M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jehu warns King Jehoshaphat

19 King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned safely to his home in Jerusalem. ² The prophet Jehu, Hanani's son, went to meet him. He said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘You agreed to help a wicked man. You became the friend of someone who hates the Lord. You should not have done that. You have caused the Lord to be very angry with you.^{[a] 3} But you have done some good things. You have removed the Asherah poles from Judah's land. You have chosen to serve God.’

Jehoshaphat chooses some men to be judges

⁴ King Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He also travelled around the country to meet people. He went everywhere, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim.^[b] He warned the people to turn back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁵ He chose men to be judges. He put them everywhere in Judah, in each strong city. ⁶ He said to them, ‘Be careful how you do your job. Remember that you are not being a judge to please men. You are doing it to please the Lord. He will help you to decide what is right. ⁷ Respect the Lord's authority. Be careful to do your job well. The Lord our God is always fair. So be fair to everyone, whoever they are. Do not cheat people. Do not accept bribes.’

⁸ Jehoshaphat also chose some Levites, priests and clan leaders to serve the Lord as judges in Jerusalem. They used God's law to decide who was right when people who lived in Jerusalem had arguments.

⁹ He said to them, ‘Serve the Lord faithfully and respect his authority. ¹⁰ You must warn the people who come from their towns and they ask you to judge an argument for them. The argument may be about a murder, or about anyone who has not obeyed God's laws, rules and commands. Whatever it is, you must warn people not to do things that the Lord says are wrong. If you do not warn them, God will be angry with you and the people of Judah. But if you do warn them, you will not be guilty of a sin.

¹¹ Amariah, the most important priest, will have authority over you. He will tell you what the Lord's law says is right. But if it is an argument about the king's laws, Ishmael's son Zebadiah, the officer who rules Judah, will decide what is right. The Levites will serve as your officers. Be brave and do your work well. The Lord will help you to do what is right!’

Jehoshaphat fights against Moab and Ammon

20 After that, armies from Moab and Ammon, as well as some Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat.^[c]

² Some men brought this news to Jehoshaphat: ‘A large army is coming from the other side of the Dead Sea to attack you. They came from Edom and they are already in Hazezon Tamar.’ (That is another name for En Gedi.)

³ Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast. ⁴ Judah's people came together to ask the Lord for his help. They came from every town in Judah to pray to the Lord.

Jehoshaphat's prayer

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people of Jerusalem and the other places in Judah. He was standing in front of the new yard of the Lord's temple. ⁶ He prayed, ‘Lord, you are the God of our ancestors. You are the God who is in heaven and you rule over all kingdoms and nations. You are strong and powerful. Nobody can fight against you and win. ⁷ Our God, you chased out the people who were living in this land, so that your people, the Israelites, could move in. You have given this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham. It belongs to them for ever. ⁸ Your people made their homes here and they built a temple to give honour to your name. When they built it, they said, ⁹ “In the future, we may have trouble. There might be war, disease, famine or some other punishment. If that happens, we will come to you and we will stand in front of this temple. You have chosen this place to be your home. We will call out to you to help us when we are in trouble. Then you will hear us and you will rescue us.”

¹⁰ But now soldiers from Ammon, Moab and Edom are coming to attack us. When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, you would not allow them to attack those lands. So our people turned away and they did not destroy those people. ¹¹ But now those people want to destroy us! They are coming to chase us out of the land that you gave to us as our home. ¹² So, our God, please punish these people! We are not strong enough to fight against this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do. But we are asking you to help us.’

The Lord speaks to Jahaziel

¹³ As King Jehoshaphat prayed, all the men of Judah were standing there at the temple. They had their babies, their wives and their children with them.

¹⁴ Then the Lord's Spirit came with power to Jahaziel as he stood among the people. Jahaziel was a Levite, a descendant of Asaph. He was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of Benaiah, who was the son of Jeiel, who was the son of Mattaniah.

