June 14 Reading through the Bible!

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.

June 13 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 11:1-12:19
ACTS 9:1-25
PSALM 131:1-3
PROVERBS 17:4-5

1 KINGS 11:1-12:19
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The LORD had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3 He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And sure enough, they led his heart away from the LORD. 4 In Solomon's old age, they turned his heart to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the LORD his God, as his father, David, had done. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 Thus, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD's sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done. 7 On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. 9 The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD's command. 11 So now the LORD said to him, " Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my laws, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. 13 And even so, I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city." 14 Then the LORD raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom's royal family, to be an enemy against Solomon. 15 Years before, David had gone to Edom with Joab, his army commander, to bury some Israelites who had died in battle. While there, the Israelite army had killed nearly every male in Edom. 16 Joab and the army had stayed there for six months, killing them. 17 But Hadad and a few of his father's royal officials had fled. (Hadad was a very small child at the time.) 18 They escaped from Midian and went to Paran, where others joined them. Then they traveled to Egypt and went to Pharaoh, who gave them a home, food, and some land. 19 Pharaoh grew very fond of Hadad, and he gave him a wife--the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 She bore him a son, Genubath, who was brought up in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's own sons. 21 When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David and his commander Joab were both dead, he said to Pharaoh, " Let me return to my own country." 22 " Why?" Pharaoh asked him. " What do you lack here? How have we disappointed you that you want to go home?" " Nothing is wrong," he replied. " But even so, I must return home." 23 God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada to be an enemy against Solomon. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, 24 and had become the leader of a gang of rebels. After David conquered Hadadezer, Rezon and his men fled to Damascus, where he became king. 25 Rezon was Israel's bitter enemy for the rest of Solomon's reign, and he made trouble, just as Hadad did. Rezon hated Israel intensely and continued to reign in Aram. 26 Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's own officials. He came from the city of Zeredah in Ephraim, and his mother was Zeruah, a widow. 27 This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the Millo and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David. 28 Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. 29 One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him on the road, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field, 30 and Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, " Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ` I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you! 32 But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my laws and regulations as his father, David, did. 34 " ` But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and laws, I will let Solomon reign for the rest of his life. 35 But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. 36 His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name. 37 And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. 38 If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my laws and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 But I will punish the descendants of David because of Solomon's sin--though not forever.' " 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died. 41 The rest of the events in Solomon's reign, including his wisdom, are recorded in The Book of the Acts of Solomon. 42 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 43 When Solomon died, he was buried in the city of his father, David. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.12:1 REHOBOAM went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of Solomon's death, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. 3 The leaders of Israel sent for Jeroboam, and the whole assembly of Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. 4 " Your father was a hard master," they said. " Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects." 5 Rehoboam replied, " Give me three days to think this over. Then come back for my answer." So the people went away. 6 Then King Rehoboam went to discuss the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. " What is your advice?" he asked. " How should I answer these people?" 7 The older counselors replied, " If you are willing to serve the people today and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects." 8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and who were now his advisers. 9 " What is your advice?" he asked them. " How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?" 10 The young men replied, " This is what you should tell those complainers: ` My little finger is thicker than my father's waist--if you think he was hard on you, just wait and see what I'll be like! 11 Yes, my father was harsh on you, but I'll be even harsher! My father used whips on you, but I'll use scorpions!' " 12 Three days later, Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam's decision, just as the king had requested. 13 But Rehoboam spoke harshly to them, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors 14 and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, " My father was harsh on you, but I'll be even harsher! My father used whips on you, but I'll use scorpions!" 15 So the king paid no attention to the people's demands. This turn of events was the will of the LORD, for it fulfilled the LORD's message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. 16 When all Israel realized that the king had rejected their request, they shouted, " Down with David and his dynasty! We have no share in Jesse's son! Let's go home, Israel! Look out for your own house, O David!" So the people of Israel returned home. 17 But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah. 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of the labor force, to restore order, but all Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. 19 The northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David to this day.

