M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Hezekiah Purifies the Temple

29 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. And he ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. ² Hezekiah did what the Lord said was right. He did just as his ancestor David had done.

³ Hezekiah opened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them. He did this in the first month of the first year he was king. ⁴ Hezekiah brought the priests and Levites together in a group. He met with them in the courtyard on the east side of the Temple. ⁵ Hezekiah said, “Listen to me, Levites! Make yourselves ready for the Lord’s service. And make the Temple of the Lord holy. He is the God your ancestors obeyed. Remove from the Temple the things that make it impure. ⁶ Our ancestors were unfaithful to God. They did what the Lord said was wrong. They left the Lord. They stopped worshiping at the Temple where he lives. They rejected him. ⁷ They shut the doors of the porch of the Temple. They let the fire go out in the lamps. They stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸ So the Lord became very angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And he punished them. Other peoples are frightened and shocked by what the Lord did to Judah and Jerusalem. They insult the people of Judah. You know these things are true. ⁹ That is why our ancestors were killed in battle. That is why our sons, daughters and wives were taken prisoner. ¹⁰ So now I, Hezekiah, have decided to make an agreement with the Lord, the God of Israel. Then he will not be angry with us anymore. ¹¹ My sons, don’t waste any more time. The Lord chose you to serve him. You should serve him and burn incense to him.”

¹² These are the Levites who started to work. From the Kohathite family there were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the Merarite family there were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the Gershonite family there were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah. ¹³ From Elizaphan’s family there were Shimri and Jeiel. From Asaph’s family there were Zechariah and Mattaniah. ¹⁴ From Heman’s family there were Jehiel and Shimei. From Jeduthun’s family there were Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ These Levites gathered their brothers together. Then they made themselves holy for service in the Temple. They obeyed the king’s command that had come from the Lord. They went into the Temple of the Lord to purify it. ¹⁶ The priests went into the Temple of the Lord to purify it. They took out all the unclean things they found in the Temple of the Lord. And they put them in the Temple courtyard. Then the Levites took these things out to the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ They made the Temple holy for the Lord’s service. They began on the first day of the first month. On the eighth day of the month, they came to the porch of the Temple. For eight more days they made the Temple of the Lord holy. They finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸ Then they went to King Hezekiah. They said to him, “We have purified all the Temple of the Lord. We have purified the altar for burnt offerings and its things. We have purified the table for the holy bread and all its things. ¹⁹ When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God. He removed some things from the Temple. But we have put them back and made them holy for the Lord. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”

²⁰ Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city. They went up to the Temple of the Lord. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven male lambs and seven male goats. These animals were an offering to remove the sin of the people and the kingdom of Judah. And this offering made the Temple ready for service to God. King Hezekiah commanded the priests to offer these animals on the Lord’s altar. The priests were from the family of Aaron. ²² So the priests killed the bulls. Then they sprinkled the bulls’ blood on the altar. They killed the male sheep and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they killed the lambs. And they sprinkled the lambs’ blood on the altar. ²³ Then the priests brought the male goats before the king and the people there. The goats were for the sin offering. The king and the people put their hands on the goats. ²⁴ Then the priests killed the goats. They made a sin offering with the goats’ blood on the altar. They did this to remove the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to the Lord. The king had said that the burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵ King Hezekiah put the Levites in the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres. He did this as David, Gad and Nathan had commanded. (Gad was the king’s seer, and Nathan was a prophet.) This command came from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments of music. And the priests stood ready with their trumpets.

