M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abijah dies
14 Abijah died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa became king after him. The country had peace for ten years while Asa was king.
Asa rules Judah as king
2 Asa did things that pleased the Lord his God. 3 He removed the altars and other places where people worshipped foreign gods. He broke the stone pillars and he cut down the Asherah poles.[a] 4 Asa commanded the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He told them to obey God's law and his commands. 5 He removed the altars on the hills. He also removed the altars in all Judah's cities where people burned incense. There was peace in his kingdom while he ruled.
6 While there was peace in the land, Asa made the cities of Judah strong and safe. No enemies fought wars against Judah during that time. The Lord gave Asa rest from any trouble.
7 Asa said to Judah's people, ‘We should build these towns and make them stronger. We must put walls around them, with towers and strong gates. Judah still belongs to us because we have obeyed the Lord our God. He has made us safe from our enemies all around us.’
So the people made these towns strong. Everything went well for them.
Zerah attacks Asa
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah. They carried big shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin's tribe. Those men carried small shields and they could shoot arrows with their bows. They were all brave soldiers who could fight well.
9 A man from Ethiopia called Zerah marched out to attack Judah. He had a very big army of a million soldiers and 300 chariots. When he reached Mareshah, 10 Asa went out to fight against him. The two armies prepared to fight a battle in Zephathah valley, near Mareshah.
11 Then Asa called out to the Lord his God to help him. He prayed, ‘There is nobody like you Lord. You have power to help a few weak people against many strong people. Help us, Lord our God, because we trust you. We want people to give honour to your name. That is why we have come to fight against this large army. Lord, you are our God. You cannot let these men win against you.’
12 So the Lord knocked down Zerah's soldiers as Asa and Judah's army attacked them. The Ethiopian soldiers ran away. 13 Asa and his soldiers chased after them until they reached Gerar. So many Ethiopian soldiers died there that their army could not fight any more. The Lord and his army completely destroyed them. Judah's soldiers carried away lots of their enemies' things for themselves.
14 The Lord caused the people in the towns near Gerar to become very afraid. So Judah's soldiers were able to attack those towns. There were many valuable things in all those towns and Judah's men took them away for themselves. 15 They also attacked the tents of the people who took care of animals. They took away many sheep and camels from there. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Azariah speaks to Asa
15 God's Spirit came to Oded's son Azariah. 2 Azariah went to meet King Asa. He said to him, ‘Listen to me Asa and all you people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord will be with you while you are faithful to him. If you ask him for help, he will answer you. But if you turn away from him, he will turn away from you. 3 For a long time, the Israelites did not serve the true God. They did not have any priests to teach them what was right. They did not know God's law. 4 But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, Israel's God. They asked him to help them and he answered them. 5 At that time it was not safe to travel very far. There was too much trouble among the people of other countries. 6 One nation would attack and destroy another nation. The people of one city destroyed other cities. God caused all this trouble to happen to those people. 7 But you must be strong. Continue to be brave. God will make your work successful.’
8 Asa felt strong again when he heard God's message from Azariah, son of the prophet Oded. He removed the disgusting idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed them from the towns that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord's altar that was in the yard at the front of the Lord's temple.
Asa brings all the people together in Jerusalem
9 Then King Asa brought all the people together who belonged to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He also brought people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live in Judah. Many people from the other tribes of Israel had come to Judah to serve King Asa. They had seen that the Lord his God was with him to help him.
10 All these people met together in Jerusalem in the 15th year after Asa had become king. They met in the third month of the year. 11 At that time they offered many animals to the Lord as sacrifices. They were animals that they had taken from their enemies. There were 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep. 12 They made a serious promise that they would faithfully serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 13 If anyone refused to worship the Lord, Israel's God, they would punish that person with death. They agreed to do that, whoever the person was, young or old, male or female. 14 As they made this promise to the Lord, they shouted loudly to show that they agreed. They also made a loud noise with trumpets and sheep's horns. 15 All Judah's people were happy to make this promise, because they truly wanted to serve the Lord. They wanted him to help them and he answered them.
After that, the Lord made them safe from their enemies all around them.
