M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Joash Rebuilds the Temple

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. And Joash had sons and daughters.

⁴ Later, Joash decided to repair the Temple of the Lord. ⁵ He called the priests and the Levites together. He said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah. Gather the money all the Israelites have to pay every year. Use it to repair the Temple of your God. Do this now.” But the Levites did not hurry.

⁶ So King Joash called Jehoiada the leading priest. Joash said to him, “Why haven’t you made the Levites bring in the tax money from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses the Lord’s servant and the people of Israel used that money for the Holy Tent.”

⁷ In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God. They had used its holy things for worshiping the Baal idols.

⁸ King Joash commanded that a box for contributions be made. It was to be put outside, at the gate of the Temple of the Lord. ⁹ Then the Levites made an announcement in Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people to bring the tax money to the Lord. Moses the servant of God had made the Israelites give it while they were in the desert. ¹⁰ All the officers and people were happy to give their money. They put it in the box until the box was full. ¹¹ Then the Levites would take the box to the king’s officers. They would see that it was full of money. Then the king’s royal assistant and the leading priest’s officer would come and take out the money. Then they would take the box back to its place. They did this often and gathered much money. ¹² King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the Temple of the Lord. And they hired stoneworkers and carpenters to repair the Temple of the Lord. They also hired people to work with iron and bronze to repair the Temple.

¹³ The people worked hard. And the work to repair the Temple went well. They rebuilt the Temple of God to be as it was before. And they made it stronger. ¹⁴ When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make things for the Temple of the Lord. They made things for the service in the Temple and for the burnt offerings. They also made bowls and other things from gold and silver. Burnt offerings were given every day in the Temple of the Lord while Jehoiada was alive.

¹⁵ Jehoiada grew old. He had lived many years. Then he died when he was 130 years old. ¹⁶ Jehoiada was buried in Jerusalem with the kings. He was buried there because he had done much good in Israel for God and his Temple.

Joash Does Evil

¹⁷ After Jehoiada died, the officers of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash. The king listened to them. ¹⁸ The king and these leaders stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord. He is the God their ancestors obeyed. The king and the officers began to worship the Asherah idols and other idols. Because they did wrong, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ The Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him. The prophets warned them, but the people refused to listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God entered Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not be successful. You have left the Lord. So the Lord has also left you.’”

²¹ But the king and his officers made plans against Zechariah. The king commanded them to kill Zechariah. So they threw stones at him in the Temple courtyard until he died. ²² King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s kindness to him. So Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Before Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you.”

²³ At the end of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. Then they sent all the valuable things to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ The Aramean army came with only a small group of men. But the Lord let them defeat a very large army from Judah. He did this because the people of Judah had left the Lord. He is the God their ancestors followed. So Joash was punished. ²⁵ When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own officers made plans against him. They did this because he had killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in Jerusalem. But he was not buried in the graves of the kings.

²⁶ The officers who made plans against Joash were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab. ²⁷ The story of Joash’s sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he rebuilt the Temple of God are written down. They are in the book of the kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became king in his place.

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given a measuring stick like a rod. I was told, “Go and measure the temple^[a] of God and the altar, and count the number of people worshiping there. ² But do not measure the yard outside the temple. Leave it alone. It has been given to the people who are not Jews. They will walk on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in rough cloth to show how sad they are.”

⁴ These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to hurt the witnesses, fire comes from their mouths and kills their enemies. Anyone who tries to hurt them will die like this. ⁶ These witnesses have the power to stop the sky from raining during the time they are prophesying. They have power to make the waters become blood. They have power to send every kind of trouble to the earth. They can do this as many times as they want.

⁷ When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast will fight against them. This is the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit. He will defeat them and kill them. ⁸ The bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city. This city is named Sodom^[b] and Egypt. These names for the city have a special meaning. It is the city where the Lord was killed. ⁹ Men from every race of people, tribe, language, and nation will look at the bodies of the two witnesses for three and a half days. They will refuse to bury them. ¹⁰ People who live on the earth will be happy because these two are dead. They will have parties and send each other gifts. They will do these things because these two prophets brought much suffering to those who live on the earth.

