M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Naaman Is Healed of a Skin Disease

5 Naaman was army commander of the king of Aram. He was very important to his master and was highly respected. That’s because the Lord had helped him win the battle over Aram’s enemies. He was a brave soldier. But he had a skin disease.

² Groups of soldiers from Aram had marched out. They had captured a young girl from Israel. She became a servant of Naaman’s wife. ³ The young girl spoke to the woman she was serving. She said, “I wish my master would go and see the prophet who is in Samaria. He would heal my master of his skin disease.”

⁴ Naaman went to see his own master. He told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ “I think you should go,” the king of Aram replied. “I’ll give you a letter to take to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left. He took 750 pounds of silver with him. He also took 150 pounds of gold. And he took ten sets of clothes. ⁶ He carried the letter to the king of Israel. It said, “I’m sending my servant Naaman to you with this letter. I want you to heal him of his skin disease.”

⁷ The king of Israel read the letter. As soon as he did, he tore his royal robes. He said, “Am I God? Can I kill people and bring them back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be healed of his skin disease? He must be trying to pick a fight with me!”

⁸ Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes. So he sent the king a message. Elisha said, “Why have you torn your robes? Tell the man to come to me. Then he will know there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman went to see Elisha. He took his horses and chariots with him. He stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger out to him. The messenger said, “Go! Wash yourself in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed. You will be pure and ‘clean’ again.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry. He said, “I was sure Elisha would come out to me. I thought he would stand there and pray to the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over my skin. Then I would be healed. ¹² And what about the Abana and Pharpar rivers of Damascus? Aren’t they better than all the rivers of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in the rivers of Damascus and be made pure and ‘clean’?” So he turned and went away. He was very angry.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went over to him. They said, “You are like a father to us. What if Elisha the prophet had told you to do some great thing? Wouldn’t you have done it? But he only said, ‘Wash yourself. Then you will be pure and “clean.” ’ You should be even more willing to do that!” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down to the Jordan River. He dipped himself in it seven times. He did exactly what the man of God had told him to do. Then his skin was made pure again. It became “clean” like the skin of a young boy.

¹⁵ Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. Naaman stood in front of Elisha. Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God anywhere in the whole world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from me.”

¹⁶ The prophet answered, “I serve the Lord. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I won’t accept a gift from you.” Even though Naaman begged him to take it, Elisha wouldn’t.

¹⁷ “I can see that you won’t accept a gift from me,” said Naaman. “But please let me have some soil from your land. Give me as much as a pair of mules can carry. Here’s why I want it. I won’t ever bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god again. I’ll bring them only to the Lord. I’ll worship him on his own soil. ¹⁸ But there is one thing I hope the Lord will forgive me for. From time to time my master will enter the temple to bow down to his god Rimmon. When he does, he’ll lean on my arm. Then I’ll have to bow down there also. I hope the Lord will forgive me for that.”

¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said.

Naaman started out on his way. ²⁰ Gehazi was the servant of Elisha, the man of God. Gehazi said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman from Aram. He should have accepted the gift Naaman brought. I’m going to run after him. I’m going to get something from him. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive.”

²¹ Gehazi hurried after Naaman. Naaman saw him running toward him. So he got down from the chariot to greet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the group of the prophets have just come to me. They’ve come from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothes.’ ”

²³ “I wish you would take twice as much silver,” said Naaman. He begged Gehazi to accept it. Then Naaman tied up 150 pounds of silver in two bags. He also gave Gehazi two sets of clothes. He gave all of it to two of his own servants. They carried it ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ Gehazi came to the hill where Elisha lived. Then the servants handed the things over to Gehazi. He put them away in Elisha’s house. He sent the men away, and they left. ²⁵ Then he went back inside the house. He stood in front of his master Elisha.

“Gehazi, where have you been?” Elisha asked.

“I didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “Didn’t my spirit go with you? I know that the man got down from his chariot to greet you. Is this the time for you to accept money or clothes? Is it the time to take olive groves, vineyards, flocks or herds? Is it the time to accept male and female slaves? ²⁷ You and your children after you will have Naaman’s skin disease forever.” Then Gehazi left Elisha. And he had Naaman’s skin disease. His skin had become as white as snow.

