M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah’s Covenant
23 At this, the king sent for and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 The king went up to the Lord’s Temple, accompanied by all the men of Judah, everyone who lived in Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and everyone—including those who were unimportant and those who were important—and he read to them everything written in the Book of the Covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s Temple. 3 The king stood beside a pillar and made a covenant in the presence of the Lord: to follow after the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. All the people consented to enter into the covenant.
Josiah Abolishes Idolatry
4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the secondary order, and the doorkeepers to take out of the Lord’s Temple all of the implements that had been crafted for Baal, for Asherah, and for every star in the heavens. Then he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried the ashes to Bethel. 5 The king unseated the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places throughout the cities of Judah and in the environs surrounding Jerusalem, including those who had been burning incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to every star in the heavens. 6 He brought the Asherah from the Lord’s Temple to the Kidron Brook outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Kidron brook, pulverized the ashes[a] to dust, and scattered it[b] over the graves of the common people.
7 He also demolished the temples of the cultic male prostitutes that had been operating[c] in the Lord’s Temple, where the women had been doing weaving for the Asherah. 8 Then he gathered together all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba, where the priests had burned incense. He also demolished the high places of the gates that had been erected to the left as one enters the city gate—that is, near the entrance operated by Joshua, the governor of the city. 9 Nevertheless, the priests of the high places did not approach the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but instead they ate unleavened bread given to them by their[d] relatives.
10 He also defiled Topheth, which is located in the Ben-hinnom Valley,[e] so that no one would force his son or daughter to pass through the fire in dedication to Molech. 11 He abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to the Lord’s Temple, near the offices of Nathan-melech, the official, that were in the precincts. He also set fire to the chariots of the sun.
12 The king demolished the rooftop altars on top of Ahaz’s upper chamber that the kings of Judah had erected, as well as the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the Lord’s Temple. He pulverized them where they stood and cast their dust into the Kidron Brook. 13 The king defiled the high places which faced[f] Jerusalem on the south[g] side of Corruption Mountain, which King Solomon of Israel had constructed for Ashtoreth, the Sidonian abomination, for Chemosh, the Moabite abomination, and for Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. 14 He broke the pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherim, and filled their locations with human bones.
15 Furthermore, he even broke down the altar that had been at Bethel as well as the high place constructed by Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin. He demolished its stones, pulverized them to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16 As Josiah turned around, he observed the graves located there on the mountain, so he sent for and recovered the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar to defile it, in keeping with the message from the Lord that the godly man had proclaimed when he was declaring these things. 17 He asked, “What is this monument that I’m looking at?”
The men who lived in that city answered him, “It’s the grave of that godly man who came from Judah and predicted these things that you’ve done against the altar at Bethel!”
18 Josiah[h] replied, “Leave him alone. No one is to disturb his bones.” So they preserved his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. 19 Josiah also removed all of the temples on the high places that had been in the cities of Samaria and that the kings of Israel had erected, thereby provoking the Lord.[i] He treated Samaria[j] just as he had Bethel. 20 After he had slaughtered all the priests who served at the high places and burned their bones on those high places, he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Reinstates the Passover
21 After this, the king commanded all of the people, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, just as it’s prescribed in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 From the days of the judges who ruled in Israel, no Passover had been celebrated like this, not even in all the reigns of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 In the eighteenth year of the reign of[k] King Josiah, this Passover was observed in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. 24 Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums, the necromancers, the household gods,[l] the idols, and every despicable thing that could be seen in the territory of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might confirm the words of the Law that had been written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s Temple. 25 There had been no king like him before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength, in obeying everything in the Law of Moses. No king arose like Josiah after him.
26 Even so, the Lord did not turn away from his fierce and great anger that burned against Judah because of everything with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 The Lord said, “I’m going to remove Judah from my sight as well, just as I’ve removed Israel. I will abandon Jerusalem, this city that I’ve chosen, as well as the Temple, about which I’ve spoken, ‘My Name shall remain there.’”
Pharaoh Neco Kills Josiah
28 Now the rest of Josiah’s actions, including everything that he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 29 During his reign, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, marched out toward the Euphrates River to meet the king of Assyria. King Josiah went out to engage him in battle, but Pharaoh Neco[m] killed him at Megiddo as soon as he saw him. 30 Josiah’s servants drove his corpse in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in a tomb made for him.
Jehoahaz is Anointed King
The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz, anointed him, and installed him as king in his father’s place. 31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as all of his ancestors had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco placed him in custody at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed a tribute of 100 talents[n] of silver and a talent[o] of gold.
Jehoiakim is Made King by Pharaoh Neco
34 Pharaoh Neco installed Josiah’s son Eliakim as king to replace his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He transported Jehoahaz off to Egypt, where he died. 35 As a result, Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold tribute[p] to Pharaoh, but he passed on the costs to the inhabitants of the land in taxes, in keeping with Pharaoh’s orders. He exacted the silver and gold from the people who lived in the land, from each according to his assessment, in order to pay it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Zebidah. She was the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 Eliakim practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his ancestors had done.
Qualifications for the Priesthood
5 For every high priest selected from among men is appointed to officiate on their behalf[a] in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 For that reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4 No one takes this honor upon himself but he is called to it by God, just as Aaron was.
