M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

King Abijam of Judah^(A)

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son), Abijam began to rule Judah. ² He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. ³ He followed the sinful example his father had set and wasn’t committed to Yahweh his Elohim as his ancestor David had been. ⁴ But for David’s sake Yahweh his Elohim made Abijam a lamp in Jerusalem. He appointed David’s descendant to rule after him and protected Jerusalem. ⁵ Yahweh did this because David did what Yahweh considered right: David never failed to do anything Yahweh commanded him to do his entire life (except in the matter concerning Uriah the Hittite).

⁶ There was war between Abijam^[a] and Rehoboam throughout their lives.

⁷ Isn’t everything else about Abijam—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸ Abijam lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king.

King Asa of Judah^(B)

⁹ In Jeroboam’s twentieth year as king of Israel, Asa began to rule as king of Judah. ¹⁰ He ruled 41 years in Jerusalem. His grandmother was named Maacah, daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹ Asa did what Yahweh considered right, as his ancestor David had done. ¹² He forced the male temple prostitutes out of the land and got rid of the idols his father had made. ¹³ He also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa cut the statue down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ Although the illegal worship sites were not torn down, Asa remained committed to Yahweh his entire life. ¹⁵ He brought into Yahweh’s temple the silver, the gold, and the utensils he and his father had set apart as holy.

King Asa’s War with King Baasha^(C)

¹⁶ There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel as long as they lived. ¹⁷ King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to keep anyone from going to or coming from King Asa of Judah.

¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of Yahweh’s temple and the royal palace and turned them over to his officials. King Asa sent them to Damascus to Aram’s King Benhadad, son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion. ¹⁹ He said, “There’s a treaty between you and me as there was between your father and my father. I’m sending you a present of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”

²⁰ Benhadad did what King Asa requested. He sent his generals and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire area around Chinneroth with the entire territory of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying Ramah and lived in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa drafted everyone in Judah and excused no one. He made them carry the stones and lumber from Ramah. Baasha had been using those to fortify the city. King Asa used the materials to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³ Isn’t everything else about Asa—all his heroic acts, everything he did, and the cities he fortified—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? But when he was old, he had a foot disease. ²⁴ Asa lay down in death with his ancestors. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor, David. His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.

King Baasha Overthrows Nadab, Son of Jeroboam

²⁵ Nadab, son of Jeroboam, began to rule Israel in Asa’s second year as king of Judah. He ruled for two years. ²⁶ He did what Yahweh considered evil, living as his father did, leading Israel into the same sins.

²⁷ Then Baasha, son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab. Baasha assassinated him in the Philistine city of Gibbethon while Nadab and the Israelite forces were attacking it. ²⁸ The assassination happened in Asa’s third year as king of Judah. Baasha succeeded Nadab as king of Israel. ²⁹ As soon as he was king, he killed everyone else in Jeroboam’s family. He did not spare a soul, as Yahweh had spoken through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh. ³⁰ This was because of Jeroboam’s sins and the sins which he led Israel to commit. Those sins made Yahweh Elohim of Israel furious.

³¹ Isn’t everything else about Nadab—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? ³² There was war between Asa and Baasha as long as they lived.

³³ In Asa’s third year as king of Judah, Baasha, son of Ahijah, began to rule Israel in Tirzah. He ruled for 24 years. ³⁴ He did what Yahweh considered evil. He lived like Jeroboam and led Israel into committing the same sins.

2 I want you to know how hard I work for you, for the people of Laodicea, and for people I have never met. ² Because they are united in love, I work so that they may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of Christ. He is the mystery of God. ³ God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. ⁴ I say this so that no one will mislead you with arguments that merely sound good. ⁵ Although I’m absent from you physically, I’m with you in spirit. I’m happy to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

⁶ You received Christ Yeshua the Lord, so continue to live as Christ’s people. ⁷ Sink your roots in him and build on him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving.

Beware of Requirements Invented by Humans

⁸ Be careful not to let anyone rob you of this faith through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.

⁹ All of God lives in Christ’s body, ¹⁰ and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. ¹² This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God,^[a] who brought him back to life.

