M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
28 At the end of his life, David assembled in Jerusalem all the officials of Israel to instruct them in how to run both the state and the religion after his death. These officials included the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the managers of all the royal property and livestock, the officials, the warriors, and all the valiant men.
David (rising to his feet): 2 Listen to me, my brothers and my people. As you know, I had intended to build a permanent home for the covenant chest of the Eternal and for the footstool of our God just as He prepared my kingdom and my palace for me. So I had prepared to build it, collecting fine materials from all over the region. 3 But God did not want me to build His temple. He told me, “You have shed much blood and waged great wars, My wars. But because of your conquests and the amount of blood you spilled on My behalf, you will not build a house honoring My reputation. The blood on your hands makes you ritually impure.”
4 The Eternal One, God of Israel, decided the tribe of Judah would lead His nation. Then He chose and was pleased with me, from among all of my brothers in my father’s house, to be the king over Israel and establish an eternal monarchy. 5 From among all my sons (for the Eternal has blessed me with many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Eternal One over Israel.
Like David, Solomon is a younger son, who traditionally should not inherit the birthright of his father. But God sees more in David and Solomon than just birth order.
6 He said to me, “Your son Solomon, though younger, is the one who will execute your plans to build My house and My courts; for I shall be his Father and he will be My son. 7 I shall settle him and his descendants as My representatives in My temple and in My kingdom forever if he follows your lead and resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances.”
God has a tendency to choose younger sons to lead His people. This is remarkable! Everyone else in the ancient world is led by the oldest sons; it’s tradition. But God chose Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, David over his six older brothers, and now Solomon over his many older brothers.
This tendency to choose the unexpected demonstrates that Israel is God’s nation, not the nation of any monarch. God is not bound by human traditions, no matter how old those traditions may be. As the Jews face seemingly impossible situations, their ancestors’ lives remind them that God can and will do anything to accomplish His goals. He often supports those with a hopeless cause. Why else would He rescue His people, the Jews, from the great Persian Empire and choose them to rebuild His nation?
David: 8 To you, my officials, follow the laws of the Eternal One your God as a witness to your neighbors (all Israel who are the assembly of the Eternal) and in the sight of our God so that you will retain this land and be able to pass it to your descendants forever.
9 To you, my son Solomon, maintain a relationship with the God of your father and serve Him with a complete heart in all your thoughts and actions. The Eternal searches all hearts for their desires and understands the intentions of every thought. If you search for Him as He searches you, then He will let you find Him. But if you abandon Him, then He will reject you forever. 10 Realize that the Eternal has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. You must be resolute and do it!
11 After instructing Solomon, David gave him blueprints of the temple porch, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and the holy of holies for the covenant chest. 12 And David also gave Solomon the plans he had in mind for the courts of the temple of the Eternal, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of the temple of God, and the storehouses of the dedicated gifts. 13 David also provided lists of the divisions of the priests and Levites and the work of the service they would perform in the temple of the Eternal. David also described how the priests and Levites would treat all the utensils of service in the house of the Eternal: 14 the ideal weight of gold for all the golden utensils for every kind of service, the ideal weight of silver for all the silver utensils for every kind of service, 15 the ideal weight of gold for each of the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, the ideal weight of silver for each of the silver lampstands and their silver lamps, 16 the ideal weight of gold for each of the tables of unleavened bread, and the silver for the silver tables, 17 the ideal weight of pure gold for the forks, the basins, and the pitchers, the ideal weight of gold for each of the golden bowls, the ideal weight for each of the silver bowls, 18 the ideal weight of refined gold for the altar of incense, for the model of the chariot, and for the winged guardian whose wings covered the covenant chest of the Eternal.
David (to the assembly): 19 All of these instructions and details were written for me by the Eternal, who was guiding me.
(to Solomon) 20 Be strong, courageous, and effective. Do not fear or be dismayed. I know that the Eternal God, who is my God, is with you. He will not abandon you or forsake you until you have finished all the work for the temple of the Eternal. 21 You will be helped in finishing this service by the divisions of the priests and the Levites and by every willing man of any skill. The officials and all the people will be at your disposal for the completion of the temple.
2 Just as false prophets rose up in the past among God’s people, false teachers will rise up in the future among you. They will slip in with their destructive opinions, denying the very Master who bought their freedom and dooming themselves to destruction swiftly, 2 but not before they attract others by their unbridled and immoral behavior. Because of them and their ways, others will criticize and condemn the path of truth we walk as seedy and disreputable. 3 These false teachers will follow their greed and exploit you with their fabrications, but be assured that their judgment was pronounced long ago and their destruction does not sleep.