ACTS 9:1-25
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath. He was eager to destroy the Lord's followers, so he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them--both men and women--back to Jerusalem in chains. 3 As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him! 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, " Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" 5 " Who are you, sir?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, " I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7 The men with Saul stood speechless with surprise, for they heard the sound of someone's voice, but they saw no one! 8 As Saul picked himself up off the ground, he found that he was blind. 9 So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days. And all that time he went without food and water.10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, " Ananias!" " Yes, Lord!" he replied.11 The Lord said, " Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you arrive, ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he can see again." 13 " But Lord," exclaimed Ananias, " I've heard about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And we hear that he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest every believer in Damascus."15 But the Lord said, " Go and do what I say. For Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for me." 17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, " Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may get your sight back and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and was strengthened. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. 20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, " He is indeed the Son of God!" 21 All who heard him were amazed. " Isn't this the same man who persecuted Jesus' followers with such devastation in Jerusalem?" they asked. " And we understand that he came here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests."22 Saul's preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. 23 After a while the Jewish leaders decided to kill him. 24 But Saul was told about their plot, and that they were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him. 25 So during the night, some of the other believers let him down in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.

PSALM 131:1-3
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 LORD, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don't concern myself with matters too great
or awesome for me.
2 But I have stilled and quieted myself,
just as a small child is quiet with its mother.
Yes, like a small child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD--
now and always.

PROVERBS 17:4-5
Wrongdoers listen to wicked talk; liars pay attention to destructive words. Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.

June 12 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 9:1-10:29
ACTS 8:14-40
PSALM 130:1-8
PROVERBS 17:2-3

1 KINGS 9:1-10:29
So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. 2 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him, " I have heard your prayer and your request. I have set apart this Temple you have built so that my name will be honored there forever. I will always watch over it and care for it. 4 As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, always obeying my commands and keeping my laws and regulations, 5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ` You will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' 6 " But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey my commands and laws, and if you go and worship other gods, 7 then I will uproot the people of Israel from this land I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have set apart to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 8 And though this Temple is impressive now, it will become an appalling sight for all who pass by. They will scoff and ask, ` Why did the LORD do such terrible things to his land and to his Temple?' 9 And the answer will be, ` Because his people forgot the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters upon them.' " 10 Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, 11 Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre as payment for all the cedar and cypress lumber and gold he had furnished for the construction of the buildings. 12 Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, but he was not at all pleased with them. 13 " What kind of towns are these, my brother?" he asked. " These towns are worthless!" So Hiram called that area Cabul--" worthless"--as it is still known today. 14 Hiram had sent Solomon nine thousand pounds of gold. 15 This is the account of the forced labor that Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (The king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. 17 So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, and Tamar in the desert, within his land. 19 He built towns as supply centers and constructed cities where his chariots and horses could be kept. He built to his heart's content in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout the entire realm. 20 There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 21 These were descendants of the nations that Israel had not completely destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve in the labor force to this day. 22 But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 23 He also appointed 550 of them to supervise the various projects. 24 After Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her, he constructed the Millo. 25 Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD on the altar he had built. He also burned incense to the LORD. And so he finished the work of building the Temple. 26 Later King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea. 27 Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon's men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons of gold.10:1 WHEN the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's reputation, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, huge quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, they talked about everything she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, 5 she was breathless. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD. 6 She exclaimed to the king, " Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! 7 I didn't believe it until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. Truly I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far greater than what I was told. 8 How happy these people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! 9 The LORD your God is great indeed! He delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because the LORD loves Israel with an eternal love, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness." 10 Then she gave the king a gift of nine thousand pounds of gold, and great quantities of spices and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to Solomon. 11 (When Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir, they also brought rich cargoes of almug wood and precious jewels. 12 The king used the almug wood to make railings for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct harps and lyres for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of beautiful almug wood.) 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the other customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants left and returned to their own land. 14 Each year Solomon received about twenty-five tons of gold. 15 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each containing over fifteen pounds of gold. 17 He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each containing nearly four pounds of gold. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Then the king made a huge ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps and a rounded back. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with the figure of a lion standing on each side of the throne. 20 Solomon made twelve other lion figures, one standing on each end of each of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! 21 All of King Solomon's drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day! 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships that sailed with Hiram's fleet. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded down with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king in all the earth. 24 People from every nation came to visit him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. 25 Year after year, everyone who came to visit brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.26 Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed many of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And valuable cedarwood was as common as the sycamore wood that grows in the foothills of Judah. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. 29 At that time, Egyptian chariots delivered to Jerusalem could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver, and horses could be bought for 150 pieces of silver. Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

