M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon Builds the Temple
3 Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord. He built it in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. This was where the Lord had appeared to David, Solomon’s father. Solomon built the Temple on the place David had prepared. This place was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 2 Solomon began building in the second month of the fourth year he ruled Israel.
3 Solomon used these measurements for building the Temple of God. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. (Solomon used the old measurement.) 4 The porch in front of the Temple was 30 feet long and 30 feet high.
Solomon covered the inside of the porch with pure gold. 5 He put panels of pine on the walls of the main room. Then he covered them with pure gold. And he put designs of palm trees and chains in the gold. 6 He put gems in the Temple for beauty. And he used gold from Parvaim.[a] 7 Solomon put gold on the Temple’s ceiling beams, doorposts, walls and doors. And he carved creatures with wings on the walls.
8 Then Solomon made the Most Holy Place. It was 30 feet long and 30 feet wide. It was as wide as the Temple. He covered its walls with about 46,000 pounds of pure gold. 9 The gold nails weighed over a pound. Solomon also covered the upper rooms with gold.
10 He made two creatures with wings for the Most Holy Place. He made them out of hot liquid gold. 11 The wings of the gold creatures were spread out. Together, they were 30 feet across. One wing of one creature touched the Temple wall. The wing was 7½ feet long. The creature’s other wing touched a wing of the second creature. This wing was also 7½ feet long. 12 One wing of the second creature touched the other side of the room. It was also 7½ feet long. The second creature’s other wing touched the first creature’s wing. This wing was also 7½ feet long. 13 Together, the creatures’ wings were 30 feet across. The creatures stood on their feet. They looked inside toward the main room.
14 Solomon made the curtain of blue, purple and red thread and expensive linen. And he put designs of creatures with wings in it.
15 Solomon made two pillars to stand in front of the Temple. They were about 52 feet tall. The capital of each pillar was over 7 feet tall. 16 Solomon made a net of chains. He put them on the tops of the pillars. He made 100 pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 Then Solomon put the pillars up in front of the Temple. One pillar stood on the south side. The other stood on the north. He named the south pillar He Establishes. And he named the north pillar In Him Is Strength.
Things for the Temple
4 Solomon made a bronze altar. It was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide and 15 feet tall. 2 Then Solomon used melted bronze to make a large bowl, which was called the Sea. It was round and measured 15 feet across from edge to edge. It was over 7 feet tall, and it measured 45 feet around. 3 There were carvings of bulls under the rim of the bowl. There were 10 bulls in every 1½ feet. They were put in two rows around the bowl when it was made.
4 The bowl rested on 12 statues of bulls. Three bulls faced north, 3 faced west, 3 faced south and 3 faced east. The bowl was on top of them. They faced outward from the center of the bowl. 5 The bowl was 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. It looked like a lily blossom. It could hold about 17,500 gallons.
6 Solomon made 10 smaller bowls. He put 5 of them on the south side. And he put 5 of them on the north. They were to be used to wash the animals for the burnt offerings. But the large bowl was to be used by the priests for washing.
7 Solomon made 10 lampstands of gold, following the plans for them. He put them in the Temple. He put 5 on the south side and 5 on the north.
8 Solomon made 10 tables and put them in the Temple. He put 5 on the south side and 5 on the north. And he used gold to make 100 other bowls.
9 Solomon also made the priests’ courtyard and the large courtyard. He made the doors that opened to the courtyard and covered them with bronze. 10 Then he put the large bowl on the south side. He put it in the Temple’s southeast corner.
11 He made the pots, shovels and bowls. So Huram finished his work for King Solomon on the Temple of God. He had made these things:
12 two pillars;
two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
two nets to cover the two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
13 400 pomegranates for the two nets (there were two rows of pomegranates for each net covering the bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars);
14 the stands with a bowl on each stand;
15 the large bowl with 12 bulls under it;
16 the pots, shovels, forks and all the things to go with them.
All the things Huram-Abi made King Solomon for the Temple of the Lord were made of polished bronze. 17 King Solomon first had these things poured into clay molds. The molds were made in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 18 Solomon had so many things made no one even tried to weigh all the bronze used.
19 Solomon also made all the things for God’s Temple. He made the gold altar. He made tables to hold the bread that shows we are in God’s presence. 20 He made the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold. They were to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as planned. 21 Solomon used pure gold to make the flowers, lamps and tongs. 22 He used pure gold to make the wick trimmers. He used pure gold for the bowls, pans and dishes used to carry coals. He used pure gold to make the doors for the Temple. And he used pure gold for the inside doors for the Most Holy Place and the doors for the main room.
We Are God’s Children
3 The Father has loved us so much! He loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world do not understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is. 3 Christ is pure. And every person who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure like Christ.
4 When a person sins, he breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. 5 You know that Christ came to take away sins. There is no sin in Christ. 6 So the person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes on sinning, he has never really understood Christ and has never known him.
7 Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. To be like Christ, a person must do what is right. 8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.
9 When God makes someone his child, that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on sinning, because he has become a child of God. 10 So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. Those who do not do what is right are not children of God. And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.
We Must Love Each Other
11 This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. 12 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. He killed his brother because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.