¹⁵ Jahaziel said, ‘Listen to me all you people of Judah. That includes you people who live in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat too. The Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid because this large army is coming to attack you. You must be brave! This is God's battle, not your battle. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, you must march out of here to attack them. They will be coming up the road through the hills at Ziz. You will meet them at the end of the narrow valley that is on the east side of the Jeruel desert. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight in this battle. Go to your places and stand still. Then you will see the Lord rescue you. People of Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Be brave! Tomorrow you must march out of here towards the enemy army. The Lord is with you!” ’

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bent down with his face towards the ground. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem also bent down to worship the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites stood up. They praised the Lord, Israel's God, with loud voices. They belonged to the clans of Kohath and Korah.

The Lord fights against Judah's enemies

²⁰ Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat prepared to leave with his army. They started to march to the Tekoa desert. When they were ready to leave, Jehoshaphat stood up and he said, ‘Listen to me, people of Judah and people who live in Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God. Then you will be safe. Believe the message that his prophets have spoken. Then you will win the battle.’

²¹ Jehoshaphat spoke with the people. He chose some musicians to march in front of his army. They sang songs to worship the Lord and to praise him for his holy power. As they marched, they sang, ‘We thank the Lord! His faithful love continues for ever!’

²² As the musicians began to sing, the Lord suddenly made the soldiers of Judah's enemies confused. ²³ The soldiers from Ammon and Moab started to attack the soldiers from Edom. They destroyed Edom's army. When they had done that, they started to fight against each other. So they all destroyed one another. ²⁴ Judah's soldiers came to a tower from where they could see the desert. They looked at the large army of their enemies. But they could not see any soldier who was still alive! They only saw dead bodies that were lying on the ground.

²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to take things from the dead soldiers. They found a lot of weapons, clothes and other valuable things. They took as many things as they could carry. There were so many things that it took them three days to take them all away. ²⁶ On the fourth day they all met together in Berakah valley. There they praised the Lord. That is why that place is still called Berakah valley.^[d]

Judah's people return to Jerusalem

²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat marched in front of them. They were very happy because the Lord had helped them. He had caused them to win the fight against their enemies. ²⁸ As they went into Jerusalem, they made music with harps, lyres and trumpets. They went to the Lord's temple.

²⁹ People in all the kingdoms around Judah heard that the Lord had fought against Israel's enemies. So they became afraid of God's power. ³⁰ There was a time of peace in Jehoshaphat's kingdom. God kept them safe from the nations all around.

Jehoshaphat continues to rule Judah

³¹ So Jehoshaphat continued to rule Judah as king. He was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat lived in the good way that his father Asa had lived. He only did things that the Lord says are right. ³³ But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. The people still did not want to be completely faithful to the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The other things that happened while Jehoshaphat was king are written in a book. Hanani's son Jehu recorded all of them in his book, which is part of ‘The history of Israel's kings’.

³⁵ While Jehoshaphat was king, he became a friend of King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil things. ³⁶ They agreed to build big ships that would bring things from countries that were far away. They built the ships in Ezion-Geber. ³⁷ Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah warned Jehoshaphat with a message from the Lord. He said, ‘You should not have become a friend of Ahaziah. Because of that, the Lord will destroy the things that you have made.’

A storm destroyed the ships and they never went anywhere.

The Lamb opens the last seal

8 The Lamb opened the seventh seal. Then it became completely quiet in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stand in front of God. Someone gave them seven trumpets.

³ Then another angel came. He stood at the altar where people offered gifts to God. He had a gold bowl to put incense in. He received a lot of incense and he burned it as a gift to God. It made a nice smell and it mixed with the prayers of God's people. The angel offered the incense and the prayers on the gold altar that was in front of God's throne.^{[a] 4} When he did that, the smoke from the incense went up in front of God. The prayers of God's people also went up to God. ⁵ Then the angel took the gold bowl and he filled it with fire from the altar. Then he threw it all down onto the earth. There were loud noises and the sound of thunder. There was bright lightning, like a very bad storm. The earth shook with an earthquake.

The first four trumpets

⁶ Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to make a noise with their trumpets. ⁷ The first angel made a sound with his trumpet. Strong rain with stones of ice fell on the earth. The rain was mixed with fire and blood and it poured down. It burned a third of the earth. It destroyed a third of the trees and all the green grass.

⁸ Then the second angel made a sound with his trumpet. I saw something like a very big mountain that was burning with fire. This mountain fell down into the sea. A third of the sea became blood. ⁹ A third of the animals that lived in the sea died. It also destroyed a third of the ships on the sea.

