M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ahab Takes Naboth’s Vineyard
21 After these things had happened, this is what followed. A man named Naboth owned a vineyard in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Israel. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard. It is near my palace, and I want to make it into a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place, or, if you prefer, I will pay you what it is worth.”
3 Naboth answered, “May the Lord keep me from ever giving my land to you. It belongs to my family.”
4 Ahab went home angry and upset, because he did not like what Naboth from Jezreel had said. (Naboth had said, “I will not give you my family’s land.”) Ahab lay down on his bed, turned his face to the wall, and refused to eat.
5 His wife, Jezebel, came in and asked him, “Why are you so upset that you refuse to eat?”
6 Ahab answered, “I talked to Naboth, the man from Jezreel. I said, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ But Naboth refused.”
7 Jezebel answered, “Is this how you rule as king over Israel? Get up, eat something, and cheer up. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”
8 So Jezebel wrote some letters, signed Ahab’s name to them, and used his own seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in Naboth’s town. 9 The letter she wrote said: “Declare a day during which the people are to fast. Call the people together, and give Naboth a place of honor among them. 10 Seat two troublemakers across from him, and have them say they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”
11 The elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed Jezebel’s command, just as she wrote in the letters. 12 They declared a special day on which the people were to fast. And they put Naboth in a place of honor before the people. 13 Two troublemakers sat across from Naboth and said in front of everybody that they had heard him speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. 14 Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been killed.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been killed, she told Ahab, “Naboth of Jezreel is dead. Now you may go and take for yourself the vineyard he would not sell to you.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth of Jezreel was dead, he got up and went to the vineyard to take it for his own.
17 At this time the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Elijah the Tishbite. The Lord said, 18 “Go to Ahab king of Israel in Samaria. He is at Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take it as his own. 19 Tell Ahab that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘You have murdered Naboth and taken his land. So I tell you this: In the same place the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, they will also lick up your blood!’”
20 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
Elijah answered, “Yes, I have found you. You have always chosen to do what the Lord says is wrong. 21 So the Lord says to you, ‘I will soon destroy you. I will kill you and every male in your family, both slave and free. 22 Your family will be like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. I will destroy you, because you have made me angry and have led the people of Israel to sin.’
23 “And the Lord also says, ‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel in the city of Jezreel.’
24 “Anyone in your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.”
25 There was no one like Ahab who had chosen so often to do what the Lord said was wrong, because his wife Jezebel influenced him to do evil. 26 Ahab sinned terribly by worshiping idols, just as the Amorite people did. And the Lord had taken away their land and given it to the people of Israel.
27 After Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes. He put on rough cloth, fasted, and even slept in the rough cloth to show how sad and upset he was.
28 The Lord spoke his word to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “I see that Ahab is now sorry for what he has done. So I will not cause the trouble to come to him during his life, but I will wait until his son is king. Then I will bring this trouble to Ahab’s family.”
A Life that Pleases God
4 Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way even more. 2 You know what we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual sins. 4 He wants each of you to learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable. 5 Don’t use your body for sexual sin like the people who do not know God. 6 Also, do not wrong or cheat another Christian in this way. The Lord will punish people who do those things as we have already told you and warned you. 7 God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin. 8 So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is disobeying God, not simply a human teaching. And God is the One who gives us his Holy Spirit.
9 We do not need to write you about having love for your Christian family, because God has already taught you to love each other. 10 And truly you do love the Christians in all of Macedonia. Brothers and sisters, now we encourage you to love them even more.
11 Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Take care of your own business, and do your own work as we have already told you. 12 If you do, then people who are not believers will respect you, and you will not have to depend on others for what you need.
