M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jotham King of Judah

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha. She was the daughter of Zadok. ² Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham didn’t enter the Lord’s temple as Uzziah had done. The people, however, continued to do very sinful things. ³ Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple. He did a lot of work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. ⁴ He built towns in the hill country of Judah. He also built forts and towers in areas that had a lot of trees in them.

⁵ Jotham went to war against the king of Ammon. He won the battle over the Ammonites. That year they paid Jotham almost four tons of silver. They paid him 1,800 tons of wheat and 1,500 tons of barley. They also brought him the same amount in the second and third years.

⁶ Jotham became powerful. That’s because he had worshiped the Lord his God with all his heart.

⁷ The other events of Jotham’s rule are written down. That includes all his wars and the other things he did. All these things are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. ⁹ Jotham joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Jotham’s son Ahaz became the next king after him.

Ahaz King of Judah

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. He didn’t do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t do what King David had done. ² He followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He also made statues of gods that were named Baal. ³ He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He sacrificed his children in the fire to other gods. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hates these practices. The Lord had driven out those nations to make room for the people of Israel. ⁴ Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. He also did it on the tops of hills and under every green tree.

⁵ So the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram. The men of Aram won the battle over him. They took many of his people as prisoners. They brought them to Damascus.

God also handed Ahaz over to Pekah. Pekah was king of Israel. His army wounded or killed many of the troops of Ahaz. ⁶ In one day Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 soldiers in Judah. That’s because Judah had deserted the Lord, the God of their people. ⁷ Zikri was a fighting man from Ephraim. He killed Maaseiah, Azrikam and Elkanah. Maaseiah was the king’s son. Azrikam was the officer who was in charge of the palace. And Elkanah was next in command after the king. ⁸ The men of Israel captured 200,000 wives, sons and daughters from their relatives in Judah. They also took a large amount of goods. They carried all of it back to Samaria.

⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there. His name was Oded. When the army returned to Samaria, he went out to meet them. He said to them, “The Lord is the God of your people. He was very angry with Judah. So he handed them over to you. But you have killed them. Your anger reached all the way to heaven. ¹⁰ Now you are planning to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Listen to me! You have taken your relatives from Judah as prisoners. The Lord is very angry with you. So send your relatives back.”

¹² Then some of the leaders in Ephraim stood up to those who were returning from the war. The leaders were Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah and Amasa. Azariah was the son of Jehohanan. Berekiah was the son of Meshillemoth. Jehizkiah was the son of Shallum. And Amasa was the son of Hadlai. ¹³ “Don’t bring those prisoners here,” they said. “If you do, we’ll be guilty in the sight of the Lord. Do you really want to add to our sin and guilt? We’re already very guilty. The Lord is very angry with Israel.”

¹⁴ So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and the goods they had taken. They did it in front of the officials and the whole community. ¹⁵ Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah and Amasa received the prisoners. From the goods that had been taken, they gave clothes to everyone who was naked. They gave them clothes, sandals, food, drink and healing lotion. They put all the weak people on donkeys. They took them back to their relatives at Jericho. Then they returned to Samaria. Jericho was also known as the City of Palm Trees.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent men to the king of Assyria to get help. ¹⁷ The men of Edom had come and attacked Judah again. They had carried away prisoners. ¹⁸ At the same time the Philistines had attacked towns in the western hills and in the Negev Desert of Judah. They had captured Beth Shemesh, Aijalon and Gederoth. They had also captured Soko, Timnah and Gimzo and the villages around them. They had settled down in all of them. ¹⁹ The Lord had made Judah less powerful because of Ahaz, their king. Ahaz had stirred up the people of Judah to do evil things. He hadn’t been faithful to the Lord at all. ²⁰ Tiglath-Pileser came to Ahaz. But he gave Ahaz trouble instead of help. Tiglath-Pileser was king of Assyria. ²¹ Ahaz took some things from the Lord’s temple. He also took some from the royal palace and from the officials. He gave all of them to the king of Assyria. But that didn’t help Ahaz.

²² When King Ahaz was in trouble, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord. ²³ Ahaz offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. They had won the battle over him. Ahaz thought, “The gods of the kings of Aram have helped them. So I’ll sacrifice to those gods. Then they’ll help me.” But those gods only caused his ruin. In fact, those gods caused the ruin of the whole nation of Israel.

²⁴ Ahaz gathered together everything that belonged to God’s temple. He cut all of it in pieces. Ahaz shut the doors of the Lord’s temple. He set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every town in Judah he built high places. Sacrifices were burned there to other gods. That made the Lord, the God of his people, very angry.

