The Daily Audio Bible
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God’s Judgment on Jeroboam
14 At that time, Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. 2 So Jeroboam told his wife, “Go and disguise yourself so that you will not be recognized as Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh. That is where the prophet Ahijah is. He is the one who told me that I would become king over this people. 3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some baked goods, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
4 So Jeroboam’s wife did as she was told. She went to Shiloh and came to Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah was no longer able to see due to old age. His eyes stared straight ahead.[a]
5 The Lord had told Ahijah, “Be ready! Jeroboam’s wife is coming to inquire from you about her son because he is seriously ill. When she comes, you will say this and this to her. But when she comes, she will be disguised.”
6 When Ahijah heard her footsteps as she came to the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? I am a messenger with bad news for you. 7 Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.”
The Lord’s Message for Jeroboam
I raised you up from among the people, and I appointed you leader over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom from the house of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart by doing only what was right in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil than all those who came before you, and you have made for yourself other gods and images of cast metal, provoking me to anger. You threw me behind your back.
10 Therefore, listen to this! I myself will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will exterminate everyone in Israel connected to Jeroboam, all those who urinate against the wall,[b] both bound and free.[c] I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as completely as manure is burned. 11 The dogs will eat those who belong to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will eat those who die in the country, because the Lord has spoken.
12 As for you, go home. As soon as your feet enter the city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him, and they will bury him. Indeed, from those who belong to Jeroboam he alone will be buried in a tomb, because in the house of Jeroboam some good is found in him before the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Then the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day. Indeed, it begins right now.[d]
15 The Lord will strike Israel until it sways like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and he will scatter them beyond the River,[e] because they made their Asherah poles, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 Yes, he will give Israel up because of the sins which Jeroboam himself committed and which he caused Israel to commit.
17 So Jeroboam’s wife got up, set out, and traveled to Tirzah. When she crossed the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
19 As for the rest of Jeroboam’s acts, the wars he fought and the way he ruled, you can find them written in the annals[f] of the kings of Israel. 20 Jeroboam was king for twenty-two years. He rested with his fathers. Then his son Nadab became king in his place.
Rehoboam’s Reign
21 Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there. The name of Rehoboam’s mother was Na’amah the Ammonite.
22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and they provoked him to anger more than all their fathers had done with the sins that they committed. 23 They built for themselves high places, sacred memorial stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every leafy tree. 24 There were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They practiced all the abominations of the nations which the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them, and he entrusted them to the captains of the guard who were keeping watch at the entrance of the king’s palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the House of the Lord, the guards would carry the shields. Then the guards would return them to the armory.
29 As for the rest of Rehoboam’s acts and everything he did, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. The name of his mother was Na’amah the Ammonite. Then his son Abijam became king in his place.
Abijam (Abijah) Son of Rehoboam, King of Judah
15 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam[g] became king over Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Ma’akah, granddaughter of Abishalom.[h] 3 He walked in all the sins which his father had practiced before him, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord as the heart of his grandfather David had been. 4 But for the sake of David, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up his son after him and by making Jerusalem strong. 5 He did this because David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and he did not turn from all that the Lord commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
6 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 As for the rest of Abijam’s acts and everything he did, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 Abijam rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then his son Asa became king in his place.
Asa Son of Abijam, King of Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa king of Judah became king. 10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s[i] name was Ma’akah granddaughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as his father David had done. 12 He drove the male shrine prostitutes out of the land, and he removed all the filthy idols which his fathers had made. 13 In addition, he also removed his grandmother Ma’akah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his days. 15 He brought silver and gold and vessels and utensils into the House of the Lord as dedicated offerings for himself and his father.
16 There was war between Asa and Ba’asha king of Israel throughout all their days. 17 Ba’asha king of Israel attacked Judah, and he fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 So Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the House of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he gave them to his officials. Then King Asa sent them to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was living in Damascus. 19 He said, “There should be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Come, break your treaty with Ba’asha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
20 Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his army against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Ma’akah, and all of Kinneret, as well as all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Ba’asha heard about this, he stopped fortifying Ramah, and he stayed in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa summoned all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timber with which Ba’asha had been building, and King Asa used them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.
(2 Chronicles 16:11–17:1)
23 As for all the rest of Asa’s acts and all his mighty deeds and everything else he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah? But in his old age his feet became diseased. 24 Asa rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then his son Jehoshaphat became king in his place.
Cornelius Sees a Vision
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. 2 He was devout and God-fearing, as was his entire family. He gave generous gifts to the poor and always prayed to God.
3 One day at about the ninth hour,[a] he clearly saw a vision in which an angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror and replied, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel told him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have gone up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 He is staying as a guest with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who was one of his personal attendants. 8 After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter Sees a Vision
9 The next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray at about the sixth hour.[b] 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and an object coming down. It was like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.[c] 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[d] of the earth and birds of the sky.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 Yet the voice came to him a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.”
16 This happened three times, and then the object was immediately taken up to heaven.[e]
17 While Peter was inwardly perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, just then the men who were sent by Cornelius arrived. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there as a guest.
19 While Peter was still deep in thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “See, three men are looking for you! 20 Now get up, go downstairs, and don’t hesitate to go with them, because I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They replied, “Cornelius the centurion is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is highly respected by the whole Jewish nation. He was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to listen to what you have to say.” 23 So Peter invited them in and received them as guests.
Peter Goes to the Home of Cornelius
The next day, Peter got ready and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him.
Psalm 133
Pleasant Unity
Heading
A song of the ascents. By David.
Pleasant Unity
1 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew from Hermon
running down on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord commands this blessing: life to eternity.
Introduction to Fools and Foolishness:
The Consequences of Being a Fool
7 Eloquent lips are[a] not fitting for a fool.
How much less lying lips for a ruler!
8 A bribe works like a charm for the person who gives it.
Wherever he turns, he prospers.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.