¹⁰ Then the third angel made a sound with his trumpet. I saw a very big star, which was burning with a bright light. It fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star means ‘It tastes bad’. A third of the water on the earth became bad. Many people died because they drank that bad water.

¹² Then the fourth angel made a sound with his trumpet. A third of the sun became dark. A third of the moon and a third of the stars also became dark. There was no light for a third of the day and there was no light for a third of the night.^[b]

¹³ Then I looked up. I saw an eagle that was flying high in the sky above me. I heard it say with a loud voice, ‘Great trouble! Great trouble! Yes, great trouble is coming to the people who live on the earth! Very bad things will happen when the other three angels make a sound with their trumpets!’

The burning lights and the olive trees

4 The angel that talked with me before woke me. I, Zechariah, was like a man who wakes out of his sleep. ² The angel said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see a lampstand that is made from gold. It has seven lamps and a bowl on top which contains oil. And it has seven branches that take the oil to each lamp. ³ And two olive trees are standing by the lampstand. One tree is on the right and one tree is on the left.’

⁴ I, Zechariah, said to the angel that talked with me, ‘What does this light mean, my lord?’

⁵ He said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’

⁶ Then the angel said to me, ‘The Lord said this to Zerubbabel: “You will need my Spirit. You yourself are too weak.^[a] And you do not have enough power.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: ⁷ “Big mountain, you are no problem. You will become flat ground in front of Zerubbabel. Then he will bring out the last and biggest stone of my house. The people will shout, ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ” ’

⁸ Then the Lord's message came to me, Zechariah. He said, ⁹ ‘Zerubbabel has put down the first stone of my house. He will also finish it.’^[b] Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

¹⁰ Everyone should know that the day of small things is important.

Men will see Zerubbabel. Then they will sing and they will be happy. They will see him with a line in his hand to measure the walls.

¹¹ Then I said to the angel, ‘What are these two olive trees that stand on the right and on the left of the lampstand?’

¹² A second time I spoke to the angel, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees? They are next to the gold pipes and oil comes from those pipes.’

¹³ The angel replied, ‘Do you not know what these olive trees mean?’

¹⁴ So the angel said, ‘These are the two men that the Lord of all the earth has chosen to be his servants.’^[c]

Jesus and his brothers

7 After this, Jesus visited many places in Galilee. He did not want to visit Judea because the Jewish leaders there wanted to kill him. ² It was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles.^{[a] 3} So Jesus' brothers said to him, ‘You should leave this place and you should go to Judea. Then your disciples will see the great things that you do. ⁴ Nobody does things secretly if he wants everyone to know him. You are doing these things, so you should show yourself to everybody.’ ⁵ Even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ So Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the right time for me yet. For you, any time is right. ⁷ People who belong to this world cannot hate you. But they hate me. The things that they do are very bad. And I tell them that those things are wrong. That is why they hate me. ⁸ You should go to the festival. I will not go to it now, because it is not the right time for me yet.’ ⁹ After Jesus said that, he stayed in Galilee.

Jesus goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

¹⁰ Some time after his brothers had gone, Jesus also went to the festival. But he did not let other people know that he was going. Instead, he went secretly. ¹¹ The Jewish leaders were looking for him at the festival. They asked, ‘Where is that man?’ ¹² People in the crowd were talking quietly to each other about Jesus. Some people said, ‘He is a good man.’ But other people said, ‘No, he is telling the people things that are not true.’ ¹³ But nobody spoke in public places about him, because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴ In the middle of the time of the festival, Jesus went to the temple. He started to teach in the yard there. ¹⁵ The Jewish leaders were very surprised. They asked, ‘How does this man know so much? He has not learned in our schools.’ ¹⁶ Jesus answered, ‘What I teach does not come from me. No, it comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do what God wants will know about my teaching. They will know whether it comes from God, or whether it comes from my own thoughts. ¹⁸ A person who teaches his own ideas wants people to think that he himself is great. But I want to show that the one who sent me is great. A person like that is honest and there is nothing false in him. ¹⁹ Moses gave God's Law to you. But not one of you obeys that Law. Why are you trying to kill me?’

