M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
3 Finally the actual construction of the Temple began. Its location was in Jerusalem at the top of Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to Solomon’s father, King David, and where the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite had been. David had selected it as the site for the Temple. 2 The actual construction began on the seventeenth day of April in the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign.
3 The foundation was ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. 4 A covered porch ran along the entire thirty-foot width of the Temple, with the inner walls and ceiling overlaid with pure gold! The roof was 180 feet high.
5 The main part of the Temple was paneled with cypress wood, plated with pure gold, and engraved with palm trees and chains. 6 Beautiful jewels were inlaid into the walls to add to the beauty; the gold, by the way, was of the best, from Parvaim. 7 All the walls, beams, doors, and thresholds throughout the Temple were plated with gold, with Guardian Angels engraved on the walls.
8 Within the Temple, at one end, was the most sacred room—the Holy of Holies—thirty feet square. This too was overlaid with the finest gold, valued at millions of dollars. 9 Twenty-six-ounce gold nails were used. The upper rooms were also plated with pure gold.
10 Within the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, Solomon placed two sculptured statues of Guardian Angels and plated them with gold. 11-13 They stood on the floor facing the outer room, with wings stretched wing tip to wing tip across the room, from wall to wall.[a] 14 Across the entrance to this room he placed a veil of blue and crimson finespun linen, decorated with Guardian Angels.
15 At the front of the Temple were two pillars 52-1/2 feet high, topped by a 7-1/2-foot capital flaring out to the roof. 16 He made chains[b] and placed them on top of the pillars, with 100 pomegranates attached to the chains. 17 Then he set up the pillars at the front of the Temple, one on the right and the other on the left. And he gave them names: Jachin (the one on the right), and Boaz (the one on the left).
4 He also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. 2 Then he forged a huge round tank 15 feet across from rim to rim. The rim stood 7-1/2 feet above the floor, and was 45 feet around. 3 The tank was encircled at its base by two rows of gourd designs, cast as part of the tank. 4 The tank stood on twelve metal oxen facing outward; three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. 5 The walls of the tank were five inches thick, flaring out like the cup of a lily. It held 3,000 barrels of water.
6 He also constructed ten vats for water to wash the offerings, five to the right of the huge tank and five to the left. The priests used the tank, and not the vats, for their own washing.
7 Carefully following God’s instructions, he then cast ten gold lampstands and placed them in the Temple, five against each wall; 8 he also built ten tables and placed five against each wall on the right and left. And he molded 100 solid gold bowls. 9 Then he constructed a court for the priests, also the public court, and overlaid the doors of these courts with bronze. 10 The huge tank was in the southeast corner of the outer room of the Temple. 11 Huramabi also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins for use in connection with the sacrifices.
So at last he completed the work assigned to him by King Solomon:
12-16 The construction of the two pillars,
The two flared capitals on the tops of the pillars,
The two sets of chains on the capitals,
The 400 pomegranates hanging from the two sets of chains on the capitals,
The bases for the vats and the vats themselves,
The huge tank and the twelve oxen under it,
The pots, shovels, and fleshhooks.
This skillful craftsman, Huramabi, made all of the above-mentioned items for King Solomon using polished bronze. 17-18 The king did the casting at the claybanks of the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. Great quantities of bronze were used, too heavy to weigh.
19 Solomon commanded that all of the furnishings of the Temple—the utensils, the altar, and the table for the Bread of the Presence must be made of gold; 20 also the lamps and lampstands, 21 the floral decorations, tongs, 22 lamp snuffers, basins, spoons, and firepans—all were made of solid gold. Even the doorway of the Temple, the main door, and the inner doors to the Holy of Holies were overlaid with gold.
3 See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we really are! But since most people don’t know God, naturally they don’t understand that we are his children. 2 Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, right now, and we can’t even imagine what it is going to be like later on. But we do know this, that when he comes we will be like him, as a result of seeing him as he really is. 3 And everyone who really believes this will try to stay pure because Christ is pure.
4 But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God. 5 And you know that he became a man so that he could take away our sins, and that there is no sin in him, no missing of God’s will at any time in any way. 6 So if we stay close to him, obedient to him, we won’t be sinning either; but as for those who keep on sinning, they should realize this: They sin because they have never really known him or become his.
7 Oh, dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: if you are constantly doing what is good, it is because you are good, even as he is. 8 But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil. 9 The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him—he has been born again.
10 So now we can tell who is a child of God and who belongs to Satan. Whoever is living a life of sin and doesn’t love his brother shows that he is not in God’s family; 11 for the message to us from the beginning has been that we should love one another.
12 We are not to be like Cain, who belonged to Satan and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing wrong and he knew very well that his brother’s life was better than his. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear friends, if the world hates you.
