M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Rehoboam Reigns over Judah and Builds Cities

11 ^(A)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to ^(B)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up or fight against ^(C)your ^[a]relatives; return every man to his house, ^(D)for this thing is from Me.”’” So they listened to the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and ^(E)built cities for defense in Judah. ⁶ Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. ¹¹ He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

¹³ Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him from all their districts.

Jeroboam Appoints False Priests

¹⁴ For ^(F)the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for ^(G)Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord. ^15 (H)He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made. ^16 (I)Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel ^[b]followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ^17 (J)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Then Rehoboam took as a wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of ^(K)Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took ^(L)Maacah the daughter of ^[c]Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For ^(M)he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ^22 (N)Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ He acted wisely and distributed ^[d]some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them food in abundance. And he sought many wives for them.

Shishak of Egypt Invades Judah

12 ^(O)When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, ^(P)he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord. ^2 (Q)And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, that ^(R)Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem ³ with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number: ^(S)the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. ⁴ He captured ^(T)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then ^(U)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘^(V)You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you ^[e]to Shishak.’” ⁶ So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The ^(W)Lord is righteous.”

⁷ When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “^(X)They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and ^(Y)My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak. ⁸ But they will become his slaves so ^(Z)that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

Plunder Impoverishes Judah

^9 (AA)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything; ^(AB)he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made. ¹⁰ Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the ^[f]care of the commanders of the ^[g]guard who guarded the door of the king’s house. ¹¹ As often as the king entered the house of the Lord, the ^[h]guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the ^[i]guards’ room. ¹² And ^(AC)when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions ^(AD)were good in Judah.

^13 (AE)So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ¹⁴ He did evil ^(AF)because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

^15 (AG)Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the ^[j]records of ^(AH)Shemaiah the prophet and of ^(AI)Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son ^(AJ)Abijah became king in his place.

Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in ^(A)Ephesus write:

The One who holds ^(B)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks ^[a](C)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

² ‘^(D)I know your deeds and your toil and ^[b]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you ^(E)put to the test those who call themselves ^(F)apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; ³ and you have ^[c]perseverance and have endured ^(G)for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have ^(H)left your first love. ⁵ Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and ^(I)repent and ^(J)do the ^[d]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your ^(K)lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the ^(L)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ^7 (M)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(N)To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of ^(O)the tree of life which is in the ^(P)Paradise of God.’

Message to Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in ^(Q)Smyrna write:

^(R)The first and the last, who ^[e](S)was dead, and has come to life, says this:

⁹ ‘I know your ^(T)tribulation and your ^(U)poverty (but you are ^(V)rich), and the blasphemy by those who ^(W)say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of ^(X)Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be ^(Y)tested, and you will have tribulation ^(Z)for ten days. ^[f]Be ^(AA)faithful until death, and I will give you ^(AB)the crown of life. ^11 (AC)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AD)He who overcomes will not be hurt by the ^(AE)second death.’

Message to Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in ^(AF)Pergamum write:

The One who has ^(AG)the sharp two-edged sword says this:

¹³ ‘I know where you dwell, where ^(AH)Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny ^(AI)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My ^(AJ)witness, My ^(AK)faithful one, who was killed among you, ^(AL)where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But ^(AM)I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the ^(AN)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, ^(AO)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ¹⁵ So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the ^(AP)Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(AQ)repent; or else ^(AR)I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with ^(AS)the sword of My mouth. ^17 (AT)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AU)To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden ^(AV)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a ^(AW)new name written on the stone ^(AX)which no one knows but he who receives it.’

Message to Thyatira

¹⁸ “And to the angel of the church in ^(AY)Thyatira write:

^(AZ)The Son of God, ^(BA)who has ^[g]eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:

¹⁹ ‘^(BB)I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and ^[h]perseverance, and that your ^[i]deeds of late are greater than ^[j]at first. ²⁰ But ^(BC)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman ^(BD)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they ^(BE)commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ^21 (BF)I gave her time to repent, and she ^(BG)does not want to repent of her immorality. ²² Behold, I will throw her ^[k]on a bed of sickness, and those who ^(BH)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of ^[l]her deeds. ²³ And I will kill her children with ^[m]pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who ^(BI)searches the ^[n]minds and hearts; and ^(BJ)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ²⁴ But I say to you, the rest who are in ^(BK)Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the ^(BL)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I ^(BM)place no other burden on you. ²⁵ Nevertheless ^(BN)what you have, hold fast ^(BO)until I come. ^26 (BP)He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds ^(BQ)until the end, ^(BR)to him I will give authority over the ^[o]nations; ²⁷ and he shall ^[p](BS)rule them with a rod of iron, ^(BT)as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; ²⁸ and I will give him ^(BU)the morning star. ^29 (BV)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

A Remnant of Israel

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and the Word was ^(C)with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ^4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was ^(G)the Light of men. ^5 (H)The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[b]comprehend it.

The Witness John

⁶ There ^[c]came a man sent from God, whose name was ^(I)John. ^7 [d]He came ^[e](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, ^(K)so that all might believe through him. ^8 [f](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹ There was ^(M)the true Light ^[g]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and ^(N)the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His ^[h]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become ^(O)children of God, even ^(P)to those who believe in His name, ^13 (Q)who were ^[i]born, not of ^[j]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh

¹⁴ And ^(R)the Word ^(S)became flesh, and ^[k](T)dwelt among us, and ^(U)we saw His glory, glory as of ^[l]the only begotten from the Father, full of ^(V)grace and ^(W)truth. ¹⁵ John *^(X)testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘^(Y)He who comes after me ^[m]has a higher rank than I, ^(Z)for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His ^(AA)fullness ^[n]we have all received, and ^[o]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For ^(AB)the Law was given through Moses; ^(AC)grace and ^(AD)truth ^[p]were realized through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; ^(AF)the only begotten God who is ^(AG)in the bosom of the Father, ^(AH)He has explained Him.

The Testimony of John

¹⁹ This is ^(AI)the testimony of John, when ^(AJ)the Jews sent to him priests and Levites ^(AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “^(AL)I am not ^[q]the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you ^(AM)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AN)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(AO)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[r]Christ, nor Elijah, nor ^(AP)the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “^(AQ)I baptize ^[s]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is ^(AR)He who comes after me, the ^(AS)thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany ^(AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, ^(AU)the Lamb of God who ^(AV)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘^(AW)After me comes a Man who ^[t]has a higher rank than I, ^(AX)for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize ^[u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing ^[v]in water.” ³² John ^(AY)testified saying, “^(AZ)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize ^[w]Him, but He who sent me to baptize ^[x]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, ^(BA)this is the One who baptizes ^[y]in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(BB)the Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

³⁵ Again ^(BC)the next day John was standing ^[z]with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, ^(BD)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “^(BE)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” ³⁹ He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the ^[aa]tenth hour. ^40 (BF)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the ^(BG)Messiah” (which translated means ^[ab]Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^[ac](BH)John; you shall be called ^(BI)Cephas” (which is translated ^[ad](BJ)Peter).

^43 (BK)The next day He purposed to go into ^(BL)Galilee, and He *found ^(BM)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “^(BN)Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(BO)Philip was from ^(BP)Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. ^45 (BQ)Philip *found ^(BR)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^(BS)Moses in the Law and also ^(BT)the Prophets wrote—Jesus of ^(BU)Nazareth, ^(BV)the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “^(BW)Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” ^(BX)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an ^(BY)Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before ^(BZ)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “^(CA)Rabbi, You are ^(CB)the Son of God; You are the ^(CC)King of Israel.” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see ^(CD)the heavens opened and ^(CE)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(CF)the Son of Man.”