ACTS 8:14-40
When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people's heads, he offered money to buy this power. 19 " Let me have this power, too," he exclaimed, " so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!"20 But Peter replied, " May your money perish with you for thinking God's gift can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Turn from your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitterness and held captive by sin." 24 " Pray to the Lord for me," Simon exclaimed, " that these terrible things won't happen to me!" 25 After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News to them, too. 26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, " Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he did, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, " Go over and walk along beside the carriage." 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah; so he asked, " Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 The man replied, " How can I, when there is no one to instruct me?" And he begged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. 32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: " He was led as a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."
34 The eunuch asked Philip, " Was Isaiah talking about himself or someone else?" 35 So Philip began with this same Scripture and then used many others to tell him the Good News about Jesus. 36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, " Look! There's some water! Why can't I be baptized?" 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the city of Azotus! He preached the Good News there and in every city along the way until he came to Caesarea.

PSALM 130:1-8
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 From the depths of despair, O LORD,
I call for your help.
2 Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.
3 LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
4 But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.
5 I am counting on the LORD;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.
6 I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD;
for with the LORD there is unfailing love
and an overflowing supply of salvation.
8 He himself will free Israel
from every kind of sin.

PROVERBS 17:2-3
A wise slave will rule over the master's shameful sons and will share their inheritance. Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

June 11 Reading through the Bible!

1 KINGS 8:1-66
ACTS 7:51-8:13
PSALM 129:1-8
PROVERBS 17:1

1 KINGS 8:1-66
Solomon then summoned the leaders of all the tribes and families of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. They were to bring the Ark of the LORD's covenant from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion, to its new place in the Temple. 2 They all assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters in early autumn. 3 When all the leaders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. 4 Then the priests and Levites took the Ark of the LORD, along with the Tabernacle and all its sacred utensils, and carried them up to the Temple. 5 King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen before the Ark in such numbers that no one could keep count! 6 Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD's covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple--the Most Holy Place--and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the front entrance of the Temple's main room--the Holy Place--but not from outside it. They are still there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were leaving the land of Egypt. 10 As the priests came out of the inner sanctuary, a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. 11 The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. 12 Then Solomon prayed, " O LORD, you have said that you would live in thick darkness. 13 But I have built a glorious Temple for you, where you can live forever!" 14 Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: 15 " Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. 16 For he told my father, ` From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among the tribes of Israel as the place where a temple should be built to honor my name. But now I have chosen David to be king over my people.' " 17 Then Solomon said, " My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD told him, ` It is right for you to want to build the Temple to honor my name, 19 but you are not the one to do it. One of your sons will build it instead.' 20 " And now the LORD has done what he promised, for I have become king in my father's place. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt." 22 Then Solomon stood with his hands lifted toward heaven before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. 23 He prayed, " O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven or earth. You keep your promises and show unfailing love to all who obey you and are eager to do your will. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and today you have fulfilled it with your own hands. 25 And now, O LORD, God of Israel, carry out your further promise to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ` If your descendants guard their behavior as you have done, they will always reign over Israel.' 26 Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father. 27 " But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Listen to my prayer and my request, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple both day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. 31 " If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of the altar at this Temple, 32 then hear from heaven and judge between your servants--the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty party and acquit the one who is innocent. 33 " If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and call on your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive their sins and return them to this land you gave their ancestors. 35 " If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and then they pray toward this Temple and confess your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to do what is right, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession. 37 " If there is a famine in the land, or plagues, or crop disease, or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people's enemies are in the land besieging their towns--whatever the trouble is--38 and if your people offer a prayer concerning their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, 39 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people whatever they deserve, for you alone know the human heart. 40 Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. 41 " And when foreigners hear of you and come from distant lands to worship your great name--42 for they will hear of you and of your mighty miracles and your power--and when they pray toward this Temple, 43 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. Then all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built bears your name. 44 " If your people go out at your command to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the LORD toward this city that you have chosen and toward this Temple that I have built for your name, 45 then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. 46 " If they sin against you--and who has never sinned?--you may become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far or near. 47 But in that land of exile, they may turn to you again in repentance and pray, ` We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.' 48 Then if they turn to you with their whole heart and soul and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors, toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 49 then hear their prayers from heaven where you live. Uphold their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you. Make their captors merciful to them, 51 for they are your people--your special possession--whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. 52 " May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. Hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. 53 For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign LORD, you told your servant Moses that you had separated Israel from among all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession."54 When Solomon finished making these prayers and requests to the LORD, he stood up in front of the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. 55 He stood there and shouted this blessing over the entire community of Israel: 56 " Praise the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never forsake us. 58 May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, laws, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may uphold my cause and the cause of his people Israel, fulfilling our daily needs. 60 May people all over the earth know that the LORD is God and that there is no other god. 61 And may you, his people, always be faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey his laws and commands, just as you are doing today." 62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the LORD. 63 Solomon sacrificed peace offerings to the LORD numbering 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. And so the king and all Israel dedicated the Temple of the LORD. 64 That same day the king dedicated the central area of the courtyard in front of the LORD's Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the LORD's presence was too small to handle so many offerings.65 Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters in the presence of the LORD their God. A large crowd had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north to the brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all--seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters. 66 After the festival was over, Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king as they went, and they were all joyful and happy because the LORD had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel.

