M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 1 [a]Then Abijah died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. Abijah’s[b] son Asa reigned in his place, and during his lifetime the land enjoyed rest for ten years.
Asa Chooses to do What is Right(A)
2 [c]Asa practiced what the Lord his God considered to be right 3 by removing the foreign altars and high places, tearing down the sacred pillars, cutting down the Asherim,[d] and 4 commanding Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to keep the Law and the commandments. 5 He also removed the high places and incense altars from all of the cities of Judah. As a result, the kingdom enjoyed rest under Asa’s leadership.[e]
6 Asa[f] built fortified cities throughout Judah while the land lay undisturbed, because the Lord had given him peace so that no one went to war against him during those years. 7 He had told Judah, “Let’s build up these cities, surrounding them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land still belongs to us, because we have kept on seeking the Lord our God. We have sought him out, and he has given us rest all around us.” So the people built and prospered. 8 Asa kept a standing army of 300,000 soldiers from Judah equipped with large shields and spears, as well as 280,000 soldiers from Benjamin, also bearing shields and wielding bows. All of them were valiant soldiers.
Ethiopia Invades and is Repulsed
9 Sometime later, Zerah the Ethiopian went to war against him at Mareshah with an army of one million troops and 300 chariots. 10 Asa went out to engage him in battle, and they drew up their battle lines at Mareshah in the Zephathah Valley. 11 Asa cried out to the Lord his God, telling him, “Lord, there is no one except for you to help between the powerful and the weak. So help us, Lord God, because we’re depending on you and have come against this vast group in your name. Lord, you are our God. Let no mere mortal man defeat you!”
12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians right in front of Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians ran away. 13 Asa and his army pursued the Ethiopians[g] as far as Gerar. So many Ethiopians died that their army could not recover, because it had been shattered in the Lord’s presence and in the presence of his army. The Israelis[h] carried off a lot of plunder, too. 14 They attacked all the cities that surrounded Gerar, because fear of the Lord had overwhelmed them. The Israelis spoiled all the cities, because there was a lot to plunder in them. 15 They also attacked the tents of those who owned livestock and carried off lots of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Azariah the Prophet Encourages Asa
15 After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded’s son Azariah, 2 so he went out to meet Asa and rebuked him:
“Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, 4 but they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him.
5 “During those days, it wasn’t safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil[i] disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories. 6 Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. 7 Now as for you,[j] be strong[k] and never be discouraged,[l] because there will be reward for your[m] work.”
Asa Institutes Reforms
8 Encouraged by what Oded’s son Azariah the prophet had said in his prophecy, Asa[n] removed the detestable idols from throughout the entire territories of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that stood in front of the vestibule of the Lord’s Temple. 9 Then he gathered together all of Judah, Benjamin, and people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, since many people had defected to him from Israel when they learned that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. 12 They also entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, 13 and they further agreed that[o] whoever would refuse to seek the Lord God of Israel was to be executed, whether important or unimportant, man or woman. 14 They also made a vow to the Lord with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. 15 Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might,[p] and they found him! The Lord also gave them rest in their surrounding lands.
16 King Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah.[q] He cut down his mother’s idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. 17 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa’s heart was blameless all of his life. 18 Asa brought into God’s Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service[r] implements. 19 Asa experienced no more war until the end of the[s] thirty-fifth year of his reign.
The Vision of God’s Throne
4 After these things, I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven with a person seated on the throne. 3 The person sitting there looked like jasper and carnelian, and there was a rainbow around the throne that looked like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were 24 other thrones, and on these thrones sat 24 elders wearing white robes and gold victor’s crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning, noises, and peals of thunder came from the throne. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.
6 In front of the throne was something like a sea of glass as clear as crystal. In the center of the throne and on each side of the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a human, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying,
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders bow down and worship in front of the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. They throw their victor’s crowns in front of the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory, honor, and power,
because you created all things;
they came into existence
and were created because of your will.”