²⁶ The other events of the rule of Ahaz and all his evil practices from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the city of Jerusalem. But he wasn’t placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became the next king after him.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 I looked, and there in front of me was the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion. With him were 144,000 people. Written on their foreheads were his name and his Father’s name. ² I heard a sound from heaven. It was like the roar of rushing waters and loud thunder. The sound I heard was like the music of harps being played. ³ Then everyone sang a new song in front of the throne. They sang it in front of the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000. They had been set free from the evil of the earth. ⁴ They had not committed sexual sins with women. They had kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among human beings as a first offering to God and the Lamb. ⁵ They told no lies. They are without blame.

The Three Angels

⁶ I saw another angel. He was flying high in the air. He came to tell everyone on earth the good news that will always be true. He told it to every nation, tribe and people, no matter what language they spoke. ⁷ In a loud voice he said, “Have respect for God. Give him glory. The hour has come for God to judge. Worship him who made the heavens and the earth. Worship him who made the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed him. He said, “ ‘Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen!’ (Isaiah 21:9) The city of Babylon made all the nations drink the strong wine of her terrible sins.”

⁹ A third angel followed them. He said in a loud voice, “There will be trouble for anyone who worships the beast and its statue! There will be trouble for anyone who has its mark on their forehead or their hand! ¹⁰ They, too, will drink the wine of God’s great anger. His wine has been poured full strength into the cup of his anger. They will be burned with flaming sulfur. The holy angels and the Lamb will see it happen. ¹¹ The smoke of their terrible suffering will rise for ever and ever. Day and night, there will be no rest for anyone who worships the beast and its statue. There will be no rest for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² God’s people need to be very patient. They are the ones who obey God’s commands. And they remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven. “Write this,” it said. “Blessed are the dead who die as believers in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Holy Spirit. “They will rest from their labor. What they have done will not be forgotten.”

The Harvest of the Earth

¹⁴ I looked, and there in front of me was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was one who looked “like a son of man.” (Daniel 7:13) He wore a gold crown on his head. In his hand was a sharp, curved blade for cutting grain. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple. He called in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud. “Take your blade,” he said. “Cut the grain. The time has come. The earth is ready to be harvested.” ¹⁶ So the one sitting on the cloud swung his blade over the earth. And the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven. He too had a sharp, curved blade. ¹⁸ Still another angel came from the altar. He was in charge of the fire on the altar. He called out in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp blade. “Take your blade,” he said, “and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth’s vine. Its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel swung his blade over the earth. He gathered its grapes. Then he threw them into a huge winepress. The winepress stands for God’s anger. ²⁰ In the winepress outside the city, the grapes were stomped on. Blood flowed out of the winepress. It spread over the land for about 180 miles. It rose as high as the horses’ heads.

The Lord Will Take Care of Judah

³ The Lord who rules over all says,

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now loved them to the very end.

² They were having their evening meal. The devil had already tempted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. He had urged Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God. ⁴ So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter. “Lord,” Peter said to him, “are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with me.”

⁹ “Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “People who have had a bath need to wash only their feet. The rest of their body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.” ¹¹ Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. ¹⁴ I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ What I’m about to tell you is true. A slave is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. ¹⁷ Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Tells What Judas Will Do

¹⁸ “I am not talking about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this will happen so that this passage of Scripture will come true. It says, ‘The one who shared my bread has turned against me.’ (Psalm 41:9)

¹⁹ “I am telling you now, before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am. ²⁰ What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who accepts someone I send accepts me. And anyone who accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

²¹ After he had said this, Jesus’ spirit was troubled. He said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. One of you is going to hand me over to my enemies.”

²² His disciples stared at one another. They had no idea which one of them he meant. ²³ The disciple Jesus loved was next to him at the table. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to that disciple. He said, “Ask Jesus which one he means.”

²⁵ The disciple was leaning back against Jesus. He asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one I will give this piece of bread to. I will give it to him after I have dipped it in the dish.” He dipped the piece of bread. Then he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” ²⁸ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Judas was in charge of the money. So some of the disciples thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast. Others thought Jesus was talking about giving something to poor people. ³⁰ As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Peter Will Say He Does Not Know Jesus

³¹ After Judas was gone, Jesus spoke. He said, “Now the Son of Man receives glory. And he brings glory to God. ³² If the Son brings glory to God, God himself will bring glory to the Son. God will do it at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. Just as I told the Jews, so I am telling you now. You can’t come where I am going.

³⁴ “I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. ³⁵ If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going you can’t follow now. But you will follow me later.”

³⁷ “Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will give my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really give your life for me? What I’m about to tell you is true. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me!