M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Manasseh becomes the king of Judah
21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. He ruled as king in Jerusalem for 55 years. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 Manasseh did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same terrible sins that the other nations in Canaan had done. Those were the nations that the Lord had chased out so that the Israelites could live there. 3 Manasseh built again the altars on the hills that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for people to worship Baal. He also made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bent down low to worship all the stars in the sky. 4 He built altars in the Lord's temple.[a] The Lord had said about his temple, ‘That is my home in Jerusalem where people will worship me.’
5 Manasseh built altars to give honour to the stars, in both yards of the Lord's temple. 6 He burnt his own son with fire as a sacrifice. He used magic and false gods to find out what would happen in the future. He took advice from magicians and people who talked to the spirits of dead people. He did many things that the Lord said were very evil. This made the Lord very angry.
7 Manasseh used wood to make an image of the false god, Asherah. He put this idol in the Lord's temple. The Lord had said this about his temple to King David and to his son King Solomon: ‘My people will worship me in my temple here in Jerusalem. That is the place that I have chosen to be my home for ever. I have chosen it from among all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never cause the Israelite people to leave this land that I gave to their ancestors. But they must be careful to obey all my commands and all my Law that my servant Moses gave to them.’
9 But the people did not obey the Lord. Manasseh caused them to turn away from God. The Israelites did more evil things than the people who lived in Canaan before them. The Lord had destroyed those nations so that the Israelites could live there.
10 So the Lord used his servants, the prophets, to say this: 11 ‘Manasseh, the king of Judah, has done terrible sins. He has done more evil things than the Amorites did, who lived in Canaan before him. He has caused the people of Judah to do wrong things as they worship his idols. 12 So the Lord, Israel's God, says this: “I will cause great trouble to happen in Jerusalem and in all the kingdom of Judah. Everyone who hears the news about it will be very surprised. 13 I will judge Jerusalem and I will punish the people, as I punished Samaria and the family of King Ahab.[b] I will remove the people from Jerusalem, like someone who washes the dirt from both sides of a plate.
14 I will no longer help those of my own people who still remain. I will put them under the power of their enemies. All their enemies will rob them. They will take all their valuable things for themselves. 15 My people have done things that I say are evil. They have made me very angry. They have continued to do that since their ancestors came out from Egypt, until today.” ’
16 Also, Manasseh murdered many people who had not done anything wrong. Their blood was in all the streets of Jerusalem! He caused the people in Judah to do bad things too. He caused them to do things that the Lord said were evil.
17 The other things that happened while Manasseh was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about the things that Manasseh did, including all his terrible sins. 18 Manasseh died and they buried him in the garden of his palace. It is called Uzza's garden. His son Amon became king after him.
Amon becomes the king of Judah
19 Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled as king in Jerusalem for two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth. She was the daughter of Haruz, who came from Jotbah. 20 Amon did things that the Lord said were evil, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He lived in the same bad way as his father did. He bent down low to worship the useless idols that his father had worshipped. 22 He turned away from the Lord, the God that his ancestors worshipped. He did not obey the Lord's teaching.
23 Amon's officers decided to kill him. They killed him in his palace. 24 Then the people of Judah punished all Amon's murderers with death. They chose his son Josiah to be king after him.
25 The other things that Amon did are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’ 26 People buried him in his grave in Uzza's garden. His son Josiah became king after him.
Jesus is greater than Moses
3 So, Christian friends, think carefully about who Jesus is. Like us, God has chosen you to belong to him. We tell people that we believe in Jesus as the messenger that God has sent. He helps us as God's most important priest. 2 That is what God sent Jesus to do. Jesus did everything that God wanted, just like Moses. Moses served God well when he was the leader of God's people long ago. 3 We know that someone who builds a house is more important than the house itself. In the same way, we should praise Jesus more than we praise Moses, because Jesus is greater. 4 Every house has someone who built it. But God is the one who has built all things. 5 We say that Moses served God well, like a servant in God's house. He took care of all God's people. In this way, Moses showed clearly the message that God would speak later. 6 But Christ serves in God's house as a son, not as a servant. He is the leader of God's people today. And we are God's people. We belong to his house if we continue to believe in Christ. We must be brave. We must continue to show people clearly that we trust God. He will do what he has promised to do.
A place where God's people can rest
7 God's Holy Spirit says this:
‘You must listen when you hear God speak today.
8 Do not refuse to obey him.
Do not be like God's people many years ago.
When they travelled in the wilderness, they turned against me.
They wanted to see if I would punish them.
9 For 40 years your ancestors saw the great things that I did.
But still they did not obey me.
10 That is why I became angry with them.
I said, “They always want to do what is wrong.
