M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Saul and the Medium of Endor

28 Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You understand that you and your men must join with me in my army.”

² David answered, “Certainly! Then you can see for yourself what I, your servant, can do!”

Achish said, “Fine, I’ll make you my bodyguard for life.”

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.

And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land of Israel.

⁴ The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. ⁵ When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid. His heart pounded with fear. ⁶ He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim or prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium. I’ll go and ask her what will happen.”

His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”

⁸ Then Saul put on other clothes so no one would know who he was. At night Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Call up the person I name.”

⁹ But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers out from the land of Israel. You are trying to trap me and kill me.”

¹⁰ Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for doing this.”

¹¹ The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up for you?”

He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed loudly. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”

¹³ The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”

¹⁴ Saul asked, “What does he look like?”

The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.

¹⁵ Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me. God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called you. I want you to tell me what to do.”

¹⁶ Samuel said, “The Lord has left you. He has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? ¹⁷ He has done what he said he would do. He said these things through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands. He has given it to one of your neighbors, David. ¹⁸ You did not obey the Lord. You did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The Lord will give both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will let the Philistines defeat the army of Israel.”

²⁰ Saul quickly fell to the ground and lay there. He was afraid because of what Samuel had said. He was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

²¹ Then the woman came to Saul. She saw that he was really frightened. She said, “Look, I, your servant, have obeyed you. I have risked my life and done what you told me to do. ²² Now please listen to me. Let me give you some food. Then you may eat and have enough strength to go on your way.”

²³ But Saul refused. He said, “I won’t eat.”

His servants joined the woman in asking him to eat. And he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ The woman had a fat calf at the house. She quickly killed it. She took some flour and mixed dough with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. ²⁵ She put the food before them, and they ate. Then that same night they got up and left.

Paul Is Like the Other Apostles

9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. ² Others may not accept me as an apostle, but surely you accept me. You are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.

³ Some people want to judge me. So this is the answer I give them: ⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Peter all do this. ⁶ And are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? ⁷ No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes himself. No person takes care of a flock of sheep without drinking some of the milk himself.

⁸ This is not only what men think. God’s law says the same thing. ⁹ Yes, it is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth and keep it from eating.”^[a] When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. ¹⁰ He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us. The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work. ¹¹ We planted spiritual seed among you. So we should be able to harvest from you some things for this life. Surely this is not asking too much. ¹² Other men have the right to get something from you. So surely we have this right, too. But we do not use this right. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not stop anyone from obeying the Good News of Christ. ¹³ Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple. And those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. ¹⁴ It is the same with those who tell the Good News. The Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.

¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. ¹⁶ Telling the Good News is not my reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how bad it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. ¹⁷ If I preach because it is my own choice, I should get a reward. But I have no choice. I must tell the Good News. I am only doing the duty that was given to me. ¹⁸ So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. In this way I do not use my right to be paid in my work for the Good News.

¹⁹ I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) ²² To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible. ²³ I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.

²⁴ You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! ²⁵ All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever. ²⁶ So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. ²⁷ It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.

Ezekiel Tells of the End

7 Again the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “Human being, the Lord says this to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end has come for you. I will send my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived. I will make you pay for your terrible actions. ⁴ I will have no pity on you. I will not hold back punishment from you. I will make you pay for your ways and for your terrible actions. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “This is what the Lord God says: Disaster on top of disaster is coming. ⁶ The end has come! The end has come! It has stirred itself up against you! Look! It has come! ⁷ The end has come for you who live in the land! The time has come. The day of confusion is near. There will be no happy shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Soon I will pour out my anger against you. I will carry out my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived. I will make you pay for all the things you have done that I hate. ⁹ I will show no pity. I will not hold back punishment. I will pay you back for the way you have lived and the terrible things you have done. Then you will know that I am the Lord who punishes.

¹⁰ “Look, the day is here. It has come. Destruction has come. Violence has grown. There is more pride than ever. ¹¹ Violence has grown into a weapon for punishing wickedness. None of the people will be left. None of that crowd, none of their wealth, and nothing of value will be left among them. ¹² The time has come. The day has arrived. Don’t let the buyer be happy or the seller be sad. My burning anger is against the whole crowd. ¹³ Sellers will not return to the land they have sold as long as they live. This is because the vision against all that crowd will not be changed. Because of their sins, no one will save his life. ¹⁴ They have blown the trumpet, and everything is ready. But no one is going to the battle. My anger is against all that crowd.

¹⁵ “The sword is outside. Disease and hunger are inside. The person who is in the field will die by the sword. Hunger and disease will destroy those in the city. ¹⁶ Those who are left alive and who escape will be on the mountains. They will moan like doves of the valleys. Each person will groan about his own sin. ¹⁷ All hands will hang weakly. All knees will become as weak as water. ¹⁸ They will put on rough cloth to show how sad they are. They will tremble all over with fear. Their faces will show their shame. And all their heads will be shaved. ¹⁹ The people will throw their silver into the streets. Their gold will be like trash. Their silver and gold will not save them from the Lord’s anger. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs. It was what caused them to fall into sin. ²⁰ They were proud of their beautiful jewelry. They used it to make their idols, which I hate, and their evil statues. So I will turn their wealth into something they hate. ²¹ And I will give it to the foreigners as treasures from war. I will give it to the evil people of the earth as treasure. These foreigners and evil people will dishonor the people’s jewelry. ²² I will also turn away from the people of Israel. They will dishonor my treasured place. Then robbers will enter and dishonor it.

²³ “Make chains for captives. The land is full of bloody crimes. And the city is full of violence. ²⁴ So I will bring the worst of the nations to take over the people’s houses. I will also end the pride of the rich. And their holy places will be dishonored. ²⁵ When the people are suffering greatly, they will look for peace. But there will be none. ²⁶ Disaster will come on top of disaster. Rumor will be added to rumor. Then they will try to get a vision from a prophet. Even the teachings of God from the priest will be lost. And advice from the elders will also be lost. ²⁷ The king will cry greatly. The prince will give up hope. The hands of the people who owned land will shake with fear. I will punish them for the way they have lived. The way they have judged others is the way I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Song for the King’s Wedding

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A maskil. A love song of the sons of Korah.