M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David’s Plans for the Temple

28 David commanded all the leaders of Israel to come to Jerusalem. There were the leaders of the tribes and the commanders of the divisions serving the king. There were the commanders of 1,000 men and of 100 men. There were the leaders who took care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons. There were the men over the palace, the powerful men and all the brave warriors.

² King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a place to keep the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. I wanted it to be God’s footstool. And I made plans to build a temple for worship to God. ³ But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple for worship to me. You must not do that because you are a soldier. You have killed many men.’

⁴ “But the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family. He chose me to be king of Israel forever. The Lord chose the tribe of Judah to be a leader. And from the people of Judah, he chose my father’s family. And from that family God was pleased to make me king of Israel. ⁵ The Lord has given me many sons. And from those sons he has chosen Solomon. Solomon will be the new king of Israel. Israel is the Lord’s kingdom. ⁶ The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple. And he will build the area around it. This is because I have chosen Solomon to be my son. And I will be his father. ⁷ He is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey them, I will make his kingdom strong forever.’”

⁸ David said, “Now, in front of all Israel and God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then you may keep this good land. And you may pass it on to your descendants forever.

⁹ “And you, my son Solomon, accept the God of your father. Serve him completely. Be happy to serve him. Do this because the Lord knows what is in every person’s mind. He understands everything you think. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from the Lord, he will leave you forever. ¹⁰ Solomon, you must understand this. The Lord has chosen you to build the Temple as his holy place. Be strong and finish the job.”

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for building the Temple. Those plans were also for the porch around the Temple. They were for its buildings, its storerooms, its upper rooms and its inside rooms. They also were the plans for the place where the people’s sins were removed. ¹² David gave him plans for everything he had in mind. David gave him plans for the courtyards around the Lord’s Temple and all the rooms around it. He gave him plans for the Temple treasuries. And he gave him plans for the treasuries of the holy things used in the Temple. ¹³ David gave Solomon directions for the groups of the priests and Levites. David told him about all the work of serving in the Temple of the Lord. He told him about the things to be used in the Temple service. ¹⁴ Many things made of gold or silver would be used in the Temple. David told Solomon how much gold or silver should be used to make each thing. ¹⁵ David told him how much gold to use for each gold lampstand and its lamps. He told him how much silver to use for each silver lampstand and its lamps. The different lampstands were to be used where needed. ¹⁶ David told how much gold should be used for each table that held the holy bread. And he told how much silver should be used for the silver tables. ¹⁷ He told how much pure gold should be used to make the forks, bowls and pitchers. He told how much gold should be used to make each gold dish. He told how much silver should be used to make each silver dish. ¹⁸ David told how much pure gold should be used for the altar of incense. He also gave Solomon the plans for the chariot. This is where the golden creatures spread their wings over the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.

¹⁹ David said, “All these plans were written with the Lord guiding me. He helped me understand everything in the plans.”

²⁰ David also said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and brave. Do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. The Lord God, my God, is with you. He will help you until all the work is finished. He will not leave you. You will build the Temple of the Lord. ²¹ The groups of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the Temple of God. Every skilled worker is ready to help you with all the work. The leaders and all the people will obey every command you give.”

False Teachers

2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as there are now. And you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. ² Many will follow their evil ways and say evil things about the Way of truth. ³ Those false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you what is not true. But God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.

⁴ When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. God sent them to hell and put them in caves^[a] of darkness. They are being held there to be judged. ⁵ And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who preached about being right with God. ⁶ And God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.^[b] He burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. He made those cities an example to show what will happen to those who are against God. ⁷ But God saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the sinful behavior of evil people. ⁸ (Lot was a good man, but he lived with evil people every day. His good heart was hurt by the evil things that he saw and heard.) ⁹ And so the Lord knows how to save those who serve him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day. ¹⁰ That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want, and for those who hate the Lord’s authority.

These false teachers do anything they want and brag about it. They are not afraid to say bad things about the glorious angels. ¹¹ The angels are much stronger and more powerful than false teachers. But even the angels do not accuse them with insults before^[c] the Lord. ¹² But these men say bad things about what they do not understand. They are like animals that act without thinking. These animals are born to be caught and killed. And, like wild animals, these false teachers will be destroyed. ¹³ They have caused many people to suffer; so they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. They take pleasure in doing evil things openly. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you. They bring shame to you in the meals that you eat together. ¹⁴ Every time they look at a woman they want her. Their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into the trap of sin. They have taught their hearts to be selfish. God will punish them. ¹⁵ These false teachers left the right road and lost their way. They followed the way that Balaam went. Balaam was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But a donkey told Balaam that he was sinning. And the donkey is an animal that cannot talk. But the donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s crazy thinking.

¹⁷ Those false teachers are like rivers that have no water. They are like clouds blown by a storm. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them. ¹⁸ They brag with words that mean nothing. By their evil desires they lead people into the trap of sin. They lead away people who are just beginning to escape from other people who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For a person is a slave of anything that controls him. ²⁰ They were made free from the evil in the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they return to evil things and those things control them, then it is worse for them than it was before. ²¹ Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way. That would be better than to know the right way and then to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them. ²² What they did is like this true saying: “A dog eats what it throws up.”^[d] And, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud.”

The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem

Rescue and Punishment

Is It Right to Heal on the Sabbath?

14 On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of a leading Pharisee to eat with him. The people there were all watching Jesus very closely. ² A man with dropsy^[a] was brought before Jesus. ³ Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “Is it right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?” ⁴ But they would not answer his question. So Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “If your son^[b] or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out quickly?” ⁶ And they could not answer him.

Don’t Make Yourself Important

⁷ Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So Jesus told this story: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the most important seat. The host may have invited someone more important than you. ⁹ And if you are sitting in the most important seat, the host will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then you will begin to move down to the last place. And you will be very embarrassed. ¹⁰ So when you are invited, go sit in a seat that is not important. Then the host will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place!’ Then all the other guests will respect you. ¹¹ Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But the person who makes himself humble will be made great.”

You Will Be Rewarded

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. At another time they will invite you to eat with them. Then you will have your reward. ¹³ Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. ¹⁴ Then you will be blessed, because they cannot pay you back. They have nothing. But you will be rewarded when the good people rise from death.”

A Story About a Big Banquet

¹⁵ One of the men sitting at the table with Jesus heard these things. The man said to Jesus, “The people who will eat a meal in God’s kingdom are blessed.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “A man gave a big banquet and invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time to eat, the man sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come! Everything is ready!’

¹⁸ “But all the guests said they could not come. Each man made an excuse. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another man said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ A third man said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come.’ ²¹ So the servant returned. He told his master what had happened. Then the master became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² Later the servant said to him, ‘Master, I did what you told me to do, but we still have places for more people.’ ²³ The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full! ²⁴ None of those men that I invited first will ever eat with me!’”

You Must First Plan

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself! ²⁷ If anyone is not willing to die on a cross when he follows me, then he cannot be my follower. ²⁸ If you wanted to build a tower, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job. ²⁹ If you don’t do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, then all who would see it would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish!’

³¹ “If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If the king has only 10,000 men, he will plan to see if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. ³² If he cannot defeat the other king, then he will send some men to speak to the other king and ask for peace. ³³ In the same way, you must give up everything you have to follow me. If you don’t, you cannot be my follower!

Don’t Lose Your Influence

³⁴ “Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, then it is worth nothing. You cannot make it salty again. ³⁵ It is no good for the soil or for manure. People throw it away.

“Let those with ears use them and listen!”