Teachings About Worship

2 First, I want you to pray for all people. Ask God to help and bless them. Give thanks for them. ² Pray for kings. Pray for everyone who is in authority. Pray that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. And pray that we will be godly and holy. ³ This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. ⁴ He wants all people to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth. ⁵ There is only one God. And there is only one go-between for God and human beings. He is the man Christ Jesus. ⁶ He gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. We have been told this message at just the right time. ⁷ I was appointed to be a messenger and an apostle to preach the good news. I am telling the truth. I’m not lying. God appointed me to be a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

⁸ So I want the men in every place to pray. I want them to lift up holy hands. I don’t want them to be angry when they pray. I don’t want them to argue. ⁹ In the same way, I want the women to be careful how they dress. They should wear clothes that are right and proper. They shouldn’t wear their hair in very fancy styles. They shouldn’t wear gold or pearls. They shouldn’t wear clothes that cost a lot of money. ¹⁰ Instead, they should put on good works as if good works were their clothes. This is proper for women who claim to worship God.

¹¹ When a woman is learning, she should be quiet. She should follow her leaders in every way. ¹² I do not let women teach or take authority over a man. They must be quiet. ¹³ That’s because Adam was made first. Then Eve was made. ¹⁴ Adam was not the one who was tricked. The woman was tricked and became a sinner. ¹⁵ Will women be saved by having children? Only if they keep on believing, loving, and leading a holy life in a proper way.

Daniel Prays to the Lord

9 It was the first year that Darius was king of Babylon. He was from Media and was the son of Xerxes. ² In that year I learned from the Scriptures that Jerusalem would remain destroyed for 70 years. That was what the Lord had told Jeremiah the prophet. ³ So I prayed to the Lord God. I begged him. I made many appeals to him. I didn’t eat anything. I put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. And I sat down in ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God. I admitted that we had sinned. I said,

“Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. ⁵ We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.

⁷ “Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you. ⁸ Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you. ⁹ You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you. ¹⁰ You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets. ¹¹ All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.

“Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you. ¹² The warnings you gave us and our rulers have come true. You have brought great trouble on us. Nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever happened anywhere else on earth. ¹³ The curses that are written in the Law of Moses have fallen on us. We have received nothing but trouble. You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t asked for your favor. We haven’t turned away from our sins. We’ve refused to pay attention to the laws you gave us. ¹⁴ Lord, you didn’t hold back from bringing this trouble on us. You always do what is right. But we haven’t obeyed you.

¹⁵ “Lord our God, you used your mighty hand to bring your people out of Egypt. You made a name for yourself. It is still great to this day. But we have sinned. We’ve done what is wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, you saved your people before. So turn your great anger away from Jerusalem again. After all, it is your city. It’s your holy mountain. You have made those who live around us think little of Jerusalem and your people. That’s because we have sinned. Our people before us did evil things too.

¹⁷ “Our God, hear my prayers. Pay attention to the appeals I make to you. Lord, have mercy on your temple that has been destroyed. Do it for your own honor. ¹⁸ Our God, please listen to us. The city that belongs to you has been destroyed. Open your eyes and see it. We aren’t asking you to answer our prayers because we are godly. Instead, we’re asking you to do it because you love us so much. ¹⁹ Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us! Lord, hear our prayers! Take action for your own honor. Our God, please don’t wait. Your city and your people belong to you.”

Gabriel Tells Daniel About Seventy “Weeks”

²⁰ I was speaking and praying. I was admitting that I and my people Israel had sinned. I was making my appeal to the Lord my God. My appeal was about his holy mountain of Zion. ²¹ While I was still praying, Gabriel came to me. I had seen him in my earlier vision. He flew over to me very quickly. It was about the time when the evening sacrifice is offered. ²² He helped me understand. He said, “Daniel, I have come now to help you know and understand these things. ²³ You are highly respected. So as soon as you began to pray, the Lord gave you a message. I have come to tell you what it is. Here is how you must understand the vision.

²⁴ “The Lord has appointed 70 ‘weeks’ for your people and your holy city. During that time, acts against God’s law will be stopped. Sin will come to an end. And the evil things people do will be paid for. Then everyone will always do what is right. Everything that has been made known in visions and prophecies will come true. And the Most Holy Room in the temple will be anointed.

²⁵ “Here is what I want you to know and understand. There will be seven ‘weeks.’ Then there will be 62 ‘weeks.’ The seven ‘weeks’ will begin when an order is given to rebuild Jerusalem and make it like new again. At the end of the 62 ‘weeks,’ the Anointed King will come. Jerusalem will have streets and a water system when it is rebuilt. But that will be done in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the 62 ‘weeks,’ the Anointed King will be put to death. His followers will desert him. And everything he has will be taken away from him. The army of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the temple. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end. The Lord has ordered that many places be destroyed. ²⁷ A covenant will be put into effect with many people for one ‘week.’ In the middle of the ‘week’ sacrifices and offerings will come to an end. And at the temple a hated thing that destroys will be set up. It will remain until that ruler who will come is destroyed. Then he will experience what the Lord has ordered.”