M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

11 Then the leaders of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your relatives,^{[a] 2} and even when Saul was king, you were the one who led our armies to battle and brought them safely back again. And the Lord your God has told you, ‘You shall be the shepherd of my people Israel. You shall be their king.’”

³ So David made a contract with them before the Lord, and they anointed him as king of Israel, just as the Lord had told Samuel. ⁴ Then David and the leaders went to Jerusalem (or Jebus, as it used to be called) where the Jebusites—the original inhabitants of the land—lived. ^5-6 But the people of Jebus refused to let them enter the city. So David captured the fortress of Zion, later called the City of David, and said to his men, “The first man to kill a Jebusite shall be made commander-in-chief!” Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the first, so he became the general of David’s army. ⁷ David lived in the fortress and that is why that area of Jerusalem is called the City of David. ⁸ He extended the city out around the fortress while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem. ⁹ And David became more and more famous and powerful, for the Lord of the heavens was with him.

¹⁰ These are the names of some of the bravest of David’s warriors (who also encouraged the leaders of Israel to make David their king, as the Lord had said would happen):

¹¹ Jashobeam (the son of a man from Hachmon) was the leader of The Top Three—the three greatest heroes among David’s men. He once killed 300 men with his spear.

¹² The second of The Top Three was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, a member of the subclan of Ahoh. ¹³ He was with David in the battle against the Philistines at Pasdammim. The Israeli army was in a barley field and had begun to run away, ¹⁴ but he held his ground in the middle of the field, and recovered it and slaughtered the Philistines; and the Lord saved them with a great victory.

¹⁵ Another time, three of The Thirty^[b] went to David while he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. The Philistines were camped in the valley of Rephaim, ¹⁶ and David was in the stronghold at the time; an outpost of the Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David wanted a drink from the Bethlehem well beside the gate, and when he mentioned this to his men, ^18-19 these three broke through to the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it! Instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord and said, “God forbid that I should drink it! It is the very blood of these men who risked their lives to get it.”

²⁰ Abishai, Joab’s brother, was commander of The Thirty. He had gained his place among The Thirty by killing 300 men at one time with his spear. ²¹ He was the chief and the most famous of The Thirty, but he was not as great as The Three.

²² Benaiah, whose father was a mighty warrior from Kabzeel, killed the two famous giants^[c] from Moab. He also killed a lion in a slippery pit when there was snow on the ground. ²³ Once he killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall, whose spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam. But Benaiah went up to him with only a club in his hand, and pulled the spear away from him and used it to kill him. ^24-25 He was nearly as great as The Three, and he was very famous among The Thirty. David made him captain of his bodyguard.

^26-47 Other famous warriors among David’s men were:

12 These are the names of the famous warriors who joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from King Saul.^{[e] 2} All of them were expert archers and slingers, and they could use their left hands as readily as their right! Like King Saul, they were all of the tribe of Benjamin.

^3-7 Their chief was Ahiezer, son of Shemaah from Gibeah. The others were:

^8-13 Great and brave warriors from the tribe of Gad also went to David in the wilderness. They were experts with both shield and spear and were “lion-faced men, swift as deer upon the mountains.”

¹⁴ These men were army officers; the weakest was worth a hundred normal troops, and the greatest was worth a thousand! ¹⁵ They crossed the Jordan River during its seasonal flooding and conquered the lowlands on both the east and west banks.

¹⁶ Others came to David from Benjamin and Judah. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said, “If you have come to help me, we are friends; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when I am innocent, then may the God of our fathers see and judge you.”

¹⁸ Then the Holy Spirit came upon them, and Amasai, a leader of The Thirty, replied,

So David let them join him, and he made them captains of his army.

¹⁹ Some men from Manasseh deserted the Israeli army and joined David just as he was going into battle with the Philistines against King Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine generals refused to let David and his men go with them. After much discussion they sent them back, for they were afraid that David and his men would imperil them by deserting to King Saul.

²⁰ Here is a list of the men from Manasseh who deserted to David as he was en route to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, Zillethai.

Each was a high-ranking officer of Manasseh’s troops. ²¹ They were brave and able warriors, and they assisted David when he fought against the Amalek raiders at Ziklag.^[f]

²² More men joined David almost every day until he had a tremendous army—the army of God. ²³ Here is the registry of recruits who joined David at Hebron. They were all anxious to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had said would happen.

³⁸ All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king of Israel. In fact, all of Israel was ready for this change. ³⁹ They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made for their arrival. ⁴⁰ People from nearby and from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep were brought to the celebration, for joy had spread throughout the land.

13 Continue to love each other with true brotherly love. ² Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³ Don’t forget about those in jail. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, for you know what they are going through.

⁴ Honor your marriage and its vows, and be pure; for God will surely punish all those who are immoral or commit adultery.

⁵ Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.” ⁶ That is why we can say without any doubt or fear, “The Lord is my Helper, and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me.”

⁷ Remember your leaders who have taught you the Word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and try to trust the Lord as they do.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹ So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes as a gift from God, not from ceremonial rules about eating certain foods—a method which, by the way, hasn’t helped those who have tried it!

¹⁰ We have an altar—the cross where Christ was sacrificed—where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. ¹¹ Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. ¹² That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away.

¹³ So let us go out to him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised^[a]) to suffer with him there, bearing his shame. ¹⁴ For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.

¹⁵ With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name. ¹⁶ Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to him. ¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders and be willing to do what they say. For their work is to watch over your souls, and God will judge them on how well they do this. Give them reason to report joyfully about you to the Lord and not with sorrow, for then you will suffer for it too.

¹⁸ Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to keep it that way. ¹⁹ I especially need your prayers right now so that I can come back to you sooner.

