M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The construction of the temple is the most important accomplishment of Solomon’s reign. This building both establishes and symbolizes Israel’s connection to God. Once the covenant chest is placed there, it is literally the meeting point between them, and the sheer opulence of the temple reveals the priorities of the government. So much of Solomon’s wealth is put into this building instead of being used to build an empire, as his neighbors would do, because he trusts God with the fate of Israel. Nothing demonstrates that more clearly than the storage of the nation’s weapons in the temple. God is their guardian in every way.
8 To transport the Eternal’s covenant chest out of Zion, the city of David, Solomon assembled all the most important people of Israel before him in Jerusalem: the elders and all the heads of the Israelite tribes—the chiefs of the patriarchs’ families. 2 Every man in Israel gathered with King Solomon at the great feast during the 7th month (which is called Ethanim), 11 months after the temple was finished. 3 Israel’s elders all attended as well, and the priests transported the covenant chest. 4 The Levites who were priests transported the chest of the Eternal One, the congregation tent, and all the sacred objects that were inside the tent.
5 King Solomon stood before the covenant chest with the entire community of Israel who had gathered with him, and they sacrificed countless and innumerable sheep and oxen.
6 The Levitical priests transported the Eternal’s covenant chest to its rightful place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, which was the most holy place within the temple. They set the covenant chest down beneath the wings of the guardian creatures. 7 The creatures’ wings were spread above the chest, forming a sort of canopy over the chest and its carrying rods. 8 The carrying rods were long enough that they poked through the curtains and could be seen from the sacred place in front of the inner sanctuary, but a person could not see them from outside. The carrying rods are still there today.
9 The only things inside the covenant chest were the two stone tablets Moses placed there in Horeb, where the Eternal One entered into a covenant with the Israelites after they had departed from Egypt.
10 When the priests departed from the most holy place, a cloud filled the Eternal’s temple. 11 The cloud was so powerful that the priests could not remain standing to serve. His glory filled the temple.
12 Solomon: The Eternal dwells in this thick cloud.
He said so Himself.
13 Surely this means I have built a worthy dwelling place
for Him forever.
14-15 (then facing the standing assembly of Israelites) Praise be to the Eternal One, Israel’s God, who made promises with His mouth to my father, David; and who today has fulfilled His promises with His actions and said, 16 “When I led My people Israel out of Egypt, I did not look to the tribes of Israel and appoint a city to build a temple for My name. Instead, I appointed David to reign over My people Israel.”
17 My father desired to build a temple honoring the reputation of the Eternal One, Israel’s God; 18 but He told my father, David, “It was good enough that this desire was in your heart to build such a temple for My name. 19 However you will not be the one to build this place; but your son who is yet to be born will build your vision, this temple, for My name.”
20 The Eternal has kept this promise. I now sit upon my father David’s throne—the throne of Israel—just as He said, and I have constructed the temple honoring the reputation of the Eternal One, Israel’s God. 21 There I have made a sacred space for the covenant chest. Inside the chest is the covenant of the Eternal which He entered into with our ancestors after He led them out of Egypt.
22 Solomon was standing in front of the Eternal’s altar before the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands up toward heaven.
Solomon: 23 O Eternal One, Israel’s God, there is no other God who compares to You in heaven or on earth. You have guarded Your covenant and revealed Your loyal love to those who serve You with all their being. 24 You have kept Your word to Your servant, my father, David. You have promised with Your mouth and fulfilled Your promise with Your actions as it is today. 25 Eternal One, Israel’s God, preserve that which You have promised my father, David, when You told him, “Your descendants will sit upon Israel’s throne for as long as your sons walk the way you have walked before Me.”[a] 26 Israel’s God, fulfill what You have promised to my father, David, who served You.
27 Is it true that God will live upon the earth? The heavens and even the highest heaven are not big enough for You, so how will You live in the house I have raised? 28 Please listen to the prayer and humble request of Your servant today, Eternal One my God, 29 that Your gaze might fall upon this temple all night and day, that You might look upon the place about which You said, “My name will be there,” and hear the humble request of Your servant when he prays in the direction of this place. 30 And hear the prayer of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray in the direction of this place. Hear them from heaven, Your dwelling place. Hear them, and forgive them.
