M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
18 During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah. The Lord said, “Go and meet King Ahab. I will soon send rain.” 2 So Elijah went to meet Ahab.
By this time there was no food in Samaria. 3 So King Ahab sent for Obadiah. Obadiah was in charge of the king’s palace. (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. 4 One time Jezebel was killing all the Lord’s prophets. So Obadiah took 100 of them and hid them in two caves. He put 50 in one cave and 50 in another cave. And he brought them food and water.) 5 King Ahab said to Obadiah, “Let’s look at every spring and valley in the land. Maybe we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive. Then we will not have to kill our animals.” 6 So each one chose a part of the country to search. Ahab went in one direction. Obadiah went in another direction.
7 While Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah knew who Elijah was. So he bowed down to the ground before Elijah. He said, “Elijah? Is it really you, master?”
8 Elijah answered, “Yes. Go tell your master the king that I am here.”
9 Then Obadiah said, “If I tell Ahab that, he will kill me! I have done nothing wrong that I should be killed! 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has looked everywhere for you! He has sent people to every country to look for you. If the ruler said you were not there, that was not enough. Ahab then forced the ruler to swear you could not be found in his country. 11 Now you want me to go to my master and tell him, ‘Elijah is here’? 12 The Spirit of the Lord may carry you to some other place after I leave. If I go tell King Ahab you are here, he will come. If he doesn’t find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy. 13 Haven’t you heard what I did? When Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets, I hid 100 of them. I put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. I brought them food and water. 14 Now you want me to go and tell the king you are here. He will kill me!”
15 Elijah answered, “I serve the Lord of heaven’s armies. As surely as the Lord lives, I will stand before Ahab today.”
16 So Obadiah went to Ahab and told him where Elijah was. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When he saw Elijah, he said, “Is it you—the biggest troublemaker in Israel?”
18 Elijah answered, “I have not caused trouble in Israel. You and your father’s family have caused all this trouble. You have not obeyed the Lord’s commands. You have followed the Baals. 19 Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the 450 prophets of Baal there. And bring the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah stood before the people. He said, “How long will you try to serve both Baal and the Lord? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, follow him!”
But the people said nothing.
22 Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the Lord here. But there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23 So bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull. Let them kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood. But they are not to set fire to it. Then I will do the same with the other bull. And I will put it on the wood. But I will not set fire to it. 24 You prophets of Baal, pray to your god. And I will pray to the Lord. The god who answers the prayer will set fire to his wood. He is the true God.”
All the people agreed that this was a good idea.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “There are many of you. So you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. Pray to your god, but don’t start the fire.”
26 So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon. They shouted, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound. No one answered. They danced around the altar they had built.
27 At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. He said, “Pray louder! If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking. Or maybe he is busy or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!” 28 So the prophets prayed louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. (This was the way they worshiped.) 29 The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act wildly. They continued until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard. Baal did not answer. No one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now come to me.” So they gathered around him. Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord because it had been torn down. 31 He took 12 stones. He took 1 stone for each of the 12 tribes. These 12 tribes were named for the 12 sons of Jacob. (Jacob was the man the Lord had called Israel.) 32 Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honor of the Lord. Then he dug a small ditch around it. It was big enough to hold about 13 quarts of seed. 33 Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water. Put the water on the meat and on the wood.”
34 Then Elijah said, “Do it again.” And they did it again.
Then he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it the third time. 35 So the water ran off of the altar and filled the ditch.
36 It was time for the evening sacrifice. So the prophet Elijah went near the altar. He prayed, “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel. And prove that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. 37 Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God. Then the people will know that you are bringing them back to you.”
38 Then fire from the Lord came down. It burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground. They cried, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
40 Then Elijah said, “Capture the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them run away!” So the people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to Kishon Valley. There he killed all the prophets.
The Rain Comes Again
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Now, go, eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming.” 42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. There he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.
43 Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked. He said, “I see nothing.”
Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times. 44 The seventh time, the servant said, “I see a small cloud. It’s the size of a man’s fist. It’s coming from the sea.”
Elijah told the servant, “Go to Ahab. Tell him to get his chariot ready and to go home now. If he doesn’t leave now, the rain will stop him.”
45 After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow. Then a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. 46 The Lord gave his power to Elijah. Elijah tightened his clothes around him. Then he ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
The Faith of the Thessalonians
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church in Thessalonica, the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God’s grace and peace be yours.
2 We always remember you when we pray and thank God for all of you. 3 When we pray to God our Father, we always thank him for the things you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 Brothers, God loves you. And we know that he has chosen you to be his. 5 We brought the Good News to you. But we did not use only words. We brought the Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with sure knowledge that it is true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you. 6 And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. 7 So you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece. 8 The Lord’s teaching spread from you in Macedonia and Southern Greece. And your faith in God has become known everywhere. So we do not need to say anything about your faith. 9 People everywhere are telling about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serving the living and true God. 10 And you changed to wait for God’s Son to come from heaven. God raised that Son from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is sure to come.
Dividing the Land
48 “These are the names of the tribes. Dan will have one share. It will begin at the northern border. It will go from the sea and over the Hethlon Road. It will follow the road to Lebo Hamath. It will go all the way to Hazar Enan. This is on the northern border of Damascus. It will stop there next to Hamath. This will be Dan’s northern border from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.