ACTS 7:51-8:13
" You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One--the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God's law, though you received it from the hands of angels." 54 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists in rage. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. 56 And he told them, " Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!" 57 Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 And he fell to his knees, shouting, " Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" And with that, he died.8:1 SAUL was one of the official witnesses at the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and all the believers except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some godly men came and buried Stephen with loud weeping.) 3 Saul was going everywhere to devastate the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into jail. 4 But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus. 5 Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the miracles he did. 7 Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. 9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, claiming to be someone great. 10 The Samaritan people, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as " the Great One--the Power of God." 11 He was very influential because of the magic he performed. 12 But now the people believed Philip's message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the great miracles and signs Philip performed.

PSALM 129:1-8
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me--
let Israel now say--
2 from my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,
but they have never been able to finish me off.
3 My back is covered with cuts,
as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4 But the LORD is good;
he has cut the cords used by the ungodly to bind me.
5 May all who hate Jerusalem
be turned back in shameful defeat.
6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,
turning yellow when only half grown,
7 ignored by the harvester,
despised by the binder.
8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing:
" The LORD's blessings be upon you;
we bless you in the LORD's name."

PROVERBS 17:1
A dry crust eaten in peace is better than a great feast with strife.

June 10 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 7:1-51
ACTS 7:30-50
PSALM 128:1-6
PROVERBS 16:31-33

1 KINGS 7:1-51
Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction. 2 One of Solomon's buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The great cedar ceiling beams rested on four rows of cedar pillars. 3 It had a cedar roof supported by forty-five rafters that rested on three rows of pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 On each of the side walls there were three rows of windows facing each other. 5 All the doorways were rectangular in frame; they were in sets of three, facing each other. 6 He also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch at its front, covered by a canopy that was supported by pillars. 7 There was also the Hall of the Throne, also known as the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. 8 Solomon's living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall; they were built the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh's daughter, one of his wives. 9 All these buildings were built entirely from huge, costly blocks of stone, cut and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10 Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet long. 11 The costly blocks of stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12 The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams after every three layers of hewn stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the LORD's Temple with its entrance foyer. 13 King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram to come from Tyre, 14 for he was a craftsman skilled in bronze work. He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a foundry worker from Tyre. So he came to work for King Solomon. 15 Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference. 16 For the tops of the pillars he made capitals of molded bronze, each 7 feet tall. 17 Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. 18 He also made two rows of pomegranates that encircled the latticework to decorate the capitals over the pillars. 19 The capitals on the columns inside the foyer were shaped like lilies, and they were 6 feet tall. 20 Each capital on the two pillars had two hundred pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. 21 Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz. 22 The capitals on the pillars were shaped like lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished. 23 Then Huram cast a large round tank, 15 feet across from rim to rim; it was called the Sea. It was 7 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference. 24 The Sea was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they had been cast as part of the tank. 25 The Sea rested on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. 26 The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons of water. 27 Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 feet tall. 28 They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. 29 Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. 30 Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. At each corner of the carts were supporting posts for the bronze basins; these supports were decorated with carvings of wreaths on each side. 31 The top of each cart had a circular frame for the basin. It projected 1 feet above the cart's top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 feet across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 feet in diameter 33 and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze. 34 There were supports at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. 35 Around the top of each cart there was a rim 9 inches wide. The supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. 36 Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. 37 All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold. 38 Huram also made ten bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water. 39 He arranged five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of the Temple. 40 He also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins. So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the LORD:41 two pillars, two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars, two networks of chains that decorated the capitals, 42 four hundred pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that were hung around the capitals on top of the pillars), 43 the ten water carts holding the ten basins, 44 the Sea and the twelve oxen under it, 45 the pots, the shovels, and the basins. All these utensils for the Temple of the LORD that Huram made for Solomon were made of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon did not weigh all the utensils because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured. 48 So Solomon made all the furnishings of the Temple of the LORD:the gold altar, the gold table for the Bread of the Presence, 49 the gold lampstands, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place, the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs, all of gold, 50 the cups, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and firepans, all of pure gold, the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold. 51 So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then Solomon brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated--the silver, the gold, and the other utensils--and he stored them in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple.