The Future Glory of the Lord’s House
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this message from the Lord came by[a] Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak to Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, to Jehozadak’s son Joshua, the high priest, and to the rest[b] of the people, asking, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And what does it look like now? From what you can see, it seems like nothing, doesn’t it? 4 Now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord. ‘Go to work, because I am with you,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 5 ‘My Spirit continues to dwell among you, according to[c] the covenant I established when you came out from Egypt. Don’t be afraid!’
6 “For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Once more, in a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land to shake. 7 I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come. Then I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
8 “The silver belongs to me, as does the gold,”[d] declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 9 “The glory of this present house will be greater than was the former,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.”
God’s Promise to His Sinful People
10 On the twenty-fourth day[e] of the ninth month[f] of the second year of the reign of[g] King Darius, this message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet: 11 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Ask the priests about what the Law says: 12 “If a man carries consecrated meat in the folds of his garment, and if his garment touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other edible thing,[h] will these things become consecrated?”’”[i]
The priests answered, “No.”
13 So Haggai responded, “If someone who is unclean[j] because of contact with a dead body were to touch any of these things, would they become unclean?”[k]
The priests responded, “They would be unclean.”[l]
14 Then Haggai answered, “‘That’s how I look at this people and this nation,’ declares the Lord. ‘And that’s how it is with everything they undertake[m] and with what they offer there—it is unclean.[n] 15 Pay attention[o] from now on to how things used to be before one stone had been laid upon another in the Temple of the Lord. 16 When someone came to a pile of grain to get 20 measures,[p] there were only ten. Or when someone approached the wine press to siphon out 50 measures, there were only 20. 17 I punished you and everything that you undertook[q]—with scorching wind, with mildew, and with hail, and you still did not return[r] to me,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘Pay attention from now on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,[s] when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Pay attention! 19 Is there seed left in the granary? Up until now, neither the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, nor the olive tree has borne fruit, but from this very day I will bless you.’”[t]
God’s Promise to Zerubbabel
20 This message from the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah. Tell him, ‘I’m going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overthrow royal thrones. I will annihilate the strength of national governments. I will overthrow chariots along with those who drive them. Both[u] horses and their riders will fall, each one by means of his comrade’s weapon.[v] 23 On that day,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will set you in place like a signet ring. For I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.”
Jesus Talks with Nicodemus
3 Now there was a man from the Pharisees, a leader of the Jews, whose name was Nicodemus. 2 He came to Jesus[a] at night and told him, “Rabbi,[b] we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus replied to him, “Truly, I tell you[c] emphatically, unless a person is born from above[d] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus asked him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He can’t go back into his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, I tell you[e] emphatically, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.[f] 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Don’t be astonished that I told you, ‘All of you must be born from above.’[g] 8 The wind[h] blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. That’s the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus asked him, “How can that be?”
10 Jesus answered him, “You’re the teacher of Israel, and you can’t understand this? 11 Truly, I tell you[i] emphatically, we know what we’re talking about, and we testify about what we’ve seen. Yet you people[j] do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you people[k] about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.[l] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him would have eternal life.[m]
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his uniquely existing Son so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. 17 Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s uniquely existing Son. 19 And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. 20 Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed.[n] 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may become evident that his actions have God’s approval.”[o]
John the Baptist Talks about Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside. He spent some time there with them and began baptizing. 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People[p] kept coming and were being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then a controversy about ritual purification sprang up between a certain Jew[q] and John’s disciples, 26 so they went to John and told him, “Rabbi,[r] the man who was with you on the other side[s] of the Jordan, the one about whom you testified—look, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my[t] witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,[u] but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who gets the bride, yet the bridegroom’s friend, who merely[v] stands by and listens for him, is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That’s why this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must become more important, but I must become less important.”
The One who Comes from Above
31 The one who comes from above is superior to everything. The one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.[w] The one who comes from heaven is superior to everything. 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 The person who has accepted his testimony has acknowledged that God is truthful.[x] 34 The one whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God[y] does not give the Spirit in limited measure to him.[z] 35 The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.