M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

11 Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem. He brought together 180,000 capable young men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He had decided to go to war against Israel. He wanted his fighting men to get the kingdom of Israel back for him.

² But a message came to Shemaiah from the Lord. Shemaiah was a man of God. The Lord said to him, ³ “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Speak to all the people of Israel in Judah and Benjamin. Tell them, ⁴ ‘The Lord says, “Do not go up to fight against your relatives. I want every one of you to go back home. Things have happened exactly the way I planned them.” ’ ” So the young men obeyed the Lord’s message. They turned back. They didn’t march out against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Builds Up Judah’s Towns

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He made Judah more secure by building up its towns. ⁶ He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soko and Adullam. ⁸ He also built up Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. All of them were cities in Judah and Benjamin that had high walls around them. ¹¹ Rehoboam made those cities even more secure. He put commanders in them. He gave the cities plenty of food, olive oil and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in all those cities. He made them very strong. So he ruled over Judah and Benjamin.

¹³ The priests and Levites were on Rehoboam’s side. They came from their territories all over Israel. ¹⁴ The Levites even left their grasslands and other property behind. They came to Judah and Jerusalem. That’s because Jeroboam and his sons had refused to accept them as priests of the Lord. ¹⁵ Jeroboam had appointed his own priests to serve at the high places. He had made statues of gods that looked like goats and calves. His priests served those gods. ¹⁶ Some people from every tribe in Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem. With all their hearts they wanted to worship the Lord. He is the God of Israel. They came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to him. He was the God of their people of long ago. ¹⁷ All those who came to Jerusalem made the kingdom of Judah strong. They helped Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During that time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. ¹⁹ Mahalath had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Maakah. She was the daughter of Absalom. She had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maakah. In fact, he loved her more than any of his other wives and concubines. He had a total of 18 wives and 60 concubines. And he had a total of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Maakah’s son Abijah to be the chief prince among his brothers. He did it because he wanted to make him king. ²³ Rehoboam acted wisely. He scattered some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin. He put them in all the cities that had high walls around them. He gave them plenty of food and everything else they needed. He also gave them many wives.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 Rehoboam had made his position as king secure. He had become very strong. Then he turned away from the law of the Lord. So did all the people of Judah. ² They hadn’t been faithful to the Lord. So Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt. ³ He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites came with him from Egypt. There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted. ⁴ Shishak captured the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He came all the way to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered together in Jerusalem. They were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “The Lord says, ‘You have left me. So now I am leaving you to Shishak.’ ”

⁶ The king and the leaders of Israel made themselves humble in the Lord’s sight. They said, “The Lord does what is right and fair.”

⁷ The Lord saw they had made themselves humble. So he gave a message to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “They have made themselves humble in my sight. So I will not destroy them. Instead, I will soon save them. Even though I am very angry with Jerusalem, I will not use Shishak to destroy them. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will be brought under his control. Then they will learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹ Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the Lord’s temple. He also carried the treasures of the royal palace away. He took everything. That included the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards who were on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Every time the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him. They carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.

¹² Rehoboam had made himself humble in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord turned his anger away from him. Rehoboam wasn’t totally destroyed. In fact, some good things happened in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam had made his position secure in Jerusalem. He continued as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. It was the city the Lord had chosen out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. He wanted to put his Name there. The name of Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did what was evil. That’s because he hadn’t worshiped the Lord with all his heart.

¹⁵ The events of Rehoboam’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Shemaiah and Iddo, the prophets. The records deal with family histories. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other. ¹⁶ Rehoboam joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.

The Letter to the Church in Ephesus

2 “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Ephesus.

Here are the words of Jesus, who holds the seven stars in his right hand. He also walks among the seven golden lampstands. He says,

² ‘I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can’t put up with evil people. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars. ³ You have been faithful and have put up with a lot of trouble because of me. You have not given up.

⁴ ‘But here is something I hold against you. You have turned away from the love you had at first. ⁵ Think about how far you have fallen! Turn away from your sins. Do the things you did at first. If you don’t, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you do have this in your favor. You hate the way the Nicolaitans act. I hate it too.

⁷ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will let that person eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise.’

The Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Smyrna.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is the First and the Last. He is the one who died and came to life again. He says,

⁹ ‘I know that you suffer and are poor. But you are rich! Some people say they are Jews but are not. I know that their words are evil. Their worship comes from Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will be treated badly for ten days. Be faithful, even if it means you must die. Then I will give you life as your crown of victory.

¹¹ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will not let that person be hurt at all by the second death.’

The Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Pergamum.

Here are the words of Jesus, who has the sharp sword with two edges. He says,

¹³ ‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives.

¹⁴ ‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. ¹⁵ You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

¹⁷ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person hidden manna to eat. I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name written on it. Only the one who receives this name will know what it is.’

The Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Thyatira.

Here are the words of the Son of God. He is Jesus, whose eyes are like blazing fire. His feet are like polished bronze. He says,

¹⁹ ‘I know what you are doing. I know your love and your faith. I know how well you have served. I know you don’t give up easily. In fact, you are doing more now than you did at first.

²⁰ ‘But here is what I have against you. You put up with that woman Jezebel. She calls herself a prophet. With her teaching, she has led my servants into sexual sin. She has tricked them into eating food offered to statues of gods. ²¹ I’ve given her time to turn away from her sinful ways. But she doesn’t want to. ²² She lay down to commit her sin so I will make her lie down in suffering. Those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly too. Their only way out is to turn away from what she taught them to do. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I search hearts and minds. I will pay each of you back for what you have done.

²⁴ ‘I won’t ask the rest of you in Thyatira to do anything else. You don’t follow the teaching of Jezebel. You haven’t learned what some people call Satan’s deep secrets. ²⁵ Just hold on to what you have until I come.

²⁶ ‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will do it for anyone who carries out my plans to the end. I will give that person authority over the nations. ²⁷ It is written, “They will rule them with an iron scepter. They will break them to pieces like clay pots.” (Psalm 2:9) Their authority is like the authority I’ve received from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give the morning star to all who have victory. ²⁹ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

A Message About Jerusalem

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

⁶ The Lord says to his people,

Israel Will Trust in the Lord

¹⁸ The Lord says to his people,

The Word Became a Human Being

1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. ⁴ Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.

⁶ There was a man sent from God. His name was John. ⁷ He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. ⁸ John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. ¹² Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. ¹³ To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.

¹⁴ The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” ¹⁶ God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. ¹⁷ In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.

John the Baptist Says That He Is Not the Messiah

¹⁹ The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them. ²⁰ He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.

“No,” he answered.

²² They asked one last time, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)

²⁴ The Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ asked him, “If you are not the Messiah, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?”

²⁶ “I baptize people with water,” John replied. “But someone is standing among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.

What John Says About Jesus

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ ³¹ I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”

³² Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. ³³ I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus

³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ He saw Jesus walking by. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”

³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Rabbi means Teacher.

³⁹ “Come,” he replied. “You will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

⁴⁰ Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Messiah means Christ. ⁴² And he brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.” Cephas means Peter, or Rock.

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. “He is a true Israelite. Nothing about him is false.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. I saw you there before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ Then he said to the disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”