ACTS 7:30-50
" Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. 31 Moses saw it and wondered what it was. As he went to see, the voice of the Lord called out to him, 32 ` I am the God of your ancestors--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses shook with terror and dared not look. 33 " And the Lord said to him, ` Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 34 You can be sure that I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries. So I have come to rescue them. Now go, for I will send you to Egypt.' 35 And so God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected by demanding, ` Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, Moses was sent to be their ruler and savior. 36 And by means of many miraculous signs and wonders, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and back and forth through the wilderness for forty years. 37 " Moses himself told the people of Israel, ` God will raise up a Prophet like me from among your own people.' 38 Moses was with the assembly of God's people in the wilderness. He was the mediator between the people of Israel and the angel who gave him life-giving words on Mount Sinai to pass on to us. 39 " But our ancestors rejected Moses and wanted to return to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ` Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don't know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.' 41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and rejoiced in this thing they had made. 42 Then God turned away from them and gave them up to serve the sun, moon, and stars as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ` Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices
during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
43 No, your real interest was in your pagan gods--
the shrine of Molech,
the star god Rephan,
and the images you made to worship them.
So I will send you into captivity
far away in Babylon.'
44 " Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed in exact accordance with the plan shown to Moses by God. 45 Years later, when Joshua led the battles against the Gentile nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it was used there until the time of King David. 46 " David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who actually built it. 48 However, the Most High doesn't live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,49 ` Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you ever build me a temple as good as that?'
asks the Lord.
` Could you build a dwelling place for me?
50 Didn't I make everything in heaven and earth?'

PSALM 128:1-6
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 How happy are those who fear the LORD--
all who follow his ways!
2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How happy you will be! How rich your life!
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine,
flourishing within your home.
And look at all those children!
There they sit around your table
as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees.
4 That is the LORD's reward
for those who fear him.
5 May the LORD continually bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
And may Israel have quietness and peace.

PROVERBS 16:31-33
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life. It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city. We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.

June 9 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 5:1-6:38
ACTS 7:1-29
PSALM 127:1-5
PROVERBS 16:28-30