¹³ You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. ¹⁴ He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross. ¹⁵ He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.

¹⁶ Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ.

¹⁸ Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels tell you that you don’t deserve a prize. Such a person, whose sinful mind fills him with arrogance, gives endless details of the visions he has seen. ¹⁹ He doesn’t hold on to Christ, the head. Christ makes the whole body grow as God wants it to, through support and unity given by the joints and ligaments.

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the world’s way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It’s as though you were still under the world’s influence. ²¹ People will tell you, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste or touch that!” ²² All of these things deal with objects that are only used up anyway. ²³ These things look like wisdom with their self-imposed worship, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body. But they have no value for holding back the constant desires of your corrupt nature.

Land for the Priests, Levites, and the Prince

45 “‘Divide the land by drawing lots for the property you will inherit. Set aside an area 43,750 feet long and 35,000 feet wide for Yahweh. The entire area will be holy. ² An area of 875 feet square will be for the holy place with an open area 87½ feet wide. ³ Measure off an area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide. The holy place, that is, the most holy place, will be in this area. ⁴ This holy part of the land will belong to the priests who serve in the holy place, the priests who come near to serve Yahweh. They will use this place for their homes, and it will be the location for the holy place. ⁵ An area 43,750 feet long and 17,500 feet wide will belong to the Levites who serve in the temple. It will be given to them so that they have cities to live in.

⁶ “‘You must designate an area 8,750 feet wide and 43,750 feet long as the city’s property. It will be located alongside the holy area. It will belong to all the people of Israel.

⁷ “‘The prince will have all the land on both sides of the holy area and on both sides of the property belonging to the city. From the western boundary of the holy area, his land will extend to the Mediterranean Sea. From the eastern boundary of the holy area, his land will extend to the eastern border of the country. His territory will be as large as the territory of one of the tribes. ⁸ This land will belong to the prince in Israel. Then my princes will no longer oppress my people. They will give land to each tribe of the nation of Israel.

Honest Weights and Measures for the Lord’s People

⁹ “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I’ve had enough of you, you princes of Israel. Stop your violence and looting, and do what is fair and right. Stop evicting my people, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹⁰ You must have honest scales and honest dry and liquid measures. ¹¹ The dry and liquid measures must always be the same: The ephah and the bath should hold the same as one-tenth of a homer. The homer must be the standard measure.^{[a] 12} One shekel must weigh 20 gerahs. One mina must weigh 60 shekels.^[b]

Rules for Worship

¹³ “‘This is the contribution you must give to the Lord: seventeen percent of your wheat and seventeen percent of your barley. ¹⁴ You must give one percent of your olive oil using the standard measure. ¹⁵ You must take one sheep out of every 200 from the well-watered pastures of Israel. You must sacrifice them with grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make peace with the Lord, declares Adonay Yahweh. ¹⁶ All the common people must give this contribution to the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ Then the prince is responsible to provide burnt offerings, grain offerings, and wine offerings at the annual festivals, the New Moon Festivals, the weekly days of worship, and all the other appointed festivals of the nation of Israel. He must prepare offerings for sin, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make peace with the Lord for the nation of Israel.

¹⁸ “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says: On the first day of the first month, take a young bull that has no defects and remove sin from the holy place. ¹⁹ The priest must take some blood from the offering for sin and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gateways of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ You must do the same on the seventh day of the month for everyone who unintentionally does something wrong and is unaware of it. So you must make peace with the Lord for the temple.

²¹ “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month, you will celebrate the Passover, a festival lasting seven days when unleavened bread is eaten. ²² At that time the prince must prepare for himself and for all the common people a young bull as an offering for sin. ²³ Every day during the seven days of the festival, he must prepare burnt offerings for Yahweh: seven young bulls that have no defects, seven rams that have no defects, and one male goat as an offering for sin. ²⁴ He must also give as a grain offering a half-bushel for each young bull and a half-bushel for each ram. He must also give one gallon of olive oil for every half-bushel of grain. ²⁵ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at the Festival of Booths, he must do the same as on those seven days. He must prepare the same offerings for sin, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and olive oil.

Psalm 99

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Psalm 101

A psalm by David.