New Testament writers warn the church to watch out for false teachers. Peter faults them primarily for their immoral lifestyles rather than for doctrinal differences.
4 For God did not spare the heavenly beings who sinned, but He cast them into the dark pits[a] of hell[b] to be kept until the time of judgment; 5 and He did not spare the ancient world, but He sent a flood swirling over the ungodly (although He did save Noah, God’s herald for what is right, with seven other members of his family); 6 and God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ash as a lesson of what He will do with the ungodly in the days to come 7-8 (although again He did rescue Lot, a person who did what was right in God’s eyes and who was distressed by the immorality and the lawlessness of the society around him. Day after day, the sights and sounds of their lawlessness were like daggers into that good man’s soul). 9 If all this happened in the past, it shows clearly the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials and how to hold the wicked in punishment until the day of judgment.
Is God different in the New Testament from what He is in the First Testament? In the First Testament, God seems prone to judgment; but some feel God is more concerned about love in the New Testament. However, the central and most repeated affirmation about God’s character in the First Testament is that He is gracious and compassionate (Exodus 34:6–7). And the New Testament clearly does not ignore the idea of God’s judgment, as this text shows. His judgment will come, but it is delayed by God’s patient mercy.
10 And above all, it shows He will punish those who let the desires of their bodies rule them and who have no respect for authority. People like this are so bold and willful that they aren’t even afraid of offending heavenly beings, 11 although the heavenly messengers—in spite of the fact that they have greater strength and power—make no such accusations against these people before the Lord. 12 These people who speak ill of what they do not understand are no different from animals—without sense, operating only on their instincts, born to be captured and killed—and they will be destroyed just like those animals, 13 receiving the penalty for their evil acts. They waste their days in parties and carousing. As they feast with you, these stains and blemishes on your community are feasting on their deceptions.[c] 14 Their eyes are always looking for their next adulterous conquests; their appetites for sin cannot be satisfied. They seduce the unwary soul, and greed is the only lesson they have learned by heart. God’s curse lies upon them. 15 They have veered off the right road and gotten lost, following in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, the false prophet. Balaam loved the reward he could get by doing evil, 16 but he was rebuked for crossing the line into sin; his own speechless donkey scolded him in a human voice, an amazing miracle that reined in the prophet’s insanity.[d]
17 These people I’m talking about are nothing but dried-up springs, mists driven by fierce winds; the deepest darkness has been set aside for them. 18 They speak in loud voices empty and arrogant. They exploit the desires of the flesh, take advantage of sensual natures, to entangle people who have just escaped from those who live by deception. 19 They claim to offer them freedom, but they themselves are enslaved by corruption because whatever a person gives in to soon becomes his master. 20 Those who have been pulled out of the cesspool of worldly desires through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Anointed One, yet have found themselves mired in it again are worse off than they were before. 21 They would have been better off never knowing the way of righteousness than to have known it and then abandoned the sacred commandment they had previously received and dived back into the muck! 22 In their cases, the words from Proverbs hold true: “The dog goes back to his own vomit,”[e] and as the Greeks say, “The sow is washed to wallow in the mud.”
5 Eternal One: Now, muster your troops O daughter.[a] You have been besieged,
and they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod.
This difficult passage recalls the judges who ruled God’s people in Canaan as it looks forward to the Redeemer from the insignificant town of Bethlehem.
2 But you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
of the clans of Judah, are no poor relation—
From your people will come a Ruler
who will be the shepherd of My people, Israel,[b]
Whose origins date back to the distant past,
to the ancient days.
3 So God will abandon Israel
only until the now-laboring mother gives birth,
And then those of His people who survive
will be gathered back together with the rest of Israel.
4 And he will stand and feed his flock in the power of the Eternal One,
with the majesty of the name of the Eternal, his True God.
And they will live in safety, for his greatness will extend to the farthest parts of the earth.
5 He will be our peace.
When the Assyrians invade us, set foot inside our strong palaces,[c]
We will raise up more than enough to conquer them—
seven shepherds and eight rulers of men.
The “seven shepherds and eight rulers” represent the whole leadership of the people.
6 They will rule over the country of Assyria with the sword,
and the country of Nimrod at its front gates.
He will save us from the Assyrians when they invade our lands
and tread in our borders.
7-8 Then what remains of Jacob will be like a dew from the Eternal,
like showers on the grass, which are beyond the control of humans.
He will be spread throughout many peoples and many nations.