1 KINGS 5:1-6:38
King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David, so when he learned that David's son Solomon was the new king of Israel, Hiram sent ambassadors to congratulate him. 2 Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram: 3 " You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD his God because of the many wars he waged with surrounding nations. He could not build until the LORD gave him victory over all his enemies. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side, and I have no enemies and all is well. 5 So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as he instructed my father that I should do. For the LORD told him, ` Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.' 6 Now please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!"7 When Hiram received Solomon's message, he was very pleased and said, " Praise the LORD for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel." 8 Then he sent this reply to Solomon: " I have received your message, and I will do as you have asked concerning the timber. I can supply you with both cedar and cypress. 9 My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and build them into rafts. We will float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart and deliver the timber to you. You can pay me with food for my household."10 So Hiram produced for Solomon as much cedar and cypress timber as he desired. 11 In return Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons of olive oil. 12 So the LORD gave great wisdom to Solomon just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace. 13 Then King Solomon enlisted 30,000 laborers from all Israel. 14 He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. 15 Solomon also enlisted 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 and 3,600 foremen to supervise the work. 17 At the king's command, the stonecutters quarried and shaped costly blocks of stone for the foundation of the Temple. 18 Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon's and Hiram's builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple. 6:1 IT was in midspring, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign, that he began the construction of the Temple of the LORD. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were delivered from their slavery in the land of Egypt. 2 The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 3 The foyer at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet from the front of the Temple. 4 Solomon also made narrow, recessed windows throughout the Temple. 5 A complex of rooms was built against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. 6 The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.7 The stones used in the construction of the Temple were prefinished at the quarry, so the entire structure was built without the sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site. 8 The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors. 9 After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of beams and planks of cedar. 10 As already stated, there was a complex of rooms on three sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7 feet high.11 Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon: 12 " Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my laws and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13 I will live among the people of Israel and never forsake my people." 14 So Solomon finished building the Temple. 15 The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used cypress for the floors. 16 He partitioned off an inner sanctuary--the Most Holy Place--at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. 17 The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet long. 18 Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers. 19 Solomon prepared the inner sanctuary in the rear of the Temple, where the Ark of the LORD's covenant would be placed. 20 This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Solomon overlaid its walls and ceiling with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. 21 Then he overlaid the rest of the Temple's interior with pure gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. 22 So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place. 23 Within the inner sanctuary Solomon placed two cherubim made of olive wood, each 15 feet tall. 24 The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 feet long. 25 The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; 26 each was 15 feet tall. 27 Solomon placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. 28 He overlaid the two cherubim with gold. 29 All the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 The floor in both rooms was overlaid with gold. 31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon made double doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts. 32 These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and the doors were overlaid with gold. 33 Then he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. 34 There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. 35 These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and the doors were overlaid with gold. 36 The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams after every three layers of hewn stone. 37 The foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid in midspring of the fourth year of Solomon's reign. 38 The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn of the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

ACTS 7:1-29
Then the high priest asked Stephen, " Are these accusations true?" 2 This was Stephen's reply: " Brothers and honorable fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he moved to Haran. 3 God told him, ` Leave your native land and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.' 4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. 5 But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole country would belong to Abraham and his descendants--though he had no children yet. 6 But God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign country where they would be mistreated as slaves for four hundred years. 7 ` But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,' God told him, ` and in the end they will come out and worship me in this place.' 8 God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. And so Isaac, Abraham's son, was circumcised when he was eight days old. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Jewish nation. 9 " These sons of Jacob were very jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him from his anguish. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of all the affairs of the palace. 11 " But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery for our ancestors, as they ran out of food. 12 Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons to buy some. 13 The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did all his sons. 16 All of them were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 " As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. 18 But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. 19 This king plotted against our people and forced parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die. 20 " At that time Moses was born--a beautiful child in God's eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. 21 When at last they had to abandon him, Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him as her own son. 22 Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he became mighty in both speech and action. 23 " One day when he was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. 24 During this visit, he saw an Egyptian mistreating a man of Israel. So Moses came to his defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses assumed his brothers would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn't. 26 " The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ` Men,' he said, ` you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?' 27 " But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside and told him to mind his own business. ` Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' he asked. 28 ` Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?' 29 When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian, where his two sons were born."

PSALM 127:1-5
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds a house,
the work of the builders is useless.
Unless the LORD protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
3 Children are a gift from the LORD;
they are a reward from him.
4 Children born to a young man
are like sharp arrows in a warrior's hands.
5 How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

PROVERBS 16:28-30
A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. Violent people deceive their companions, leading them down a harmful path. With narrowed eyes, they plot evil; without a word, they plan their mischief.

June 8 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 3:3-4:34
ACTS 6:1-15
PSALM 126:1-6
PROVERBS 16:26-27

