M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

14 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then Abijah’s son Asa became king in his place. There was peace in the country for 10 years in Asa’s time.

Asa King of Judah

² Asa did what the Lord said was good and right. ³ He removed the foreign altars used for idol worship. He removed the places where false gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars that honored false gods. And he tore down the Asherah idols. ⁴ Asa commanded the people of Judah to obey the Lord, the God their ancestors followed. Asa commanded them to obey the Lord’s teachings and commandments. ⁵ He also removed the places where false gods were worshiped and the incense altars from every town in Judah. So the kingdom had peace while Asa was king. ⁶ Asa built strong, walled cities in Judah during the time of peace. He had no war in these years because the Lord gave him peace.

⁷ Asa said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build up these towns and put walls around them. Let’s make towers, gates and bars in the gates. This country is ours because we have obeyed the Lord our God. We have tried to obey him, and he has given us peace all around.” So they built and had success.

⁸ Asa had an army of 300,000 men from the people of Judah. And he had 280,000 men from the people of Benjamin. The men from Judah carried large shields and spears. The men from Benjamin carried small shields and bows and arrows. All these men were brave fighting men.

⁹ Then Zerah from Cush came out to fight Asa’s army. Zerah had a large army and 300 chariots. They came as far as the town of Mareshah. ¹⁰ Asa went out to fight Zerah. Asa’s army prepared for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹ Asa called out to the Lord his God. He said, “Lord, only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us, Lord our God. We depend on you. We fight against this large army in your name. Lord, you are our God. Don’t let anyone win against you.”

¹² Then the Lord defeated the Cushites when Asa’s army from Judah attacked them. And the Cushites ran away. ¹³ Asa’s army chased them as far as the town of Gerar. So many Cushites were killed that the army could not fight again. They were crushed by the Lord and his army. Asa and his army carried many valuable things away from the enemy. ¹⁴ They destroyed all the towns near Gerar. The people living in these towns were afraid of the Lord. These towns had many valuable things. So Asa’s army took these things away. ¹⁵ Asa’s army also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived. And they took many sheep and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Changes

15 The Spirit of God entered Azariah son of Oded. ² Azariah went to meet Asa. Azariah said, “Listen to me, Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you obey the Lord, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God. And they were without a priest to teach them and without the teachings. ⁴ But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord again. He is the God of Israel. They looked for the Lord and found him. ⁵ In those days no one could travel safely. There was much trouble in all the nations. ⁶ One nation would destroy another nation. And one city would destroy another city. This happened because God troubled them with all kinds of trouble. ⁷ But you should be strong. Don’t give up, because you will get a reward for your good work.”

⁸ Asa felt brave when he heard these words and the message from Azariah. Azariah was the son of Oded the prophet. So he removed the hated idols from all of Judah and Benjamin. And he removed them from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that was in front of the porch of the Temple of the Lord.

⁹ Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin. He also gathered the people of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many people came to Asa from Israel. They came because they saw that the Lord, Asa’s God, was with him.

¹⁰ Asa and these people gathered in Jerusalem. This was in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats. Asa’s army had taken these animals and other valuable things from their enemies. ¹² Then they made an agreement. They promised to obey the Lord with their whole being. He is the God their ancestors served. ¹³ Anyone who refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be killed. It did not matter if that person was important or unimportant. It did not matter if that person was a man or woman. ¹⁴ Then Asa and the people made a promise before the Lord. They shouted with a loud voice. They also blew on trumpets and sheep’s horns. ¹⁵ All the people of Judah were happy about the promise. They had promised with all their heart. They looked for God and found him. So the Lord gave them peace in all the country.

¹⁶ King Asa also removed Maacah, his mother, from being queen mother. He did this because she had made an Asherah idol, which the Lord hated. Asa cut down that idol and smashed it into pieces. Then he burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ The places of worship to false gods were not removed from Judah. Asa desired very much to obey the Lord all his life.

¹⁸ And Asa put the holy gifts that he and his father had given into the Temple of God. These things were made of silver and gold.

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.

John Sees Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And I heard the same voice that spoke to me before. It was the voice that sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” ² Then the Spirit took control of me. There before me was a throne in heaven. Someone was sitting on the throne. ³ The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne there were 24 other thrones. There were 24 elders^[a] sitting on the 24 thrones. The elders were dressed in white, and they had golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ Lightning flashes and noises of thunder came from the throne. Before the throne there were seven lamps burning. These lamps are the seven spirits of God. ⁶ Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass. It was clear like crystal.

