M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Uzziah of Judah
(2 Kings 14.21,22; 15.1-7)
26 1-3 After the death of King Amaziah, the people of Judah crowned his son Uzziah[a] king, even though he was only 16 at the time. Uzziah ruled 52 years from Jerusalem, the hometown of his mother Jecoliah. During his rule, he recaptured and rebuilt the town of Elath.
4 He obeyed the Lord by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. 5 Zechariah was Uzziah's advisor and taught him to obey God. And so, as long as Zechariah was alive, Uzziah was faithful to God, and God made him successful.
6 While Uzziah was king, he started a war against the Philistines. He smashed the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, then rebuilt towns around Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia. 7 God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur-Baal, and the Meunites. 8 Even the Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful, and people who lived as far away as Egypt heard about him.
9 In Jerusalem, Uzziah built fortified towers at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the place where the city wall turned inward.[b] 10 He also built defense towers out in the desert.
He owned such a large herd of livestock in the western foothills and in the flatlands, that he had cisterns dug there to catch the rainwater. He loved farming, so he had crops and vineyards planted in the hill country wherever there was fertile soil, and he hired farmers to take care of them.
11 Uzziah's army was always ready for battle. Jeiel and Maaseiah were the officers who kept track of the number of soldiers, and these two men were under the command of Hananiah, one of Uzziah's officials. 12-13 There were 307,500 trained soldiers, all under the command of 2,600 clan leaders. These powerful troops protected the king against any enemy. 14 Uzziah supplied his army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and stones used for slinging. 15 Some of his skilled workers invented machines that could shoot arrows and sling large stones. Uzziah set these up in Jerusalem at his defense towers and at the corners of the city wall.
God helped Uzziah become more and more powerful, and he was famous all over the world.
Uzziah Becomes Too Proud
16 Uzziah became proud of his power, and this led to his downfall.
One day, Uzziah disobeyed the Lord his God by going into the temple and burning incense as an offering to him.[c] 17 Azariah the priest and 80 other brave priests followed Uzziah into the temple 18 (A) and said, “Your Majesty, this isn't right! You are not allowed to burn incense to the Lord. That must be done only by priests who are descendants of Aaron. You will have to leave! You have sinned against the Lord, and so he will no longer bless you.”
19 Uzziah, who was standing next to the incense altar at the time, was holding the incense burner, ready to offer incense to the Lord. He became very angry when he heard Azariah's warning, and leprosy[d] suddenly appeared on his forehead! 20 Azariah and the other priests saw it and immediately told him to leave the temple. Uzziah realized that the Lord had punished him, so he hurried to get outside.
21 Uzziah had leprosy the rest of his life. He was no longer allowed in the temple or in his own palace. That's why his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.
22 Everything else Uzziah did while he was king is in the records written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 (B) Since Uzziah had leprosy, he could not be buried in the royal tombs. Instead, he was buried in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. His son Jotham then became king.
The Two Beasts
13 (A) I looked and saw a beast coming up from the sea. This one had ten horns and seven heads, and a crown was on each of its ten horns. On each of its heads were names that were an insult to God. 2 (B) The beast I saw had the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. The dragon handed over its own power and throne and great authority to this beast. 3 One of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but now it was well. Everyone on earth marveled at this beast, 4 and they worshiped the dragon who had given its authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “No one is like this beast! No one can fight against it.”
5 (C) The beast was allowed to brag and claim to be God, and for 42 months it was allowed to rule. 6 The beast cursed God, and it cursed the name of God. It even cursed the place where God lives, as well as everyone who lives in heaven with God. 7 (D) It was allowed to fight against God's people and defeat them. It was also given authority over the people of every tribe, nation, language, and race. 8 (E) The beast was worshiped by everyone whose name wasn't written before the time of creation in the book of the Lamb who was killed.[a]
9 If you have ears,
then listen!
10 (F) If you are doomed
to be captured,
you will be captured.
If you are doomed
to be killed by a sword,
you will be killed
by a sword.
This means God's people must learn to endure and be faithful!
11 I now saw another beast. This one came out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. 12 It worked for the beast whose fatal wound had been healed. And it used all its authority to force the earth and its people to worship that beast. 13 It worked mighty miracles, and while people watched, it even made fire come down from the sky.
14 This second beast fooled people on earth by working miracles for the first one. Then it talked them into making an idol in the form of the beast that did not die after being wounded by a sword. 15 It was allowed to put breath into the idol, so it could speak. Everyone who refused to worship the idol of the beast was put to death. 16 (G) All people were forced to put a mark on their right hand or forehead. Whether they were powerful or weak, rich or poor, free people or slaves, 17 they all had to have this mark, or else they could not buy or sell anything. This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name.
18 You need wisdom to understand the number of the beast! But if you are smart enough, you can figure this out. Its number is 666, and it stands for a person.
Israel's Enemies Will Be Punished
9 (A)(B) This is a message
from the Lord:
His eyes are on everyone,
especially the tribes
of Israel.[a]
So he pronounces judgment
against the cities
of Hadrach and Damascus.[b]
2 Judgment will also fall
on the nearby city
of Hamath,
as well as on Tyre and Sidon,[c]
whose people are clever.
3 Tyre has built a fortress
and piled up silver and gold,
as though they were dust
or mud from the streets.
4 Now the Lord will punish Tyre
with poverty;
he will sink its ships
and send it up in flames.
