M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

14 Abijah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Abijah’s son Asa became the next king after him. While Asa was king, the country had peace and rest for ten years.

Asa Becomes King of Judah

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ Asa removed the altars where false gods were worshiped. He took away the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. ⁴ He commanded Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their people. He commanded them to obey the Lord’s laws and commands. ⁵ Asa removed the high places and incense altars from every town in Judah. The kingdom had peace and rest under his rule. ⁶ He built up the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. The land was at peace. No one was at war with Asa during those years. That’s because the Lord gave him peace and rest.

⁷ “Let’s build up our towns,” Asa said to the people of Judah. “Let’s put walls around them. Let’s provide them with towers. Let’s make them secure with gates that have heavy metal bars. The land still belongs to us. That’s because we’ve trusted in the Lord our God. We trusted in him, and he has given us peace and rest on every side.” So they built. And things went well for them.

⁸ Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah. They carried spears and large shields. There were 280,000 men from Benjamin. They were armed with bows and small shields. All these men were brave soldiers.

⁹ Zerah marched out against them. He was from Cush. He had a huge army of thousands. He also had 300 chariots. They came all the way to Mareshah. ¹⁰ Asa went out to meet Zerah in battle. They took up their positions in the Valley of Zephathah. It’s near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called out to the Lord his God. He said, “Lord, there isn’t anyone like you. You help the weak against the strong. Lord our God, help us. We trust in you. In your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord, you are our God. Don’t let mere human beings win the battle over you.”

¹² The Lord struck down the men of Cush for Asa and Judah. The Cushites ran away. ¹³ Asa and his army chased them all the way to Gerar. A large number of Cushites fell down wounded or dead. So they couldn’t fight back. The Lord and his army crushed them. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of goods. ¹⁴ They destroyed all the villages around Gerar. The Lord had made the people in those villages afraid of him. The men of Judah took everything from all the villages. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of those who took care of the herds. They carried off large numbers of sheep, goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa Makes Judah a Better Nation

15 The Spirit of God came on Azariah. He was the son of Oded. ² Azariah went out to meet Asa. He said to him, “Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you really look for him, you will find him. But if you desert him, he will desert you. ³ For a long time Israel didn’t worship the true God. They didn’t have a priest who taught them. So they didn’t know God’s law. ⁴ But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. When they did, they found him. ⁵ In those days it wasn’t safe to travel around. The people who lived in all the areas of the land were having a lot of trouble. ⁶ One nation was crushing another. One city was crushing another. That’s because God was causing them to suffer terribly. ⁷ But be strong. Don’t give up. God will reward you for your work.”

⁸ Asa heard that prophecy. He paid attention to the words of Azariah the prophet, the son of Oded. So Asa became bolder than ever. He removed the statues of gods from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed them from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He did it because the Lord hated those gods. Asa repaired the altar of the Lord. It was in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.

⁹ Then Asa gathered together all the people of Judah and Benjamin. He also gathered together the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who were living among them. Large numbers of people had come over to him from Israel. They came because they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ They gathered in Jerusalem. It was the third month of the 15th year of Asa’s rule. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep and goats. The animals were among the things they had taken after the battle. ¹² They made a covenant to obey the Lord, the God of their people. They would obey him with all their heart and soul. ¹³ All those who wouldn’t obey the Lord, the God of Israel, would be killed. It wouldn’t matter how important they were. It wouldn’t matter whether they were men or women. ¹⁴ They made a promise to the Lord. They praised him out loud. They shouted. They blew trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All the people of Judah were happy about the promise they had made. They turned to God with all their heart. When they did, they found him. So the Lord gave them peace and rest on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa also removed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother. That’s because she had made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. The Lord hated it. So Asa cut it down. He broke it up. He burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ Asa didn’t remove the high places from Israel. But he committed his whole life completely to the Lord. ¹⁸ He and his father had set apart silver, gold and other things to the Lord. Asa brought them into God’s temple.

¹⁹ There weren’t any more wars until the 35th year of Asa’s rule.

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there in front of me was a door standing open in heaven. I heard the voice I had heard before. It sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Come up here. I will show you what must happen after this.” ² At once the Holy Spirit gave me a vision. There in front of me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. ³ The one who sat there shone like jasper and ruby. Around the throne was a rainbow shining like an emerald. ⁴ Twenty-four other thrones surrounded that throne. Twenty-four elders were sitting on them. The elders were dressed in white. They had gold crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder. Seven lamps were blazing in front of the throne. These stand for the seven spirits of God. ⁶ There was something that looked like a sea of glass in front of the throne. It was as clear as crystal.

