M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jehu Anointed King of Israel
9 Then Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and told him, “Hike up your garments for travel,[a] and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in and have him excuse himself from his associates[b] and bring him into an inner room. 3 Take the flask of oil, pour it out on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says. I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee. Do not delay!”
4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When he got there, he found the commanders of the army sitting together.
He said, “I have a message for you, commander.”
Then Jehu said, “For which of us?”
He answered, “For you, commander.”
6 So Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the servant poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel. 7 You will strike down the house of your master Ahab, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the Lord that was shed by Jezebel. 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish. In Israel I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against the wall,[c] both bound and free.[d] 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Ba’asha son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezre’el, and no one will bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.
11 Then Jehu went out to the rest of the king’s officers. They said to him, “Is everything all right? Why did that madman come to you?”
He said to them, “You know the man and how he talks.”
12 But they said, “That’s not true! Tell us!”
So he said, “He told me this and that, and then he said, ‘This is what the Lord says. I anoint you king over Israel.’”
13 Each man quickly took his cloak. Then they placed them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and said, “Jehu is king!”
Jehu Seizes the Throne
14 Then Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram and all Israel had been guarding Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram. 15 But King Joram[e] returned to Jezre’el to recover from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Hazael king of Aram.
Then Jehu said, “If you really want me to be king, don’t let any survivors get out of the city to go and report in Jezre’el.”
16 Then Jehu got in his chariot and went to Jezre’el, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see Joram. 17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezre’el, and he saw Jehu’s troops coming, so the watchman said, “I see a large group coming!”
Then Joram said, “Get a rider and send him to meet them and say, ‘Do you come in peace?’”
18 So a horseman[f] went to meet him. He said, “This is what the king says. Do you come in peace?”
Then Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
Then the watchmen said, “The messenger reached him but did not return.”
19 So he sent a second horseman. He came to them and said, “This is what the king says. Do you come in peace?”
Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 Then the watchman said, “He reached them, but he did not return. But the driving is like Jehu son of Nimshi’s driving. He drives like a madman.”
21 Then Joram said, “Hitch up a chariot!” Then they hitched up his chariot, and Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They reached him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth from Jezre’el.
22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”
Jehu answered, “What peace can there be as long as so much of your mother Jezebel’s prostitution and witchcraft exists?”
23 Then Joram turned his chariot around and fled. He said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between his shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, “Pick him up and throw him onto the plot of land that belonged to Naboth from Jezre’el. Remember that when you and I were riding side by side in chariots behind his father Ahab, the Lord made this pronouncement against him: 26 ‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, the Lord declares, I will repay you on this plot of land, the Lord declares.’ So now, pick him up and throw him onto that plot of land according to the word of the Lord.”
27 Ahaziah king of Judah saw this and fled on the road toward Beth Hagan. But Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him too!” They shot him[g] in his chariot on the way up to Gur, that is Ibleam. Then he fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants brought him in his chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb with his fathers in the City of David. 29 (It was in the eleventh year of Joram son of King Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)
Jehu Kills Jezebel
30 Jehu went to Jezre’el. When Jezebel heard it, she put on eye make-up and arranged her hair. Then she looked down through a window. 31 When Jehu came into the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, the killer of your master?”
32 He looked up to the window and said, “Who is with me? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down to him. 33 Then he said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her. 34 Then he went inside and ate and drank. Then Jehu said, “See to that cursed woman and bury her, because she was a king’s daughter.”
35 But when they went to bury her, they did not find her, except for her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 So they came back and told him. Then Jehu said, “This is the word of the Lord which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: On the plot of ground at Jezre’el, the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel. 37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure spread on the surface of the field at the plot of ground at Jezre’el, so they won’t be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
Dealing With Slaves
6 All who are under a yoke of slavery should consider their own masters worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching may not be blasphemed. 2 And those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful toward them because they are brothers. Instead, they should serve them even better, because those who benefit from their good service are believers and dear to them.
False Teachers and Their Greed
Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches different doctrines and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. Instead, he has a morbid craving for controversies and battles over words, things that produce envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant frictions among people whose minds are depraved, who have lost hold of the truth, imagining that their godliness is a means of financial gain. Separate yourselves from such people.[a]
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly[b] cannot take anything out. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied.
9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into complete destruction and utter ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils. By striving for money, some have wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made a good confession as a witness before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this command without spot and without fault, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known at the proper time—the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see. To him be honor and power forever! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but rather in God, who richly supplies us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.[c]
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from godless, empty talk and the contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge.” 21 By professing it, some have veered away from the faith. Grace be with you.[d] Amen.[e]
Hosea’s Wife and Children
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Be’eri,[a] in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, the king of Israel.
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go. Take for yourself an immoral wife and children produced by sexual immorality,[b] because the land has been committing flagrant immorality, turning away from the Lord.”
3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and gave birth to a son for him.
4 The Lord said to him, “Name him Jezre’el,[c] because in a little while I will inflict punishment on the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezre’el. I will destroy the ruling power of the house of Israel. 5 In that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezre’el.”
6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter.
The Lord said to him, “Name her Lo Ruhamah,[d] because I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. Indeed, I will certainly not forgive them. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah. I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”[e]
8 Gomer weaned Lo Ruhamah. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son.
9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi,[f] because you are not my people, and I will not be the Lord for you.”[g]
A Promise of Future Blessing
10 Nevertheless, the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. Then, in the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be told, “You are children of the living God.” 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one head for themselves, and they will go up from the land, for the day of Jezre’el will be great.[h]
Yod: Those Who Fear You
73 Your hands made me and established me.
Give me understanding.
Then I will learn your commandments.
74 May those who fear you see me and rejoice,
because I wait confidently for your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your judgments are righteous.
In faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Please let your mercy be my comfort,
according to your saying to your servant.
77 Let your abundant compassion come to me that I may live,
because your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have wronged me with lies.
As for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
and those who know your testimonies.
80 Let my heart be blameless regarding your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
Kaph: A Wineskin in the Smoke
81 My soul is worn out, as I wait for your salvation.
I wait confidently for your word.
82 My eyes are worn out, as I look for your sayings.
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your statutes.
84 How many days does your servant have?
When will you inflict judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits for me.
This is against your laws.
86 All your commandments are trustworthy.
The arrogant persecute me wrongfully. Help me.
87 They almost put an end to me here on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 Give me life according to your mercy,
and I will obey the testimony from your mouth.
Lamed: Your Commands Have No Limits
89 To eternity, O Lord, your word is fixed firmly in the heavens.
90 For generation after generation, your faithfulness remains.
You established the earth, and it stands.
91 As for your judgments, they stand to this day,
because all things are your servants.
92 Unless your law had been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 To eternity I will not forget your precepts,
because by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours. Save me,
because I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked are lying in wait for me to kill me,
but I will ponder your testimonies.
96 I see a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment has no limits.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.