31 If a man does evil against his neighbor, and he is instructed to make a promise at the altar of Your temple, 32 then hear him from heaven and act. Judge those who serve You. Denounce the evil man by returning his evil to him, and redeem the righteous man by blessing him according to his righteousness.
33 When Your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have acted against You and wronged You, if they come back to You and praise Your name and send their requests to You in this temple; 34 then hear them in heaven, forgive them for their sins, and lead them back to the promised land You gave to their ancestors.
35 When the heavens are dried up and no rain is given to the earth because Your people sinned against You, if they turn and pray in the direction of this place and praise Your name and turn away from their sins after You afflict them, 36 then hear them in heaven and forgive the sins of those who serve You and of Your people Israel. Show them the best path, the good path, upon which to walk. Give them rain for the portion of Your earth which You have given to them as an inheritance.
37 If there is food shortage, epidemic, plant disease, mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, enemies surrounding the land of their cities, plagues, or any other sickness; 38 whatever it is that is prayed or requested by any one person or all of Your people Israel who expresses the suffering of his own being and lifts his hands in the direction of this temple; 39 then hear him in heaven where You live. Grant forgiveness according to each person’s heart, for You know the heart of every man. You, and only You, know every heart 40 so that all people might live in awe and fear of You for as long as they live in the land You gave to their ancestors.
41 Whenever a foreigner, a person who is not a part of Your community of Israel, comes from a distant land in honor of Your name 42 (for everyone will hear about Your great reputation, mighty actions, and outstretched strength), when he prays in the direction of this temple; 43 then You will hear in heaven where You dwell and grant the foreigner’s requests. This is so Your reputation will spread all throughout the earth and so all may live in awe and fear of You, just as Your people Israel do, and so all will know that this temple I raised honors Your reputation.
44 When Your people enter the battlefield to face their enemies along the path You have sent them, when they pray to the Eternal in the direction of the city You have appointed and the temple I have raised in honor of Your reputation; 45 hear their prayers and requests in heaven, and You will do justice on their behalf.
46 When they sin against You (for there is not one person who will not sin), and in Your anger You hand them over to their enemies who take them away to enemy territory, whether it is near or far away, 47 if they repent from their wrongdoings during their captivity, confess to You that they have been sinful and acted wickedly, 48 give their hearts back to You, offer You their entire beings while being held captive by their enemies, and send their prayers to You in the direction of the land You gave to their ancestors (the city you appointed to be sacred) in the direction of the temple I have raised in honor of Your name; 49 then hear their prayers and requests in heaven where You live and do justice on their behalf, 50 forgive Your people who have wronged You, erase all their sins, and transform them into examples of compassion in the sight of their captors so that their enemies might be compassionate toward them.
51 These are Your people, the vessels of Your earthly legacy, whom You led out of Egypt and away from the iron furnace of slavery 52 so that Your eyes may be open to the requests of those who serve You—Your people Israel—and hear them whenever they call out to You. 53 You have set them apart from all other people on the earth; You have chosen them as vessels of Your earthly legacy. You revealed this to us when You chose Your servant Moses to be Your mouthpiece. It all began when You led our ancestors out of Egypt, Eternal, our True God.
54 After Solomon had finished praying to the Eternal, he stood up before the Eternal’s altar where he had been kneeling and lifting up his hands toward heaven. 55 With a booming voice, he blessed the entire community of Israel.
Solomon: 56 Blessed is the Eternal One who has given rest to His people Israel and who has fulfilled all His promises. He has been true to every last word of the promise He gave through His servant Moses. 57 May the Eternal our God live among us, just as He lived with our ancestors. May He never abandon or neglect us 58 so that He can make us desire and walk in His ways, keeping all the commands, laws, and judgments He gave to our ancestors. 59 May my words and everything I have requested of the Eternal our God be close to His heart continuously, both day and night, so that He will support His servant and His people Israel according to the needs of each day as it is today. 60 Then all the people of the world will understand for themselves that He is the only True God. 61 Give your entire heart to the Eternal our God. Walk the path He has intended for us, and keep His laws as you do today.
