M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
11 Upon arrival at Jerusalem, Rehoboam mobilized the armies of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 strong, and declared war against the rest of Israel in an attempt to reunite the kingdom.
2 But the Lord told Shemaiah the prophet,
3 “Go and say to King Rehoboam of Judah, Solomon’s son, and to the people of Judah and of Benjamin:
4 “‘The Lord says, Do not fight against your brothers. Go home, for I am behind their rebellion.’” So they obeyed the Lord and refused to fight against Jeroboam.
5-10 Rehoboam stayed in Jerusalem and fortified these cities of Judah with walls and gates to protect himself: Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11 He also rebuilt and strengthened the forts, and manned them with companies of soldiers under their officers, and stored them with food, olive oil, and wine. 12 Shields and spears were placed in armories in every city as a further safety measure. For only Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to him.
13-14 However, the priests and Levites from the other tribes now abandoned their homes and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, for King Jeroboam had fired them, telling them to stop being priests of the Lord. 15 He had appointed other priests instead who encouraged the people to worship idols instead of God and to sacrifice to carved statues of goats and calves, which he placed on the hills. 16 Laymen, too, from all over Israel began moving to Jerusalem where they could freely worship the Lord God of their fathers and sacrifice to him. 17 This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, so King Rehoboam survived for three years without difficulty; for during those years there was an earnest effort to obey the Lord as King David and King Solomon had done.[a]
18 Rehoboam married his cousin[b] Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of David’s brother Eliab. 19 Three sons were born from this marriage—Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 Later he married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. The children she bore him were Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 He loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines (he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines—with twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 Maacah’s son Abijah was his favorite, and he intended to make him the next king. 23 He very wisely scattered his other sons in the fortified cities throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin, and gave them large allowances and arranged for them to have several wives apiece.
12 But just when Rehoboam was at the height of his popularity and power he abandoned the Lord, and the people followed him in this sin. 2 As a result, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign 3 with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen and an unnumbered host of infantrymen—Egyptians, Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. 4 He quickly conquered Judah’s fortified cities and soon arrived at Jerusalem.
5 The prophet Shemaiah now met with Rehoboam and the Judean leaders from every part of the nation (they had fled to Jerusalem for safety) and told them, “The Lord says, ‘You have forsaken me, so I have forsaken you and abandoned you to Shishak.’”
6 Then the king and the leaders of Israel confessed their sins and exclaimed, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!”
7 And when the Lord saw them humble themselves, he sent Shemaiah to tell them, “Because you have humbled yourselves, I will not completely destroy you; some will escape. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger upon Jerusalem. 8 But you must pay annual tribute to him. Then you will realize how much better it is to serve me than to serve him!”
9 So King Shishak of Egypt conquered Jerusalem and took away all the treasures of the Temple and of the palace, also all of Solomon’s gold shields. 10 King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and committed them to the care of the captain of his bodyguard. 11 Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards would carry them and afterwards return them to the armory. 12 When the king humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned aside and he didn’t send total destruction; in fact, even after Shishak’s invasion, the economy of Judah remained strong.
13 King Rehoboam reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God had chosen as his residence after considering all the other cities of Israel. He had become king at the age of forty-one, and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 14 But he was an evil king, for he never did decide really to please the Lord. 15 The complete biography of Rehoboam is recorded in the histories written by Shemaiah the prophet and by Iddo the seer and in The Genealogical Register.
There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 When Rehoboam died he was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Abijah became the new king.
2
“I write to inform you of a message from him who walks among the churches and holds their leaders in his right hand.
“He says to you: 2 I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work and your patience; I know you don’t tolerate sin among your members, and you have carefully examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but aren’t. You have found out how they lie. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “Yet there is one thing wrong; you don’t love me as at first! 5 Think about those times of your first love (how different now!) and turn back to me again and work as you did before; or else I will come and remove your candlestick from its place among the churches.
6 “But there is this about you that is good: You hate the deeds of the licentious Nicolaitans,[b] just as I do.
7 “Let this message sink into the ears of anyone who listens to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: To everyone who is victorious, I will give fruit from the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God.
8
“This message is from him who is the First and Last, who was dead and then came back to life.
9 “I know how much you suffer for the Lord, and I know all about your poverty (but you have heavenly riches!). I know the slander of those opposing you, who say that they are Jews—the children of God—but they aren’t, for they support the cause of Satan. 10 Stop being afraid of what you are about to suffer—for the devil will soon throw some of you into prison to test you. You will be persecuted for ‘ten days.’ Remain faithful even when facing death and I will give you the crown of life—an unending, glorious future.[c] 11 Let everyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: He who is victorious shall not be hurt by the Second Death.
12
“This message is from him who wields the sharp and double-bladed sword. 13 I am fully aware that you live in the city where Satan’s throne is, at the center of satanic worship; and yet you have remained loyal to me and refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s devotees.
14 “And yet I have a few things against you. You tolerate some among you who do as Balaam did when he taught Balak how to ruin the people of Israel by involving them in sexual sin and encouraging them to go to idol feasts. 15 Yes, you have some of these very same followers of Balaam[d] among you!
16 “Change your mind and attitude, or else I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: Everyone who is victorious shall eat of the hidden manna, the secret nourishment from heaven; and I will give to each a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one else knows except the one receiving it.
18
“This is a message from the Son of God, whose eyes penetrate like flames of fire, whose feet are like glowing brass.