They refuse to understand my message.”
11 Because of that, I promised to punish them.
Because I was angry with them, I said,
“They will never arrive in my special place of rest.” ’[a]
12 So be careful, my Christian friends. Do not refuse to trust God. That would be a very bad thing to do. Do not turn away from the God who lives for ever. 13 Instead, help each other to be strong every day. Today, you can still hear God's message. While that is still true, do not refuse to obey God. Do not think that sin will not hurt you. That is a lie. 14 We must continue to trust Christ very well, as we did when we first believed in him. We must continue to trust him until the end of our lives. Then we will share in everything that is his. 15 We have seen what the Bible says:
‘You must listen when you hear God speak today.
Do not refuse to obey him.
Do not be like God's people many years ago,
when they turned against God.’
16 Who were those people who heard God speak? All of them were the people that Moses led away from Egypt. They heard God's message, but they refused to obey him. 17 Who was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those same people. They did what was wrong. So they died and their bodies remained in the wilderness. 18 God promised to punish them, because they refused to obey him. He said, ‘They will never arrive in my special place of rest.’
19 So we must be careful ourselves! Those people did not trust God. As a result, they never arrived in God's special place.
Return to the Lord!
14 Israel's people, return to the Lord your God!
Your sins have caused you to fall down.
2 Return to the Lord and pray to him! Say to him,
‘Please forgive all our sins.
Be kind to us as we come to you.
We will praise you with our mouths, as our sacrifice to you.
3 Assyria cannot save us.
The horses that we ride into war will not keep us safe.
We will never again say to the idols that we have made, “You are our gods.”
You are kind to children who have no family.
So please be kind to us.’
4 The Lord says,
‘My people turned away from me, but I will forgive them.
I will love them very much.
I will not be angry with them any more.
5 I will bless Israel's people, like rain that falls on dry ground.
They will grow like beautiful flowers.
They will have strong roots, like the great trees in Lebanon.
6 They will grow like a tree that makes new branches.
They will be beautiful like olive trees.
They will have a sweet smell, like the forests in Lebanon.
7 I will give my people shade to live in safely.
They will plant crops that give them plenty of food.
They will be successful, like a vine that gives many grapes.
They will be famous, like the wine from Lebanon.[a]
8 People of Ephraim, do not let me see your idols any more!
I will answer your prayers. I will take care of you.
I am like a strong green tree.
All the good things that you have come from me.’
9 If you are wise, you should understand these things.
If you understand, think carefully about them.
The Lord teaches you to live in ways that are right.
Righteous people live in those good ways.
But people who turn against the Lord fall down and lose their way.[b]
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
God understands me[a]
139 Lord, you look deep inside me,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down,
and you know when I get up.
Even when you are far away,
you understand what I am thinking about.
3 You see me when I go out,
and you see me when I stay at home.
You know everything that I do!
4 Yes Lord, before I open my mouth to speak,
you know what I will say.
5 You are all around me, in front of me and behind me.
You put your hand on me to help me.
6 You know so much about me, it is wonderful.
I cannot understand it.
My thoughts cannot reach as high as that!
7 Is there anywhere that I can go
to run away from your Spirit?
Anywhere that I go, you are already there!
8 If I go up to heaven,
you would be there.
If I dig deep down into the ground to reach Sheol,
you would be there too.
9 If I fly away to where the sun rises in the east,
or to the other side of the sea in the west,
you would be there.
10 You would use your hand to lead me.
Your strong right hand would keep me safe.
11 I might say, ‘I will hide myself in the dark,
and the light round me will change into night.’
12 But it is never too dark for you to see.
For you, the night has as much light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you!
13 You made every part of me.
You made me grow inside my mother before I was born.
14 I thank you for the wonderful way that you have made me.
Everything that you do is wonderful!
I know it is true.
15 While you caused me to grow in a secret place,
none of my body was hidden from you.
You made me deep in the earth.[b]
16 Your eyes watched me before I was born.
Before I had seen the light of day,
you decided how many days I would live!
You wrote it down in your book.
17 You have so many thoughts about me, God,
that I cannot understand them all.
18 They are too many for me to count,
more than the sand on the shore of the sea.
Even if I finished counting them,
you would still be there!
19 God, you should surely destroy the wicked people!
Yes, you murderers, leave me alone!
20 Those people say bad things against you, God.
Your enemies always tell lies.
21 Lord, I hate those people who hate you.
I have no time for those who turn against you.
22 Yes, I really hate them.
Your enemies are my enemies too.
23 Please God, look deep inside me.
See what is there in my thoughts.
24 Show me if I am following any evil way.
Lead me in the right way that has always been true.
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