M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

27 But David said to himself, “One day Sha’ul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to escape into the territory of the P’lishtim. Then Sha’ul will give up trying to find me here or there in Isra’el’s territory, and at last I’ll be free of him.” ² So David set out with his six hundred men and passed on to Akhish the son of Ma‘okh, king of Gat. ³ David lived with Akhish, he and his men, each man with his household — including David with his two wives Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil from Karmel, Naval’s widow. ⁴ Sha’ul was told that David had escaped to Gat, whereupon he stopped searching for him.

⁵ David said to Akhish, “If you are now favorably disposed toward me, let me have a place to live in one of the cities in the countryside. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ That very day Akhish gave him Ziklag, and that’s why to this day Ziklag belongs to the kings of Y’hudah.

⁷ After David had been living in the country of the P’lishtim for a year and four months, ⁸ he and his men began going up and raiding the G’shuri, the Gizri and the ‘Amaleki (from ancient times these people had lived in the land in the direction of Shur, all the way to Egypt). ⁹ David would attack the land, leaving alive neither men nor women, but taking the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothing. Then he would return and go to Akhish. ¹⁰ Akhish would ask, “Where were you raiding today?” and David would answer, “Against the Negev of Y’hudah,” or “Against the Negev of the Yerachme’eli,” or “Against the Negev of the Keni.” ¹¹ The reason David spared neither men nor women to be brought to Gat is that he thought, “We don’t want them telling on us, saying, ‘David did so-and-so.’” That’s how he conducted his raids for as long as he lived in the country of the P’lishtim. ¹² And Akhish believed him; he said, “David has caused his own people Isra’el to despise him utterly; he will be my servant forever.”

8 Now about food sacrificed to idols: we know that, as you say, “We all have knowledge.” Yes, that is so, but “knowledge” puffs a person up with pride; whereas love builds up. ² The person who thinks he “knows” something doesn’t yet know in the way he ought to know. ³ However, if someone loves God, God knows him.

⁴ So, as for eating food sacrificed to idols, we “know” that, as you say, “An idol has no real existence in the world, and there is only one God.” ⁵ For even if there are so-called “gods,” either in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are “gods” and “lords” galore — ⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, through whom were created all things and through whom we have our being.

⁷ But not everyone has this knowledge. Moreover, some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat food which has been sacrificed to them, they think of it as really affected by the idol; and their consciences, being weak, are thus defiled. ⁸ Now food will not improve our relationship with God — we will be neither poorer if we abstain nor richer if we eat. ⁹ However watch out that your mastery of the situation does not become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ You have this “knowledge”; but suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you sitting, eating a meal in the temple of an idol. Won’t he be built up wrongly to eat this food which has been sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ Thus by your “knowledge” this weak person is destroyed, this brother for whom the Messiah died; ¹² and so, when you sin against the brothers by wounding their conscience when it is weak, you are sinning against the Messiah!

¹³ To sum up, if food will be a snare for my brother, I will never eat meat again, lest I cause my brother to sin.

6 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, face toward the mountains of Isra’el, and prophesy against them: ³ ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the word of Adonai Elohim: here is what Adonai Elohim says about the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys: “I myself will bring a sword against you and destroy your high places. ⁴ Your altars will be wrecked and your pillars for sun-worship broken, and I will throw down your slain ones in front of your idols. ⁵ I will lay the corpses of the people of Isra’el in front of their idols and scatter your bones all around your altars. ⁶ Everywhere you live, the cities will be destroyed and the high places wrecked; so that your altars can be destroyed and wrecked, your idols broken and abolished, your pillars for sun-worship cut down and the things you have made wiped out. ⁷ The slain will fall among you; then you will know that I am Adonai.

⁸ “‘“Nevertheless, I will leave a remnant, some who will escape the sword among the nations, when you have been scattered throughout the countries. ⁹ Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they have been exiled. How broken I have been over their whoring hearts that left me, and over their eyes that went whoring after their idols! They are going to loathe themselves for all the evils they committed in their disgusting practices. ¹⁰ Then they will know that I am Adonai; it isn’t for nothing that I said I would bring this calamity upon them.”’

¹¹ “Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and bemoan all the terrible disgusting practices of the house of Isra’el. For they will fall by sword, famine and plague. ¹² Those far away will die from the plague, those nearby will fall by the sword, and whoever stays and is besieged will die from famine. This is how I will spend my fury on them. ¹³ You will know that I am Adonai when their slain men are lying among their idols around their altars on every high hill, on every mountaintop, under every green tree, under every thick pistachio tree, wherever they offered sweet-smelling sacrifices to appease their idols. ¹⁴ I will stretch out my hand over them and make the land wherever they live into a desolate waste worse than the Divlah Desert. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”