M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David Gets Ready to Build the House of God

22 Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God. And this is the altar of burnt gifts for Israel.”

² David told his men to gather the strangers who were in the land of Israel. And he had servants cut stones to build the house of God. ³ He gave large amounts of iron to be used for making nails for the doors of the gates, and for making the parts that hold it all together. He gave more brass than could be weighed. ⁴ And he gave too many cedar trees to number. For the Sidonians and Tyrians brought many cut cedar trees to David. ⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is young and does not yet have much learning. And the house that is to be built for the Lord must be very beautiful. It must be very great, and well-known in all lands. So I will get things ready for it to be built.” David made many things ready for it before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon, and gave him the work of building a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, I had planned to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have taken much blood, and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house to My name, because you have poured so much blood upon the earth before Me. ⁹ See, a son will be born to you, who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all those who hate him on every side. His name will be Solomon. And I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He will build a house for My name. He will be My son, and I will be his father. I will make his throne in Israel last forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and help you to do well. May you build the house of the Lord your God just as He has said you would. ¹² Only, may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding. When He has you rule over Israel, may you keep the Law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will do well, if you are careful to obey the Laws which the Lord gave to Israel by Moses. Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or troubled. ¹⁴ With much trouble I have made things ready for the house of the Lord. There is gold weighing as much as 100,000 men. There is silver weighing as much as 1,000,000 men. And there is too much brass and iron to weigh. I have made wood and stone ready, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ You have many servants and workmen who cut and build with stones and wood. There are men who are able to do every kind of work well. ¹⁶ Of the gold and silver and brass and iron, there is more than enough. So get ready and work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David told all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the people of the land into my hand. The land is put under my rule before the Lord and His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and soul to look to the Lord your God. Get ready and build the holy place of the Lord God. Then you may bring the special box with the Law of the Lord. You may bring the holy objects of God. And put them into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

Teaching for Married Christians

3 Wives, obey your own husbands. Some of your husbands may not obey the Word of God. By obeying your husbands, they may become Christians by the life you live without you saying anything. ² They will see how you love God and how your lives are pure. ³ Do not let your beauty come from the outside. It should not be the way you comb your hair or the wearing of gold or the wearing of fine clothes. ⁴ Your beauty should come from the inside. It should come from the heart. This is the kind that lasts. Your beauty should be a gentle and quiet spirit. In God’s sight this is of great worth and no amount of money can buy it. ⁵ This was the kind of beauty seen in the holy women who lived many years ago. They put their hope in God. They also obeyed their husbands. ⁶ Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham. She respected him as the head of the house. You are her children if you do what is right and do not have fear.

⁷ In the same way, husbands should understand and respect their wives, because women are weaker than men. Remember, both husband and wife are to share together the gift of life that lasts forever. If this is not done, you will find it hard to pray.

Teaching for All Christians

⁸ Last of all, you must share the same thoughts and the same feelings. Love each other with a kind heart and with a mind that has no pride. ⁹ When someone does something bad to you, do not do the same thing to him. When someone talks about you, do not talk about him. Instead, pray that good will come to him. You were called to do this so you might receive good things from God. ¹⁰ For “If you want joy in your life and have happy days, keep your tongue from saying bad things and your lips from talking bad about others. ¹¹ Turn away from what is sinful. Do what is good. Look for peace and go after it. ¹² The Lord watches over those who are right with Him. He hears their prayers. But the Lord is against those who sin.” ^{(A) 13} Who will hurt you if you do what is right? ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing what is right, you will be happy. Do not be afraid or troubled by what they may do to make it hard for you. ¹⁵ Your heart should be holy and set apart for the Lord God. Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect. ¹⁶ Keep your heart telling you that you have done what is right. If men speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see the good way you have lived as a Christian. ¹⁷ If God wants you to suffer, it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong.

Christ Suffered for Us

¹⁸ Christ suffered and died for sins once for all. He never sinned and yet He died for us who have sinned. He died so He might bring us to God. His body died but His spirit was made alive. ¹⁹ Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison. ²⁰ Those were the spirits of the people who would not obey in the days of Noah. God waited a long time for them while Noah was building the big boat. But only eight people were saved from dying when the earth was covered with water. ²¹ This is like baptism to us. Baptism does not mean we wash our bodies clean. It means we are saved from the punishment of sin and go to God in prayer with a heart that says we are right. This can be done because Christ was raised from the dead. ²² Christ has gone to heaven and is on the right side of God. Angels and powers of heaven are obeying Him.

1 This is the Word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth about Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Israel Is Judged

² Hear, O people, all of you. Listen, O earth and all who are in it. The Lord God will speak against you from His holy house. ³ See, the Lord is coming from His place. He will come down and walk on the high places of the earth. ⁴ The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will break open, like a candle in front of the fire, like water poured down a hill. ⁵ All this is because Jacob would not obey and because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s sin? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? ⁶ So I will make Samaria a waste in the open country, making it a place to plant grape-fields. I will pour her stones down into the valley, and lay open the base of the city. ⁷ All of her false gods will be broken to pieces. Everything given in the place of worship will be burned with fire. I will destroy all her objects of worship, for she gathered them from the pay of a woman who sells the use of her body. They will return to pay a woman who sells the use of her body.