^20-21 And now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he who became the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting agreement between God and you, signed with his blood, produce in you through the power of Christ all that is pleasing to him. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² Brethren, please listen patiently to what I have said in this letter, for it is a short one. ²³ I want you to know that Brother Timothy is now out of jail; if he comes here soon, I will come with him to see you. ^24-25 Give my greetings to all your leaders and to the other believers there. The Christians from Italy who are here with me send you their love. God’s grace be with you all. Good-bye.

7 This is what the Lord God showed me in a vision: He was preparing a vast swarm of locusts to destroy all the main crop that sprang up after the first mowing, which went as taxes to the king. ² They ate everything in sight. Then I said, “O Lord God, please forgive your people! Don’t send them this plague! If you turn against Israel, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!”

³ So the Lord relented and did not fulfill the vision. “I won’t do it,” he told me.

⁴ Then the Lord God showed me a great fire he had prepared to punish them; it had burned up the waters and was devouring the entire land.

⁵ Then I said, “O Lord God, please don’t do it. If you turn against them, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!”

⁶ Then the Lord turned from this plan too, and said, “I won’t do that either.”

⁷ Then he showed me this: The Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I answered, “A plumb line.”

And he replied, “I will test my people with a plumb line. I will no longer turn away from punishing. ⁹ The idol altars and temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will destroy the dynasty of King Jeroboam by the sword.”

¹⁰ But when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, heard what Amos was saying, he rushed a message to Jeroboam, the king: “Amos is a traitor to our nation and is plotting your death. This is intolerable. It will lead to rebellion all across the land. ¹¹ He says you will be killed and Israel will be sent far away into exile and slavery.”

¹² Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos, “Get out of here, you prophet, you! Flee to the land of Judah and do your prophesying there! ¹³ Don’t bother us here with your visions, not here in the capital where the king’s chapel is!”

¹⁴ But Amos replied, “I am not really one of the prophets. I do not come from a family of prophets. I am just a herdsman and fruit picker. ¹⁵ But the Lord took me from caring for the flocks and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people Israel.’

¹⁶ “Now, therefore, listen to this message to you from the Lord. You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.’ ¹⁷ The Lord’s reply is this: ‘Because of your interference, your wife will become a prostitute in this city, your sons and daughters will be killed, and your land divided up. You yourself will die in a heathen land, and the people of Israel will certainly become slaves in exile, far from their land.’”

2 About this time Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the nation. ² (This census was taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

³ Everyone was required to return to his ancestral home for this registration. ⁴ And because Joseph was a member of the royal line, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, King David’s ancient home—journeying there from the Galilean village of Nazareth. ⁵ He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time.

⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born; ⁷ and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in a blanket^[a] and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

⁸ That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly an angel appeared among them, and the landscape shone bright with the glory of the Lord. They were badly frightened, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them.

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem!^{[b] 12} How will you recognize him? You will find a baby wrapped in a blanket,^[c] lying in a manger!”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang,^[d] “and peace on earth for all those pleasing him.”

¹⁵ When this great army of angels had returned again to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on! Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They ran to the village and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ The shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story expressed astonishment, ¹⁹ but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them.

²⁰ Then the shepherds went back again to their fields and flocks, praising God for the visit of the angels, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had told them.

²¹ Eight days later, at the baby’s circumcision ceremony, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was even conceived.

²² When the time came for Mary’s purification offering at the Temple, as required by the laws of Moses after the birth of a child, his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord; ²³ for in these laws God had said, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”

²⁴ At that time Jesus’ parents also offered their sacrifice for purification—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” was the legal requirement. ²⁵ That day a man named Simeon, a Jerusalem resident, was in the Temple. He was a good man, very devout, filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly expecting the Messiah^[e] to come soon. ²⁶ For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him—God’s anointed King. ²⁷ The Holy Spirit had impelled him to go to the Temple that day; and so, when Mary and Joseph arrived to present the baby Jesus to the Lord in obedience to the law, ²⁸ Simeon was there and took the child in his arms, praising God.

^29-31 “Lord,” he said, “now I can die content! For I have seen him as you promised me I would. I have seen the Savior you have given to the world. ³² He is the Light that will shine upon the nations, and he will be the glory of your people Israel!”

³³ Joseph and Mary just stood there, marveling at what was being said about Jesus.

^34-35 Simeon blessed them but then said to Mary, “A sword shall pierce your soul, for this child shall be rejected by many in Israel, and this to their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy of many others. And the deepest thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed.”

^36-37 Anna, a prophetess, was also there in the Temple that day. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the Jewish tribe of Asher, and was very old, for she had been a widow for eighty-four years following seven years of marriage. She never left the Temple but stayed there night and day, worshiping God by praying and often fasting.

³⁸ She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she also began thanking God and telling everyone in Jerusalem who had been awaiting the coming of the Savior^[f] that the Messiah had finally arrived.

³⁹ When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the Law of God, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰ There the child became a strong, robust lad, and was known for wisdom beyond his years; and God poured out his blessings on him.

^41-42 When Jesus was twelve years old, he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the annual Passover Festival, which they attended each year. ⁴³ After the celebration was over they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him the first day, ⁴⁴ for they assumed he was with friends among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends; ⁴⁵ and when they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there.

^46-47 Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the teachers of Law, discussing deep questions with them and amazing everyone with his understanding and answers.

⁴⁸ His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son!” his mother said to him. “Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”

⁴⁹ “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you realize that I would be here at the Temple, in my Father’s House?” ⁵⁰ But they didn’t understand what he meant.

⁵¹ Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and his mother stored away all these things in her heart. ⁵² So Jesus grew both tall and wise, and was loved by God and man.