²⁷ Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the singing to the Lord also began. The trumpets were blown. And the musical instruments of David king of Israel were played. ²⁸ All the people worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpet players blew their trumpets. They did this until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹ When the sacrifices were finished, King Hezekiah and everyone with him bowed down and worshiped. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and his officers ordered the Levites to praise the Lord. They were to use the words David and Asaph the seer used. They praised God with joy. And they bowed down and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, “Now you people of Judah have given yourselves to the Lord. Come near to the Temple of the Lord. Bring sacrifices and offerings to show thanks to the Lord.” So the people brought sacrifices and offerings to show thanks to the Lord. Anyone who wanted to also brought burnt offerings. ³² For burnt offerings they brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 male sheep and 200 lambs. All these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord. ³³ The offerings made holy for the Lord totaled 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats. ³⁴ There were not enough priests to skin all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them. They helped until the work was finished and other priests could be made holy for the Lord’s service. The Levites had been more careful to make themselves holy for the Lord’s service than the priests. ³⁵ There were many burnt offerings. With them were the fat of fellowship offerings and drink offerings. So the service in the Temple of the Lord began again. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and the people were very happy. They were happy that God had made it happen so quickly for his people.

The Last Troubles

15 Then I saw another wonder in heaven. It was great and amazing. There were seven angels bringing seven troubles. These are the last troubles, because after these troubles God’s anger is finished.

² I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All of those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and over the number of his name were standing by the sea. They had harps that God had given them. ³ They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

⁵ After this I saw the temple (the Tent of the Agreement) in heaven. The temple was opened. ⁶ And the seven angels bringing the seven troubles came out of the temple. They were dressed in clean, shining linen. They wore golden bands tied around their chests. ⁷ Then one of the four living things gave seven golden bowls to the seven angels. The bowls were filled with the anger of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸ The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and the power of God. No one could enter the temple until the seven troubles of the seven angels were finished.

⁴ This is what the Lord my God says: “Feed the sheep that are about to be killed. ⁵ Their buyers kill them and are not punished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord. I am rich.’ Even the shepherds don’t feel sorry for their sheep. ⁶ Even I don’t feel sorry anymore for the people of this country,” says the Lord. “I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country. And I will not stop them.”

⁷ So I fed the sheep about to be killed, particularly the weakest ones. Then I took two sticks. I called one Favor. I called the other Union. And I fed the sheep. ⁸ In one month I got rid of three shepherds. The flock hated me, and I got impatient with them. ⁹ I said, “I will no longer take care of you like a shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are to be destroyed be destroyed. Let those that are left eat each other.”

¹⁰ Then I broke the stick named Favor. This broke the agreement God made with his people. ¹¹ That day it was broken. Those weak sheep were watching me. They knew this message was from the Lord.

¹² Then I said, “If you want to pay me, then pay me. If not, then don’t.” So they paid me 30 pieces of silver.

¹³ The Lord said to me, “Throw the money to the potter.” That is how little they thought I was worth.^[b] So I threw the money to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.

¹⁴ Then I broke the second stick named Union. This broke the tie between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Become a foolish shepherd again. ¹⁶ I am going to get a new shepherd for the country. He will not care for the dying sheep. He will not look for the young ones. He will not heal the injured ones. He will not feed the healthy. But he will eat the best sheep and tear off their hooves.

Jesus Comforts His Followers

14 Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. And trust in me. ² There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you to be with me so that you may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”^[a]

⁵ Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way. And I am the truth and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. ⁷ If you really knew me, then you would know my Father, too. But now you do know him, and you have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

⁹ Jesus answered, “I have been with you a long time now. Do you still not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come from me. The Father lives in me, and he is doing his own work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done. ¹² I tell you the truth. He who believes in me will do the same things that I do. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will do the things I command. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper.^[b] He will give you this Helper to be with you forever. ¹⁷ The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it does not see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you and he will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you. ¹⁹ In a little while the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live, too. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you. ²¹ He who knows my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. And my Father will love him who loves me. I will love him and will show myself to him.”

²² Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you plan to show yourself to us, but not to the world?”

²³ Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, then he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father, who sent me.

²⁵ “I have told you all these things while I am with you. ²⁶ But the Helper will teach you everything. He will cause you to remember all the things I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.

²⁷ “I leave you peace. My peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled. Don’t be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going, but I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you should be happy that I am going back to the Father because he is greater than I am. ²⁹ I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe. ³⁰ I will not talk with you much longer. The ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. ³¹ But the world must know that I love the Father. So I do exactly what the Father told me to do.

“Come now, let us go.