M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Gifts to help build the temple
29 Then King David spoke to all the people who were meeting together. He said, ‘God has clearly chosen my son Solomon to do this great work. But he is still young and he has no special skills. It is a very important work for him to build the temple. It will not be a palace for people, but for the Lord God himself! 2 I have tried to provide the things that he will need to build the temple for my God. They include gold, silver, bronze, iron and wood to make things. I have also given many valuable stones, including onyx, antimony and other jewels, as well as a lot of marble.[a] 3 I want very much to build a beautiful temple for my God. So I have added my own gold and silver to help to build it. I have added that to the other things that I have provided for God's holy temple. 4 I have given 110 tons of the best gold and 260 tons of pure silver to cover the walls of the buildings. 5 Workers with special skills can also use that gold and silver to make beautiful things. So now, who else will make a gift today to serve the Lord?’
6 Then the Israelite leaders and officers agreed to offer gifts to help the Lord's work. They included the leaders of clans and the leaders of Israel's tribes, the army officers who led 1,000 men and who led 100 men, and the officers with authority for the king's work. 7 They gave these gifts for God's temple:
190 tons of gold.
10,000 gold coins.
380 tons of silver.
675 tons of bronze.
3,750 tons of iron.
8 People who had valuable stones gave them for the Lord's house. Jehiel from Gershon's clan stored them in a safe place. 9 The people were very happy that their leaders gave these things. They were pleased to give to help the Lord's work. King David was also very happy.
David praises the Lord
10 David praised the Lord in front of all the people who had met together. He said,
‘We praise you Lord,
the God of our ancestor, Israel.[b]
You deserve that people praise you for ever!
11 Lord, you are great, powerful and beautiful!
You rule as king over everything in heaven and on earth.
Yes, Lord, everything belongs in your kingdom!
12 You are the one who gives people riches and honour.
You rule over everything.
You have great strength and power,
so you are able to make people strong and famous.
13 So we thank you, our God.
We praise your great name!
14 But I and my people are like nothing. How are we able to give all these gifts to help your work? Everything that we have comes from you. So we are giving back to you things that already belong to you. 15 We are like strangers and foreign people who live in your world. Our ancestors also lived in that way. We live here only for a short time and then we disappear, like a shadow. We know that we will die one day. 16 Lord, our God, we have given these things to build a temple for you, to give honour to your holy name. But all these valuable things come from you. They already belong to you. 17 My God, I know that you look carefully at our thoughts. You are pleased when we want to do things that are right. And I really do want to offer all these things to you. I know that your people who have met together here are happy. I can see that they are pleased to give these things to you. 18 Lord, you are the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Please help us, your people, to continue to obey you. Help us to serve you faithfully. 19 Please help my son Solomon to want to obey you. Help him to obey all your commands, rules and laws. Help him to work well to build your temple. I have prepared the things that he will need to do that.’
20 Then David spoke to all the people who were meeting there together. He told them, ‘Now praise the Lord, your God!’ So all the people praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors. They bent down low to worship the Lord. They gave honour to the Lord and also to the king.
Solomon becomes king
21 On the next day, they offered sacrifices to the Lord. They made burnt offerings of 1,000 bulls, 1,000 male sheep and 1,000 lambs. They made the proper drink offerings with those sacrifices. They also offered many other sacrifices on behalf of all the Israelites.
22 They ate a big feast to give honour to the Lord and they were very happy.
Then they anointed David's son Solomon to be the next king, with the Lord's blessing. That was the second time that they had chosen him as their king.[c] They also anointed Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the Lord's throne as king, in his father David's place. Everything went well for him as king. All the people in Israel obeyed him. 24 All King David's officers, his brave soldiers and all of his sons promised to serve King Solomon faithfully.
25 The Lord caused all the people in Israel to respect Solomon as a great king. They gave him much honour, more than any king that had ruled Israel before him.
David dies
26 Jesse's son David had ruled over all Israel as king. 27 He had ruled Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron. Then he ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem. 28 He was an old man when he died. During his long life, God gave him riches as well as honour. Then David's son Solomon became king instead of him.
29 The prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad wrote history books about all the things that King David did. They wrote down everything that he did as king, from the beginning to the end. 30 The books tell us how he ruled with great power. They tell us about the things that happened to him. They also tell us about the things that happened in Israel and in the other kingdoms in that region.
The Lord Jesus will certainly come back to earth
3 My friends, this is the second letter that I have written to you. I have written both these letters to help you to understand some things. You already know these things. I want you to think about them in a good way. 2 I want you to remember the messages from God that his own prophets spoke a long time ago. Also, I want you to remember what our Lord Jesus told you to do. He is the one who saves us. He sent us, his apostles, to teach you his message.