14 If we love other Christians, it proves that we have been delivered from hell and given eternal life. But a person who doesn’t have love for others is headed for eternal death. 15 Anyone who hates his Christian brother is really a murderer at heart; and you know that no one wanting to murder has eternal life within. 16 We know what real love is from Christ’s example in dying for us. And so we also ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers.
17 But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him—how can God’s love be within him? 18 Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. 19 Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God’s side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord. 20 But if we have bad consciences and feel that we have done wrong, the Lord will surely feel it even more,[a] for he knows everything we do.
21 But, dearly loved friends, if our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with perfect assurance and trust, 22 and get whatever we ask for because we are obeying him and doing the things that please him. 23 And this is what God says we must do: Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another. 24 Those who do what God says—they are living with God and he with them. We know this is true because the Holy Spirit he has given us tells us so.
2 Nineveh, you are finished![a] You are already surrounded by enemy armies! Sound the alarm! Man the ramparts! Muster your defenses, full force, and keep a sharp watch for the enemy attack to begin! 2 For the land of the people of God lies empty and broken after your attacks, but the Lord will restore their honor and power again!
3 Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! See their glittering chariots moving forward side by side, pulled by prancing steeds! 4 Your own chariots race recklessly along the streets and through the squares, darting like lightning, gleaming like torches. 5 The king shouts for his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses. 6 But too late! The river gates are open! The enemy has entered! The palace is in panic!
7 The queen of Nineveh is brought out naked to the streets and led away, a slave, with all her maidens weeping after her; listen to them mourn like doves and beat their breasts! 8 Nineveh is like a leaking water tank! Her soldiers slip away, deserting her; she cannot hold them back. “Stop, stop,” she shouts, but they keep on running.
9 Loot the silver! Loot the gold! There seems to be no end of treasures. Her vast, uncounted wealth is stripped away. 10 Soon the city is an empty shambles; hearts melt in horror; knees quake; her people stand aghast, pale-faced and trembling.
11 Where now is that great Nineveh, lion of the nations, full of fight and boldness, where even the old and feeble, as well as the young and tender, lived unafraid?
12 O Nineveh, once mighty lion! You crushed your enemies to feed your children and your wives, and filled your city and your homes with captured goods and slaves.
13 But now the Lord Almighty has turned against you. He destroys your weapons. Your chariots stand there, silent and unused. Your finest youths lie dead. Never again will you bring back slaves from conquered nations; never again will you rule the earth.
18 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes.
2 “There was a city judge,” he said, “a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. 3 A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. 4-5 The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves.
“‘I fear neither God nor man,’ he said to himself, ‘but this woman bothers me. I’m going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!’”
6 Then the Lord said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, 7 don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people who plead with him day and night? 8 Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I, the Messiah,[a] return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying?”
9 Then he told this story to some who boasted of their virtue and scorned everyone else:
10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, and the other a cheating tax collector. 11 The proud Pharisee ‘prayed’ this prayer: ‘Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t commit adultery, 12 I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.’
13 “But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored.”
15 One day some mothers brought their babies to him to touch and bless. But the disciples told them to go away.
16-17 Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children’s. And anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom’s gates.”
18 Once a Jewish religious leader asked him this question: “Good sir, what shall I do to get to heaven?”
19 “Do you realize what you are saying when you call me ‘good’?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good, and no one else.
20 “But as to your question, you know what the Ten Commandments say—don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your parents, and so on.” 21 The man replied, “I’ve obeyed every one of these laws since I was a small child.”
22 “There is still one thing you lack,” Jesus said. “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor—it will become treasure for you in heaven—and come, follow me.”
23 But when the man heard this he went sadly away, for he was very rich.
24 Jesus watched him go and then said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard him say this exclaimed, “If it is that hard, how can anyone be saved?”
27 He replied, “God can do what men can’t!”
28 And Peter said, “We have left our homes and followed you.”
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and everyone who has done as you have, leaving home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over now, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come.”
31 Gathering the Twelve around him he told them, “As you know, we are going to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all the predictions of the ancient prophets concerning me will come true. 32 I will be handed over to the Gentiles to be mocked and treated shamefully and spat upon, 33 and lashed and killed. And the third day I will rise again.”
34 But they didn’t understand a thing he said. He seemed to be talking in riddles.
35 As they approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging from travelers. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 He was told that Jesus from Nazareth was going by, 38 so he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only yelled the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 When Jesus arrived at the spot, he stopped. “Bring the blind man over here,” he said. 41 Then Jesus asked the man, “What do you want?”
“Lord,” he pleaded, “I want to see!”
42 And Jesus said, “All right, begin seeing! Your faith has healed you.”
43 And instantly the man could see and followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it happen praised God too.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.