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26 1-3 After Amaziah’s death, the Judahites chose Uzziah, who was 16 years old, as their next king. During his reign he recaptured the port city of Eloth for Judah, bringing economic growth to the nation. Uzziah, son of Amaziah and Jechiliah of Jerusalem, reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. 4 He acted just as his father Amaziah and his grandfather Joash had—following the Eternal initially, then turning away from Him.
5 While Zechariah the seer was alive, Uzziah followed the True God, listening to Zechariah’s messages from God as Joash had listened to Jehoiada’s counsel, and the True God blessed the king in battles, in building, and in wealth as long as he was obedient. 6 He attacked the Philistines and tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. To further weaken their nation, Uzziah built cities around Ashdod, the Philistine capital city, and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 Just as the True God helped him against the Philistines, He gave Uzziah victory over the Arabians in Gur-baal and the Meunites. 8 Then the Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his political strength was infamous all the way to Egypt’s border.
9 In Jerusalem, Uzziah commissioned the building of towers at the corner gate, the valley gate, and in the wall’s corners to further fortify the city. 10 In the wilderness, he commissioned more towers and the digging of cisterns for his many livestock in the lowland and plain. And because he so cared for the land, he employed plowmen in the fertile fields and vinedressers in the hills to make the ground productive.
11 Uzziah maintained a standing army ready for battle with numbered divisions and weapon specialties. Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official (supervised by Hananiah, a royal officer) maintained the records of the divisions. 12 Each division was led by a tribal leader who was also a heroic soldier. The 2,600 heroic soldiers 13 controlled a talented army of 307,500 soldiers who helped the king battle his enemies. 14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and sling stones to the army. 15 In Jerusalem, he positioned catapults to shoot arrows and great stones, a new invention by ingenious men, in the towers and on the corners of the city wall. Because of his impressive army, many of the surrounding nations knew about Uzziah and how God helped him win battles.
16 But when Uzziah had built his army and he no longer thought he needed God’s help in battles, he became prideful and corrupt. He was unfaithful to the Eternal One, his True God, entering the Eternal’s temple to burn incense on the altar.
As the king, not even he has the right to burn incense on the incense altar. Only priests could lawfully do this.
17 Azariah the priest and 80 other brave priests of the Eternal followed the king into the temple to stop him.
Priests: 18 Uzziah, you cannot burn incense to the Eternal. Only the priests, the sons of Aaron, have been consecrated for that action. Leave the temple now. You have sinned and will no longer be blessed by the Eternal One, the True God.
19 Uzziah was furious at the priests for forbidding him, the king, to do something. As he stood next to the incense altar in the Eternal’s temple holding the censer, the king’s forehead erupted with leprosy, an inflamed skin disease. 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests saw how the Eternal struck the king with leprosy on his forehead. As Uzziah rushed for the door, the priests hurried him out because the disease made him ritually unclean and unable to approach the temple. 21 For the rest of his life, King Uzziah was cursed with leprosy, so he was banned from the Eternal’s temple and lived away from society. During his absence, his son Jotham was in charge and judged the Southern Kingdom.
Uzziah’s sin is a desecration of the temple. He is not consecrated, so he cannot burn incense there. By doing so, he makes the temple ritually impure. God responds with an appropriate punishment: Uzziah makes God’s house impure, so He makes Uzziah’s body impure.
22 The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, wrote about the rest of Uzziah’s actions. 23 When Uzziah died, the people with his family buried him near his ancestors in a field that belonged to them. He was not buried in the same tomb as his ancestors because his skin disease made him unclean. Then his son, Jotham, succeeded him as king.
Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah’s reigns are all similar. Each begins by following God and being rewarded with a powerful reign. Then each sins and is punished with national struggles and an unusual death. None are honored with burials among the former kings. These three men exemplify a common theme in Chronicles: you reap what you sow. When they are faithful to God, He is faithful to them. When they abandon God, He destroys them.
27 Jotham, son of Uzziah and Jerushah (daughter of Zadok), was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. 2 He followed the Eternal as his father had at the beginning of his reign, but he did not enter the Eternal’s temple. In spite of his devotion, the people continued in corrupt lifestyles. 3 He built the upper gate of the Eternal’s temple and the large wall of Ophel (the southern hill on the temple mount). 4 He built cities in Judah’s hill country and fortresses and towers in the forests. 5 Jotham conquered the Ammonite king, and the Ammonites gave him 7,500 pounds of silver, 62,000 bushels of wheat, and 10,000 of barley for 3 years. 6 Jotham received all this wealth and power for himself and for the country because he followed the Eternal One, his True God.
