M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ahaz King of Judah
16 Ahaz was the son of Jotham king of Judah. Ahaz became king of Judah in the seventeenth year Pekah son of Remaliah was king of Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years in Jerusalem. Unlike his ancestor David, he did not do what the Lord his God said was right. 3 Ahaz did the same things the kings of Israel had done. He even made his son pass through fire. He did the same hateful sins as the nations had done whom the Lord had forced out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the places where gods were worshiped, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to attack Jerusalem. They surrounded Ahaz but could not defeat him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram took back the city of Elath for Aram, and he forced out all the people of Judah. Then Edomites moved into Elath, and they still live there today.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your friend. Come and save me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the Temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the palace, and he sent these as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz. He attacked Damascus and captured it and sent all its people away to Kir. And he killed Rezin.
10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. Ahaz saw an altar at Damascus, and he sent plans and a pattern of this altar to Uriah the priest. 11 So Uriah the priest built an altar, just like the plans King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. Uriah finished the altar before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 When the king arrived from Damascus, he saw the altar and went near and offered sacrifices on it. 13 He burned his burnt offerings and grain offerings and poured out his drink offering. He also sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
14 Ahaz moved the bronze altar that was before the Lord at the front of the Temple. It was between Ahaz’s altar and the Temple of the Lord, but he put it on the north side of his altar. 15 King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “On the large altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, and the drink offering for all the people of the land. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and of the sacrifice. But I will use the bronze altar to ask questions of God.” 16 So Uriah the priest did everything as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 Then King Ahaz took off the side panels from the bases and removed the washing bowls from the top of the bases. He also took the large bowl, which was called the Sea, off the bronze bulls that held it up, and he put it on a stone base. 18 Ahaz took away the platform for the royal throne, which had been built at the Temple of the Lord. He also took away the outside entrance for the king. He did these things because of the king of Assyria.
19 The other things Ahaz did as king are written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 20 Ahaz died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, and Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Following the True Teaching
2 But you must tell everyone what to do to follow the true teaching. 2 Teach older men to be self-controlled, serious, wise, strong in faith, in love, and in patience.
3 In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good. 4 Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
6 In the same way, encourage young men to be wise. 7 In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. 8 Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us.
9 Slaves should yield to their own masters at all times, trying to please them and not arguing with them. 10 They should not steal from them but should show their masters they can be fully trusted so that in everything they do they will make the teaching of God our Savior attractive.
11 That is the way we should live, because God’s grace that can save everyone has come. 12 It teaches us not to live against God nor to do the evil things the world wants to do. Instead, that grace teaches us to live in the present age in a wise and right way and in a way that shows we serve God. 13 We should live like that while we wait for our great hope and the coming of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always wanting to do good deeds.
15 Say these things and encourage the people and tell them what is wrong in their lives, with all authority. Do not let anyone treat you as if you were unimportant.
Israel’s Punishment
9 Israel, do not rejoice;
don’t shout for joy as the other nations do.
You have been like a prostitute against your God.
You love the pay of prostitutes on every threshing floor.
2 But the threshing floor and the winepress will not feed the people,
and there won’t be enough new wine.
3 The people will not stay in the Lord’s land.
Israel will return to being captives as they were in Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat food that they are not allowed to eat.
4 The Israelites will not give offerings of wine to the Lord;
they will not give him sacrifices.
Their sacrifices will be like food that is eaten at a funeral;
it is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean.
Their food will only satisfy their hunger;
they cannot sacrifice it in the Temple.
5 What will you do then on the day of feasts
and on the day of the Lord’s festival?
6 Even if the people are not destroyed,
Egypt will capture them;
Memphis[a] will bury them.
Weeds will grow over their silver treasures,
and thorns will drive them out of their tents.
7 The time of punishment has come,
the time to pay for sins.
Let Israel know this:
You think the prophet is a fool,
and you say the spiritual person is crazy.
You have sinned very much,
and your hatred is great.
8 Is Israel a watchman?
Are God’s people prophets?
Everywhere Israel goes, traps are set for him.
He is an enemy in God’s house.
9 The people of Israel have gone deep into sin
as the people of Gibeah[b] did.
The Lord will remember the evil things they have done,
and he will punish their sins.
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert.
Your ancestors were like
finding the first figs on the fig tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they began worshiping an idol,
and they became as hateful as the thing they worshiped.
11 Israel’s glory will fly away like a bird;
there will be no more pregnancy, no more births, no more getting pregnant.
12 But even if the Israelites bring up children,
I will take them all away.
How terrible it will be for them
when I go away from them!
13 I have seen Israel, like Tyre,
given a pleasant place.
But the people of Israel will soon bring out
their children to be killed.”
14 Lord, give them what they should have.
What will you give them?
Make their women unable to have children;
give them dried-up breasts that cannot feed their babies.
15 “The Israelites were very wicked in Gilgal,
so I have hated them there.
Because of the sinful things they have done,
I will force them to leave my land.
I will no longer love them;
their leaders have turned against me.
16 Israel is beaten down;
its root is dying, and it has no fruit.
If they have more children,
I will kill the children they love.”
17 God will reject them,
because they have not obeyed him;
they will wander among the nations.
Lord, Bring Your People Back
A song for going up to worship.
126 When the Lord brought the prisoners back to Jerusalem,
it seemed as if we were dreaming.
2 Then we were filled with laughter,
and we sang happy songs.
Then the other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are very glad.
4 Lord, return our prisoners again,
as you bring streams to the desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant crops
will sing at harvest time.
6 Those who cry
as they carry out the seeds
will return singing
and carrying bundles of grain.
All Good Things Come from God
A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build the house,
the builders are working for nothing.
If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,
the guards are watching for nothing.
2 It is no use for you to get up early
and stay up late,
working for a living.
The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
babies are a reward.
4 Children who are born to a young man
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Happy is the man
who has his bag full of arrows.
They will not be defeated
when they fight their enemies at the city gate.
The Happy Home
A song for going up to worship.
128 Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him.
2 You will enjoy what you work for,
and you will be blessed with good things.
3 Your wife will give you many children,
like a vine that produces much fruit.
Your children will bring you much good,
like olive branches that produce many olives.
4 This is how the man who respects the Lord
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion;
may you enjoy the good things of Jerusalem all your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.