Asa punishes Maakah because she worshipped idols
16 King Asa also told his grandmother Maakah that she could no longer have authority as the Queen Mother.[b] This was because she had made a disgusting Asherah pole to worship. Asa cut down the Asherah pole and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.[c] 17 Asa did not remove the altars on all the hills in Israel, but he served the Lord faithfully for his whole life. 18 He brought into God's temple the things that he and his father had made as gifts for God. They used silver and gold to make some of these things.
19 There were no more wars in Judah until Asa had been king for 35 years.
God on his throne
4 After this, I looked. There in front of me was an open door in heaven. I heard the same voice that I had heard before. It spoke like the sound of a trumpet. It said to me, ‘Come up here. I will show you the things that must happen after this.’
2 Immediately God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear more things. I saw a throne in heaven, with someone sitting on it. 3 The person who sat there shone with bright red and white light, like jewels called jasper and ruby. Around the throne there was a rainbow that shone with bright green light like an emerald jewel. 4 All around the throne there were 24 other thrones. 24 leaders were sitting on these thrones. They were wearing white clothes and they had gold crowns on their heads. 5 A storm with bright lightning came from the throne. There was the loud noise of thunder. In front of the throne there were seven lights of fire burning brightly. These lights are the seven spirits of God.[a] 6 Also in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass that shone with light.
In the middle, round the throne, there were four other beings that were alive. They had eyes all over them, on their fronts and on their backs. 7 The first of these beings was like a lion. The second being was like an ox. The third being had a face like a man's face. And the fourth being was like an eagle that was flying. 8 Each of these four beings had six wings. They had eyes all over them, even under their wings. All day and all night they never stop saying:
‘The Lord God has all power and authority.
He has no bad thing in him. He is completely good.
He has always been alive. He is alive now.
He will continue to be alive for ever.’
9 God sits on the throne and he is alive for ever. The four beings that are alive worship him and they thank him. 10 When they do this, the 24 leaders bend down to the ground. They also worship the Lord God, who sits on the throne and is alive for ever. They put their crowns in front of God's throne, and they praise him. They say:
11 ‘God, our Lord, you are very good!
Everyone should give you honour and say how great and powerful you are!
Everyone should worship you, because you created everything.
You decided to make them and so you made them!
That is why everything in the world is here.’
The temple will be beautiful
2 On the 21st day of the seventh month, the Lord spoke again to Haggai, his prophet. 2 The Lord told Haggai that he must speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua. Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, was the ruler of Judah. Jehozadak's son, Joshua was the leader of the priests. The Lord also told Haggai to speak his message to all the people who had returned to live in Jerusalem. The Lord told Haggai to say this to them all:
3 The Lord says, ‘Some of you will remember how beautiful my temple was in past times. Look at it now! It seems nothing like it was before. 4 But now, Zerubbabel, be strong and brave! Joshua too, and all you people who belong here in Judah, be strong and brave! Now begin to work, because I am with you to help you. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to you. 5 Do not be afraid. Remember that I made a promise to your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt. I promised them that I would be with them. My Spirit is now with you too.
6 I, the Almighty Lord also tell you this: Soon, I will cause the sky and the whole earth to shake. I will also cause the sea and the land to shake. 7 I will cause people in all the nations of the world to shake with fear. They will come here to offer their valuable gifts. At that time, I will cause my temple to be full of glory. I, the Almighty Lord, tell you this. 8 Yes, all the silver and gold in the world belongs to me. And I promise you this: 9 This new temple will be even more beautiful than the old temple in past times. Here in this place I will bless my people.’ That is what the Almighty Lord says.
The Lord will be good to his people
10 The Lord spoke again to Haggai, his prophet, on the 24th day of the ninth month, in the second year since Darius had become king. This was the Lord's message:
11 The Almighty Lord says, ‘Ask the priests a question about my Law. 12 A person might be carrying some special, holy meat in his clothes. His clothes might then touch some food. It might be bread, or soup, or wine, or oil. If the clothes that hold the holy meat touch any other food, does that other food also become holy?’ The priests replied, ‘No.’
13 Haggai asked the priests another question: ‘If anyone touches a dead body, you know that you become unclean. If an unclean person touches any of these foods, would they also become unclean?’ The priests replied, ‘Yes, those things would be unclean.’