Like a lion among beasts of the forest, a young lion among flocks of sheep,
He tramples and tears as he goes; no one will survive.
9 You will have victory over all your enemies,
and all who oppose you will be routed.
10 Eternal One: When that day comes, I will rip your horses from beneath you
and destroy your chariots and weapons of war;
11 I will rip the cities from your lands
and cast down all your fortresses.
12 I will tear all magic spells from your hands
and overthrow your magicians and fortunetellers.
13 And I will tear down the images and sacred pillars among you.
Never again will you worship these gods that your own hands have made.
14 I will uproot the sacred poles[d] in your communities
and tear down your towns.
15 And with anger and great wrath,
I will execute My vengeance against all the nations that have disobeyed Me!
14 Another Sabbath Day came and Jesus was invited to an official’s home for a meal. This fellow was a leader of the Pharisees, and Jesus was still under close surveillance by them. 2 Jesus noticed a man suffering from a swelling disorder. 3 He questioned the religious scholars and Pharisees.
Jesus: Is it permitted by traditions and the Hebrew Scriptures to heal people on the Sabbath, or is it forbidden?
4 They didn’t reply. Then Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way.
Jesus: 5 Would any single one of you leave his son[a] or even his ox in a well on the Sabbath if he had fallen into it, or would you pull him out immediately?
6 They still didn’t reply.
7 Then He noticed how the guests were jockeying for places of honor at the dinner, so He gave them advice.
Jesus: 8 Whenever someone invites you to a wedding dinner, don’t sit at the head table. Someone more important than you might also have been invited, 9 and your host will have to humiliate you publicly by telling you to give your seat to the other guest and to go find an open seat in the back of the room. 10 Instead, go and sit in the back of the room. Then your host may find you and say, “My friend! Why are you sitting back here? Come up to this table near the front!” Then you will be publicly honored in front of everyone. 11 Listen, if you lift yourself up, you’ll be put down, but if you humble yourself, you’ll be honored.
12 Jesus still wasn’t finished. Now He turned to the host who had invited Him to this gathering.
Jesus: When you host a dinner or banquet, don’t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they might invite you to a party of their own, and you’ll be repaid for your kindness. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the amputees, the cripples, the blind. 14 Then you’ll be blessed because they can never repay you. Your reward will come from God at the resurrection of the just and good.
Guest: 15 Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!
Jesus: 16 A man once hosted a huge banquet and invited many guests. 17 When the time came, he sent his servant to tell the guests who had agreed to come, “We’re ready! Come now!” 18 But then every single guest began to make excuses. One said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just bought some land, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.” 19 Another said, “So sorry. I just bought five pairs of oxen. I need to go check them out. Please excuse me.” 20 Another said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.”
21 The servant returned and reported their responses to his master. His master was angry and told the servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and alleys around town and bring the poor, the amputees, the blind, and the cripples.”
22 The servant came back again: “Sir, I’ve done as you said, but there is still more room.” 23 And the host said, “Well then, go out to the highways and hedges and bring in the complete strangers you find there, until my house is completely full. 24 One thing is for sure, not one single person on the original guest list shall enjoy this banquet.”
Jesus continues to challenge Jewish ideas about who will be in the kingdom of God and how the Kingdom will work. Those who have been dishonored on earth will be honored in the Kingdom, and those in positions of economic and religious honor here will be dishonored there. He also challenges individuals to reconsider their personal value systems. They should not honor their own lives and family above Christ, but rather give them up for Him.
25 Great crowds joined Him on His journey, and He turned to them.
Jesus: 26 If any of you come to Me without hating your own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes, even your own life, you can’t be My disciple. 27 If you don’t carry your own cross as if to your own execution as you follow Me, you can’t be part of My movement. 28 Just imagine that you want to build a tower. Wouldn’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to be sure you have enough to finish what you start? 29 If you lay the foundation but then can’t afford to finish the tower, everyone will mock you: 30 “Look at that guy who started something that he couldn’t finish!”
31 Or imagine a king gearing up to go to war. Wouldn’t he begin by sitting down with his advisors to determine whether his 10,000 troops could defeat the opponent’s 20,000 troops? 32 If not, he’ll send a peace delegation quickly and negotiate a peace treaty. 33 In the same way, if you want to be My disciple, it will cost you everything. Don’t underestimate that cost!
34 Don’t be like salt that has lost its taste. How can its saltiness be restored? Flavorless salt is absolutely worthless. 35 You can’t even use it as fertilizer, so it’s worth less than manure! Don’t just listen to My words here. Get the deeper meaning.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.