M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Solomon’s Palace

7 King Solomon also built a palace for himself. It took him 13 years to finish building it. ² He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They supported the cedar beams. ³ The ceiling was covered with cedar above the beams. There were 45 beams on the roof, with 15 beams in each row. ⁴ Windows were placed in three rows facing each other. ⁵ All the doors were square. The three doors at each end faced each other.

⁶ Solomon also built the porch of pillars. It was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by pillars.

⁷ Solomon also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the Hall of Justice. The room was covered with cedar from the floor to the ceiling. ⁸ The palace where Solomon was to live was behind the Hall of Justice. And it was built like the Hall of Justice. Solomon also built the same kind of palace for his wife. She was the daughter of the king of Egypt.

⁹ All these buildings were made with blocks of carefully cut fine stone. Then they were trimmed with a saw in the front and back. These fine stones went from the foundations of the buildings to the top of the walls. Even the courtyard was made with blocks of stone. ¹⁰ The foundations were made with large blocks of fine stone. Some of the stones were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. ¹¹ On top of those stones there were other cut blocks of fine stone and cedar beams. ¹² The palace courtyard, the courtyard inside the Temple and the porch to the Temple were surrounded by walls. All of these walls had three rows of cut stone blocks and one row of cedar beams.

The Temple Is Completed Inside

¹³ King Solomon sent to Tyre and had Huram brought to him. ¹⁴ Huram’s mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was from Tyre and had been skilled in making things from bronze. Huram was also very skilled and experienced in bronze work. So he came to King Solomon. And he did all the bronze work Solomon wanted.

¹⁵ He made two bronze pillars. Each one was 27 feet tall and 18 feet around. ¹⁶ He also made two bronze capitals that were 7½ feet tall. He put them on top of the pillars. ¹⁷ Then he made a net of seven chains for each capital. They covered the capitals on top of the two pillars. ¹⁸ Then he made two rows of bronze pomegranates to go on the nets. They were to cover the capitals at the top of the pillars. ¹⁹ The capitals on top of the pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies. They were 6 feet tall. ²⁰ The capitals were on top of both pillars. They were above the bowl-shaped section and next to the nets. At that place there were 200 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. ²¹ Huram put these two bronze pillars at the porch of the Temple. He named the south pillar He Establishes. And he named the north pillar In Him Is Strength. ²² The capitals on top of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

²³ Then Huram made a large round bowl from bronze, which was called the Sea. It was 45 feet around. It was 15 feet across and 7½ feet deep. ²⁴ There was a rim around the outer edge of the bowl. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze plants surrounding the bowl. There were ten plants in every 18 inches. They were made in one piece with the bowl. ²⁵ The bowl rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. They faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, 3 faced east, 3 faced south and 3 faced west. ²⁶ The sides of the bowl were 4 inches thick. The rim was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom. The bowl held about 11,000 gallons.

²⁷ Then Huram made ten bronze stands. Each one was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4½ feet high. ²⁸ The stands were made from square sides, which were put on frames. ²⁹ On the sides were bronze lions, bulls and creatures with wings. On the frames above and below the lions and bulls there were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers. ³¹ There was a frame on top of the bowls. It was 18 inches high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, 27 inches deep. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. ³² The four wheels were under the frame. They were 27 inches high. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the stand. ³³ The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels was made of bronze. The axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made of bronze.

³⁴ The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. ³⁵ There was a strip of bronze around the top of each stand. It was 9 inches deep. It was made as one piece with the stand. ³⁶ The sides of the stand and the frames were totally covered with carvings. They were carved with pictures of creatures with wings, lions and palm trees. There were also flowers carved all around. ³⁷ So this is the way Huram made the ten stands. The bronze for each stand was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the stands were the same size and shape.

³⁸ Huram also made ten bronze bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. Each bowl was six feet across and could hold about 230 gallons. ³⁹ Huram put five of the stands on the south side of the Temple. And he put the other five stands on the north side. He put the large bowl in the southeast corner of the Temple. ⁴⁰ Huram also made bowls, shovels and small bowls.

So Huram finished making everything King Solomon wanted him to make. Here is a list of what Huram made for the Temple of the Lord:

Huram made everything King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They were made by melting and pouring bronze into clay molds. ⁴⁷ Solomon never weighed the bronze used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known.

⁴⁸ Solomon also commanded that many things be made of gold for the Temple:

⁵¹ So the work King Solomon did for the Temple of the Lord was finished. David, Solomon’s father, had saved silver, gold and other articles for the Temple. So Solomon brought these things into the Temple. And he put them into the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord.

The Unity of the Body

4 I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. God chose you to be his people. I tell you now to live the way God’s people should live. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. ³ You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue together in this way. Let peace hold you together. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit. And God called you to have one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. ⁶ There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything. He is everywhere and in everything.