The Lord’s Coming
13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those Christians who have died so you will not be sad, as others who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died. 15 What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living when the Lord comes again will not go before those who have already died. 16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel,[b] and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
The Gold Idol and Blazing Furnace
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet high and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the area of Babylon. 2 Then he called for the leaders: the governors, assistant governors, captains of the soldiers, people who advised the king, keepers of the treasury, judges, rulers, and all other officers in his kingdom. He wanted them to come to the special service for the statue he had set up. 3 So they all came for the special service and stood in front of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the man who made announcements for the king said in a loud voice, “People, nations, and those of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 When you hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers,[a] harps, pipes, and all the other musical instruments, you must bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Anyone who doesn’t bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 Now people, nations, and those who spoke every language were there. When they heard the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, pipes, and all the other musical instruments, they bowed down and worshiped the gold statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 Then some Babylonians came up to the king and began speaking against the men of Judah. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 O king, you gave a command that everyone who heard the horns, lyres, zithers, harps, pipes, and all the other musical instruments would have to bow down and worship the gold statue. 11 Anyone who wouldn’t do this was to be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 O king, there are some men of Judah whom you made officers in the area of Babylon that did not pay attention to your order. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They do not serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
13 Nebuchadnezzar became very angry and called for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were brought to the king, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods nor worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 In a moment you will again hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, pipes, and all the other musical instruments. If you bow down and worship the statue I made, that will be good. But if you do not worship it, you will immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace. What god will be able to save you from my power then?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, saying, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to you. 17 If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will save us from your power, O king. 18 But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he changed his mind. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
21 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tied up and thrown into the blazing furnace while still wearing their robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes. 22 The king’s command was very strict, and the furnace was made so hot that the flames killed the strong soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace. 23 Firmly tied, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was so surprised that he jumped to his feet. He asked the men who advised him, “Didn’t we tie up only three men and throw them into the fire?”
They answered, “Yes, O king.”
25 The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They are not tied up, and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When they came out, the governors, assistant governors, captains of the soldiers, and royal advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies. Their hair was not burned, their robes were not burned, and they didn’t even smell like smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own. 29 So I now give this command: Anyone from any nation or language who says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn apart and have his house turned into a pile of stones. No other god can save his people like this.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the area of Babylon.
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has saved should say.
He has saved them from the enemy
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south.
4 Some people had wandered in the desert lands.
They found no city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and they were discouraged.
6 In their misery they cried out to the Lord,
and he saved them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a straight road
to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
9 He satisfies the thirsty
and fills up the hungry.
10 Some sat in gloom and darkness;
they were prisoners suffering in chains.
11 They had turned against the words of God
and had refused the advice of God Most High.
12 So he broke their pride by hard work.
They stumbled, and no one helped.
13 In their misery they cried out to the Lord,
and he saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of their gloom and darkness
and broke their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
16 He breaks down bronze gates
and cuts apart iron bars.
17 Some fools turned against God
and suffered for the evil they did.
18 They refused to eat anything,
so they almost died.
19 In their misery they cried out to the Lord,
and he saved them from their troubles.
20 God gave the command and healed them,
so they were saved from dying.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices to thank him.
With joy they should tell what he has done.
23 Others went out to sea in ships
and did business on the great oceans.
24 They saw what the Lord could do,
the miracles he did in the deep oceans.
25 He spoke, and a storm came up,
which blew up high waves.
26 The ships were tossed as high as the sky and fell low to the depths.
The storm was so bad that they lost their courage.
27 They stumbled and fell like people who were drunk.
They did not know what to do.
28 In their misery they cried out to the Lord,
and he saved them from their troubles.
29 He stilled the storm
and calmed the waves.
30 They were happy that it was quiet,
and God guided them to the port they wanted.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
32 Let them praise his greatness in the meeting of the people;
let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.
33 He changed rivers into a desert
and springs of water into dry ground.
34 He made fertile land salty,
because the people there did evil.
35 He changed the desert into pools of water
and dry ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there
so they could build a city in which to live.
37 They planted seeds in the fields and vineyards,
and they had a good harvest.
38 God blessed them, and they grew in number.
Their cattle did not become fewer.
39 Because of disaster, troubles, and sadness,
their families grew smaller and weaker.
40 He showed he was displeased with their leaders
and made them wander in a pathless desert.
41 But he lifted the poor out of their suffering
and made their families grow like flocks of sheep.
42 Good people see this and are happy,
but the wicked say nothing.
43 Whoever is wise will remember these things
and will think about the love of the Lord.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.