1 KINGS 3:3-4:34
Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the instructions of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local altars. 4 The most important of these altars was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed one thousand burnt offerings. 5 That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, " What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" 6 Solomon replied, " You were wonderfully kind to my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued this great kindness to him today by giving him a son to succeed him. 7 O LORD my God, now you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn't know his way around. 8 And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great they are too numerous to count! 9 Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased with Solomon's reply and was glad that he had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, " Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people and have not asked for a long life or riches for yourself or the death of your enemies--12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind such as no one else has ever had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for--riches and honor! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life." 15 Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord's covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet. 16 Some time later, two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. 17 " Please, my lord," one of them began, " this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Three days later, she also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. 19 But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. 20 Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. 21 And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't my son at all." 22 Then the other woman interrupted, " It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine." " No," the first woman said, " the dead one is yours, and the living one is mine." And so they argued back and forth before the king. 23 Then the king said, " Let's get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead child belongs to the other. 24 All right, bring me a sword." So a sword was brought to the king. 25 Then he said, " Cut the living child in two and give half to each of these women!" 26 Then the woman who really was the mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, " Oh no, my lord! Give her the child--please do not kill him!" But the other woman said, " All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!" 27 Then the king said, " Do not kill him, but give the baby to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!" 28 Word of the king's decision spread quickly throughout all Israel, and the people were awed as they realized the great wisdom God had given him to render decisions with justice.4:1 SO Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest. 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. 5 Azariah son of Nathan presided over the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king. 6 Ahishar was manager of palace affairs. Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the labor force. 7 Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food from the people for the king's household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8 These are the names of the twelve governors:Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim. 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan. 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher. 11 Ben-abinadab, in Naphoth-dor. (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon's daughters.) 12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam. 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair son of Manasseh) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty great fortified cities with gates barred with bronze. 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim. 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters.) 16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth. 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar. 18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin. 19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan. And there was one governor over the land of Judah. 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21 King Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far south as the border of Egypt. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime. 22 The daily food requirements for Solomon's palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal, 23 ten oxen from the fattening pens, twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl. 24 Solomon's dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace throughout the entire land. 25 Throughout the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan to Beersheba, each family had its own home and garden. 26 Solomon had four thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand horses. 27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court, each during his assigned month. 28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.29 God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge too vast to be measured. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman, Calcol, and Darda--the sons of Mahol. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

ACTS 6:1-15
But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. Those who spoke Greek complained against those who spoke Hebrew, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. " We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program," they said. 3 " Now look around among yourselves, brothers,> and select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this business. 4 Then we can spend our time in prayer and preaching and teaching the word." 5 This idea pleased the whole group, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (a Gentile convert to the Jewish faith, who had now become a Christian). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 God's message was preached in ever-widening circles. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.8 Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them was able to stand against the wisdom and Spirit by which Stephen spoke. 11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, " We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God." 12 Naturally, this roused the crowds, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. 13 The lying witnesses said, " This man is always speaking against the Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 15 At this point everyone in the council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's.

PSALM 126:1-6
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 When the LORD restored his exiles to Jerusalem,
it was like a dream!
2 We were filled with laughter,
and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
" What amazing things the LORD has done for them."
3 Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us!
What joy!
4 Restore our fortunes, LORD,
as streams renew the desert.
5 Those who plant in tears
will harvest with shouts of joy.
6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest.

PROVERBS 16:26-27
It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on. Scoundrels hunt for scandal; their words are a destructive blaze.