In the inner circle, around the throne, were four living creatures. They were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first creature looked like a lion. The second looked like an ox. The third had a man’s face. The fourth looked like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings. Each creature was covered all over with eyes. It had eyes even under its wings. Day and night, they never stop saying,

⁹ The living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne. He lives for ever and ever. ¹⁰ At the same time, the 24 elders fall down and worship the one who sits on the throne. He lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns in front of the throne. They say,

2 ¹ a second message came from the Lord. It came to Haggai the prophet. The message came on the 21st day of the seventh month. The Lord said, ² “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Also speak to Joshua the high priest, the son of Jozadak. And speak to all my people who are still left alive. Ask them, ³ ‘Did any of you who are here see how beautiful this temple used to be? How does it look to you now? It doesn’t look so good, does it? ⁴ But be strong, Zerubbabel,’ announces the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua. Be strong, all of you people in the land,’ announces the Lord. ‘Start rebuilding. I am with you,’ announces the Lord who rules over all. ⁵ ‘That is what I promised you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit continues to be with you. So do not be afraid.’ ”

⁶ The Lord says, “In a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth once more. I will also shake the ocean and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations. Then what is desired by all nations will come to my temple. And I will fill the temple with glory,” says the Lord who rules over all. ⁸ “The silver belongs to me. So does the gold,” announces the Lord who rules over all. ⁹ “The new temple will be more beautiful than the first one was,” says the Lord. “And in this place I will bring peace,” announces the Lord who rules over all.

The Lord Will Make His People Pure and “Clean”

¹⁰ A third message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet. The message came on the 24th day of the ninth month of the second year that Darius was king. ¹¹ The Lord who rules over all speaks. He says, “Ask the priests what the law says. ¹² Suppose someone carries holy meat in the clothes they are wearing. And the clothes touch some bread or stew. Or they touch some wine, olive oil or other food. Then do these things also become holy?”

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³ So Haggai said, “Suppose someone is made ‘unclean’ by touching a dead body. And then they touch one of these things. Does it become ‘unclean’ too?”

“Yes,” the priests replied. “It does.”

¹⁴ Then here is what Haggai said. “The Lord announces, ‘That is how I look at these people and this nation. Anything they do and anything they sacrifice on the altar is “unclean.”

¹⁵ “ ‘Think carefully about this from now on. Think about how things were before the Lord’s temple was built. This was before one stone was laid on top of another. ¹⁶ People went to get 20 measures of grain. But they could find only 10. They went to where the wine was stored to get 50 measures. But only 20 were there. ¹⁷ You worked very hard to produce all those things. But I struck them with rot, mold and hail. And you still did not return to me,’ announces the Lord. ¹⁸ It is the 24th day of the ninth month. From this day on, here is what you should think carefully about. Think about the day when the foundation of my temple was laid. ¹⁹ Are any seeds still left in your barns? Until now, your vines and fig trees have not produced any fruit. Your pomegranate and olive trees have not produced any either.

“ ‘But from this day on I will bless you.’ ”

The Lord Compares Zerubbabel to His Royal Ring

²⁰ A final message from the Lord came to Haggai. This message also came on the 24th day of the ninth month. The Lord said, ²¹ “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. Tell him I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. ²² I will throw down royal thrones. I will smash the power of other kingdoms. I will destroy chariots and their drivers. Horses and their riders will fall. They will be killed by the swords of their relatives.

²³ “ ‘Zerubbabel, at that time I will pick you,’ announces the Lord. ‘You are my servant,’ announces the Lord. ‘You will be like a ring that has my royal mark on it. I have chosen you,’ announces the Lord who rules over all.”

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the signs you are doing.”

³ Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “They can’t go back inside their mother! They can’t be born a second time!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom unless they are born with water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶ People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born with the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus. “Don’t you understand these things? ¹¹ What I’m about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We are witnesses about what we have seen. But still you people do not accept what we say. ¹² I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I speak about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven. He is the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. In the same way, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. ¹⁵ Then everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

¹⁶ God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. ¹⁷ God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Anyone who believes in him is not judged. But anyone who does not believe is judged already. They have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ Here is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. They loved darkness because what they did was evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil deeds hates the light. They will not come into the light. They are afraid that what they do will be seen. ²¹ But anyone who lives by the truth comes into the light. They live by the truth with God’s help. They come into the light so that it will be easy to see their good deeds.

John the Baptist Is a Witness About Jesus

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the countryside of Judea. There he spent some time with them. And he baptized people there. ²³ John was also baptizing. He was at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water. People were coming and being baptized. ²⁴ This was before John was put in prison. ²⁵ Some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew began to argue. They argued about special washings to make people “clean.” ²⁶ They came to John and here is what they said to him. “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River is baptizing people. He is the one you told us about. Everyone is going to him.”

²⁷ John replied, “A person can receive only what God gives them from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah. I was sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the groom. The friend who helps the groom waits and listens for him. He is full of joy when he hears the groom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become more important. I must become less important.

³¹ “The one who comes from above is above everything. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks like someone from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above everything. ³² He is a witness to what he has seen and heard. But no one accepts what he says. ³³ Anyone who has accepted it has said, ‘Yes. God is truthful.’ ³⁴ The one whom God has sent speaks God’s words. That’s because God gives the Holy Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶ Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life. Anyone who does not believe in the Son will not have life. God’s anger remains on them.”