⁷ Christ gave each one of us a special gift. Each one received what Christ wanted to give him. ⁸ That is why it says in the Scriptures,

⁹ When it says, “He went up,” what does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth. ¹⁰ So Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up. He went up above all the heavens. Christ did that to fill everything with himself. ¹¹ And Christ gave gifts to men—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. ¹² Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving. He gave those gifts to make the body of Christ stronger. ¹³ This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge about the Son of God. We must become like a mature person—we must grow until we become like Christ and have all his perfection.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from men who are trying to fool us. Those men make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path. ¹⁵ No! We will speak the truth with love. We will grow up in every way to be like Christ, who is the head. ¹⁶ The whole body depends on Christ. And all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part of the body does its own work. And this makes the whole body grow and be strong with love.

The Way You Should Live

¹⁷ In the Lord’s name, I tell you this. I warn you: Do not continue living like those who do not believe. Their thoughts are worth nothing. ¹⁸ They do not understand. They know nothing, because they refuse to listen. So they cannot have the life that God gives. ¹⁹ They have lost their feeling of shame. And they use their lives for doing evil. More and more they want to do all kinds of evil things. ²⁰ But the things you learned in Christ were not like this. ²¹ I know that you heard about him, and you are in him; so you were taught the truth. Yes, the truth is in Jesus. ²² You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse and worse because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. ²³ But you were taught to be made new in your hearts. ²⁴ You were taught to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy.

²⁵ So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth because we all belong to each other in the same body.^{[a] 26} When you are angry, do not sin. And do not go on being angry all day. ²⁷ Do not give the devil a way to defeat you. ²⁸ If a person is stealing, he must stop stealing and start working. He must use his hands for doing something good. Then he will have something to share with those who are poor.

²⁹ When you talk, do not say harmful things. But say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will help those who listen to you. ³⁰ And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the time comes. ³¹ Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. ³² Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.

The Vision of Dry Bones

37 I felt the power of the Lord was on me. He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord. And he put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. ² The Lord led me around among the bones. There were many bones on the bottom of the valley. I saw the bones were very dry. ³ Then he asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?”

I answered, “Lord God, only you know.”

⁴ The Lord said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to the bones: I will cause breath to enter you. Then you will live. ⁶ I will put muscles on you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I prophesied, there was a noise and a rattling. The bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked and saw muscles come on the bones. Flesh grew, and skin covered the bones. But there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the wind.^[a] Prophesy, human being, and say to the wind: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Wind, come from the four winds. Breathe on these people who were killed so they can live again.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as the Lord commanded me. And the breath came into them, and they came to life. They stood on their feet. They were a very large army.

¹¹ Then the Lord said to me: “Human being, these bones are like all the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has gone. We are destroyed.’ ¹² So, prophesy, and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves. And I will cause you to come up out of your graves. Then I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ This is how you, my people, will know that I am the Lord. I will open your graves and cause you to come up from them. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit inside you. You will come to life. Then I will put you in your own land. And you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it, says the Lord.’”

Judah and Israel Back Together

¹⁵ The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁶ “Human being, take a stick of wood. Write on it, ‘For Judah and all the Israelites with him.’ Then take another stick of wood. Write on it, ‘The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and all the Israelites with him.’ ¹⁷ Then join them together into one stick. Then they will be one in your hand.

¹⁸ “Your people will say to you, ‘Explain to us what you mean by this.’ ¹⁹ Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will take the stick which is for Joseph and the tribes of Israel with him. This stick is in the hand of Ephraim. Then I will put it with the stick of Judah. And I will make them into one stick. And they will be one in my hand.’ ²⁰ Hold the sticks of wood on which you wrote these names. Hold them in your hands so the people can see them. ²¹ Say to the people: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around. I will bring them into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will never again be two nations. They will not be divided into two kingdoms anymore. ²³ They will not continue to make themselves unclean by their idols, their statues of gods which I hate or their sins. But I will save them from all the ways they sin and turn against me. And I will make them clean. Then they will be my people. And I will be their God.

²⁴ “‘And my servant David will be their king. They will all have one shepherd. They will live by my rules and obey my laws. ²⁵ They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob. It is the land in which your ancestors lived. They will all live on the land forever: they, their children and their grandchildren. David my servant will be their king forever. ²⁶ And I will make an agreement of peace with them. It will be an agreement that continues forever. I will put them in their land. I will make them grow in number. Then I will put my Temple among them forever. ²⁷ The place where I live will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ When my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy.’”

God Loves Jerusalem

A song of the sons of Korah.

A Sad Complaint

A song of the sons of Korah. For the director of music. By the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.