3 The first thing that you should understand is this. In the last days of this world, some people will laugh at you because you believe in God.[a] These people will do whatever bad things they want to do. 4 They will say: ‘Christ promised that he would return to this world. But he has not returned! Our ancestors have already died, but since God made the world in the beginning, nothing has changed.’
5 These people choose to forget things that they really know. A long time ago, God spoke his word and he made the sky and the earth. He caused land to come up through water. He made the land to be separate from the water.[b] 6 Also, God used water to destroy that same world long ago. He spoke his word and he covered the land with water.[c] 7 But God has also spoken his word to say what will happen to the world in a future time. The sky and the earth that we see now will continue for a time. But God is keeping them until the day when he will destroy them with fire. On that day he will judge all people. He will destroy the people who have turned away from him.
8 My friends, here is one thing that you must remember. In the Lord God's mind, one day and 1,000 years are the same. For him, 1,000 years is like a single day. 9 The Lord is not being slow to do what he has promised to do. Some people may think that he is being slow to do it. But he is being patient with you. He does not want to destroy anyone. He wants all people to turn away from the wrong things that they do.
10 The great day of the Lord will suddenly happen. That will surprise people, like when someone comes to rob them. There will be a very loud noise in the sky. The whole sky will go away. Fire will burn the whole universe and it will destroy everything. The earth and everything that people have made will then become clear.[d]
11 Certainly, God will destroy everything in this way one day. So think about how you should live now. You should be the kind of people that God is happy about. You should show that you belong to God. 12 Yes, you should continue to obey God while you are waiting for Christ to return. God has chosen that day. Try to live in a way that will make that day come soon. On that day, fire will burn the whole sky. The sky will no longer be there. Heat will destroy the universe. 13 But God has promised to make a new sky and a new earth. That is what we are waiting for. That will be a home for everything that is good and right.[e]
Peter finishes his letter
14 So, my friends, live in a good way, because you are waiting for these things to happen. Try very much to do what makes God happy. Then, when you meet God, he will see that you are clean. He will see that there is no trouble in your minds. 15 Remember that our Lord wants to save people from their sins. That is why he is now waiting patiently for people to turn to him before he will return. Paul has also written to you about these things. He is our friend that we love like a brother. God helped him to understand these things. 16 He wrote about them in all his letters. Some things that he has written are difficult for people to understand. Some people have weak minds and they are not sure about what they believe. They explain Paul's teaching in a way that deceives people. They also explain other things in the Bible wrongly. As a result, those people will destroy themselves and God will punish them.
17 My friends, you already know about these false teachers. So be very careful that you do not believe those bad people. Do not let them lead you away from God. You know what is true, so do not leave that safe place. 18 Instead, you must grow as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. Continue to know him better and better. He will be kind to you and he will help you more and more. We praise him as he deserves! He is great now and he will be great for ever!
God has a quarrel with Israel's people
6 Now listen to what the Lord says:
‘Stand up! Explain in front of the mountains what I want to say.
Speak loud so that the hills can hear your voice.[a]
2 Listen, you mountains.
Hear this, you strong places that have always been there deep in the earth.
The Lord has a quarrel with Israel's people.
Hear the reasons why the Lord is angry with you, his people.’
3 ‘My people, what bad thing have I done to you?’ God asks.
‘How have I made you tired of me?
Answer me.
4 I brought you out of Egypt.
You were slaves in that country,
but I made you free people.
I sent Moses to lead you,
and Aaron and Miriam with him.
5 My people, please remember the bad things that King Balak of Moab tried to do.
And remember what Balaam, Beor's son, answered him.[b]
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal.[c]
Then you will remember that I, the Lord, do good things.’
What God wants from his people
6 ‘I come to meet with the Lord,’ you say.[d]
‘I must know what to bring when I come.
I bend down to worship him.
I must know what to offer when I bend down.
He is God and he is greater than everything.
Perhaps he would like it if I burn young cows one year old for him.
7 He might be happy with thousands of male sheep,
or ten thousand rivers of olive oil.
I have not obeyed God.
I might even kill and burn my oldest son, because of that.
I have done wrong things and I must pay God for that.
Perhaps, if I give my own child to him, that will be enough to pay.’
8 But God has told us what is good.[e] This is what the Lord wants from us:
‘You must be fair to other people,’ God says.
‘You must want to be kind.[f]
And you must be careful to do what I show you.’
God will punish people that are not honest
9 The Lord shouts to the people in the city of Jerusalem.
So it is good for us to listen carefully to what he says.
‘Listen to me, because I have the authority to punish you,’ God says.
10 ‘You bad people still hide valuable things that you have taken from other people.
I will not forget this.
You bad people use false weights to measure the food that you sell.
I hate that.
11 I will not excuse you people who use false weights.
You are not being honest if you weigh things like that.
12 You rich people in the city are very cruel.
Everyone there says things that are not true.
All of them speak false words.