²⁰ The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon in you! Nobody is trying to kill you!’

²¹ Jesus replied, ‘I did one miracle on the day of rest, and all of you were surprised. ²² Moses gave you a law that you must circumcise your sons. Your ancestors taught that, even before Moses was born. So you will agree to circumcise a boy, even on the day of rest.^{[b] 23} You will do that so that you obey Moses' law. So you should not be angry with me because I made a man completely well on the day of rest. ²⁴ Do not quickly decide whether something is right or wrong just because of what you see. Instead, think about it carefully. Then you will judge in a right way.’

The people talk about whether Jesus is the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people in Jerusalem began to say, ‘This is the man that our leaders want to kill. ²⁶ But look! He is speaking to the crowds, and the leaders are not saying anything against him! Perhaps they really think that he is the Messiah! ²⁷ But we know where this man came from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know that. Nobody will know where he has come from.’

²⁸ Jesus was still teaching in the yard of the temple. He shouted, ‘Yes, you say that you know me. And you know where I came from. But I have not come because I myself decided to come. He who sent me is true. You do not know him. ²⁹ But I know him because I have come from him. He is the one who sent me.’ ³⁰ When they heard this, they tried to take hold of him. But nobody could put their hands on him, because it was not yet the right time. ³¹ But many people in the crowd believed in Jesus. They said, ‘This man has done so many miracles. Surely he is the Messiah! Nobody could do more miracles than he has done.’

³² The Pharisees heard what these people were saying quietly about Jesus. Then the leaders of the priests and the Pharisees sent some of their officers to take him away.

³³ Jesus said, ‘I will be with you for only a short time. Then I will return to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me. You cannot go to the place where I will be.’ ³⁵ The Jewish leaders asked each other, ‘What is he trying to tell us? Where can he go so that we cannot find him? Perhaps he will go to our people who have gone away to live among the Greek people.^[c] Perhaps he will go to teach the Greek people. ³⁶ He said, “You will look for me, but you will not find me.” And he also said, “You cannot go to the place where I will be.” What does he mean?’

Streams of water that give life to people

³⁷ The last day of the festival was the most important day. On that day, Jesus stood up and he spoke with a loud voice. He said, ‘If anyone is thirsty, he should come to me so that he may drink. ³⁸ It says in the Bible, “God will cause streams of water to pour out from anyone who believes in me. Water that gives life will come out from inside that person.” ’ ³⁹ Jesus was speaking about God's Spirit, who would come to people some time after that. Those people who believed in Jesus would receive God's Spirit at that later time. But God had not yet given his Spirit to people, because he had not yet raised Jesus back up to heaven.^[d]

The people argue about who Jesus is

⁴⁰ The people in the crowd heard Jesus say these words. Some of them said, ‘Surely this man must be the Prophet from God that we have been waiting for!’ ⁴¹ Other people said, ‘This man is the Messiah.’ But some other people said, ‘The Messiah will not come from Galilee! ⁴² The Bible says that the Messiah will come from King David's family.^[e] He will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.’ ⁴³ In this way the people had different thoughts about Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some people wanted to take hold of him. But nobody could put their hands on him to take him away.

⁴⁵ The officers returned to the leaders of the priests and the Pharisees. The leaders asked their officers, ‘Why did you not bring Jesus here?’ ⁴⁶ The officers answered, ‘Nobody has ever spoken great things like this man speaks.’ ⁴⁷ The Pharisees replied, ‘He seems to have made you believe his lies! ⁴⁸ None of the Pharisees or our leaders believe in him. ⁴⁹ But this crowd does not know what God's Law teaches. God will surely punish them.’

⁵⁰ Nicodemus spoke to them. He himself was one of the Pharisees. He was the man who had gone to speak with Jesus before. He said, ⁵¹ ‘We must find out first what this man has done. Then we can decide if it is right to punish him. Our law says that we must listen to him first.’ ⁵² They answered Nicodemus, ‘Perhaps you come from Galilee, as well as him! Study what the Bible teaches. You will learn that no prophet of God ever comes from Galilee.’ ⁵³ [Then everyone went to his own home.]^[f]