7 All the events of Jotham’s reign, including his battles and other actions, are in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 8 He was 25 when he became king and ruled for 16 years.[a] 9 Jotham died, and his bones were gathered and buried along with his ancestors in the city of David, Jerusalem. His son, Ahaz, succeeded him as king.
Jotham is a welcomed relief for Israel. Finally they have a king who is faithful to God and who credits Him with the Southern Kingdom’s prosperity. Unfortunately his righteousness does not make an impression on his son. Ahaz will prove to be one of the worst kings in the history of the Southern Kingdom. Not only does he ignore God’s laws, but he also engages in so many pagan practices that he is like the kings of the Northern Kingdom whom God has abandoned.
28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. But he did not follow the Eternal as his ancestor David had done. 2-4 Instead, he acted like the kings of the Northern Kingdom and worshiped their gods. He polluted all the land with his idolatry, cast idols of the Baals, burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom (Jerusalem’s refuse pit), and sacrificed his own children. Such evil things had not happened throughout the land, on high places, hills, and under trees, since the Eternal conquered the previous inhabitants and gave the land to the Israelites. 5 The Eternal One, his True God, was furious with Ahaz for his apostasy, so He empowered the king of Aram to defeat the Southern Kingdom and take Judean prisoners of war to Damascus, the capital of Aram. But this wasn’t enough to satisfy God’s anger. He also empowered the Northern Kingdom to kill many of the Judeans: 6 Pekah (son of Remaliah) in one day killed 120,000 valiant warriors who had abandoned the Eternal One, the True God of their ancestors; 7 and Zichri (a Ephraimite warrior) killed Maaseiah (Ahaz’s son), Azrikam (leader of the palace), and Elkanah (vice-regent). 8 Then the Northern soldiers took 200,000 Judean women and children and their possessions to Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom.
9 As the Northern army approached Samaria, Oded, a prophet of the Eternal ran out to meet them.
Oded: Do not think that you have won this victory yourselves. In fact, the Eternal One, the True God of your ancestors, was furious with Judah and used you to punish them. But now He is furious with you because your rage was excessive and has reached the heavens, 10 and you intend to make your captives from Judah and Jerusalem into your slaves. You are already guilty of sins against the Eternal, your True God, so why do you want to anger Him even more? 11 Instead of enslaving the Southern captives, return them to their nation and stop infuriating the Eternal.
12 Then some Ephraimite chiefs—Azariah (son of Johanan), Berechiah (son of Meshillemoth), Jehizkiah (son of Shallum), and Amasa (son of Hadlai)—stopped the soldiers.
Ephraimite Chiefs: 13 Stop! Do not bring those prisoners back to our city, for we are all convicted of our guilt. If you do, the Eternal will be more furious with us due to our sins and guilt. There is now a fierce wrath against Israel.
14 The soldiers obeyed. They left the prisoners and the spoils for the chiefs and the assembly to decide what to do. 15 The chiefs dressed the naked prisoners with clothes and shoes from the spoils, fed them, anointed their heads with oil to refresh them after the journey, and returned them to the southern city of Jericho (the city of palm trees) with an envoy of Northerners and the feeble riding on donkeys. Then the Northerners returned to Samaria.
Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remain faithful in the Southern Kingdom while the other tribes forming the Northern Kingdom largely depart from the Eternal. But this exchange between Oded and the Ephraimites shows another side of the Northerners. Oded’s request that they free the Judahites is based on their common heritage. And the chiefs’ obedience to his request shows that they still remember God’s power. Although the Northern Kingdom has strayed far from the Eternal One, they still remember their ancestral brothers in the South.
16-19 The Eternal humbled Judah with continued attacks against them because of Ahaz’s wicked rebellion against Him, which had infected the entire nation. The Edomites attacked Judah and took prisoners; the Philistines invaded the lowland and the Negev, capturing and settling in the cities and surrounding villages of Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo.
King Ahaz asked the Assyrians for help, 20 but Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, recognized an opportunity to expand his empire and attacked Judah instead of helping Ahaz. 21 To save his kingdom from complete destruction by the Assyrian army, Ahaz gave a tribute from his own palace and from the Eternal’s temple to Tilgath-pilneser. But the tribute did not work.
The Assyrians still attack Judah, and Ahaz’s tributes begin generations of Judean subjugation to the Assyrian Empire.
22 During these disasters, King Ahaz did not return to the Eternal. Instead he persisted in his unfaithfulness 23 by sacrificing to the Aramean gods of Damascus, the gods of the first people who had defeated him.
