1 KINGS 12:20-13:34
ACTS 9:26-43
PSALM 132:1-18
PROVERBS 17:6
1 KINGS 12:20-13:34
When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam's return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David. 21 When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the armies of Judah and Benjamin--180,000 select troops--to fight against the army of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. 22 But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, 23 " Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, 24 ` This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!' " So they obeyed the message of the LORD and went home, as the LORD had commanded. 25 Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel. 26 Jeroboam thought to himself, " Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When they go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the LORD, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead." 28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, " It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!" 29 He placed these calf idols at the southern and northern ends of Israel--in Bethel and in Dan. 30 This became a great sin, for the people worshiped them, traveling even as far as Dan. 31 Jeroboam built shrines at the pagan high places and ordained priests from the rank and file of the people--those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32 Jeroboam also instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on a day in mid autumn, similar to the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. And it was at Bethel that he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33 So on the appointed day in midautumn, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar to burn incense.13:1 AT the LORD's command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, and he arrived there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to offer a sacrifice. 2 Then at the LORD's command, he shouted, " O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you." 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message, and he said, " The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground." 4 King Jeroboam was very angry with the man of God for speaking against the altar. So he pointed at the man and shouted, " Seize that man!" But instantly the king's hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn't pull it back. 5 At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD. 6 The king cried out to the man of God, " Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!" So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king's hand became normal again. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, " Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift." 8 But the man of God said to the king, " Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat any food or drink any water in this place. 9 For the LORD gave me this command: ` You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.' " 10 So he left Bethel and went home another way. 11 As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told him what he had said to the king. 12 The old prophet asked them, " Which way did he go?" So they told their father which road the man of God had taken. 13 " Quick, saddle the donkey," the old man said. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, 14 he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. The old prophet asked him, " Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" " Yes," he replied, " I am." 15 Then he said to the man of God, " Come home with me and eat some food." 16 " No, I cannot," he replied. " I am not allowed to eat any food or drink any water here in this place. 17 For the LORD gave me this command: ` You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.' " 18 But the old prophet answered, " I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the LORD: ` Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.' " But the old man was lying to him. 19 So they went back together, and the man of God ate some food and drank some water at the prophet's home. 20 Then while they were sitting at the table, a message from the LORD came to the old prophet. 21 He cried out to the man of God from Judah, " This is what the LORD says: You have defied the LORD's message and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. 22 You came back to this place and ate food and drank water where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors." 23 Now after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet saddled his own donkey for him, 24 and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 People came by and saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. 26 When the old prophet heard the report, he said, " It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD's command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him." 27 Then the prophet said to his sons, " Saddle a donkey for me." So they saddled a donkey, 28 and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. 29 So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over him and bury him. 30 He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, " Oh, my brother!" 31 Afterward the prophet said to his sons, " When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will surely come true." 33 But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the rank and file of the people. Anyone who wanted to could become a priest for the pagan shrines. 34 This became a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam's kingdom and the death of all his family.
ACTS 9:26-43
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They thought he was only pretending to be a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus. Barnabas also told them what the Lord had said to Saul and how he boldly preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus. 28 Then the apostles accepted Saul, and after that he was constantly with them in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they plotted to murder him. 30 When the believers heard about it, however, they took him to Caesarea and sent him on to his hometown of Tarsus. 31 The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 32 Peter traveled from place to place to visit the believers, and in his travels he came to the Lord's people in the town of Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. 34 Peter said to him, " Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and make your bed!" And he was healed instantly. 35 Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon turned to the Lord when they saw Aeneas walking around. 36 There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. 37 About this time she became ill and died. Her friends prepared her for burial and laid her in an upstairs room. 38 But they had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, " Please come as soon as possible!" 39 So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other garments Dorcas had made for them. 40 But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, " Get up, Tabitha." And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he showed them that she was alive.42 The news raced through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a leatherworker.
PSALM 132:1-18
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 LORD, remember David
and all that he suffered.
2 He took an oath before the LORD.
He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel,
3 " I will not go home;
I will not let myself rest.
4 I will not let my eyes sleep
nor close my eyelids in slumber
5 until I find a place to build a house for the LORD,
a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel."
6 We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah;
then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
7 Let us go to the dwelling place of the LORD;
let us bow low before him.
8 Arise, O LORD, and enter your sanctuary,
along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
9 Your priests will be agents of salvation;
may your loyal servants sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject the king you chose for your people.
11 The LORD swore to David
a promise he will never take back:
" I will place one of your descendants on your throne.
12 If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant
and follow the decrees that I teach them,
then your royal line will never end."
13 For the LORD has chosen Jerusalem;
he has desired it as his home.
14 " This is my home where I will live forever," he said.
" I will live here, for this is the place I desired.
15 I will make this city prosperous
and satisfy its poor with food.
16 I will make its priests the agents of salvation;
its godly people will sing for joy.
17 Here I will increase the power of David;
my anointed one will be a light for my people.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but he will be a glorious king."
PROVERBS 17:6
Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.
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