M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
16 Jehu son of Hanani spoke the word of the Lord against King Baasha. 2 The Lord said, “You were nothing, but I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam and have led my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry, 3 so, Baasha, I will soon destroy you and your family. I will do to you what I did to the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.”
5 Everything else Baasha did and all his victories are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 6 So Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.
7 The Lord spoke his word against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord very angry. He did the same evil deeds that Jeroboam’s family had done before him. The Lord also spoke against Baasha because he killed all of Jeroboam’s family.
Elah King of Israel
8 Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel during Asa’s twenty-sixth year as king of Judah, and Elah ruled in Tirzah for two years.
9 Zimri, one of Elah’s officers, commanded half of Elah’s chariots. Zimri made plans against Elah while the king was in Tirzah, getting drunk at Arza’s home. (Arza was in charge of the palace at Tirzah.) 10 Zimri went into Arza’s house and killed Elah during Asa’s twenty-seventh year as king of Judah. Then Zimri became king of Israel in Elah’s place.
Zimri King of Israel
11 As soon as Zimri became king, he killed all of Baasha’s family, not allowing any of Baasha’s family or friends to live. 12 So Zimri destroyed all of Baasha’s family just as the Lord had said it would happen through the prophet Jehu. 13 Baasha and his son Elah sinned and led the people of Israel to sin, and they made the Lord, the God of Israel, angry because of their worthless idols.
14 Everything else Elah did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
15 So during Asa’s twenty-seventh year as king of Judah, Zimri became king of Israel and ruled in Tirzah seven days.
The army of Israel was camped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. 16 The men in the camp heard that Zimri had made secret plans against King Elah and had killed him. So that day in the camp they made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel. 17 So Omri and all the Israelite army left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the palace and set it on fire, burning the palace and himself with it. 19 So Zimri died because he had sinned by doing what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Zimri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.
20 Everything else Zimri did and the story of how he turned against King Elah are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
Omri King of Israel
21 The people of Israel were divided into two groups. Half of the people wanted Tibni son of Ginath to be king, while the other half wanted Omri. 22 Omri’s followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath, so Tibni died, and Omri became king.
23 Omri became king of Israel during the thirty-first year Asa was king of Judah. Omri ruled Israel for twelve years, six of those years in the city of Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about one hundred fifty pounds of silver. Omri built a city on that hill and called it Samaria after the name of its earlier owner, Shemer.
25 But Omri did what the Lord said was wrong; he did more evil than all the kings who came before him. 26 Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to sin, and Omri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam. The Israelites made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry because they worshiped worthless idols.
27 Everything else Omri did and all his successes are written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 28 So Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king in his place.
Ahab King of Israel
29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during Asa’s thirty-eighth year as king of Judah, and Ahab ruled Israel in the city of Samaria for twenty-two years. 30 More than any king before him, Ahab son of Omri did many things the Lord said were wrong. 31 He sinned in the same ways as Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he did even worse things. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal and put an altar there for Baal. 33 Ahab also made an idol for worshiping Asherah. He did more things to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings before him.
34 During the time of Ahab, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the city of Jericho. It cost Hiel the life of Abiram, his oldest son, to begin work on the city, and it cost the life of Segub, his youngest son, to build the city gates. This happened just as the Lord, speaking through Joshua son of Nun, said it would happen.[a]
Your New Life in Christ
3 Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. 3 Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Christ is your[a] life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.
5 So put all evil things out of your life: sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and greed. This is really serving a false god. 6 These things make God angry.[b] 7 In your past, evil life you also did these things.
8 But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. 9 Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. 10 You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God. 11 In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews, those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people who are foreigners, or Scythians.[c] There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers, and Christ is all that is important.
12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body[d] to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Your New Life with Other People
18 Wives, yield to the authority of your husbands, because this is the right thing to do in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and be gentle with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, because this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying.
22 Slaves, obey your masters in all things. Do not obey just when they are watching you, to gain their favor, but serve them honestly, because you respect the Lord. 23 In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But remember that anyone who does wrong will be punished for that wrong, and the Lord treats everyone the same.
