M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul Disobeys the Lord
15 Samuel told Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to Yahweh’s words. 2 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: I will punish Amalek for what they did to Israel. They blocked Israel’s way after the Israelites came from Egypt. 3 Now go and attack Amalek. Claim everything they have for God by destroying it. Don’t spare them, but kill men and women, infants and children, cows and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
4 Saul organized the troops, and he counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Get away from the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You were kind to all the Israelites when they came from Egypt.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites.
7 Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. 8 He captured King Agag of Amalek alive. But he claimed all the people for God by destroying them. 9 Saul and the army spared Agag and the best sheep and cows, the fattened animals, the lambs, and all the best property. The army refused to claim them for God by destroying them. But everything that was worthless and weak the army did claim for God and destroy.
The Lord Rejects Saul
10 Then Yahweh spoke to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I made Saul king. He turned away from me and did not carry out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he prayed to Yahweh all night. 12 Early in the morning he got up to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel to set up a monument in his honor. Then he left there and went to Gilgal.”
13 Samuel came to Saul, who said, “Yahweh bless you. I carried out Yahweh’s instructions.”
14 However, Samuel asked,
“But what is this sound of sheep in my ears
and this sound of cows that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The army brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best sheep and cows to sacrifice to Yahweh your Elohim. But the rest they claimed for God and destroyed.”
16 “Be quiet,” Samuel told Saul, “and let me tell you what Yahweh told me last night.”
“Speak,” Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, “Even though you don’t consider yourself great, you were the head of Israel’s tribes. Yahweh anointed you king of Israel. 18 And Yahweh sent you on a mission. He said, ‘Claim those sinners, the Amalekites, for me by destroying them. Wage war against them until they’re wiped out.’ 19 Why didn’t you obey Yahweh? Why have you taken their belongings and done what Yahweh considers evil?”
20 “But I did obey Yahweh,” Saul told Samuel. “I went where Yahweh sent me, brought back King Agag of Amalek, and claimed the Amalekites for God. 21 The army took some of their belongings—the best sheep and cows were claimed for God—in order to sacrifice to Yahweh your Elohim in Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel said,
“Is Yahweh as delighted with burnt offerings and sacrifices
as he would be with your obedience?
To follow instructions is better than to sacrifice.
To obey is better than sacrificing the fat of rams.
23 The sin of black magic is rebellion.
Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance.
Because you rejected the word of Yahweh,
he rejects you as king.”
24 Then Saul told Samuel, “I have sinned by not following Yahweh’s command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them. 25 Now please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship Yahweh.”
26 Samuel told Saul, “I will not go back with you because you rejected what Yahweh told you. So Yahweh rejects you as king of Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel told him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29 In addition, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, because he is not a mortal who changes his mind.”
30 Saul replied, “I have sinned! Now please honor me in front of the leaders of my people and in front of Israel. Come back with me, and let me worship Yahweh your Elohim.” 31 Then Samuel turned and followed Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh.
32 “Bring me King Agag of Amalek,” Samuel said.
Agag came to him trembling.[a] “Surely, the bitterness of death is past,”[b] Agag said.
33 But Samuel said, “As your sword made women childless, so your mother will be made childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag in pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went to his home at Gibeah. 35 Samuel didn’t see Saul again before he died, though Samuel mourned over Saul. And Yahweh regretted that he had made Saul king of Israel.
Obey the Government
13 Every person should obey the government in power. No government would exist if it hadn’t been established by God. The governments which exist have been put in place by God. 2 Therefore, whoever resists the government opposes what God has established. Those who resist will bring punishment on themselves.
3 People who do what is right don’t have to be afraid of the government. But people who do what is wrong should be afraid of it. Would you like to live without being afraid of the government? Do what is right, and it will praise you. 4 The government is God’s servant working for your good.
But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid. The government has the right to carry out the death sentence. It is God’s servant, an avenger to execute God’s anger on anyone who does what is wrong. 5 Therefore, it is necessary for you to obey, not only because you’re afraid of God’s anger but also because of your own conscience.
6 That is also why you pay your taxes. People in the government are God’s servants while they do the work he has given them. 7 Pay everyone whatever you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay them. If you owe tolls, pay them. If you owe someone respect, respect that person. If you owe someone honor, honor that person.
