M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Saul and the Spirit Medium

28 Now it came about in those days that ^(A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you ^[a]my bodyguard ^(B)for life.”

³ Now ^(C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^(D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^(E)were mediums and spiritists. ⁴ So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^(F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^(G)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (H)When Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(I)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(J)dreams or by ^(K)Urim or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(L)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(M)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(N)disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(O)Conjure up for me, please, and ^(P)bring up for me whom I shall ^[b]name to you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(Q)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[c]divine being coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(R)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(S)he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(T)God has departed from me and ^(U)no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? ¹⁷ The Lord has done ^[d]accordingly ^(V)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ As ^(W)you did not ^[e]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^(X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no ^[f]food all day and all night. ²¹ The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, “Behold, your maidservant has ^[g]obeyed you, and ^(Y)I have ^[h]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. ²² So now also, please listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” ²³ But he refused and said, “^(Z)I will not eat.” ^(AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to ^[i]them. So he arose from the ground and sat on ^(AB)the bed. ²⁴ The woman had a ^(AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; and she ^(AD)took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

Paul’s Use of Liberty

9 Am I not ^(A)free? Am I not an ^(B)apostle? Have I not ^(C)seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^(D)my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the ^(E)seal of my ^(F)apostleship in the Lord.

³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ^4 [a](G)Do we not have a right to eat and drink? ^5 [b](H)Do we not have a right to take along a ^[c]believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^(I)brothers of the Lord and ^(J)Cephas? ⁶ Or do only ^[d](K)Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? ⁷ Who at any time serves ^(L)as a soldier at his own expense? Who ^(M)plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not ^[e]use the milk of the flock?

⁸ I am not speaking these things ^(N)according to ^[f]human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^(O)You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about ^(P)oxen, is He? ¹⁰ Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, ^(Q)for our sake it was written, because ^(R)the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. ^11 (S)If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^(T)did not use this right, but we endure all things ^(U)so that we will cause no hindrance to the ^(V)gospel of Christ. ^13 (W)Do you not know that those who ^(X)perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ^[g]from the altar? ¹⁴ So also ^(Y)the Lord directed those who proclaim the ^(Z)gospel to ^(AA)get their living from the gospel.

¹⁵ But I have ^(AB)used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make ^(AC)my boast an empty one. ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for ^(AD)I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach ^(AE)the gospel. ¹⁷ For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^(AF)reward; but if against my will, I have a ^(AG)stewardship entrusted to me. ¹⁸ What then is my ^(AH)reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^(AI)without charge, so as ^(AJ)not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am ^(AK)free from all men, I have made myself ^(AL)a slave to all, so that I may ^(AM)win more. ^20 (AN)To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under ^[h]the Law, as under ^[i]the Law though ^(AO)not being myself under ^[j]the Law, so that I might win those who are under ^[k]the Law; ²¹ to those who are ^(AP)without law, ^(AQ)as without law, though not being without the law of God but ^(AR)under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. ²² To the ^(AS)weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become ^(AT)all things to all men, ^(AU)so that I may by all means save some. ²³ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

^24 (AV)Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ^(AW)the prize? ^(AX)Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ Everyone who ^(AY)competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable ^(AZ)wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I ^(BA)run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not ^(BB)beating the air; ²⁷ but I ^[l]discipline ^(BC)my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord ^[a]God to the land of Israel, ‘An ^(A)end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. ⁴ For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will ^(B)bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will ^(C)know that I am the Lord!’

⁵ “Thus says the Lord ^[b]God, ‘A ^(D)disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! ⁶ An end is coming; the end has come! It has ^(E)awakened against you; behold, it has come! ⁷ Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The ^(F)time has come, the ^(G)day is near—tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Now I will shortly ^(H)pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; ^(I)judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. ⁹ My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will ^[c]repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, do the smiting.

¹⁰ ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the ^(J)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. ¹¹ Violence ^[d]has grown into a rod of ^(K)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their ^(L)wealth, nor anything eminent among them. ¹² The ^(M)time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the ^(N)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for ^(O)wrath is against all their multitude. ¹³ Indeed, the seller will not ^[e](P)regain ^[f]what he sold as long as ^[g]they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not ^[h]be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his iniquity.

¹⁴ ‘They have ^(Q)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all ^[i]their multitude. ¹⁵ The ^(R)sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also consume those in the city. ¹⁶ Even when their survivors ^(S)escape, they will be on the mountains like ^(T)doves of the valleys, all of them ^[j](U)mourning, each over his own iniquity. ¹⁷ All ^(V)hands will hang limp and all knees will ^[k]become like water. ¹⁸ They will ^(W)gird themselves with sackcloth and ^(X)shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces and ^(Y)baldness on all their heads. ¹⁹ They will ^(Z)fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their ^(AA)silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their ^[l]appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

²⁰ They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and ^(AB)they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. ²¹ I will give it into the hands of the ^(AC)foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. ²² I will also turn My ^(AD)face from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.

²³ ‘^(AE)Make the chain, for the land is full of ^[m](AF)bloody crimes and the city is ^(AG)full of violence. ²⁴ Therefore, I will bring the worst of the ^(AH)nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the ^(AI)pride of the strong ones cease, and their ^(AJ)holy places will be profaned. ²⁵ When anguish comes, they will seek ^(AK)peace, but there will be none. ^26 (AL)Disaster will come upon disaster and ^(AM)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a ^(AN)vision from a prophet, but the ^(AO)law will be lost from the priest and ^(AP)counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king will mourn, the prince will be ^(AQ)clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will ^[n]tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

For the choir director; according to the ^[a]Shoshannim. A ^[b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.