M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
War Between Israel and Moab
3 Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in Jehoshaphat’s eighteenth year as king of Judah. And Joram ruled twelve years. 2 He did what the Lord said was wrong, but he was not like his father and mother; he removed the stone pillars his father had made for Baal. 3 But he continued to sin like Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israel to sin. Joram did not stop doing these same sins.
4 Mesha king of Moab raised sheep. He paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand sheep. 5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab turned against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram went out from Samaria and gathered Israel’s army. 7 He also sent messengers to Jehoshaphat king of Judah. “The king of Moab has turned against me,” he said. “Will you go with me to fight Moab?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I will go with you. My soldiers and my horses are yours.”
8 Jehoshaphat asked, “Which way should we attack?”
Joram answered, “Through the Desert of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After they had marched seven days, there was no more water for the army or for their animals that were with them. 10 The king of Israel said, “This is terrible! The Lord has called us three kings together to hand us over to the Moabites!”
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there a prophet of the Lord here? We can ask the Lord through him.”
An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was Elijah’s servant.”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “He speaks the Lord’s truth.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to see Elisha.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “I have nothing to do with you. Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother!”
The king of Israel said to Elisha, “No, the Lord has called us three kings together to hand us over to the Moabites.”
14 Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord All-Powerful lives, whom I serve, I tell you the truth. I wouldn’t even look at you or notice you if Jehoshaphat king of Judah were not here. I respect him. 15 Now bring me someone who plays the harp.”
While the harp was being played, the Lord gave Elisha power. 16 Then Elisha said, “The Lord says to dig holes in the valley. 17 The Lord says you won’t see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water. Then you, your cattle, and your other animals can drink. 18 This is easy for the Lord to do; he will also hand Moab over to you. 19 You will destroy every strong, walled city and every important town. You will cut down every good tree and stop up all springs. You will ruin every good field with rocks.”
20 The next morning, about the time the sacrifice was offered, water came from the direction of Edom and filled the valley.
21 All the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So they gathered everyone old enough to put on armor and waited at the border. 22 But when the Moabites got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. They saw the water across from them, and it looked as red as blood. 23 Then they said, “This is blood! The kings must have fought and killed each other! Come, Moabites, let’s take the valuables from the dead bodies!”
24 When the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites came out and fought them until they ran away. Then the Israelites went on into the land, killing the Moabites. 25 They tore down the cities and threw rocks all over every good field. They stopped up all the springs and cut down all the good trees. Kir Hareseth was the only city with its stones still in place, but the men with slingshots surrounded it and conquered it, too.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too much for him, he took seven hundred men with swords to try to break through to the king of Edom. But they could not break through. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against the Israelites, who left and went back to their own land.
Pray for Us
3 And now, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly and that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be protected from stubborn and evil people, because not all people believe.
3 But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One. 4 The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing and will continue to do the things we told you. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience.
The Duty to Work
6 Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work and does not follow the teaching we gave you. 7 You yourselves know that you should live as we live. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 And when we ate another person’s food, we always paid for it. We worked very hard night and day so we would not be an expense to any of you. 9 We had the right to ask you to help us, but we worked to take care of ourselves so we would be an example for you to follow. 10 When we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Anyone who refuses to work should not eat.”
11 We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They do nothing but busy themselves in other people’s lives. 12 We command those people and beg them in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and earn their own food. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, never become tired of doing good.
14 If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, then take note of them. Have nothing to do with them so they will feel ashamed. 15 But do not treat them as enemies. Warn them as fellow believers.
Final Words
16 Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, end this letter now in my own handwriting. All my letters have this to show they are from me. This is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Daniel’s Dream About Four Animals
7 In Belshazzar’s first year as king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. He saw visions as he was lying on his bed, and he wrote down what he had dreamed.
2 Daniel said: “I saw my vision at night. In the vision the wind was blowing from all four directions, which made the sea very rough. 3 I saw four huge animals come up from the sea, and each animal was different from the others.
4 “The first animal looked like a lion, but had wings like an eagle. I watched this animal until its wings were torn off. It was lifted from the ground so that it stood up on two feet like a human, and it was given the mind of a human.
5 “Then I saw a second animal before me that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat all the meat you want!’