62 King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed to the Eternal. 63 For the peace offerings, Solomon sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Solomon and the Israelites made these sacrifices for the dedication of the Eternal’s temple.
64 That day King Solomon blessed the center of the court that was in front of the Eternal’s temple by giving a burnt offering, grain offering, and all the fat of the peace offering. But the bronze altar that was set before the Eternal was not big enough to support the burnt offering, grain offering, and the fat of the peace offering. 65 So Solomon and the entire community of Israel feasted together. It was a large gathering that stretched from the entrance of Hamath (the Aramean city in the north) all the way to the stream of Egypt—the boundaries of Solomon’s kingdom. This all took place before the Eternal our God, and it lasted for seven days and then another seven days—fourteen days in all.
66 On the next day (the eighth day), Solomon told everyone it was time to leave. They praised their king and joyfully made their way back to their tents, their hearts overflowing with gladness for all the good the Eternal had revealed to His servant David and to His people Israel.
We come to God as sinners; but He wants to transform our habits, attitudes, and practices into the ways of Jesus: to live, forgive, and love as He did.
5 So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children, 2 and live in love as the Anointed One loved you—so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God.
3 Listen, don’t let any kind of immorality be breathed among you. Any demoralizing behaviors (perverse sexual acts, uncleanliness, greediness, and the like) are inappropriate topics of conversation for those set apart as God’s people. 4 Don’t swear or spurt nonsense. Don’t make harsh jokes or clown around. Make proper use of your words, and offer them thankfully in praise. 5 This is what we know for certain: no one who engages in loose sex, impure actions, and greed—which is just a form of idolatry—has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and His Anointed.
6 Don’t be fooled by people whose sentences are compounded with useless words, empty words—they just show they are empty souls. For, in His wrath, God will judge all the children of disobedience for these kinds of sins. 7 So don’t be persuaded into their ignorance; and don’t cast your lot with them 8 because, although you were once the personification of darkness, you are now light in the Lord. So act like children of the light. 9 For the fruit of the light is all that is good, right, and true. 10 Make it your aim to learn what pleases our Lord. 11 Don’t get involved with the fruitless works of darkness; instead, expose them to the light of God. 12 You see, it’s a disgrace to speak of their secrets (so don’t even talk about what they do when no one is looking). 13-14 When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing,
Awake, you sleeper!
Rise from your grave,
And the Anointed One will shine on you.
15 So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! 16 Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. 17 So understand and be confident in God’s will, and don’t live thoughtlessly. 18 Don’t drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. 19 When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other in the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; 20 and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done.
Wisdom is a rare commodity. Paul urges believers, then and now, to walk wisely. It involves living well every day. Time itself seems to be co-opted by dark forces. But when believers understand God’s will, avoid drunkenness, and allow God to fill them with His Spirit, they are able to walk wisely and live well. The Spirit-filled life is not just for a special few; it is the normal Christian life, and it affects everything, including how we live in community and how we treat others at home.
21 And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed. 22 Wives, it should be no different with your husbands. Submit to them as you do to the Lord, 23 for God has given husbands a sacred duty to lead as the Anointed leads the church and serves as the head. (The church is His body; He is her Savior.) 24 So wives should submit to their husbands, respectfully, in all things, just as the church yields to the Anointed One.
25-26 Husbands, you must love your wives so deeply, purely, and sacrificially that we can understand it only when we compare it to the love the Anointed One has for His bride, the church. We know He gave Himself up completely to make her His own, washing her clean of all her impurity with water and the powerful presence of His word. 27 He has given Himself so that He can present the church as His radiant bride, unstained, unwrinkled, and unblemished—completely free from all impurity—holy and innocent before Him. 28 So husbands should care for their wives as if their lives depended on it, the same way they care for their own bodies. As you love her, you ultimately are loving part of yourself (remember, you are one flesh). 29 No one really hates his own body; he takes care to feed and love it, just as the Anointed takes care of His church, 30 because we are living members of His body. 31 “And this is the reason a man leaves his father and his mother and is united with his wife; the two come together as one flesh.”[a] 32 There is a great mystery reflected in this Scripture, and I say that it has to do with the marriage of the Anointed One and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each husband is to love and protect his own wife as if she were his very heart, and each wife is to respect her own husband.
