M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Joash of Judah
(2 Kings 12.1-16)
24 Joash was only 7 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 40 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.
2 While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the Lord by doing right. 3 Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.
4 Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple. 5 He called together the priests and Levites and said, “Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done at once—we need that money to repair the temple.”
But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders. 6 (A) So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, “Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The Lord's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent. 7 And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal.”
8 Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple. 9 He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.
10 The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box. 11 Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would dump out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.
This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected. 12 Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.
13 These workers went right to work repairing the temple, and when they were finished, it looked as good as new. 14 They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.
Sacrifices to please the Lord[a] were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived. 15 He died at the ripe old age of 130 years, 16 and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.
Joash Turns Away from the Lord
17 After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted. 18 The people of Judah soon stopped worshiping in the temple of the Lord God and started worshiping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the Lord God angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 19 but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.
20 (B) God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: “Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you.”
21-22 King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “I pray that the Lord will see this and punish all of you.”
Joash Is Killed
23 In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all of the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus. 24 The Syrian army was very small, but the Lord let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.
25-26 Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad,[b] decided to revenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. 27 The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.
The Two Witnesses
11 (A) An angel gave me a measuring stick and said:
Measure around God's temple. Be sure to include the altar and everyone worshiping there. 2 (B) But don't measure the courtyard outside the temple building. Leave it out. It has been given to those people who don't know God, and they will trample all over the holy city for 42 months. 3 My two witnesses will wear sackcloth,[a] while I let them preach for 1,260 days.
4 (C) These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth. 5 Any enemy who tries to harm them will be destroyed by the fire that comes out of their mouths. 6 (D) They have the power to lock up the sky and to keep rain from falling while they are prophesying. And whenever they want to, they can turn water to blood and cause all kinds of terrible troubles on earth.
7 (E) After the two witnesses have finished preaching God's message, the beast that lives in the deep pit will come up and fight against them. It will win the battle and kill them. 8 (F) Their bodies will be left lying in the streets of the same great city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. And this city is spiritually like the city of Sodom or the country of Egypt.
9 For three and a half days the people of every nation, tribe, language, and race will stare at the bodies of these two witnesses and refuse to let them be buried. 10 Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy. They will give gifts to each other, because of what happened to the two prophets who caused them so much trouble. 11 (G) But three and a half days later, God will breathe life into their bodies. They will stand up, and everyone who sees them will be terrified.
12 (H) The witnesses then heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, “Come up here.” And while their enemies were watching, they were taken up to heaven in a cloud. 13 (I) At that same moment there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were frightened and praised the God who rules in heaven.
14 The second horrible thing has now happened! And the third one will be here soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 (J) At the sound of the seventh trumpet, loud voices were heard in heaven. They said,
“Now the kingdom
of this world
belongs to our Lord
and to his Chosen One!
And he will rule
forever and ever!”
16 Then the 24 elders, who were seated on thrones in God's presence, knelt down and worshiped him. 17 They said,
“Lord God All-Powerful,
you are and you were,
and we thank you.
You used your great power
and started ruling.
18 (K) When the nations got angry,
you became angry too!
Now the time has come
for the dead
to be judged.
It is time for you to reward
your servants the prophets
and all your people
who honor your name,
no matter who they are.
It is time to destroy everyone
who has destroyed
the earth.”
19 (L) The door to God's temple in heaven was then opened, and the sacred chest[b] could be seen inside the temple. I saw lightning and heard roars of thunder. The earth trembled and huge hailstones fell to the ground.
A Question about Going without Eating
7 On the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month of the fourth year that Darius was king of Persia,[a] the Lord again spoke to me. 2-3 It happened after the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer with Regem-Melech and his men to ask the priests in the Lord's temple and the prophets to pray for them. So they prayed, “Should we mourn and go without eating during the fifth month,[b] as we have done for many years?”
4-5 It was then that the Lord All-Powerful told me to say to everyone in the country, including the priests:
For 70 years you have gone without eating during the fifth and seventh months of the year. But did you really do it for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, isn't it for your own enjoyment? 7 My message today is the same one I commanded the earlier prophets[c] to speak to Jerusalem and its villages when they were prosperous, and when all of Judah, including the Southern Desert and the hill country, was filled with people.
8-9 So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! 10 Don't mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”
11-12 But everyone who heard those prophets, stubbornly refused to obey. Instead, they turned their backs on everything my Spirit[d] had commanded the earlier prophets to preach. So I, the Lord, became angry 13 and said, “You people paid no attention when I called out to you, and now I'll pay no attention when you call out to me.”
14 That's why I came with a whirlwind and scattered them among foreign nations, leaving their lovely country empty of people and in ruins.[e]
A Story about Sheep
10 Jesus said:
I tell you for certain only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. 2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd's voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.
4 When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. 5 The sheep will not follow strangers. They don't recognize a stranger's voice, and they run away.
6 Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.
Jesus Is the Good Shepherd
7 Jesus said:
I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. 9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.
10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully. 11 (A) I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep.
14 (B) I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 (C) Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must also bring them together, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.
19 The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like this could give sight to a blind person!”
Jesus Is Rejected
22 (D) That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival. 23 One day he was walking in the part of the temple known as Solomon's Porch,[a] 24 and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”
25 Jesus answered:
I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father's authority show who I am. 26 But since you are not my sheep, you don't believe me. 27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 (E) My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others.[b] No one can snatch them from his hands, 30 and I am one with the Father.
31 Once again the people picked up stones in order to kill Jesus. 32 But he said, “I have shown you many good things my Father sent me to do. Which one are you going to stone me for?”
33 They answered, “We are not stoning you because of any good thing you did. We are stoning you because you did a terrible thing. You are just a man, and here you are claiming to be God!”
34 (F) Jesus replied:
In your Scriptures doesn't God say, “You are gods”? 35 You can't argue with the Scriptures, and God spoke to those people and called them gods. 36 So why do you accuse me of a terrible sin for saying that I am the Son of God? After all, it is the Father who prepared me for this work. He is also the one who sent me into the world. 37 If I don't do as my Father does, you should not believe me. 38 But if I do what my Father does, you should believe because of that, even if you don't have faith in me. Then you will know for certain that the Father is one with me, and I am one with the Father.
39 Again they wanted to arrest Jesus. But he escaped 40 (G) and crossed the Jordan to the place where John had earlier been baptizing. While Jesus was there, 41 many people came to him. They were saying, “John didn't work any miracles, but everything he said about Jesus is true.” 42 A lot of those people also put their faith in Jesus.
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