14 So Haggai told them, ‘This is what the Lord says: This nation and its people are just like that. They are unclean. So everything that they do is also unclean. All the gifts that they offer to me are unclean. I could not accept them. 15 Think carefully what life was like before you started again to build the Lord's temple. Do not forget that. 16 In those days, you hoped to get 20 bags of grain from your fields. But you only got ten bags. You hoped to get 50 jars of wine from your grapes. But you only got 20 jars. 17 I sent bad weather and other problems to destroy all your crops. All your hard work came to nothing. But you still did not return to worship me, your Lord. 18 Remember today, the 24th day of the ninth month. You have started again to build my temple. Now you have built its foundation, think about what will happen from today. 19 You have already eaten the crops that you stored. The grapes, figs, pomegranates and olives are not yet ready for you to pick. But after today, I will bless you. You will have many good things.’[a]
20 On the same day, the Lord spoke to Haggai again. He said:
21 ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, the ruler of Judah. Tell him that I will cause the sky and the whole earth to shake. 22 Tell him that I will destroy the power of foreign kings. I will destroy their armies. Their horses and chariots will fall down. Their soldiers will fight against each other. They will kill each other with their swords.
23 But I, the Almighty Lord say this to you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel.[b] You are my servant and I have chosen you. On that special day, I will give to you the authority to rule on my behalf. That is the message of the Almighty Lord.’
Jesus and Nicodemus
3 There was a Pharisee called Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish leaders. 2 He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’ 3 Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born from above, they cannot understand the kingdom of God.’ 4 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into his mother's body. He cannot be born a second time.’ 5 Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God. 6 People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 I said to you, “You must be born from above.” What I said should not surprise you. 8 When someone is born by God's Spirit, it is like the wind that blows. The wind blows wherever it chooses to blow. You can hear it. But you do not know where it came from or where it is going.’
9 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can this happen?’ 10 Jesus replied, ‘You are an important teacher of people in Israel. You ought to understand these things! 11 I tell you this: We speak about things that we know. We tell you about what we have seen. But even then, you people do not believe our message. 12 I have told you about things that happen in this world. And you do not believe me. But now I am telling you about things that happen in heaven. So I do not think that you will ever believe me about those things. 13 The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone up to heaven except him. 14 Long ago Moses lifted up the metal snake in the wilderness to save his people.[a] In the same way, people must lift up the Son of Man on a cross. 15 As a result, everyone who believes him will be able to live for ever with God. 16 God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God.’
17 God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to punish people. He sent his Son to save the people in the world from punishment. 18 God will not punish anyone who believes in his Son. But if people refuse to believe in the Son, God has already decided that he must punish them. They have not believed in God's one and only Son. 19 God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people. 20 Everyone who does evil things hates the light. A person like that will not come to the light because he is afraid. He does not want the bad things that he has done to show clearly. 21 But anyone who does what is true will come to the light. The light will show clearly that he has been doing what is right. Everyone can see that he has been obeying God.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the country places in Judea. Jesus stayed there with his disciples for some time, and they baptized people there. 23 John was also baptizing people. He was at a place called Aenon, near Salim, because there was a lot of water there. People were coming to him and John was baptizing them. 24 (This happened before the rulers put John in prison.) 25 John's disciples began to argue with a certain Jew about some Jewish rules. Those rules told people how they should wash properly. 26 The disciples then came to John. They said to him, ‘Teacher, remember the man, Jesus, that you spoke to us about. He was with you on the other side of the Jordan River. Now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.’
27 John replied, ‘A man can receive only what God gives to him, nothing else. 28 You yourselves will remember that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but God sent me to prepare things for the Messiah.”[b] 29 When a man marries a wife, she belongs to him. The man's special friend listens carefully. He wants to know when the man will arrive. That friend is very happy when he hears the man's voice. I am like that friend, so I am completely happy now. 30 Jesus must become greater, but I must become less important.
31 The one who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all things. 32 He tells people about the things that he has seen. He tells about what he has heard. But people do not believe his message. 33 Anyone who does believe his message agrees that God is true. 34 The one that God has sent speaks God's words. God has given his Spirit to fill that person completely. 35 The Father loves the Son. He has given his Son authority over all things. 36 Anyone who believes in the Son has life with God for ever. But anyone who refuses to obey the Son will never have life with God. God will continue to be angry with people like that.’
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