38 The word of the Eternal came to me.
Gog likely refers to Gyges who ruled Lydia in Asia Minor. As a contemporary, Ezekiel accords him larger-than-life, nearly cosmic significance.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, turn your face toward Gog in the land of Magog, the highest ruler of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him, 3 and tell him what the Eternal Lord has to say: “Beware, Gog, highest ruler of Meshech and Tubal. I oppose you. 4 I am going to turn you around, insert sharp hooks into your jaws, and haul you off with your entire army—horses and riders outfitted with armor, breastplates, body shields, and swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia[a], and Libya[b] will be there, too, marching behind with shields and helmets, 6 along with Gomer’s troops and Beth-togarmah’s troops from the far north. Numerous nations will be a part of your coalition.
7 “Get prepared. You’re in command of all the armies who’ve come to help you. Now watch over them. 8 After many days, you are going to be summoned to fight. Sometime in the latter years, you are going to seize a nation that has been reconstructed after a war—a nation of people gathered from many countries and brought to Israel’s mountains—the mountains that were, for many years, nothing but rubble. They were gathered from the nations, and now they all live safely. 9 You, your troops, and all of your armies will go up and attack that nation. You’ll be like a fierce storm whose clouds cover the land.”
10 This is what the Eternal Lord continued to say:
Eternal One: On that day, you will begin pondering an evil plan. 11 You’ll think to yourself, “I will go up and invade an open country of unprotected villages and will assault the tranquil, unsuspecting people living safely there without walls, without gates, without bars. 12 I will pillage and plunder the entire place! I will tear down the rubble that’s been rebuilt and attack the people who have been gathered from the farthest nations to live at the center of the world. All their animals and goods—I will steal.” 13 Sheba, Rhodes, and the traders of Tarshish and their villages will ask you, “Did you come here simply to steal everything? Did you assemble so great an army to plunder their goods, to seize their silver and gold, to carry off their livestock and valuables?”
14 The Eternal Lord told me, the son of man, to prophesy and tell Gog:
Eternal One: When you see My people Israel living safely, will you not take note? 15 You and your vast army recruited from the many nations, all mounted on horses, will march as one force down from the far north. 16 Like a storm whose clouds cover the land, you will go up and attack My people Israel. In the last days, Gog, I will summon you to storm My land. Then, right in front of everyone’s eyes, I will exhibit My holiness through you.
17 This is what the Eternal Lord continued to say:
Eternal One: Are you not the one I was talking about all those years ago through My servants, the prophets of Israel? For years, they prophesied that I would summon you to march against them. 18 On the day the prophecy is fulfilled, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, most certainly My wrath will come like a fire. 19 My jealousy and burning anger guarantee that all of Israel will quake on that day! 20 Creatures of the sky, earth, and sea—all people and beasts—will shake with awe in My presence. The mountains will be knocked down! Great cliffs and every fortress will crumble to the ground. 21 I will summon the sword against Gog upon all of My hills and mountains. Confusion will abound; Gog’s soldiers will turn and fight each other. 22 I will come down and render My judgment in person. Disease and massacre will be their sentence. I will command heaven to throw everything it has upon Gog and all his armies, pouring down rain, hail, lightning, and burning sulfur. 23 They will see just how great and holy I really am. I will make Myself known to the nations of the world. Then they will all know that I am the Eternal One.
Psalm 89
A contemplative song[a] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
Psalm 89 begins on a note of praise and ends with a lament. The heart of this psalm recalls God’s choice of David as king and God’s covenant with him to establish an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7).
1 I will sing of Your unfailing love, Eternal One, forever.
I will speak of Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I will tell how Your unfailing love will always stand strong;
and how Your faithfulness is established in the heavens above.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one.
I made My servant, David, this promise:
4 ‘I will establish your dynasty
so that you and your descendants will always be secure.
Your rule will continue for generations to come.’”
[pause][b]
5 Let the heavens join in praising the wonderful works of the Eternal.
The holy ones have gathered, singing of Your faithfulness.