The Messiah’s Qualifications as High Priest
5 In the same way, the Messiah[b] did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said[c] to him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”[d]
6 As he also says in another place,
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”[e]
7 As a mortal man,[f] he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience through his sufferings 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
You Still Need Someone to Teach You
11 We have much to say about this,[g] but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand. 12 In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God’s word.[h] You have become people who need milk instead of solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and does not yet know the difference between right and wrong.[i] 14 But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
The Warning of God
2 “Sound the ram’s horn in Zion!
Sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Tremble, all of you[a] inhabitants of the land,
because the Day of the Lord is coming.
Oh, how near it is!
2 A day of doom and gloom,
a day of clouds and shadows[b]
like the dawn spreads out to cover the mountains—
a people strong and robust.
Never has there been anything like it,
neither will anything follow to compare with[c] it,
even through the lifetime of generation upon generation.”[d]
Joel’s Description of the Approaching Army
3 “A fire blazes in their presence,
and behind them a conflagration rages.
Before they come, the land is like the garden in Eden;
after they leave, there is only a barren wasteland.
Indeed, nothing escapes them.
4 As to their form, they’re like horses;
and like chariot horses, how they can[e] run!
5 They leap like the rumbling of chariots echoing from mountain tops,
like the roar of wild fire that devours the chaff,
as an army[f] firmly established in battle array.
6 The people are terrified in their presence;
every face grows pale.[g]
7 They run like elite soldiers,
climbing ramparts like men trained for war.
Each man advances in proper order,
never breaking rank.
8 Neither does a man crowd his fellow soldier;[h]
each one marches in his own path.
When they fall by the sword
they are not injured.
9 They swarm through the city,
running upon its ramparts.
Climbing atop the houses,
they enter through windows like a thief.”
Great is the Day of the Lord
10 “The land quivers in their presence;
even the heavens shake.
The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will stop shining.
11 The Lord will shout in the presence of his forces,
because his encampment is very great;
for powerful is he who carries out his message.
Truly the Day of the Lord is great, and very terrifying.
Who will be able to survive[i] it?”
Repentance and Restoration
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Turn back to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, tears, and mourning.
13 Tear your hearts, not your garments;[j]
and turn back to the Lord your God.
For he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to become angry,
overflowing in gracious love,
and grieves about this evil.
14 Who knows? He will turn back and relent, will he not,
leaving behind a blessing,
even a grain offering and drink offering for the Lord your God?”
A Public Call to a Solemn Assembly
15 “Sound the ram’s horn in Zion!
Dedicate a fast and call for a solemn assembly!
16 Gather the people!
Dedicate the congregation!
Bring in the elders.
Gather the youngsters
and even the nursing infants.
Call the bridegroom from his wedding preparations,[k]
and the bride from her dressing room.
17 As they serve[l] between the porch and the altar,
let the priests and ministers of the Lord weep and pray:
‘Spare your people, Lord,
and do not make your heritage a disgrace
so that nations ridicule them.
Why should they say among the people,
“Where is their God?”’”
Response to the People’s Repentance
18 Then the Lord will show great concern for his land,
and will have compassion on his people.
19 The Lord will say to his people,
“Look! I will send you grain, new wine, and oil,
and you will be content with them.
I will no longer cause you to be a disgrace among the nations.”
Destruction of the Invaders
20 “I will remove the northerners[m] from you,
driving them[n] to a barren and desolate land—
the front toward the Dead Sea[o]
and the back toward the Mediterranean.[p]
Their stench will rise,
and their stinking odor will ascend,
because they have done great things.”
The Lord’s Restoration of the Land
21 “Stop being afraid, land!
Rejoice and be glad,
because the Lord will do great things.
22 Stop being afraid, beasts of the field,
because the desert pastures will bloom,
the trees will bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and vine will deliver their wealth.
23 And so be glad, children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
because he has given you the right amount of early rain,
and he will cause the rain to fall for you,
both the early rain and the later rain as before.
24 The threshing floors will be smothered in grain,
and the vats will overflow with wine and oil.
25 “Then I will restore to you the years that the locust swarm devoured,
as did the young locust, the other locusts, and the ravaging locust,
that great army of mine that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, and will be fully satisfied.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has performed wonders specifically for you.
And my people will never be ashamed.
27 As a result, you will know that I am in the midst of Israel;
that I myself am the Lord your God—
and there is none other!
And my people will never be ashamed.”
The Day of the Lord
28 [q]“Then it will come about at a later time
that I will pour out my Spirit on every person.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your elderly people will dream dreams,
and your young people will see visions.
29 Also at that time I will pour out my Spirit
upon men and women servants.
30 I will display warnings in the heavens,
and on the earth blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be given over to darkness,
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the great and terrifying Day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be delivered.
For as the Lord has said,
‘In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape,
the survivors whom the Lord is calling.’”
A Davidic Song, when he was in the cave.[a] A prayer.
A Call to God for Help
142 My voice cries out to the Lord;
my voice pleads for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint to him,
telling him all of my troubles.
3 Though my spirit grows faint within me,
you are aware of my path.
Wherever I go,
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right[b] and observe—
no one is concerned about me.
There is nowhere I can go for refuge,
and no one cares for me.
5 So I cry to you, Lord,
declaring, “You are my refuge,
my only[c] possession while I am on this earth.”[d]
6 Pay attention to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Deliver me from my tormentors,
for they are far too strong for me.
7 Break me out of this prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal generously with me.
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