5 (C) Both Ashkelon and Gaza
will tremble with fear;
Ekron will lose all hope.
Gaza's king will be killed,
and Ashkelon emptied
of its people.
6 A mob of half-breeds
will settle in Ashdod,[d]
and the Lord himself
will rob Philistia of pride.
7 No longer will the Philistines
eat meat with blood in it
or any unclean food.[e]
They will become part
of the people of our God
from the tribe of Judah.
And God will accept
the people of Ekron,
as he did the Jebusites.[f]
8 God says, “I will stand guard
to protect my temple from those
who come to attack.
I know what's happening,
and no one will mistreat
my people ever again.”
The Lord Tells about the Coming King
9 (D) Everyone in Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
Your king has won a victory,
and he is coming to you.
He is humble
and rides on a donkey;
he comes on the colt
of a donkey.
10 (E) I, the Lord, will take away
war chariots and horses
from Israel[g] and Jerusalem.
Bows that were made for battle
will be broken.
I will bring peace to nations,
and your king will rule
from sea to sea.
His kingdom will reach
from the Euphrates River
across the earth.
The Lord Promises To Rescue Captives
11 (F) When I made a sacred agreement
with you, my people,
we sealed it with blood.[h]
Now some of you are captives
in waterless pits,
but I will come to your rescue
12 and offer you hope.
Return to your fortress,
because today I will reward you
with twice what you had.
13 I will use Judah as my bow
and Israel[i] as my arrow.
I will take the people of Zion
as my sword
and attack the Greeks.
The Lord Will Protect His People
14 Like a cloud, the Lord God
will appear over his people,
and his arrows will flash
like lightning.
God will sound his trumpet
and attack in a whirlwind
from the south.
15 The Lord All-Powerful
will protect his people,
and they will trample down
the sharpshooters
and their slingshots.
They will drink and get rowdy;
they will be as full as a bowl
at the time of sacrifice.
16 The Lord God will save them
on that day,
because they are his people,
and they will shine on his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 How lovely they will be.
Young people will grow there
like grain in a field
or grapes in a vineyard.
At Bethany
(Matthew 26.6-13; Mark 14.3-9)
12 Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. 2 A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there.
3 (A) Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume[a] and poured it on Jesus' feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.
4 A disciple named Judas Iscariot[b] was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, 5 “Why wasn't this perfume sold for 300 silver coins and the money given to the poor?” 6 Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 (B) You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me.”
A Plot To Kill Lazarus
9 A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. 11 He was the reason that many of the people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Matthew 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-40)
12 The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, 13 (C) they took palm branches and went out to greet him.[c] They shouted,
“Hooray![d]
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King
of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the Scriptures say,
15 (D) “People of Jerusalem,
don't be afraid!
Your King is now coming,
and he is riding
on a donkey.”
16 At first, Jesus' disciples did not understand. But after he had been given his glory,[e] they remembered all this. Everything had happened exactly as the Scriptures said it would.
17-18 A crowd had come to meet Jesus because they had seen him call Lazarus out of the tomb. They kept talking about him and this miracle.[f] 19 But the Pharisees said to each other, “There is nothing we can do! Everyone in the world is following Jesus.”
Some Greeks Want To Meet Jesus
20 Some Greeks[g] had gone to Jerusalem to worship during Passover. 21 Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee was there too. So they went to him and said, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
23 Jesus said:
The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory.[h] 24 I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat. 25 (E) If you love your life, you will lose it. If you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life. 26 If you serve me, you must go with me. My servants will be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.
27 Now I am deeply troubled, and I don't know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. 28 So Father, bring glory to yourself.
A voice from heaven then said, “I have already brought glory to myself, and I will do it again!” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.
30 Then Jesus told the crowd, “That voice spoke to help you, not me. 31 This world's people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world[i] is already being thrown out! 32 If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me.” 33 Jesus was talking about the way he would be put to death.
34 (F) The crowd said to Jesus, “The Scriptures teach that the Messiah will live forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you for only a little longer. Walk in the light while you can. Then you won't be caught walking blindly in the dark. 36 Have faith in the light while it is with you, and you will be children of the light.”
The People Refuse To Have Faith in Jesus
After Jesus had said these things, he left and went into hiding. 37 He had worked a lot of miracles[j] among the people, but they were still not willing to have faith in him. 38 (G) This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah had said would come true,
“Lord, who has believed
our message?
And who has seen
your mighty strength?”
39 The people could not have faith in Jesus, because Isaiah had also said,
40 (H) “The Lord has blinded
the eyes of the people,
and he has made
the people stubborn.
He did this so that they
could not see
or understand,
and so that they
would not turn to the Lord
and be healed.”
41 Isaiah said this, because he saw the glory of Jesus and spoke about him.[k] 42 Even then, many of the leaders put their faith in Jesus, but they did not tell anyone about it. The Pharisees had already given orders for the people not to have anything to do with anyone who had faith in Jesus. 43 And besides, the leaders liked praise from others more than they liked praise from God.
Jesus Came To Save the World
44 In a loud voice Jesus said:
Everyone who has faith in me also has faith in the one who sent me. 45 And everyone who has seen me has seen the one who sent me. 46 I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark.
47 I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge. 48 But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day[l] by what I have said. 49 I don't speak on my own. I say only what the Father who sent me has told me to say. 50 I know that his commands will bring eternal life. This is why I tell you exactly what the Father has told me.
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