Around the throne, on each side, there were four living things. These living things had eyes all over them, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living thing was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of these four living things had six wings. The living things were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying:

⁹ These living things give glory and honor and thanks to the One who sits on the throne. He is the One who lives forever and ever. And every time the living things do this, ¹⁰ the 24 elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne. The elders worship him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and say:

The Beauty of the Temple

2 The Lord spoke his word through Haggai the prophet on the twenty-first day of the seventh month. This is what the Lord said: ² “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah. Speak also to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And speak to the rest of the people who were left alive. Say: ³ ‘Do any of you who are still alive remember how beautiful the Temple was before it was destroyed? What does it look like now? The truth is it means nothing to you!’ ⁴ But the Lord says: ‘Zerubbabel, be brave. Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be brave. And all you people who live in the land, be brave,’ says the Lord. ‘Work, because I am with you,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁵ ‘I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit is still with you. So don’t be afraid.’

⁶ “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘In a short time I will shake the heavens and earth once again. And I will shake the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations. All the nations will bring their wealth. Then I will fill this Temple with glory,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁹ ‘The new Temple will be more beautiful than the one that was destroyed,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ‘And in this place I will give peace to the people,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.”

¹⁰ The Lord spoke his word to Haggai the prophet. This was on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. It was in the second year that Darius was king of Persia. This is what the Lord said: ¹¹ “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Ask the priests what the teachings say. ¹² A person might carry meat made holy for the Lord in the fold of his clothes. And that fold might touch bread, cooked food, wine, olive oil or some other food. Will the thing the fold touches be made holy for the Lord, too?’”

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³ Then Haggai said, “A person who touches a dead body will become unclean. If he touches any of these foods, will it become unclean, too?”

The priests answered, “Yes. It would become unclean.”

¹⁴ Then Haggai answered, “The Lord says this: ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They are unclean, and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. If these people offer something at the altar to me, it is also unclean.

¹⁵ “‘Think about this from now on! Think about how it was before you started piling stones on top of stones. Think about how it was before you started building the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁶ A person used to come to a pile of grain expecting to find 20 basketfuls. But there were only 10. And a person used to come to the wine vat to take out 50 jarfuls. But only 20 were there. ¹⁷ I destroyed your work with diseases, mildew and hail. But you still did not come to me.’ The Lord says this. ¹⁸ ‘It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. On this day the people finished working on the foundation of the Temple of the Lord. From now on, think about these things: ¹⁹ Do you have seeds for your crops already in the barn? No! Your vines and trees are not giving fruit yet, either. You don’t have any figs, pomegranates or olives yet. But from now on I will bless you!’”

The Lord Makes a Promise to Zerubbabel

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word a second time to Haggai. It was on the twenty-fourth day of the month. This is what the Lord said: ²¹ “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah: ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. ²² I will destroy the foreign kingdoms. I will take away the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will destroy the chariots and their riders. The horses will fall with their riders. People will kill each other with swords.’ ²³ The Lord of heaven’s armies says this: ‘On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant.’ The Lord says this: ‘I will make you important like my signet ring. This is because I have chosen you!’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.”

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. ² One night Nicodemus came to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do the miracles you do, unless God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s kingdom.”

⁴ Nicodemus said, “But if a man is already old, how can he be born again? He cannot enter his mother’s body again. So how can he be born a second time?”

⁵ But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. ⁶ A person’s body is born from his human parents. But a person’s spiritual life is born from the Spirit. ⁷ Don’t be surprised when I tell you, ‘You must all be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to go. You hear the wind blow. But you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus asked, “How can all this be possible?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “You are an important teacher in Israel. But you still don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I tell you the truth. We talk about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you don’t accept what we tell you. ¹² I have told you about things here on earth, but you do not believe me. So surely you will not believe me if I tell you about the things of heaven! ¹³ The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.^[a]

¹⁴ “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert.^[b] It is the same with the Son of Man. The Son of Man must be lifted up too. ¹⁵ Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ He who believes in God’s Son is not judged guilty. He who does not believe has already been judged guilty, because he has not believed in God’s only Son. ¹⁹ People are judged by this fact: I am the Light from God that has come into the world. But men did not want light. They wanted darkness because they were doing evil things. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light. He will not come to the light because it will show all the evil things he has done. ²¹ But he who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that the things he has done were done through God.”

Jesus and John the Baptist

²² After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea. There Jesus stayed with his followers and baptized people. ²³ John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put into prison.)

²⁵ Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing.^{[c] 26} So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷ John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. ²⁸ You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. The friend who helps the bridegroom waits and listens for him. He is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That is the same pleasure I have. And my time of joy is now here. ³⁰ He must become greater. And I must become less important.

The One Who Comes from Heaven

³¹ “The One who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. ³² He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. ³³ The person who accepts what he says has proven that God is true. ³⁴ God sent him, and he tells the things that God says. God gives him the Spirit fully. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. ³⁶ He who believes in the Son has eternal life. But he who does not obey the Son will never have that life. God’s anger stays with him.”