M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 ^(A)King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God. ² I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. ³ Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple. ⁴ I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple ⁵ and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?”

⁶ Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give ⁷ the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. ⁸ Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. ⁹ The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

David Praises God

¹⁰ There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever! ^11 (B)You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. ¹² All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. ¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already. ¹⁵ You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. ¹⁶ O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. ¹⁸ Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you. ¹⁹ Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰ Then David commanded the people, “Praise the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.

²¹ The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the Lord, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine. ²² So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the Lord.

For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the Lord they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest. ^23 (C)So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the Lord had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king. ²⁵ The Lord made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.

Summary of David's Reign

²⁶ David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel ^27 (D)for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three. ²⁸ He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king. ²⁹ The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰ The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

The Promise of the Lord's Coming

3 My dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written you. In both letters I have tried to arouse pure thoughts in your minds by reminding you of these things. ² I want you to remember the words that were spoken long ago by the holy prophets, and the command from the Lord and Savior which was given you by your apostles. ^3 (A)First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you ⁴ and will ask, “He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!” ^5 (B)They purposely ignore the fact that long ago God gave a command, and the heavens and earth were created. The earth was formed out of water and by water, ^6 (C)and it was also by water, the water of the flood, that the old world was destroyed. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth that now exist are being preserved by the same command of God, in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed.

^8 (D)But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.

^10 (E)But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish.^{[a] 11} Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, ¹² as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon—the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. ^13 (F)But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.

¹⁴ And so, my friends, as you wait for that Day, do your best to be pure and faultless in God's sight and to be at peace with him. ¹⁵ Look on our Lord's patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear friend Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction.

¹⁷ But you, my friends, already know this. Be on your guard, then, so that you will not be led away by the errors of lawless people and fall from your safe position. ¹⁸ But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.

The Lord's Case against Israel

6 Listen to the Lord's case against Israel.

Arise, O Lord, and present your case; let the mountains and the hills hear what you say.

² You mountains, you everlasting foundations of the earth, listen to the Lord's case! The Lord has a case against his people. He is going to bring an accusation against Israel.

³ The Lord says, “My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? Answer me. ^4 (A)I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ^5 (B)My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned to do to you and how Balaam son of Beor answered him. Remember the things that happened on the way from the camp at Acacia to Gilgal. Remember these things and you will realize what I did in order to save you.”

What the Lord Requires

⁶ What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him? ⁷ Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child to pay for my sins? ⁸ No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

⁹ It is wise to fear the Lord. He calls to the city, “Listen, you people who assemble in the city!^{[a] 10} In the houses of evil people are treasures which they got dishonestly. They use false measures, a thing that I hate.^{[b] 11} How can I forgive those who use false scales and weights? ¹² Your rich people exploit the poor, and all of you are liars. ¹³ So I have already begun^[c] your ruin and destruction because of your sins. ¹⁴ You will eat, but not be satisfied—in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything you do save I will destroy in war. ¹⁵ You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. ^16 (C)This will happen because you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab. You have continued their policies, and so I will bring you to ruin, and everyone will despise you. People^[d] everywhere will treat you with contempt.”^[e]

The Lost Sheep^(A)

15 ^(B)One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, ² the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!” ³ So Jesus told them this parable:

⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. ⁵ When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders ⁶ and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. ⁹ When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

The Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus went on to say, “There was once a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the property now.’ So the man divided his property between his two sons. ¹³ After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. ¹⁵ So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. ¹⁶ He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. ¹⁷ At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and started back to his father.

“He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. ²¹ ‘Father,’ the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’ ²² But the father called to his servants. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. ²³ Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ And so the feasting began.

²⁵ “In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him, ‘What's going on?’ ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come back home,’ the servant answered, ‘and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. ²⁹ But he spoke back to his father, ‘Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! ³⁰ But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!’ ³¹ ‘My son,’ the father answered, ‘you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’”