2 SAMUEL 14:1-15:22
JOHN 18:1-24
PSALM 119:97-112
PROVERBS 16:8-9
2 SAMUEL 14:1-15:22
Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. 2 So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, " Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don't bathe or wear any perfume. Act like a woman who has been in deep sorrow for a long time. 3 Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you." Then Joab told her what to say. 4 When the woman approached the king, she fell with her face down to the floor in front of him and cried out, " O king! Help me!" 5 " What's the trouble?" the king asked. " I am a widow," she replied. 6 " My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. 7 Now the rest of the family is demanding, ` Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn't deserve to inherit his family's property.' But if I do that, I will have no one left, and my husband's name and family will disappear from the face of the earth." 8 " Leave it to me," the king told her. " Go home, and I'll see to it that no one touches him." 9 " Oh, thank you, my lord," she replied. " And I'll take the responsibility if you are criticized for helping me like this." 10 " Don't worry about that!" the king said. " If anyone objects, bring them to me. I can assure you they will never complain again!" 11 Then she said, " Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won't let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed." " As surely as the LORD lives," he replied, " not a hair on your son's head will be disturbed!" 12 " Please let me ask one more thing of you!" she said. " Go ahead," he urged. " Speak!" 13 She replied, " Why don't you do as much for all the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. 14 All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about--and neither should you! 15 " But I have come to plead with you for my son because my life and my son's life have been threatened. I said to myself, ` Perhaps the king will listen to me 16 and rescue us from those who would cut us off from God's people. 17 Yes, the king will give us peace of mind again.' I know that you are like an angel of God and can discern good from evil. May the LORD your God be with you." 18 " I want to know one thing," the king replied. " Yes, my lord?" she asked. 19 " Did Joab send you here?" And the woman replied, " My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. 20 He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!" 21 So the king sent for Joab and told him, " All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom." 22 Joab fell to the ground before the king and blessed him and said, " At last I know that I have gained your approval, for you have granted me this request!" 23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king gave this order: " Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence." So Absalom did not see the king. 25 Now no one in Israel was as handsome as Absalom. From head to foot, he was the perfect specimen of a man. 26 He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was too heavy to carry around. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds! 27 He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter's name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful. 28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without getting to see the king. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. 30 So Absalom said to his servants, " Go and set fire to Joab's barley field, the field next to mine." So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded. 31 Then Joab came to Absalom and demanded, " Why did your servants set my field on fire?" 32 And Absalom replied, " Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn't intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him execute me." 33 So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned his estranged son, and Absalom came and bowed low before the king, and David kissed him.15:1 AFTER this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty footmen to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, " You've really got a strong case here! It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then people could bring their problems to me, and I would give them justice!" 5 And when people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and embraced them. 6 So in this way, Absalom stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. 7 After four years, Absalom said to the king, " Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him. 8 For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem." 9 " All right," the king told him. " Go and fulfill your vow." So Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to every part of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. " As soon as you hear the trumpets," his message read, " you will know that Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron." 11 He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. 12 While he was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. 13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, " All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!" 14 " Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!" David urged his men. " Hurry! If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster." 15 " We are with you," his advisers replied. " Do what you think is best." 16 So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to keep the palace in order. 17 The king and his people set out on foot, and they paused at the edge of the city 18 to let David's troops move past to lead the way. There were six hundred Gittites who had come with David from Gath, along with the king's bodyguard. 19 Then the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the Gittites, and asked, " Why are you coming with us? Go on back with your men to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. 20 You arrived only yesterday, and now should I force you to wander with us? I don't even know where we will go. Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness." 21 But Ittai said to the king, " I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever you go, no matter what happens--whether it means life or death." 22 David replied, " All right, come with us." So Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.
JOHN 18:1-24
After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with his disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. 4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, " Whom are you looking for?" 5 " Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. " I am he," Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them when Jesus identified himself. 6 And as he said, " I am he," they all fell backward to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, " Whom are you searching for?" And again they replied, " Jesus of Nazareth." 8 " I told you that I am he," Jesus said. " And since I am the one you want, let these others go." 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: " I have not lost a single one of those you gave me." 10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, " Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup the Father has given me?" 12 So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. 13 First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, " Better that one should die for all." 15 Simon Peter followed along behind, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter stood outside the gate. Then the other disciple spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, " Aren't you one of Jesus' disciples?" " No," he said, " I am not." 18 The guards and the household servants were standing around a charcoal fire they had made because it was cold. And Peter stood there with them, warming himself. 19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20 Jesus replied, " What I teach is widely known, because I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple. I have been heard by people everywhere, and I teach nothing in private that I have not said in public. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said." 22 One of the Temple guards standing there struck Jesus on the face. " Is that the way to answer the high priest?" he demanded. 23 Jesus replied, " If I said anything wrong, you must give evidence for it. Should you hit a man for telling the truth?" 24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
PSALM 119:97-112
Oh, how I love your law!
I think about it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for your commands are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your decrees.
100 I am even wiser than my elders,
for I have kept your commandments.
101 I have refused to walk on any path of evil,
that I may remain obedient to your word.
102 I haven't turned away from your laws,
for you have taught me well.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste;
they are sweeter than honey.
104 Your commandments give me understanding;
no wonder I hate every false way of life.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I've promised it once, and I'll promise again:
I will obey your wonderful laws.
107 I have suffered much, O LORD;
restore my life again, just as you promised.
108 LORD, accept my grateful thanks
and teach me your laws.
109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your law.
110 The wicked have set their traps for me along your path,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
111 Your decrees are my treasure;
they are truly my heart's delight.
112 I am determined to keep your principles,
even forever, to the very end.
PROVERBS 16:8-9
It is better to be poor and godly than rich and dishonest. We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
No comments:
Post a Comment