M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Elijah and the Drought

17 ^(A)A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of the Lord, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.”

² Then the Lord said to Elijah, ³ “Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near Cherith Brook, east of the Jordan. ⁴ The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.”

⁵ Elijah obeyed the Lord's command, and went and stayed by Cherith Brook. ⁶ He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. ⁷ After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

Elijah and the Widow in Zarephath

⁸ Then the Lord said to Elijah, ^9 (B)“Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her. ¹¹ And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”

¹² She answered, “By the living Lord your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.”

¹³ “Don't worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the Lord, send rain.’”

¹⁵ The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. ¹⁶ As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.

¹⁷ Some time later the widow's son got sick; he got worse and worse, and finally he died. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son's death?”

¹⁹ “Give the boy to me,” Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed. ²⁰ Then he prayed aloud, “O Lord my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!” ^21 (C)Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “O Lord my God, restore this child to life!” ²² The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.

²³ Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”

²⁴ She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Lord really speaks through you!”

4 ^(A)Masters, be fair and just in the way you treat your slaves. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.

Instructions

² Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. ³ At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison. ⁴ Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear.

^5 (B)Be wise in the way you act toward those who are not believers, making good use of every opportunity you have. ^6 (C)Your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone.

Final Greetings

^7 (D)Our dear friend Tychicus, who is a faithful worker and fellow servant in the Lord's work, will give you all the news about me. ⁸ That is why I am sending him to you, in order to cheer you up by telling you how all of us are getting along. ^9 (E)With him goes Onesimus, that dear and faithful friend, who belongs to your group. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

^10 (F)Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have already received instructions to welcome Mark if he comes your way.) ¹¹ Joshua, also called Justus, sends greetings too. These three are the only Jewish believers who work with me for the Kingdom of God, and they have been a great help to me.

^12 (G)Greetings from Epaphras, another member of your group and a servant of Christ Jesus. He always prays fervently for you, asking God to make you stand firm, as mature and fully convinced Christians, in complete obedience to God's will. ¹³ I can personally testify to his hard work for you and for the people in Laodicea and Hierapolis. ^14 (H)Luke, our dear doctor, and Demas send you their greetings.

¹⁵ Give our best wishes to the believers in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.^{[a] 16} After you read this letter, make sure that it is read also in the church at Laodicea. At the same time, you are to read the letter that the believers in Laodicea will send you. ^17 (I)And tell Archippus, “Be sure to finish the task you were given in the Lord's service.”

¹⁸ With my own hand I write this: Greetings from Paul Do not forget my chains!

May God's grace be with you.

The Stream Flowing from the Temple

47 ^(A)The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. Water was coming out from under the entrance and flowing east, the direction the Temple faced. It was flowing down from under the south part of the Temple past the south side of the altar. ² The man then took me out of the Temple area by way of the north gate and led me around to the gate that faces east. A small stream of water was flowing out at the south side of the gate. ³ With his measuring rod the man measured 560 yards downstream to the east and told me to wade through the stream there. The water came only to my ankles. ⁴ Then he measured another 560 yards, and the water came up to my knees. Another 560 yards farther down, the water was up to my waist. ⁵ He measured 560 yards more, and there the stream was so deep I could not wade through it. It was too deep to cross except by swimming. ⁶ He said to me, “Mortal man, note all this carefully.”

Then the man took me back to the riverbank, ⁷ and when I got there, I saw that there were very many trees on each bank. ⁸ He said to me, “This water flows through the land to the east and down into the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the salt water of that sea with fresh water. ⁹ Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life. ¹⁰ From the Springs of Engedi all the way to the Springs of Eneglaim, there will be fishermen on the shore of the sea, and they will spread out their nets there to dry. There will be as many different kinds of fish there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the water in the marshes and ponds along the shore will not be made fresh. They will remain there as a source of salt. ^12 (B)On each bank of the stream all kinds of trees will grow to provide food. Their leaves will never wither, and they will never stop bearing fruit. They will have fresh fruit every month, because they are watered by the stream that flows from the Temple. The trees will provide food, and their leaves will be used for healing people.”

The Boundaries of the Land

¹³ The Sovereign Lord said, “These are the boundaries of the land that is to be divided among the twelve tribes, with the tribe of Joseph receiving two sections.^{[a] 14} I solemnly promised your ancestors that I would give them possession of this land; now divide it equally among you.

¹⁵ “The northern boundary runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Hethlon, to Hamath Pass, to the city of Zedad,^{[b] 16} to the cities of Berothah and Sibraim (they are located between the territory of the kingdom of Damascus and that of the kingdom of Hamath), and to the city of Ticon (located by the border of the district of Hauran). ¹⁷ So the northern boundary runs from the Mediterranean eastward to Enon City, with the border regions of Damascus and Hamath to the north of it.

¹⁸ “The eastern boundary runs south from a point between the territory of Damascus and that of Hauran, with the Jordan River forming the boundary between the land of Israel on the west and Gilead on the east, as far as Tamar^[c] on the Dead Sea.

¹⁹ “The southern boundary runs southwest from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh Meribah and then northwest along the Egyptian border to the Mediterranean Sea.

²⁰ “The western boundary is formed by the Mediterranean and runs north to a point west of Hamath Pass.

²¹ “Divide this land among your tribes; ²² it is to be your permanent possession. The foreigners who are living among you and who have had children born here are also to receive their share of the land when you divide it. They are to be treated like full Israelite citizens and are to draw lots for shares of the land along with the tribes of Israel. ²³ All foreign residents will receive their share with the people of the tribe among whom they are living. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”

The Love of God^[a]