M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Saul and the Medium of Endor

28 Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You understand that you and your men must join my army.”

² David answered, “You will see for yourself what I, your servant, can do!”

Achish said, “Fine, I’ll make you my permanent bodyguard.”

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.

And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land.

⁴ The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. ⁵ When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid, and his heart pounded with fear. ⁶ He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim, or prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I may go and ask her what will happen.”

His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”

⁸ Then Saul put on other clothes to disguise himself, and at night he and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Bring up the person I name.”

⁹ But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land. You are trying to trap me and get me killed.”

¹⁰ Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for this.”

¹¹ The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up?”

He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”

¹³ The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”

¹⁴ Saul asked, “What does he look like?”

The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.

¹⁵ Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called for you. Tell me what to do.”

¹⁶ Samuel said, “The Lord has left you and has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? ¹⁷ He has done what he said he would do—the things he said through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors, David. ¹⁸ You did not obey the Lord; you did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

²⁰ Saul quickly fell flat on the ground and was afraid of what Samuel had said. He was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

²¹ Then the woman came to Saul and saw that he was really frightened. She said, “Look, I, your servant, have obeyed you. I have risked my life and done what you told me to do. ²² Now please listen to me. Let me give you some food so you may eat and have enough strength to go on your way.”

²³ But Saul refused, saying, “I won’t eat.”

His servants joined the woman in asking him to eat, and he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ At the house the woman had a fat calf, which she quickly killed. She took some flour and mixed dough with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. ²⁵ She put the food before them, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.

Paul Is like the Other Apostles

9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. ² If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.

³ This is the answer I give people who want to judge me: ⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter? ⁶ Are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? ⁷ No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. No person takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.

⁸ I do not say this by human authority; God’s law also says the same thing. ⁹ It is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.”^[a] When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. ¹⁰ He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” ¹¹ Since we planted spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things? ¹² If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, too. But we do not use it. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not keep anyone from believing the Good News of Christ. ¹³ Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.

¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. ¹⁶ Telling the Good News does not give me any reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. ¹⁷ If I preach because it is my own choice, I have a reward. But if I preach and it is not my choice to do so, I am only doing the duty that was given to me. ¹⁸ So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. I do not use my full rights in my work of preaching the Good News.

¹⁹ I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to win those who are ruled by the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) ²² To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. ²³ I do all this because of the Good News and so I can share in its blessings.

²⁴ You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! ²⁵ All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. ²⁶ So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. ²⁷ I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.

Ezekiel Tells of the End

7 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ² “Human, the Lord God says this to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end has come for you, and I will send my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived, and I will make you pay for all your actions that I hate. ⁴ I will have no pity on you; I will not hold back punishment from you. Instead, I will make you pay for the way you have lived and for your actions that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “This is what the Lord God says: Disaster on top of disaster is coming. ⁶ The end has come! The end has come! It has stirred itself up against you! Look! It has come! ⁷ Disaster has come for you who live in the land! The time has come; the day of confusion is near. There will be no happy shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Soon I will pour out my anger against you; I will carry out my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived and will make you pay for everything you have done that I hate. ⁹ I will show no pity, and I will not hold back punishment. I will pay you back for the way you have lived and the things you have done that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord who punishes.

¹⁰ “Look, the day is here. It has come. Disaster has come, violence has grown, and there is more pride than ever. ¹¹ Violence has grown into a weapon for punishing wickedness. None of the people will be left—none of that crowd, none of their wealth, and nothing of value. ¹² The time has come; the day has arrived. Don’t let the buyer be happy or the seller be sad, because my burning anger is against the whole crowd. ¹³ Sellers will not return to the land they have sold as long as they live, because the vision against all that crowd will not be changed. Because of their sins, they will not save their lives. ¹⁴ They have blown the trumpet, and everything is ready. But no one is going to the battle, because my anger is against all that crowd.

¹⁵ “The sword is outside, and disease and hunger are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword. Hunger and disease will destroy those in the city. ¹⁶ Those who are left alive and who escape will be on the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys about their own sin. ¹⁷ All hands will hang weakly with fear, and all knees will become weak as water. ¹⁸ They will put on rough cloth to show how sad they are. They will tremble all over with fear. Their faces will show their shame, and all their heads will be shaved. ¹⁹ The people will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like trash. Their silver and gold will not save them from the Lord’s anger. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, because it caused them to fall into sin. ²⁰ They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their idols and their evil statues, which I hate. So I will turn their wealth into trash. ²¹ I will give it to foreigners as loot from war and to the most evil people in the world as treasure, and they will dishonor it. ²² I will also turn away from the people of Israel, and they will dishonor my treasured place. Then robbers will enter and dishonor it.

²³ “Make chains for captives, because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. ²⁴ So I will bring the worst of the nations to take over the people’s houses. I will also end the pride of the strong, and their holy places will be dishonored. ²⁵ When the people are suffering greatly, they will look for peace, but there will be none. ²⁶ Disaster will come on top of disaster, and rumor will be added to rumor. Then they will try to get a vision from a prophet; the teachings of God from the priest and the advice from the elders will be lost. ²⁷ The king will cry greatly, the prince will give up hope, and the hands of the people who own land will shake with fear. I will punish them for the way they have lived. The way they have judged others is the way I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Song for the King’s Wedding

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A maskil. A love song of the sons of Korah.