M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jehoahaz King of Israel

13 Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria. This was during Joash’s twenty-third year as king of Judah. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. And Jehoahaz ruled 17 years. ² He did what the Lord said was wrong. Jehoahaz did the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. And Jehoahaz did not stop doing these same sins. ³ So the Lord was angry with Israel. And he gave them into the power of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-Hadad.

⁴ Then Jehoahaz begged the Lord, and the Lord listened to him. The Lord had seen the troubles of Israel. He saw how terribly the king of Aram was treating the Israelites. ⁵ So he gave Israel a man to save them. And they escaped from the Arameans. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. ⁶ But the Israelites still did not stop doing the same sins that the family of Jeroboam had done. He had caused Israel to sin. They continued doing those sins. The Asherah idol also was left standing in Samaria.

⁷ Nothing was left of Jehoahaz’s army except 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had destroyed them. He had made them like dust at the time of threshing.

⁸ Everything else Jehoahaz did and all his victories are written down. They are in the book of history of the kings of Israel. ⁹ Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash became king in his place.

Jehoash King of Israel

¹⁰ Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria. This was during Joash’s thirty-seventh year as king of Judah. Jehoash ruled 16 years. ¹¹ He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop doing the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. And Jehoash continued to do the same thing. ¹² Everything else he did and all his victories are written down. This includes his war against Amaziah king of Judah. All this is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. ¹³ Jehoash died, and Jeroboam took his place on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

The Death of Elisha

¹⁴ At this time Elisha became sick. (Later, he died from this illness.) Jehoash king of Israel went to Elisha and cried for him. Jehoash said, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”

¹⁵ Elisha said to Jehoash, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then Elisha said to him, “Put your hand on the bow.” So Jehoash put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. ¹⁷ Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So Jehoash opened the window. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and Jehoash shot. Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory over Aram! You will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you destroy them.”

¹⁸ Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” So Jehoash took them. Then Elisha said to him, “Hit the ground.” So Jehoash hit the ground three times. Then he stopped. ¹⁹ The man of God was angry with him. Elisha said, “You should have hit five or six times! Then you would have defeated Aram until you had completely destroyed it! But now you will defeat it only three times.”

²⁰ So Elisha died and was buried.

At that time groups of Moabites would rob the land in the springtime. ²¹ Once the Israelites were burying a man. Suddenly they saw a group of Moabites coming. The Israelites threw the dead man into Elisha’s grave. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life. And he stood up on his feet.

War with Aram

²² During all the days Jehoahaz was king, Hazael king of Aram troubled Israel. ²³ But the Lord was kind to the Israelites. He had mercy on them. And he helped them because of his agreement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He did not destroy them or reject them.

²⁴ Hazael king of Aram died. And his son Ben-Hadad became king in his place. ²⁵ During a war Hazael had taken some cities from Jehoahaz, Jehoash’s father. But now Jehoash took back those cities from Hazael’s son Ben-Hadad. He defeated Ben-Hadad three times and took back the cities of Israel.

The Last Days

3 Remember this! There will be many troubles in the last days. ² In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. ³ They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good. ⁴ In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God. ⁵ They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people. ⁶ Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have. ⁷ Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith. ⁹ But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.

Obey the Teachings

¹⁰ But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. ¹¹ You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. ¹² Everyone who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. ¹³ People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.

¹⁴ But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. ¹⁷ Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.

The Lord’s Word Against the Leaders

The People Are Not Faithful