Jerusalem Will Be Taken

⁸ Because of this I must cry out in sorrow. I must go without shoes and clothing. I must cry out like the wild dogs, and cry in sorrow like the ostriches. ⁹ For her hurt cannot be cured. It has come to Judah. It has come to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Do not tell about it in Gath. Do not cry at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah. ¹¹ Go on your way, people of Shaphir, without clothing and in shame. The people of Zaanan do not come out. Cries of sorrow come from Beth-ezel. Its help is taken from you. ¹² Those who live in Maroth become weak waiting for good, because trouble has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem. ¹³ Tie the war-wagons to the horses, you people of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the people of Zion, for the sins of Israel were found in you. ¹⁴ So give gifts to Moresheth-gath. The people of Achzib will fool the kings of Israel. ¹⁵ I will bring one who will beat you in battle, O people of Mareshah. The shining-greatness of Israel will come to Adullam. ¹⁶ Cut off all your hair in sorrow for the children you love. Let no hair be on your head like the eagle, for your children will be taken away from you.

Seventy Are Sent Out

10 After this the Lord chose seventy others. He sent them out two together to every city and place where He would be going later. ² Jesus said to them, “There is much grain ready to gather. But the workmen are few. Pray then to the Lord Who is the Owner of the grain-fields that He will send workmen to gather His grain. ³ Go on your way. Listen! I send you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Take no money. Do not take a bag or shoes. Speak to no one along the way. ⁵ When you go into a house, say that you hope peace will come to them. ⁶ If a man who loves peace lives there, your good wishes will come to him. If your good wishes are not received, they will come back to you. ⁷ Stay in the same house. Eat and drink what they give you. The workman should have his thanks. Do not move from house to house.

⁸ “Whenever a city receives you, eat the things that are put before you there. ⁹ Heal the sick. Say to them, ‘The holy nation of God is near.’ ¹⁰ Whatever city does not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your city that is on our feet we are cleaning off against you. But understand this, the holy nation of God has come near you!’ ¹² I tell you, on the day men stand before God, it will be easier for the city of Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “It is bad for you, city of Chorazin! It is bad for you, town of Bethsaida! For if the powerful works which were done in you had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon they would have turned from their sins long ago. They would have shown their sorrow by putting on clothes made from hair and would have sat in ashes. ¹⁴ It will be better for Tyre and Sidon on the day men stand before God and be told they are guilty than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, are you to be lifted up into heaven? You will be taken down to hell. ¹⁶ Whoever listens to you, listens to Me. Whoever has nothing to do with you, has nothing to do with Me. Whoever has nothing to do with Me, has nothing to do with the One Who sent Me.”

The Seventy Came Back

¹⁷ The seventy came back full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used Your name.” ¹⁸ Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Listen! I have given you power to walk on snakes. I have given you power over small animals with a sting of poison. I have given you power over all the power of the one who works against you. Nothing will hurt you. ²⁰ Even so, you should not be happy because the demons obey you but be happy because your names are written in heaven.”

The Joy of the Holy Spirit

²¹ At this time Jesus was full of the joy of the Holy Spirit. He said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You have kept these things hidden from the wise and from those who have much learning. You have shown them to little children. Yes, Father, it was what you wanted done.

²² “Everything has been given to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son but the Father. No one knows the Father but the Son and the Son makes the Father known to those He chooses.”

²³ Then He turned to His followers and said without anyone else hearing, “Happy are those who see what you see! ²⁴ I tell you, many early preachers and kings have wanted to see the things you are seeing, but they did not see them. They have wanted to hear the things you are hearing, but they did not hear them.”

Jesus Talks to the Man Who Knew the Law

²⁵ A man stood up who knew the Law and tried to trap Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ²⁶ Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? What does the Law say?” ²⁷ The man said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart. You must love Him with all your soul. You must love Him with all your strength. You must love Him with all your mind. You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ²⁸ Jesus said to him, “You have said the right thing. Do this and you will have life.” ²⁹ The man tried to make himself look good. He asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

The Picture-Story of the Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to the city of Jericho. Robbers came out after him. They took his clothes off and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. ³¹ A religious leader was walking down that road and saw the man. But he went by on the other side. ³² In the same way, a man from the family group of Levi was walking down that road. When he saw the man who was hurt, he came near to him but kept on going on the other side of the road. ³³ Then a man from the country of Samaria came by. He went up to the man. As he saw him, he had loving-pity on him. ³⁴ He got down and put oil and wine on the places where he was hurt and put cloth around them. Then the man from Samaria put this man on his own donkey. He took him to a place where people stay for the night and cared for him. ³⁵ The next day the man from Samaria was ready to leave. He gave the owner of that place two pieces of money to care for him. He said to him, ‘Take care of this man. If you use more than this, I will give it to you when I come again.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was beaten by the robbers?” ³⁷ The man who knew the Law said, “The one who showed loving-pity on him.” Then Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

Mary and Martha Care for Jesus

³⁸ As they went on their way, they came to a town where a woman named Martha lived. She cared for Jesus in her home. ³⁹ Martha had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to all He said. ⁴⁰ Martha was working hard getting the supper ready. She came to Jesus and said, “Do You see that my sister is not helping me? Tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² Only a few things are important, even just one. Mary has chosen the good thing. It will not be taken away from her.”