Rules for Worship
46 “‘This is what the Lord God says: The east gate of the inner courtyard will stay shut on the six working days, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon. 2 The ruler will enter from outside through the porch of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests offer the ruler’s burnt offering and fellowship offering. The ruler will worship at the entrance of the gateway, and then he will go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. 3 The people of the land will worship at the entrance of that gateway in the presence of the Lord on the Sabbaths and New Moons. 4 This is the burnt offering the ruler will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day: six male lambs that have nothing wrong with them and a male sheep that has nothing wrong with it. 5 He must give a half-bushel grain offering with the male sheep, but he may give as much grain offering with the lambs as he pleases. He must also give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. 6 On the day of the New Moon he must offer a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. He must also offer six lambs and a male sheep that have nothing wrong with them. 7 The ruler must give a half-bushel grain offering with the bull and one-half bushel with the male sheep. With the lambs, he may give as much grain as he pleases. But he must give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. 8 When the ruler enters, he must go in through the porch of the gateway, and he must go out the same way.
9 “‘When the people of the land come into the Lord’s presence at the special feasts, those who enter through the north gate to worship must go out through the south gate. Those who enter through the south gate must go out through the north gate. They must not return the same way they entered; everyone must go out the opposite way. 10 The ruler will go in with the people when they go in and go out with them when they go out.
11 “‘At the feasts and regular times of worship one-half bushel of grain must be offered with a young bull, and one-half bushel of grain must be offered with a male sheep. But with an offering of lambs, the ruler may give as much grain as he pleases. He should give a gallon of olive oil for each half bushel of grain. 12 The ruler may give an offering as a special gift to the Lord; it may be a burnt offering or fellowship offering. When he gives it to the Lord, the inner east gate is to be opened for him. He must offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offering as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate will be shut after he has left.
13 “‘Every day you will give a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it for a burnt offering to the Lord. Do it every morning. 14 Also, you must offer a grain offering with the lamb every morning. For this you will give three and one-third quarts of grain and one and one-third quarts of olive oil, to make the fine flour moist, as a grain offering to the Lord. This is a rule that must be kept from now on. 15 So you must always give the lamb, together with the grain offering and the olive oil, every morning as a burnt offering.
Rules for the Ruler
16 “‘This is what the Lord God says: If the ruler gives a gift from his land to any of his sons, that land will belong to the son and then to the son’s children. It is their property passed down from their family. 17 But if the ruler gives a gift from his land to any of his servants, that land will belong to the servant only until the year of freedom. Then the land will go back to the ruler. Only the ruler’s sons may keep a gift of land from the ruler. 18 The ruler must not take any of the people’s land, forcing them out of their land. He must give his sons some of his own land so my people will not be scattered out of their own land.’”
The Special Kitchens
19 The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gateway to the priests’ holy rooms that face north. There I saw a place at the west end. 20 The man said to me, “This is where the priests will boil the meat of the penalty offering and sin offering and bake the grain offering. Then they will not need to bring these holy offerings into the outer courtyard, because that would hurt the people.”
21 Then the man brought me out into the outer courtyard and led me to its four corners. In each corner of the courtyard was a smaller courtyard. 22 Small courtyards were in the four corners of the courtyard. Each small courtyard was the same size, seventy feet long and fifty-two and one-half feet wide. 23 A stone wall was around each of the four small courtyards, and places for cooking were built in each of the stone walls. 24 The man said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who work in the Temple will boil the sacrifices offered by the people.”
A Cry for Help
A prayer of a person who is suffering when he is discouraged and tells the Lord his complaints.
102 Lord, listen to my prayer;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide from me
in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to me.
When I cry for help, answer me quickly.
3 My life is passing away like smoke,
and my bones are burned up with fire.
4 My heart is like grass
that has been cut and dried.
I forget to eat.
5 Because of my grief,
my skin hangs on my bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl living among the ruins.
7 I lie awake.
I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 All day long enemies insult me;
those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes for food,
and my tears fall into my drinks.
10 Because of your great anger,
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a passing shadow;
I am like dried grass.
12 But, Lord, you rule forever,
and your fame goes on and on.
13 You will come and have mercy on Jerusalem,
because the time has now come to be kind to her;
the right time has come.
14 Your servants love even her stones;
they even care about her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Jerusalem;
there his glory will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the needy;
he will not reject their prayers.
18 Write these things for the future
so that people who are not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above;
from heaven he looked down at the earth.
20 He heard the moans of the prisoners,
and he freed those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be heard in Jerusalem;
his praise will be heard there.
22 People will come together,
and kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 God has made me tired of living;
he has cut short my life.
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my life.
Your years go on and on.
25 In the beginning you made the earth,
and your hands made the skies.
26 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
And, like clothes, you will change them
and throw them away.
27 But you never change,
and your life will never end.
28 Our children will live in your presence,
and their children will remain with you.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.