¹¹ But after three and a half days, God put the breath of life into the two prophets again. They stood on their feet. Everyone who saw them was filled with fear. ¹² Then the two prophets heard a loud voice from heaven say, “Come up here!” And they went up into heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched them go.

¹³ At that same time there was a great earthquake. A tenth of the city was destroyed. And 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake. Those who did not die were very afraid. They gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second great trouble is finished. The third great trouble is coming soon.

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said:

¹⁶ Then the 24 elders^[c] bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. ¹⁷ They said:

¹⁹ Then God’s temple^[d] in heaven was opened. The Ark of the Covenant that holds the agreement that God gave to his people could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

The People Should Show Mercy

7 It was the fourth year of King Darius’s rule. It was on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev. The Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. ² The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech and their men to ask the Lord a question. ³ They went to the prophets and priests. They were at the Temple of the Lord of heaven’s armies. The men said, “For years the fifth month of each year has been a special time for us. We have shown our sadness and gone without food in this month. Should we continue to do this?”

⁴ The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me. He said, ⁵ “Tell the priests and the people in the country this: ‘For 70 years you went without food and cried in the fifth and seventh months. But that was not really for me. ⁶ And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves. ⁷ The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing. Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy then. People lived in the southern area and the western mountain slopes.’”

⁸ And the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah again: ⁹ “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Do what is right and fair. Be kind and merciful to each other. ¹⁰ Don’t hurt widows and orphans, foreigners or the poor. Don’t even think of doing evil to somebody else.’

¹¹ “But they refused to pay attention. They were stubborn and would not listen. ¹² They made their hearts as hard as rock. They would not listen to the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies. And they would not hear his words through the earlier prophets. So the Lord of heaven’s armies became very angry.

¹³ “The Lord of heaven’s armies says, ‘When I called to them, they would not listen. So when they called to me, I would not listen. ¹⁴ I scattered them like a hurricane to other countries. These were countries they did not know. This good land was left so ruined that no one could live there.’”

The Shepherd and His Sheep

10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. The man who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The man who guards the door opens it for him. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. ⁴ He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. They follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” ⁶ Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.

Jesus Is the Good Shepherd

⁷ So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth. I am the door for the sheep. ⁸ All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. The person who enters through me will be saved. He will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life—life in all its fullness.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. ¹² The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd who owns them. So when the worker sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I give my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not in this flock here. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can take it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes it away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”

¹⁹ Again the Jews did not agree with each other because of these words Jesus said. ²⁰ Many of them said, “A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?”

²¹ But others said, “A man who is crazy with a demon does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²² The time came for the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. This was during the winter. ²³ Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch. ²⁴ The Jews gathered around him and said, “How long will you make us wonder about you? If you are the Christ, then tell us plainly.”

Jesus Is the Son of God

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I told you already, but you did not believe. I do miracles in my Father’s name. Those miracles show who I am. ²⁶ But you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never die. And no person can steal them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

³¹ Again the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus. ³² But Jesus said to them, “I have done many good works from the Father. Which of these good works are you killing me for?”

³³ The Jews answered, “We are not killing you for any good work you did. But you say things that are against God. You are only a man, but you say you are the same as God!”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written in your law that God said, ‘I have said you are gods!’^{[a] 35} This Scripture called those people gods, the people who received God’s message. And Scripture is always true. ³⁶ So why do you say that I speak against God because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? I am the one God chose and sent into the world. ³⁷ If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe me. ³⁸ But if I do what my Father does, even though you don’t believe in me, believe what I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

³⁹ They tried to take Jesus again, but he escaped from them.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River to the place where John had first baptized. Jesus stayed there, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “John never did a miracle. But everything John said about this man is true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.