6 For there is no one above who compares to the Eternal,
not one of heaven’s creatures is like Him in the least.
7 In the council of holy ones, God is lifted high and feared;
His presence overwhelms all who are near Him.
8 O Eternal God, Commander of heaven’s armies,
who is mighty like You?
You are completely faithful; that’s why we trust You.
9 The ocean waters are at Your command.
When violent waves rise up, You still them.
10 You defeated Rahab, that ancient monster of chaos,
and left it lifeless.
You routed Your enemies and scattered them by Your great arm of power.
11 Everything in the sky above and the earth below are Yours.
The world and all it contains are Yours, for You created them all.
12 Everything was created by You—the north, the south—
the mountains of Tabor and Hermon echo joyously the song of Your name.
13 Your arm is strong.
Your grip is powerful.
Your right hand is raised up high.
14 Your rule is rooted deeply in justice and righteousness—
unfailing love and truth lead from the way ahead of You.
15 How happy are those who have learned how to praise You;
those who journey through life by the light of Your face.
16 Every hour of the day, they rejoice at the sound of Your name.
They are lifted up and encouraged by Your righteousness.
17 For You are the beauty of their strength.
On account of Your favor, our strength, our horn, is increased.
18 For our shield of protection comes from the Eternal,
and the Holy One of Israel has given us our king.
19 Long ago You spoke through a vision to Your faithful followers, saying,
“I have given help to a warrior;
I have chosen a hero from among My people.
20 I have found David, My servant.
With My holy oil, I have anointed him king.
21 My strong hand will stay with him and sustain him, regardless of trial or foe.
My mighty arm will be his strength and shield.
22 The deceit of his enemies will not outwit him.
The wicked will not defeat him.
23 I will pound his enemies right in front of him.
I will strike down all those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will never leave him;
through My name, strength and power will be his.
25 I will extend his rule over the oceans,
his right hand will control the rivers.
26 He will cry out to Me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
27 I will make him My firstborn;
no earthly king shall be greater.
28 My unfailing love will always be with him, protecting him;
My covenant with him will never be broken.
29 I will ensure his family’s future forever;
his dynasty will last as long as the heavens.
30 If his children turn away from Me and forsake My law,
if they refuse to walk according to My judgments,
31 If they disobey My instructions
and ignore My commandments,
32 Then I will use the rod to punish their sins
and stripes to deal with their iniquity.
33 And yet My unfailing love of him will remain steadfast and strong.
I will not be unfaithful to My promise.
34 I will not violate My covenant,
nor will I alter even one word of what My lips have spoken.
35 These words I have pledged in My holiness once and for all,
and I will not lie to David.
36 As long as the sun lights the day before Me, his descendants will continue to rule.
His kingdom will last forever.
37 His dynasty will stand firm for all time like the moon,
the faithful witness that stands watch in the night sky.”
[pause]
38 But what now? You have turned Your back and walked away!
Your full fury burns against Your anointed king.
39 You made a covenant with Your servant, then renounced it,
casting his sacred crown into the dust.
40 You have broken down the walls that protected Your servant;
his defenses are reduced to a pile of rubble.
41 Strangers now plunder all that he has left;
he has become a laughingstock among his neighbors.
42 You have made his adversaries strong.
His enemies celebrate their victory.
43 You have dulled the blade of his sword,
and You have not helped him stand strong in the battle.
44 You have brought his days of splendor to an abrupt end;
You have toppled his throne;
it sits in the dust.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth
and have covered him with shame and despair.
[pause]
46 How long must we endure, O Eternal One?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
How long will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember my days are numbered.
Have You created the children of Adam to live futile lives?
48 Death waits at the gate; who can escape and live?
Does the grave hold exceptions for any of us?
Who can deliver us from the power of the grave?
[pause]
49 O Lord, where is the unfailing love You showed in times past?
And where is the proof of Your faithfulness to David?
50 Remember how Your servants are ridiculed, O Lord;
how I carry within me the insults of so many peoples.
51 Your enemies are mocking me, O Eternal One,
mocking every step Your anointed one made.
52 Praise the Eternal always. Amen. Amen.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.