June 7 Reading through the Bible

1 KINGS 2:1-3:2
ACTS 5:1-42
PSALM 125:1-5
PROVERBS 16:25

1 KINGS 2:1-3:2
As the time of King David's death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: 2 " I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. 3 Observe the requirements of the LORD your God and follow all his ways. Keep each of the laws, commands, regulations, and stipulations written in the law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4 If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me: ` If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.' 5 " And there is something else. You know that Joab son of Zeruiah murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with the blood of war. 6 Do with him what you think best, but don't let him die in peace. 7 " Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests of the king, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom. 8 " And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurimin Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the LORD that I would not kill him. 9 But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him." 10 Then David died and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 Solomon succeeded him as king, replacing his father, David, and he was firmly established on the throne. 13 One day Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, came to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. " Have you come to make trouble?" she asked him. " No," he said, " I come in peace. 14 In fact, I have a favor to ask of you." " What is it?" she asked. 15 He replied, " As you know, the kingdom was mine; everyone expected me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and everything went to my brother instead; for that is the way the LORD wanted it. 16 So now I have just one favor to ask of you. Please don't turn me down." " What is it?" she asked. 17 He replied, " Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to give me Abishag, the girl from Shunem, as my wife." 18 " All right," Bathsheba replied. " I will speak to the king for you." 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah's behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, he ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand. 20 " I have one small request to make of you," she said. " I hope you won't turn me down." " What is it, my mother?" he asked. " You know I won't refuse you." 21 " Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem," she replied. 22 " How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?" Solomon demanded. " You might as well be asking me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side." 23 Then King Solomon swore solemnly by the LORD: " May God strike me dead if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request. 24 The LORD has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the LORD lives, Adonijah will die this very day!" 25 So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death. 26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, " Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign LORD for my father, and you suffered right along with him through all his troubles." 27 So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the LORD, thereby fulfilling the decree the LORD had made at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli. 28 Although he had not followed Absalom earlier, Joab had also joined Adonijah's revolt. When Joab heard about Adonijah's death, he ran to the sacred tent of the LORD and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29 When news of this reached King Solomon, he sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him. 30 Benaiah went into the sacred tent of the LORD and said to Joab, " The king orders you to come out!" But Joab answered, " No, I will die here." So Benaiah returned to the king and told him what Joab had said. 31 " Do as he said," the king replied. " Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of his senseless murders from me and from my father's family. 32 Then the LORD will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father was no party to the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 May Joab and his descendants be forever guilty of these murders, and may the LORD grant peace to David and his descendants and to his throne forever." 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and Joab was buried at his home in the wilderness. 35 Then the king appointed Benaiah to command the army in place of Joab, and he installed Zadok the priest to take the place of Abiathar. 36 The king then sent for Shimei and told him, " Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don't step outside the city to go anywhere else. 37 On the day you cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; your blood will be on your own head." 38 Shimei replied, " Your sentence is fair; I will do whatever my lord the king commands." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 39 But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves escaped to King Achish of Gath. When Shimei learned where they were, 40 he saddled his donkey and went to Gath to search for them. When he had found them, he took them back to Jerusalem. 41 Solomon heard that Shimei had left Jerusalem and had gone to Gath and returned. 42 So he sent for Shimei and demanded, " Didn't I make you swear by the LORD and warn you not to go anywhere else, or you would surely die? And you replied, ` The sentence is fair; I will do as you say.' 43 Then why haven't you kept your oath to the LORD and obeyed my command?" 44 The king also said to Shimei, " You surely remember all the wicked things you did to my father, King David. May the LORD punish you for them. 45 But may I receive the LORD's rich blessings, and may one of David's descendants always sit on this throne." 46 Then, at the king's command, Benaiah son of Jehoiada took Shimei outside and killed him. So the kingdom was now firmly in Solomon's grip.3:1 SOLOMON made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city. 2 At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local altars, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built.

ACTS 5:1-42
There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception. 3 Then Peter said, " Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us but to God."5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6 Then some young men wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, " Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?" " Yes," she replied, " that was the price." 9 And Peter said, " How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this--conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out, too." 10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what had happened. 12 Meanwhile, the apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon's Colonnade. 13 No one else dared to join them, though everyone had high regard for them. 14 And more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord--crowds of both men and women. 15 As a result of the apostles' work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. 16 Crowds came in from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.17 The high priest and his friends, who were Sadducees, reacted with violent jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the jail. 19 But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, 20 " Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!" 21 So the apostles entered the Temple about daybreak and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council, along with all the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought for trial. 22 But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, 23 " The jail was locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!" 24 When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. 25 Then someone arrived with the news that the men they had jailed were out in the Temple, teaching the people. 26 The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested them, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would kill them if they treated the apostles roughly. 27 Then they brought the apostles in before the council. 28 " Didn't we tell you never again to teach in this man's name?" the high priest demanded. " Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Jesus, and you intend to blame us for his death!" 29 But Peter and the apostles replied, " We must obey God rather than human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by crucifying him. 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this to give the people of Israel an opportunity to turn from their sins and turn to God so their sins would be forgiven. 32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him." 33 At this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them. 34 But one member had a different perspective. He was a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert on religious law and was very popular with the people. He stood up and ordered that the apostles be sent outside the council chamber for a while. 35 Then he addressed his colleagues as follows: " Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! 36 Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About four hundred others joined him, but he was killed, and his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. 37 After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got some people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered. 38 " So my advice is, leave these men alone. If they are teaching and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39 But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God." 40 The council accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. 41 The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. 42 And every day, in the Temple and in their homes, they continued to teach and preach this message: " The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus."

PSALM 125:1-5
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion;
they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
2 Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds and protects his people, both now and forever.
3 The wicked will not rule the godly,
for then the godly might be forced to do wrong.
4 O LORD, do good to those who are good,
whose hearts are in tune with you.
5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O LORD.
Take them away with those who do evil.
And let Israel have quietness and peace.

PROVERBS 16:25
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.