wine offering is held back from the Temple of your God.
14 Set apart time for a fast!
Call a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders and everyone living in the land to the Temple of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord!”
A Lament about the Day of the Lord
15 Oh, no! For the Day of the Lord approaches,
and like destruction from the Almighty, it will come!
16 Isn’t our food supply cut off right in front of us,[u]
along with joy and gladness from the Temple of our God?
17 Seeds shrivel within their furrows,
the storehouses lie empty,
and granaries stand in ruins
because the grain has withered.
18 Oh, how the livestock groan!
The herds of cattle[v] wander about
because they have no pasture.
Even flocks of sheep suffer!
19 To you, Lord, I cry out,
because fire has devoured the open pastures,
and has set all the cultivated trees[w] ablaze.
20 The livestock also cries out to you,
because their water sources have evaporated
and because fire has consumed the open pastures.
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Deliverance
140 [a]Deliver me, Lord, from evil people,
preserve me from violent men,
2 who craft evil plans in their minds,
inciting wars every day.[b]
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the control of evil people,
from violent men who have planned to trip me.
5 The arrogant have laid a trap for me;
they have spread a net with ropes,
lining it with snares along the way.
6 So I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
listen to my voice
as I plead for mercy, Lord.
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have protected my head in the time[c] of battle.
8 Never grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
never condone their plans
so they cannot exalt themselves.
9 May those who surround me discover
that the trouble they talk about falls on their own head!
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be cast into fire,
and into miry pits, never to rise again.
11 Let not the slanderer[d] become established in the land.
May evil quickly hunt down the violent man.
12 I know that the Lord will act on behalf of the tormented,
providing justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name,
while the upright live in your presence.
A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Maturity
141 Lord, I call to you,
be quick to listen to me when I cry out!
2 Let my prayer be like incense offered before you,
and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, set a guard over my mouth;
keep watch over the door to my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart turn toward evil
or involve itself in wicked activities
with men who practice iniquity.
Let me not feast on their delicacies.
5 Let one who is righteous strike me;
It is an act of gracious love.
Let him rebuke me,
because it is oil for my head;
do not let my head refuse it.
My prayers continuously will be
against their wicked activities.
6 When their judges are thrown off the cliff,
the people[e] will hear my words,
for they are appropriate.
7 Just as one plows and breaks up the earth,
our[f] bones are scattered
near the entrance to the place of the dead.[g]
8 Nevertheless, my eyes are on you, Lord God,
as I seek protection in you.
Don’t leave me defenseless!
9 Protect me from the trap laid for me
and from the snares of those who practice evil.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I come through.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.