Love One Another
8 Pay your debts as they come due. However, one debt you can never finish paying is the debt of love that you owe each other. The one who loves another person has fulfilled Moses’ Teachings. 9 The commandments, “Never commit adultery; never murder; never steal; never have wrong desires,” and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 10 Love never does anything that is harmful to a neighbor. Therefore, love fulfills Moses’ Teachings.
11 You know the times in which we are living. It’s time for you to wake up. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first became believers. 12 The night is almost over, and the day is near. So we should get rid of the things that belong to the dark and take up the weapons that belong to the light. 13 We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives. 14 Instead, live like the Lord Yeshua Christ did, and forget about satisfying the desires of your corrupt nature.
The Fall of Jerusalem(A)
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 2 Zedekiah did what Yahweh considered evil, as Jehoiakim had done. 3 Yahweh became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of his sight.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. They set up camp and built dirt ramps around the city walls. 5 The blockade of the city lasted until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.
7 The enemy broke through the city walls, and all Judah’s soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden. While the Babylonians were attacking the city from all sides, they took the road to the plain of Jericho. 8 The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him. 9 The Babylonians captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as Zedekiah watched. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in a prison, where he stayed until he died.
12 On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned down Yahweh’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. 14 The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.
15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 16 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms.
17 The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars of Yahweh’s temple, the stands, and the bronze pool in Yahweh’s temple. They shipped all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the bronze utensils used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. 20 The bronze from the 2 pillars, the pool, and the 12 bronze bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for Yahweh’s temple couldn’t be weighed. 21 One pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. 22 The capital that was on it was 7½ feet high with a filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of bronze. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. 23 There were 96 pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was 100.
24 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers. 25 From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 Jews. 29 In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took 832 people from Jerusalem. 30 In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.
King Jehoiakin Released from Prison(B)
31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the imprisonment of King Jehoiakin of Judah, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, freed King Jehoiakin of Judah and released him from prison. 32 He treated him well and gave him a special position higher than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 Jehoiakin no longer wore prison clothes, and he ate his meals in the king’s presence as long as he lived. 34 The king of Babylon gave him a daily food allowance as long as he lived.
Psalm 31
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 I have taken refuge in you, O Yahweh.
Never let me be put to shame.
Save me because of your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear toward me.
Rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong Metsuda to save me.
3 Indeed, you are my rock and my Metsuda.
For the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 You are my refuge,
so pull me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me.
5 Into your hands I entrust my spirit.
You have rescued me, O Yahweh, El of truth.
6 I hate those who cling to false gods, but I trust Yahweh.
7 I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy.
You have seen my misery.
You have known the troubles in my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy.
You have set my feet in a place where I can move freely.
9 Have pity on me, O Yahweh, because I am in distress.
My eyes, my soul, and my body waste away from grief.
10 My life is exhausted from sorrow,
my years from groaning.
My strength staggers under the weight of my guilt,
and my bones waste away.
11 I have become a disgrace because of all my opponents.
I have become someone dreaded by my friends,
even by my neighbors.
Those who see me on the street run away from me.
12 I have faded from memory as if I were dead
and have become like a piece of broken pottery.
13 I have heard the whispering of many people—
terror on every side—
while they made plans together against me.
They were plotting to take my life.
14 I trust you, O Yahweh.
I said, “You are my Elohim.”
15 My future is in your hands.
Rescue me from my enemies, from those who persecute me.
16 Smile on me.
Save me with your mercy.
17 O Yahweh, I have called on you, so do not let me be put to shame.
Let wicked people be put to shame.
Let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let their lying lips be speechless,
since they speak against righteous people with arrogance and contempt.
19 Your kindness is so great!
You reserve it for those who fear you.
Adam’s descendants watch
as you show it to those who take refuge in you.
20 You hide them in the secret place of your presence
from those who scheme against them.
You keep them in a shelter,
safe from quarrelsome tongues.
21 Thank Yahweh!
He has shown me the miracle of his mercy
in a city under attack.
22 When I was panic-stricken, I said,
“I have been cut off from your sight.”
But you heard my pleas for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love Yahweh, all you godly ones!
Yahweh protects faithful people,
but he pays back in full those who act arrogantly.
24 Be strong, all who wait with hope for Yahweh,
and let your heart be courageous.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.