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another animal. This animal looked like a leopard with four wings on its back that looked like a bird’s wings. This animal had four heads and was given power to rule.
7 “After that, in my vision at night I saw in front of me a fourth animal that was cruel, terrible, and very strong. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and ate what it killed, and then it walked on whatever was left. This fourth animal was different from any animal I had seen before, and it had ten horns.
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, another horn grew up among them. It was a little horn with eyes like a human’s eyes. It also had a mouth, and the mouth was bragging. The little horn pulled out three of the other horns.
9 “As I looked,
thrones were put in their places,
and God, the Eternal One, sat on his throne.
His clothes were white like snow,
and the hair on his head was white like wool.
His throne was made from fire,
and the wheels of his throne were blazing with fire.
10 A river of fire was flowing
from in front of him.
Many thousands of angels were serving him,
and millions of angels stood before him.
Court was ready to begin,
and the books were opened.
11 “I kept on looking because the little horn was bragging. I kept watching until finally the fourth animal was killed. Its body was destroyed, and it was thrown into the burning fire. 12 (The power and rule of the other animals had been taken from them, but they were permitted to live for a certain period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I saw in front of me someone who looked like a human being coming on the clouds in the sky. He came near God, who has been alive forever, and he was led to God. 14 He was given authority, glory, and the strength of a king. People of every tribe, nation, and language will serve him. His rule will last forever, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.
The Meaning of the Dream
15 “I, Daniel, was worried. The visions that went through my mind frightened me. 16 I came near one of those standing there and asked what all this meant.
“So he told me and explained to me what these things meant: 17 ‘The four great animals are four kingdoms that will come from the earth. 18 But the holy people who belong to the Most High God will receive the power to rule and will have the power to rule forever, from now on.’
19 “Then I wanted to know what the fourth animal meant, because it was different from all the others. It was very terrible and had iron teeth and bronze claws. It was the animal that crushed and ate what it killed and then walked on whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the little horn that grew there. It had pulled out three of the other ten horns and looked greater than the others. It had eyes and a mouth that kept bragging. 21 As I watched, the little horn began making war against God’s holy people and was defeating them 22 until God, who has been alive forever, came. He judged in favor of the holy people who belong to the Most High God; then the time came for them to receive the power to rule.
23 “And he explained this to me: ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom that will come on the earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will destroy people all over the world. It will walk on and crush the whole earth. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this fourth kingdom. After those ten kings are gone, another king will come. He will be different from the kings who ruled before him, and he will defeat three of the other kings. 25 This king will speak against the Most High God, and he will hurt and kill God’s holy people. He will try to change times and laws that have already been set. The holy people that belong to God will be in that king’s power for three and one-half years.
26 “‘But the court will decide what should happen. The power of the king will be taken away, and his kingdom will be completely destroyed. 27 Then the holy people who belong to the Most High God will have the power to rule. They will rule over all the kingdoms under heaven with power and greatness, and their power to rule will last forever. People from all the other kingdoms will respect and serve them.’
28 “That was the end of the dream. I, Daniel, was very afraid. My face became white from fear, but I kept everything to myself.”
God Brought Israel from Egypt
114 When the Israelites went out of Egypt,
the people of Jacob left that foreign country.
2 Then Judah became God’s holy place;
Israel became the land he ruled.
3 The Red Sea looked and ran away;
the Jordan River turned back.
4 The mountains danced like sheep
and the hills like little lambs.
5 Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan, why did you turn back?
6 Mountains, why did you dance like sheep?
Hills, why did you dance like little lambs?
7 Earth, shake with fear before the Lord,
before the God of Jacob.
8 He turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into a spring of water.
The One True God
115 It does not belong to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to you
because of your love and loyalty.
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make idols will be like them,
and so will those who trust them.
9 Family of Israel, trust the Lord;
he is your helper and your protection.
10 Family of Aaron, trust the Lord;
he is your helper and your protection.
11 You who respect the Lord should trust him;
he is your helper and your protection.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the family of Israel;
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 The Lord will bless those who respect him,
from the smallest to the greatest.
14 May the Lord give you success,
and may he give you and your children success.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those in the grave are silent.
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.