Ahaz: Obviously the gods of the kings of Aram are more powerful than the Judean God. Since they helped the Aramean army, surely they will help me if I sacrifice to them.
But these gods were the downfall of him and all Israel. 24 He destroyed the vessels from the True God’s temple and stopped all worship in the Eternal’s temple. Then he built his own altars throughout Jerusalem 25 and high places throughout Judah to burn incense to false gods. These actions infuriated the Eternal One, the True God of his ancestors.
26 Ahaz’s remaining actions, from his birth until his death, are contained in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz slept with his fathers in Jerusalem, but not in the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son, Hezekiah, succeeded him as king.
13 It is important that all of us submit to the authorities who have charge over us because God establishes all authority in heaven and on the earth. 2 Therefore, a person who rebels against authority rebels against the order He established, and people like that can expect to face certain judgment. 3 You see, if you do the right thing, you have nothing to be worried about from the rulers; but if you do what you know is wrong, the rulers will make sure you pay a price. Would you not rather live with a clear conscience than always have to be looking over your shoulder? Then keep doing what you know to be good and right, and they will publicly honor you.
4 Look at it this way: The ruler is a servant of God called to serve and benefit you. But he is also a servant of God executing wrath upon those who practice evil. If you do what is wrong, then you’d better be afraid because he wields the power of the sword and doesn’t make empty threats.
At the time, Christians are a tiny minority within Judaism, a minor religion in the largest empire the world has ever seen. Minorities are often the subjects of rumors, suspicions, and innuendos. Christians don’t need to add to the problem by developing a reputation as lawbreakers and rebels. So Kingdom citizens are not to dodge taxes or cheat on fees imposed by legitimate governing authorities. They are to show the proper respect for officials in power. Ultimately those who follow the truth of the gospel under the banner of the Anointed One may find themselves at odds with the powers that be. But Paul’s counsel here is not a blanket approval of any and every government that may arise in a broken world.
5 So submission is not optional; it’s required. But don’t just submit for the sake of avoiding punishment; submit and abide by the laws because your conscience leads you to do the right thing. 6 Pay your taxes for the same reason because the authorities are servants of God, giving their full attention to take care of these things. 7 Pay all of them what you owe. If you owe taxes, then pay. If you owe fees, then pay. In the same way, give honor and respect to those who deserve it.
8 Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another—that is a debt which never ends—because the person who loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commands given to you in the Scriptures—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not take what is not yours, do not covet[a]—and any other command you have heard are summarized in God’s instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires.
Believers are not to have any obligation of any kind. Borrowed money and granted favors always come with strings attached. How many lives and families have been ruined by debts and deals made in haste! There is only one obligation Paul allows, and that is love. When we share God’s care and compassion with others, we fulfill His law whether we realize it or not. Fundamentally, God’s law has always been about love.
11 And now consider this. You know well the times you are living in. It is time for you to wake up and see what is right before your eyes: for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn’s light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light. 13 May we all act as good and respectable people, living today the same way as we will in the day of His coming. Do not fall into patterns of dark living: wild partying, drunkenness, sexual depravity, decadent gratification, quarreling, and jealousy. 14 Instead, wrap yourselves in the Lord Jesus, God’s Anointed, and do not fuel your sinful imagination by indulging your self-seeking desire for the pleasures of the flesh.
Psalm 23
A song of David.
Psalm 23 is the best known and most beloved psalm in the collection. Surprisingly, it casts humanity as sheep—stupid, helpless sheep. But the long-lasting appeal of Psalm 23 is a direct result of that casting because the imagery is both soothing and accessible.
When he was a boy, King David was a shepherd watching his father’s flocks in the hills around Bethlehem. In those days, too, it was common to refer to kings in the Near East as shepherds; but not all shepherd-kings cared for their sheep. Though David tried to shepherd his people well, he knew the truth: the Eternal is the true Shepherd.
In John 10:11 Jesus makes a bold claim. He declares that He is the good shepherd. Immediately His disciples detected the resonance of Psalm 23 in His words. Those of us who follow Jesus today come to know Him as that gentle but strong shepherd who guides us through life if we will follow Him.
1 The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
2 He provides me rest in rich, green fields
beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
3 He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.
4 Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness,
I am not overcome by fear.
Because You are with me in those dark moments,
near with Your protection and guidance,
I am comforted.
5 You spread out a table before me,
provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies;
You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil,
filling my cup again and again with Your grace.
6 Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me
where I go, always, everywhere.
I will always be with the Eternal,
in Your house forever.
11 Youth reveal their true natures by their actions
whether they do what is pure and right or not.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.