19 “I am aware of all your good deeds—your kindness to the poor, your gifts and service to them; also I know your love and faith and patience, and I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “Yet I have this against you: You are permitting that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants that sex sin is not a serious matter; she urges them to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to change her mind and attitude, but she refused. 22 Pay attention now to what I am saying: I will lay her upon a sickbed of intense affliction, along with all her immoral followers,[e] unless they turn again to me, repenting of their sin with her; 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches deep within men’s hearts, and minds; I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
24-25 “As for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, really), I will ask nothing further of you; only hold tightly to what you have until I come.
26 “To everyone who overcomes—who to the very end keeps on doing things that please me—I will give power over the nations. 27 You will rule them with a rod of iron just as my Father gave me the authority to rule them; they will be shattered like a pot of clay that is broken into tiny pieces. 28 And I will give you the Morning Star!
29 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
3 Woe to filthy, sinful Jerusalem, city of violence and crime. 2 In her pride she won’t listen even to the voice of God. No one can tell her anything; she refuses all correction. She does not trust the Lord nor seek for God.
3 Her leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims—out for everything that they can get. Her judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Her “prophets” are liars seeking their own gain; her priests defile the Temple by their disobedience to God’s laws.
5 But the Lord is there within the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day his justice is more evident, but no one heeds—the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have cut off many nations, laying them waste to their farthest borders; I have left their streets in silent ruin and their cities deserted without a single survivor to remember what happened. 7 I thought, ‘Surely they will listen to me now—surely they will heed my warnings, so that I’ll not need to strike again.’ But no; however much I punish them, they continue all their evil ways from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn.” 8 But the Lord says, “Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and wrath upon them. All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
9 “At that time I will change the speech of my returning people to pure Hebrew[a] so that all can worship the Lord together. 10 My scattered people who live in the Sudan,[b] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, will come with their offerings, asking me to be their God again. 11 And then you will no longer need to be ashamed of yourselves, for you will no longer be rebels against me. I will remove all your proud and arrogant people from among you; there will be no pride or haughtiness on my holy mountain. 12 Those who are left will be the poor and the humble, and they will trust in the name of the Lord. 13 They will not be sinners, full of lies and deceit. They will live quietly, in peace, and lie down in safety, and no one will make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over—you need fear no more.
16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, don’t be afraid. 17-18 For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you with great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you.” Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.
“I have gathered your wounded and taken away your reproach. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones, and bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory to my former exiles, mocked and shamed.
20 “At that time, I will gather you together and bring you home again, and give you a good name, a name of distinction among all the peoples of the earth, and they will praise you when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.
1 1-2 Before anything else existed,[a] there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. 3 He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. 4 Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. 5 His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6-7 God sent John the Baptist as a witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is the true Light. 8 John himself was not the Light; he was only a witness to identify it.
9 Later on, the one who is the true Light arrived to shine on everyone coming into the world.
10 But although he made the world, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. 11-12 Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.[b] 13 All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth[c] resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God.
14 And Christ[d] became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father!
15 John pointed him out to the people, telling the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming who is greater by far than I am—for he existed long before I did!’” 16 We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—blessing upon blessing heaped upon us! 17 For Moses gave us only the Law with its rigid demands and merciless justice, while Jesus Christ brought us loving forgiveness as well. 18 No one has ever actually seen God, but, of course, his only Son has, for he is the companion of the Father and has told us all about him.
19 The Jewish leaders[e] sent priests and assistant priests from Jerusalem to ask John whether he claimed to be the Messiah.
20 He denied it flatly. “I am not the Christ,” he said.
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet?”[f]
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? Tell us, so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you have to say for yourself?”
23 He replied, “I am a voice from the barren wilderness, shouting as Isaiah prophesied, ‘Get ready for the coming of the Lord!’”
24-25 Then those who were sent by the Pharisees asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26 John told them, “I merely baptize with[g] water, but right here in the crowd is someone you have never met, 27 who will soon begin his ministry among you, and I am not even fit to be his slave.”
28 This incident took place at Bethany, a village on the other side of the Jordan River where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Soon a man far greater than I am is coming, who existed long before me!’ 31 I didn’t know he was the one, but I am here baptizing with water in order to point him out to the nation of Israel.”
32 Then John told about seeing the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending from heaven and resting upon Jesus.
33 “I didn’t know he was the one,” John said again, “but at the time God sent me to baptize he told me, ‘When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone—he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw it happen to this man, and I therefore testify that he is the Son of God.”
35 The following day as John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 Jesus walked by. John looked at him intently and then declared, “See! There is the Lamb of God!”
37 Then John’s two disciples turned and followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
“Sir,” they replied, “where do you live?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. So they went with him to the place where he was staying and were with him from about four o’clock that afternoon until the evening. 40 (One of these men was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.)
41 Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” 42 And he brought Peter to meet Jesus.
Jesus looked intently at Peter for a moment and then said, “You are Simon, John’s son—but you shall be called Peter, the rock!”
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Come with me.” 44 (Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.)
45 Philip now went off to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the Messiah!—the very person Moses and the prophets told about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth!”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from there?”
“Just come and see for yourself,” Philip declared.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Here comes an honest man—a true son of Israel.”
48 “How do you know what I am like?” Nathanael demanded.
And Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49 Nathanael replied, “Sir, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater proofs than this. 51 You will even see heaven open and the angels of God coming back and forth to me, the Messiah.”[h]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.