13 Brothers, do not be surprised when the people of this world hate you. 14 We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love our brothers in Christ. Whoever does not love is still in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.[a] And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers. 17 Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all that he needs. He sees his brother in Christ who is poor and does not have what he needs. What if the believer does not help the poor brother? Then the believer does not have God’s love in his heart. 18 My children, our love should not be only words and talk. Our love must be true love. And we should show that love by what we do.
19-20 This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 My dear friends, if we do not feel that we are doing wrong, we can be without fear when we come to God. 22 And God gives us the things we ask for. We receive these things because we obey God’s commands, and we do what pleases him. 23 This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded. 24 The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God. And God lives in him. How do we know that God lives in us? We know because of the Spirit whom God gave us.
Nineveh Will Be Defeated
2 The destroyer[a] is coming to attack you, Nineveh.
Guard the defenses.
Watch the road.
Get ready.
Gather all your strength!
2 Destroyers have destroyed God’s people
and ruined their vines.
But the Lord will make the people of Jacob
and the people of Israel great again.
3 The shields of the soldiers are red.
The army is dressed in red.
The metal on the chariots flashes
when they are ready to attack.
Their horses are excited.
4 The chariots race through the streets.
They rush back and forth through the city squares.
They look like torches.
They run like lightning.
5 He[b] calls his officers.
But they fall down on the way.
They hurry to the city wall.
The shield is put into place.
6 The river gates are thrown open.
And the palace is destroyed.
7 It has been announced that the people of Nineveh
will be captured and carried away.
The slave girls moan like doves.
They beat their breasts because they are sad.
8 Nineveh is like a pool.
And its water is draining away.
“Stop! Stop!” the people yell.
But no one turns back.
9 Take the silver!
Take the gold!
There is no end to the treasure.
There is wealth of every kind.
10 Nineveh is robbed, ruined and destroyed.
The people lose their courage. Their knees knock with fear.
Stomachs ache. And everyone’s face grows pale from fright.
11 Where is the lions’[c] den?
Where do they feed their young?
Where did the lion, lioness and cubs go?
Where were they not afraid?
12 The lion killed enough for his cubs.
He killed it for his mate.
He filled his cave with the animals he caught.
He filled his den with what he had killed.
13 “I am against you, Nineveh,”
says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
“I will burn up your chariots in smoke.
And I will kill your young lions with a sword.
I will stop you from hunting down others on the earth.
Your messengers’ voices
will no longer be heard.”
God Will Answer His People
18 Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. 2 “Once there was a judge in a town. He did not care about God. He also did not care what people thought about him. 3 In that same town there was a widow who kept coming to this judge. She said, ‘There is a man who is not being fair to me. Give me my rights!’ 4 But the judge did not want to help the widow. After a long time, he thought to himself, ‘I don’t care about God. And I don’t care about what people think. 5 But this widow is bothering me. I will see that she gets her rights, or she will bother me until I am worn out!’”
6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the bad judge said. 7 God’s people cry to him night and day. God will always give them what is right, and he will not be slow to answer them. 8 I tell you, God will help his people quickly! But when the Son of Man comes again, will he find those on earth who believe in him?”
Being Right with God
9 There were some people who thought that they were very good and looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teach them: 10 “One day there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. Both went to the Temple to pray. 11 The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector. When the Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector. 12 I give up eating[a] twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I earn!’
13 “The tax collector stood at a distance. When he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee was not right with God. Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who makes himself humble will be made great.”
Who Will Enter God’s Kingdom
15 Some people brought their small children to Jesus so that he could touch them. When the followers saw this, they told the people not to do this. 16 But Jesus called the little children to him and said to his followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. 17 I tell you the truth. You must accept God’s kingdom like a little child, or you will never enter it!”
A Rich Man’s Question
18 A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get the life that continues forever?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 20 You know the commands: ‘You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. Honor your father and mother.’”[b]
21 But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy!”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “But there is still one more thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me!” 23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, “It will be very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!”
Who Can Be Saved?
26 When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “The things impossible for men are possible for God.”
28 Peter said, “Look, we left everything we had and followed you!”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who has left his house, wife, brothers, parents, or children for God’s kingdom 30 will get much more than he left. He will receive many times more in this life. And after he dies, he will live with God forever.”
Jesus Will Rise from Death
31 Then Jesus talked to the 12 apostles alone. He said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem. Everything that God told the prophets to write about the Son of Man will happen! 32 He will be turned over to the non-Jewish people. They will laugh at him, insult him, and spit on him. 33 They will beat him with whips and then kill him. But on the third day after his death, he will rise to life again.” 34 The apostles tried to understand this, but they could not; the meaning was hidden from them.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
35 Jesus was coming near the city of Jericho. There was a blind man sitting beside the road, begging for money. 36 When he heard the people coming down the road, he asked, “What is happening?”
37 They told him, “Jesus, the one from Nazareth, is coming here.”
38 The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David! Please help me!”
39 The people who were in front, leading the group, told the blind man to be quiet. But the blind man shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”
40 Jesus stopped and said, “Bring the blind man to me!” When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Then see! You are healed because you believed.”
43 At once the man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, thanking God. All the people who saw this praised God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.