M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Elijah Stops the Rain

17 Now Elijah was a prophet from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. Elijah said to King Ahab, “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel. As surely as the Lord lives, I tell you the truth. No rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it.”

² Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: ³ “Leave this place. Go east and hide near Kerith Ravine. It is east of the Jordan River. ⁴ You may drink from the brook. And I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.” ⁵ So Elijah did what the Lord told him to do. He went to Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and lived there. ⁶ The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and every evening. And he drank water from the brook.

⁷ After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain. ⁸ Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah, ⁹ “Go to Zarephath in Sidon. Live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.”

¹⁰ So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he reached the town gate, he saw a widow there. She was gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, “Would you bring me a little water in a cup? I would like to have a drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get his water, Elijah said, “Please bring me a piece of bread, too.”

¹² The woman answered, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I tell you the truth. I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar. And I have only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood. I will take it home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have. Bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never become empty. The jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”

¹⁵ So the woman went home. And she did what Elijah told her to do. So Elijah, the woman and her son had enough food every day. ¹⁶ The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord, through Elijah, said it would.

Elijah Brings a Boy Back to Life

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He grew worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing. ¹⁸ So the woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. What have you done to me? Did you come here to remind me of my sin? Did you come here to kill my son?”

¹⁹ Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So Elijah took the boy from her and carried him upstairs. Elijah laid the boy on the bed in the room where he was staying. ²⁰ Then he prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Why have you done this terrible thing to her? Why have you caused her son to die?” ²¹ Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. Elijah prayed to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy live again!”

²² The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. The boy began breathing again, and he was alive. ²³ Elijah carried the boy downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, “See! Your son is alive!”

²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you really are a man from God. I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!”

4 Masters, give the things that are good and fair to your slaves. Remember that you have a Master in heaven.

What the Christians Are to Do

² Continue praying and keep alert. And when you pray, always thank God. ³ Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret truth that God has made known about Christ. I am in prison because I preach this truth. ⁴ Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear as I should.

⁵ Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers. Use your time in the best way you can. ⁶ When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.

News About the People with Paul

⁷ Tychicus is my dear brother in Christ. He is a faithful minister and servant with me in the Lord. He will tell you all the things that are happening to me. ⁸ That is why I am sending him. I want you to know how we are. I am sending him to encourage you. ⁹ I send him with Onesimus. Onesimus is a faithful and dear brother in Christ. He is one of your group. They will tell you all that has happened here.

¹⁰ Aristarchus greets you. He is a prisoner with me. And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, also greets you. (I have already told you what to do about Mark. If he comes, welcome him.) ¹¹ Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only Jewish believers who work with me for the kingdom of God. They have been a comfort to me.

¹² Epaphras also greets you. He is a servant of Jesus Christ. And he is from your group. He always prays for you. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature and have everything that God wants for you. ¹³ I know that he has worked hard for you and the people in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. ¹⁴ Demas and our dear friend Luke, the doctor, greet you.

¹⁵ Greet the brothers in Laodicea. And greet Nympha and the church that meets in her house. ¹⁶ After this letter is read to you, be sure that it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And you read the letter that I wrote to Laodicea. ¹⁷ Tell Archippus, “Be sure to do the work the Lord gave you.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, greet you and write this with my own hand. Remember me in prison. God’s grace be with you.

The River from the Temple

47 The man led me back to the door of the Temple. I saw water coming out from under the doorway that faces east. (The Temple faced east.) The water flowed down from the south end of the Temple. It was south of the altar. ² The man brought me out through the outer north gate. And he led me around outside to the outer east gate. The water was coming out on the south side of the gate.

³ The man went toward the east with a line in his hand. He measured about a third of a mile. Then he led me through water that came up to my ankles. ⁴ The man measured about a third of a mile again. Then he led me through water that came up to my knees. Then he measured about a third of a mile again. And he led me through water up to my waist. ⁵ The man measured about a third of a mile again. But it was now a river that I could not cross. The water had risen too high. It was deep enough for swimming. It was a river that no one could cross. ⁶ The man asked me, “Human being, do you see this?”

Then the man led me back along the bank of the river. ⁷ As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the water. ⁸ The man said to me, “This water will flow toward the eastern areas. It will go down into the Jordan Valley. When the water enters the Dead Sea, it will become fresh. ⁹ And everywhere the river goes, there will be many animals and fish. Wherever this water goes the Dead Sea will become fresh. So where the river goes there will be many living things. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand by the sea. From En Gedi all the way to En Eglaim will become a place to spread fishing nets. There will be many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea. There will be as many kinds of fish as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. ¹² All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not dry and die. The trees will have fruit every month because the water for them comes from the Temple. The fruit from the trees will be for food. And their leaves will be for medicine.”

Borders of the Land

¹³ This is what the Lord God says: “These are the borders to divide the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph will have two parts of land. ¹⁴ You will divide the land equally. I promised to give it to your ancestors. So this land will belong to you from your family.

¹⁵ “This will be the border line of the land.

“On the north side it will start at the Mediterranean Sea. It will go by the Hethlon Road. This is where the road turns toward Lebo Hamath. And it will go to the cities of Zedad, ¹⁶ Berothah and Sibraim. Sibraim is on the border between Damascus and Hamath. And it will go on to the city of Hazer Hatticon on the border of the country of Hauran. ¹⁷ So the border line will go from the Mediterranean Sea east to the city of Hazar Enan. This is on the northern border of Damascus. And the country of Hamath will be on the north side of the border.

¹⁸ “On the east side the border runs south from a point between Hauran and Damascus. It will go along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel. It will continue to the city of Tamar on the Dead Sea. This will be the east side of the land.

¹⁹ “On the south side the border line will go west from Tamar. It will go all the way to the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the south side of the land.

²⁰ “On the west side the Mediterranean Sea will be the border line. It will go to a place across from Lebo Hamath. This will be the west side of your land.

²¹ “So you will divide this land among the tribes of Israel. ²² You will divide it as a property for yourselves. And it will be for you and for the foreigners who live and have children among you. These foreigners will be like people born in Israel. You will divide some land for them among the tribes of Israel. ²³ In whatever tribe the foreigner lives, you will give him some land,” says the Lord God.

Praise to the God of Love

Of David.