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20 When all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and summoned him to an assembly. They made him king over all of Israel. No one followed the house of David except for the tribe of Judah.
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled the entire house of Judah along with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand fighting men to battle against the house of Israel and to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all of the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You are not to go up or fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Let each man return home, for this thing is from me.’ ” They obeyed the word of the Lord, and they turned around and left, as the Lord had instructed.
25 Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and he dwelt there. He went out from there and built Penuel.
26 Jeroboam’s Idolatry. Jeroboam said to himself, “The kingdom is going to return to the house of David. 27 If this people goes up to sacrifice in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam, the king of Judah. They will kill me and they will return to Rehoboam, the king of Judah.”
28 The king sought counsel, and so he made two golden calves.[a] He said to them, “It is too difficult for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold, your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 He placed one in Bethel, and he placed the other in Dan.[b] 30 This thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before one of them, even to Dan.
31 He built shrines upon the high places, and he appointed priests from the lowliest of people who were not Levites.
32 He established a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the one that was celebrated in Judah, and he offered sacrifices upon the altar. He did this in Bethel, offering sacrifices to the calves that he had made. In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places that he had made.
33 And so he established a festival for the Israelites on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a date of his own choosing, and he offered up a sacrifice on the altar he had built in Bethel. He offered up a sacrifice and burned incense on the altar.
Chapter 13
Prophetic Disobedience. 1 A man of God came from Judah and went to Bethel, led by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar offering incense. 2 He cried out the word of the Lord against the altar saying, “O altar, O altar, thus says the Lord, ‘A son will be born to the house of David by the name of Josiah. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now burn incense upon you. Human bones will be burnt upon you.’ ”[c]
3 That same day he gave a sign saying, “This is a sign of what the Lord has proclaimed: The altar will be split in two and the ashes on it will be poured out.”
4 When the king heard the man of God speaking against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar proclaiming, “Seize him!” The hand that he stretched out toward him shriveled up, and he could not pull it back again. 5 The altar split apart and its ashes spilt out from the altar, fulfilling the sign that the man of God had proclaimed through the word of the Lord.
6 The king said to the man of God, “Intercede now to the Lord, your God, and pray for me so that my hand might be made well.” The man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was made well, just like it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home 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 were to give me half of what belongs to you, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.” 9 I received a command by the word of the Lord, “Do not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.” 10 He returned by another way, and did not go back by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11 Fate of a Disobedient Prophet.[d] Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel whose sons came and told him all about the things that the man of God had done in Bethel that day. 12 They also told their father what he had said to the king. Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” His sons showed him the way on which the man of God from Judah had gone. 13 He said to his sons, “Saddle up the donkey for me.” They saddled up the donkey, and he rode on it.
14 He rode after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree and said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He answered, “I am.” 15 So he said to him, “Come home and eat with me.” 16 He answered, “I cannot return nor can I go with you. I cannot eat bread with you nor drink water with you in that place. 17 The word of the Lord told me, ‘Do not eat bread nor drink water there. Do not return by the way which you came.’ ”
18 He said, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke the word of the Lord to me, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house so that he can eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he was lying.
19 The man of God returned with him and he ate bread and drank water in his house. 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you defied the mouth of the Lord and have not observed the command that the Lord, your God, commanded you, 22 but you came back and ate bread and drank water in the place that I told you not to eat bread nor drink water, therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.’ ”
23 When he had finished eating bread and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey up for him. 24 On the way, a lion came upon him and killed him, and his body was thrown down upon the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing alongside of him.
25 Some of those who were passing by on the road saw his body tossed down there, and there was a lion standing by the body. They came and reported it in the city where the old prophet was living. 26 When the prophet who had brought him back while he was on his way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord. The Lord has delivered him over to the lion who tore him to pieces and killed him, just as the word of the Lord had declared to him.”
27 The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle up the donkey for me,” and they saddled it up. 28 They went out and found the body that had been thrown down along the way, and the donkey and the lion were standing alongside of it. The lion had not eaten the body nor had it attacked the donkey. 29 The prophet picked up the body of the man of God and put it upon the donkey. He brought it back to the old prophet’s city to mourn for him and bury him. 30 Then he laid the body in his own grave. They mourned over him saying, “Oh, my brother!”
31 After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones alongside of his. 32 The thing that he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all of the shrines on the high places throughout the cities of Samaria will certainly be fulfilled.”
33 Even after this, though, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil ways. Once again he appointed priests for the high places from the lowliest of people. He consecrated as priests for the high places anyone who wanted to be consecrated. 34 This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam[e] that caused it to be cut off and wiped out from the face of the earth.
26 Saul in Jerusalem and Tarsus. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him because they did not believe that he had become a disciple. 27 However, Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He related to them how on his journey Saul had seen the Lord who had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
28 Saul then moved about with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He also engaged in debate with the Hellenists[a] but they began planning to kill him. 30 When the brethren learned of this, they brought him to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.[b]
31 Period of Peace for the Church.[c]Meanwhile, the Church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, building up strength and living in the fear of the Lord. Encouraged by the Holy Spirit,[d] the Church grew in numbers.
32 Peter Heals Aeneas at Lydda. As Peter traveled throughout the region, he went down to visit the saints living in Lydda.[e] 33 While there, he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.” He immediately stood up. 35 All the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 Peter Restores Tabitha to Life. In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, whose life was devoted to performing good works and giving to those in need. 37 In those days, she became ill and died. After they had washed her body, they laid her out in an upper room.[f] 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, on hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”
39 Peter immediately set out with them, and when he arrived, they escorted him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
40 Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and the widows, and he showed her to them alive. 42 It came to be known throughout Joppa, causing many to come to believe in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on for many days in Joppa at the house of a tanner[g] named Simon.
Psalm 132[a]
The Divine Promises Made to David
1 A song of ascents.
Remember, O Lord, for David’s sake,
all the difficulties he endured.[b]
2 [c]He swore an oath to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter the house I live in
or lie down on the bed where I sleep,
4 neither will I allow myself to fall asleep
or even to close my eyes,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we came upon it[d] in the fields of Jaar.
7 [e]Let us enter his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, and go up to your resting place,
you and the Ark of your might.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,[f]
and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[g]
11 The Lord swore this oath[h] to David,
an oath that he will not renounce:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes that I will teach them,
their sons will also rule
on your throne from age to age.”[i]
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has designated it for his home:
14 “This will be my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for such is my wish.
15 [j]“I will bless it with abundant provisions
and satisfy its poor with their fill of bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its saints will shout for joy.
17 “There I will raise up a horn for David[k]
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on his head there will be a resplendent crown.”[l]
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their parents.
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