2 “South of Dan’s border, Asher will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
3 “South of Asher’s border, Naphtali will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
4 “South of Naphtali’s border, Manasseh will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
5 “South of Manasseh’s border, Ephraim will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
6 “South of Ephraim’s border, Reuben will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
7 “South of Reuben’s border, Judah will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
8 “South of Judah’s border will be the holy area which you are to give. It will be about 7 miles wide. It will be as long and wide as one of the tribes’ shares. It will run from the east side to the west side. The Temple will be in the middle of this area.
9 “The share which you will give the Lord will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. 10 The holy area will be divided among these people. For the priests on the north side, the land will measure about 7 miles. It will be 3 miles wide on the west side and 3 miles wide on the east side. It will be about 7 miles on the south side. The Temple of the Lord will be in the middle of it. 11 This land is for the priests who are given to serve the Lord. They are the descendants of Zadok who did my work. They did not leave me. The other Levites left me when Israel did. 12 This share from the holy portion of the land will be a gift for these priests. It will be next to the land of the Levites.
13 “Alongside the land for the priests, the Levites will have a share. It will be about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. Its full length will be about 7 miles. And its full width will be about 3 miles. 14 The Levites are not to sell or trade any of this land. They will not sell any of this best part of the land. It belongs to the Lord.
City Property
15 “The rest of the land will be an area about 1½ miles wide and 7 miles long. It will be for the other people’s use. It will be for the city, for homes and for pastures. The city will be in the middle of it. 16 These are the city’s measurements: the north side will be about a mile. The south side will be about a mile. The east side will be about a mile. And the west side will be about a mile. 17 The city’s land for pastures will be about 437 feet on the north, 437 feet on the south, 437 feet on the east and 437 feet on the west. 18 Alongside the length of the holy area there will be left 3 miles on the east and 3 miles on the west. It will be used to grow food for the city workers. 19 The city workers will plow this land. The workers will be from all the tribes of Israel. 20 This whole area will be square, 7 miles by 7 miles. You shall give to the Lord the holy share along with the city property.
21 “Land that is left over on both sides of the holy area and city property will belong to the ruler. That land will extend east of the holy area to the eastern border. And it will extend west of it to the Mediterranean Sea. Both of these areas run the length of the lands of the tribes. They belong to the ruler. The holy area with the Holy Place of the Temple will be in the middle. 22 The Levites’ land and the city property will be between the lands belonging to the ruler. The ruler’s land will be between Judah’s border and Benjamin’s border.
The Other Tribes’ Land
23 “Here is what the rest of the tribes will receive: Benjamin will have one share. It will go from the east side to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side.
24 “South of Benjamin’s land, Simeon will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
25 “South of Simeon’s land, Issachar will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
26 “South of Issachar’s land, Zebulun will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
27 “South of Zebulun’s land, Gad will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
28 “The southern border of Gad’s land will go east from Tamar on the Dead Sea to the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 “This is the land you will divide among the tribes of Israel. These are to be their shares,” says the Lord God.
The Gates of the City
30 “These will be the outside borders of the city: The north side will measure more than a mile. 31 There will be three gates facing north. They are Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate and Levi’s Gate. The city’s gates will be named for the tribes of Israel.
32 “The east side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing east. They are Joseph’s Gate, Benjamin’s Gate and Dan’s Gate.
33 “The south side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing south. They are Simeon’s Gate, Issachar’s Gate and Zebulun’s Gate.
34 “The west side will measure more than a mile. There will be three gates facing west. They are Gad’s Gate, Asher’s Gate and Naphtali’s Gate.
35 “The city will measure about six miles around. From then on the name of the city will be The Lord God Is There.”
Praise to God Who Made the World
104 My whole being, praise the Lord.
Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with glory and majesty.
2 You wear light like a robe.
You stretch out the skies like a tent.
3 You build your room above the clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot.
You ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers.
Flames of fire are your servants.
5 You built the earth on its foundations.
So it can never be moved.
6 You covered the earth with oceans.
The water was above the mountains.
7 But at your command, the water rushed away.
When you gave your orders like thunder, it hurried away.
8 The mountains rose.
The valleys sank.
The water went to the places you made for it.
9 You set borders for the seas that they cannot cross.
The water will never cover the earth again.
10 You make springs pour into the ravines.
They flow between the mountains.
11 They water all the wild animals.
The wild donkeys come there to drink.
12 Wild birds make nests by the water.
They sing among the tree branches.
13 You water the mountains from above.
The earth is full of the things you made.
14 You make the grass for cattle
and vegetables for the use of man.
You make food grow from the earth.
15 You give us wine that makes happy hearts.
And you give us olive oil that makes our faces shine.
You give us bread that gives us strength.
16 The Lord’s trees have plenty of water.
They are the cedar trees of Lebanon, which he planted.
17 The birds make their nests there.
The stork’s home is in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats.
The rocks are hiding places for the badgers.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons.
And the sun always knows when to set.
20 You make it dark, and it becomes night.
Then all the wild animals creep around.
21 The lions roar as they attack.
They look to God for food.
22 When the sun rises, they leave.
They go back to their dens to lie down.
23 Then people go to work.
And they work until evening.
24 Lord, you have made many things.
With your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide.
Its creatures large and small cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean.
And there is the sea monster Leviathan,
which you made to play there.
27 All these things depend on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand, they are filled with good food.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become frightened.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn into dust.
30 When you breathe on them,
they are created.
You make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord be forever.
May the Lord enjoy what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it shakes.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
34 May my thoughts please him.
I am happy in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth.
Let the wicked people live no longer.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.