Jehoram Becomes King over Judah

21 Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jehoram^[a] became king in his place.^{(A) 2} He had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.^{[b] 3} Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities^(B) in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. ⁴ When Jehoram had established himself over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.

Judah’s King Jehoram

⁵ Jehoram^(C) was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done,^(D) for Ahab’s daughter was his wife.^(E) He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, ⁷ but for the sake of the covenant the Lord had made with David, he was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the Lord had promised^(F) to give a lamp^[c](G) to David and to his sons forever.

⁸ During Jehoram’s reign, Edom rebelled against Judah’s control and appointed their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram crossed into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders. ¹⁰ And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his control because he had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ Jehoram also built high places^(H) in the hills^[d] of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves,^(I) and he led Judah astray.

Elijah’s Letter to Jehoram

¹² Then a letter came to Jehoram from the prophet Elijah, saying:

This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat^(J) or in the ways of King Asa of Judah^{(K) 13} but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel,^(L) have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab^(M) prostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers,^(N) your father’s family, who were better than you, ¹⁴ the Lord is now about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a horrible affliction. ¹⁵ You yourself will be struck with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.”^(O)

Jehoram’s Last Days

¹⁶ The Lord roused the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs^(P) who lived near the Cushites to attack Jehoram.^{(Q) 17} So they went to war against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all the possessions found in the king’s palace and also his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz,^[e](R) his youngest son.

¹⁸ After all these things, the Lord afflicted him in his intestines with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe^[f] illnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his predecessors.^(S)

²⁰ Jehoram^(T) was thirty-two years old when he became king; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He died to no one’s regret^[g](U) and was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings.^(V)

Judah’s King Ahaziah

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs^(W) to the camp had killed all the older sons.^[h] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. ² Ahaziah^(X) was twenty-two^[i] years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter^[j] of Omri.

³ He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother gave him evil advice. ⁴ So he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight like the house of Ahab, for they were his advisers after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵ He also followed their advice and went with Joram^[k] son of Israel’s King Ahab to fight against King Hazael of Aram, in Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans^[l] wounded Joram, ⁶ so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead^[m] when he fought against King Hazael of Aram. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah^[n] son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

⁷ Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to Joram.^(Y) When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi,^(Z) whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.^{(AA) 8} So when Jehu executed judgment on the house of Ahab,^(AB) he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them. ⁹ Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah,^(AC) and Jehu’s soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). So they brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and they killed him. The soldiers buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart.”^(AD) So no one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Usurps the Throne

¹⁰ When^(AE) Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs^[o] of the house of Judah. ¹¹ Jehoshabeath,^[p] the king’s daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king’s sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of the priest Jehoiada. Since she was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. ¹² He was hiding with them in God’s temple for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Stephen’s Sermon

7 “Are these things true?” the high priest asked.

² “Brothers and fathers,” he replied, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,^{(A) 3} and said to him: Leave your country and relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.^[a](B)

⁴ “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land in which you are now living.^{(C) 5} He didn’t give him an inheritance in it—not even a foot of ground—but he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him,^(D) even though he was childless. ⁶ God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them for four hundred years. ⁷ I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship me in this place.^{[b](E) 8} And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised^(F) him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.^(G)

The Patriarchs in Egypt

⁹ “The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him^{(H) 10} and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household.^{(I) 11} Now a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan,^(J) and our ancestors could find no food. ¹² When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time. ¹³ The second time, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people in all,^{(K) 15} and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there,^{(L) 16} were carried back to Shechem, and were placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.^(M)

Moses, a Rejected Savior

¹⁷ “As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt^{(N) 18} until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt.^[c]