M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered, “God chose my son Solomon, who is young and hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know, but the work is important. This palace is not for people; it is for the Lord God. ² I have done my best to prepare for building the Temple of God. I have given gold for the things made of gold and silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze and iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood and onyx for the settings. I have given turquoise gems of many different colors, valuable stones, and white marble. I have given much of all these things. ³ I have already given this for the Temple, but now I am also giving my own treasures of gold and silver, because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. ⁴ I have given about two hundred twenty thousand pounds of pure gold from Ophir and about five hundred twenty thousand pounds of pure silver. They will be used to cover the walls of the buildings ⁵ and for all the gold and silver work. Skilled men may use the gold and silver to make things for the Temple. Now, who is ready to give himself to the service of the Lord today?”

⁶ The family leaders and the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of a thousand men and of a hundred men, and the leaders responsible for the king’s work gave their valuable things. ⁷ They donated about three hundred eighty thousand pounds of gold, about seven hundred fifty thousand pounds of silver, about one million three hundred fifty thousand pounds of bronze, and about seven million five hundred thousand pounds of iron to the Temple of God. ⁸ People who had valuable gems gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the Lord, and Jehiel, from the Gershon family, took care of the valuable gems. ⁹ The leaders gave willingly and completely to the Lord. The people rejoiced to see their leaders give so gladly, and King David was also very happy.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered. He said:

²⁰ Then David said to all the people who were gathered, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed to the ground to give honor to the Lord and the king.

Solomon Becomes King

²¹ The next day the people sacrificed to the Lord. They offered burnt offerings to him of a thousand bulls, a thousand male sheep, and a thousand male lambs. They also brought drink offerings. Many sacrifices were made for all the people of Israel. ²² That day the people ate and drank with much joy, and the Lord was with them.

And they made David’s son Solomon king for the second time. They poured olive oil on Solomon to appoint him king in the presence of the Lord. And they poured oil on Zadok to appoint him as priest. ²³ Then Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king and took his father David’s place. Solomon was very successful, and all the people of Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders and soldiers and King David’s sons accepted Solomon as king and promised to obey him. ²⁵ The Lord made Solomon great before all the Israelites and gave Solomon much honor. No king of Israel before Solomon had such honor.

David’s Death

²⁶ David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. ²⁷ He had ruled over Israel forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ David died when he was old. He had lived a good, long life and had received many riches and honors. His son Solomon became king after him.

²⁹ Everything David did as king, from beginning to end, is recorded in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet, and the records of Gad the seer. ³⁰ Those writings tell what David did as king of Israel. They tell about his power and what happened to him and to Israel and to all the kingdoms around them.

Jesus Will Come Again

3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written you to help your honest minds remember. ² I want you to think about the words the holy prophets spoke in the past, and remember the command our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. ³ It is most important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. ⁴ They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” ⁵ But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. By the word of God heaven was made, and the earth was made from water and with water. ⁶ Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. ⁷ And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we now have in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in them will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed.^{[a] 11} In that way everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God, ¹² as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in them will melt with heat. ¹³ But God made a promise to us, and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.

¹⁴ Dear friends, since you are waiting for this to happen, do your best to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. ¹⁵ Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes about this in all his letters. Some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand, and people who are ignorant and weak in faith explain these things falsely. They also falsely explain the other Scriptures, but they are destroying themselves by doing this.

¹⁷ Dear friends, since you already know about this, be careful. Do not let those evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful so you will not fall from your strong faith. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen.

The Lord’s Case

A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin

15 The tax collectors and sinners all came to listen to Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain: “Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but loses one of them. Then he will leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open field and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it. ⁵ And when he finds it, he happily puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. He calls to his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his heart and life, than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to change.

⁸ “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins,^[a] but loses one. She will light a lamp, sweep the house, and look carefully for the coin until she finds it. ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner changes his heart and life.”

The Son Who Left Home

¹¹ Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons. ¹³ Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. ¹⁵ So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ When he realized what he was doing, he thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger. ¹⁸ I will leave and return to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but let me be like one of your servants.”’ ²⁰ So the son left and went to his father.

“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for his son. So the father ran to him and hugged and kissed him. ²¹ The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’^{[b] 22} But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called to one of the servants and asked what all this meant. ²⁷ The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the fat calf, because your brother came home safely.’ ²⁸ The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. ²⁹ But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends. ³⁰ But your other son, who wasted all your money on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat calf for him!’ ³¹ The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’”