13 So I will make you so sick that you will never get well.
I have begun to destroy you because you have done bad things.
14 You will eat, but you will still feel hungry.
You will store things and you will try to keep them safe.
But you will fail to save them.
I will cause enemies to destroy all your things in the war.
15 You will plant seeds,
but you will not bring in the harvest.
You will crush olives,
but you will not use the olive oil for yourselves.[g]
You will crush grapes,
but you will not drink the wine from them.
16 You have obeyed the rules of King Omri.
You have done what King Ahab and all his people did.[h]
You have copied their wicked ideas.
So I must destroy you and all your things completely.
Then people from other countries will not be kind or polite to you.
Instead, they will make you ashamed.’
15 One day, many bad people and men who took taxes from people were coming round Jesus. They all wanted to hear what Jesus was saying. 2 The Pharisees and teachers of God's Law did not like this. ‘This man is friendly with people that do not obey God,’ they said. ‘He even eats with them in their homes.’
A story about a sheep that a man has lost[a]
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 ‘Think about a man who has 100 sheep.[b] He may lose one of them. What does he do then? He leaves all his other sheep in the fields. Then he goes. He looks for the sheep that he has lost. He looks until he finds it. 5 When he finds the sheep, he is very happy. He lifts it up and he puts it across his shoulders. 6 Then he carries it back home. He speaks to all his friends and to the people that live near him. He says, “I have found the sheep that I lost. So come to my house and we can all be happy together.” 7 When one person stops doing wrong things, it is like that. It makes those that live with God in heaven very happy. They will be happier about that one person, than about 99 people who already obey God.’
A story about a coin that a woman has lost
8 Jesus told them another story: ‘Now think about a woman who has ten valuable coins.[c] She may lose one of them. What does she do then? She lights a lamp and she sweeps inside her house. She looks carefully until she finds the coin. 9 Then she speaks to all her friends and to those that live near to her. She says to them, “I have found the coin that I lost. So come to my house and we can all be happy together.”
10 When one person stops doing wrong things, it is like that. It makes God's angels and everyone in heaven very happy.’
A story about two sons
11 Jesus then told another story: ‘There was a man that had two sons.[d] 12 The younger son went to his father and said to him, “Father, please give me now my part of your things.” So the father gave both sons the part of his things that each of them should have. 13 After a few days, the younger son sold what his father had given to him. Then he took all the money and left home. He went on a long journey to a country far away. There, he did whatever he wanted to do and wasted all his money. 14 After he had spent everything, there was no rain in that country. There was almost no food anywhere. So the young man had nothing to eat. 15 He went to a man who lived in that country. He asked to work for him. So the man sent him into his fields to give food to his pigs. 16 Nobody gave him anything to eat. He even wanted to eat the food that the pigs were eating. But he had nothing.
17 Then the son began to think about what he had done. He said to himself, “My father has many servants, and they have plenty of food to eat. They even have more food than they need. But I will die here because I do not have any food. 18 So I will go to my father and tell him, ‘I have done bad things against God, and I have done bad things against you. 19 So I am not good enough for you to call me your son any longer. Instead, please accept me as one of your servants.’ ”
20 So he went off to return to his father. But he was still a long way from the house when his father saw him. He felt very sorry for his son and he ran towards him. Then he put his arms round his son and he kissed him. 21 “Father,” the son said, “I have done bad things against God and against you. So I am not good enough for you to call me your son.” 22 But the father shouted to his servants. “Hurry!” he said. “Fetch the most beautiful coat that we have. Put it on him and also put a ring on his finger. Put shoes on his feet. 23 Fetch the young cow that we keep ready to eat on a special day. It is already fat. Kill it and prepare it. We will eat a big meal and we will be happy together. 24 I thought that my son here was dead. But now he has returned to me and he is alive! I thought that he had left me for all time. But now he has come home.” Then they all began to be happy together.
25 While these things were happening, the older son was working in the field.[e] On his way back to the house, he heard music. People were dancing. 26 So he asked one of the servants, “What is happening?” 27 The servant replied, “Your brother has returned home. Your father has killed the fat young cow for him. He did this because your brother is alive and he is well.” 28 When the older brother heard this, he was very angry. He would not go into the house. So his father came out. “Please come in to be happy with us,” he said. 29 “Listen,” the older son replied, “I have worked a lot for you for many years. I have always obeyed you. But you never even killed a young goat for me so that I could be happy with my friends. We could have had a meal together. 30 But now this other son of yours has returned. He has wasted all the money that you gave to him. He has spent it on prostitutes. But you have even killed the fat young cow for him.” 31 “My son,” his father said, “you are always with me. All the things that I have are yours. 32 We thought that your brother was dead. But now he has returned to us alive. We thought that he had left us for all time. But now he has come home. So we must all be happy together.” ’
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