Old/New Testament

Israel and Rehoboam

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem. For all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² Now Jeroboam the son of Nebat was still in Egypt where he had run away from King Solomon. When Jeroboam heard the news, he returned from Egypt. ³ They sent for him. Then Jeroboam and all the people of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ⁴ “Your father made our load heavy. Take away some of the hard work and heavy load your father put on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ Rehoboam said to them, “Leave for three days. Then return to me.” So the people left.

⁶ King Rehoboam spoke with the leaders who had worked for his father Solomon while he was still alive. He asked them, “What answer do you think I should give to these people?” ⁷ They said to him, “Help these people today. Serve them. Answer them with good words. If you do, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But Rehoboam turned away from the wise words the leaders gave him. Instead he spoke with the young men who grew up with him and stood by him. ⁹ He said to them, “What answer do you say we should give to these people who have said to me, ‘Take away some of the heavy load your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ The young men who grew up with him said, “This is what you should say to these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our load heavy. Now you take some of the load from us.’ You should say to them, ‘My little finger is bigger around than my father’s body! ¹¹ My father gave you a heavy load. I will add to your load. My father punished you with whips. But I will punish you with scorpions.’”

¹² Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had told them, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ And the king was hard in his answer to them. For he turned away from the wise words the leaders had given him. ¹⁴ He spoke to them as he had been told by the young men. He said, “My father made your load heavy. I will add to your load. My father punished you with whips. But I will punish you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people. The Lord had let this happen, that He might keep His Word, which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ All Israel saw that the king did not listen to them. So they said to the king, “What share do we have in David? We have no share in the son of Jesse! To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!” So Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But as for the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam ruled over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who ruled over those who were made to work, and all Israel killed him with stones. So King Rehoboam got on his war-wagon in a hurry to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel turned against the family of David to this day. ²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him to meet with the people and made him king of all Israel. Only the family of Judah followed the family of David.

²¹ When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered all the family of Judah and the family of Benjamin. He gathered together 180,000 chosen men of war to fight against the family of Israel and return the nation to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the Word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam king of Judah, and to all the family of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people. Tell them, ²⁴ ’This is what the Lord says. “You must not go up and fight against your brothers the sons of Israel. Every man return to his house. For I have let this thing happen.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned, as the Lord told them.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. ²⁶ Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the nation will return to the family of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to give gifts in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then their hearts will turn to their lord Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and follow Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king asked the leaders what he should do. And he made two calves of gold. Then he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ He put one in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became a sin. For the people went to worship in front of them, even as far as Dan. ³¹ Jeroboam made houses on high places. He made religious leaders from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

Worship of Calves at Bethel

³² He made a special supper on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the special supper which is in Judah. And he gave gifts on the altar. He did the same in Bethel, giving gifts to the calves he had made. And he placed in Bethel the religious leaders of the high places he had made. ³³ Then he went up to the altar he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day he chose in his own heart. He made a special supper for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn special perfume.

The Man of God from Judah

13 A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn special perfume. ² The man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says. ‘See, a son will be born to the family of David. His name will be Josiah. On you he will burn the religious leaders of the high places who burn special perfume on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ He gave a special thing to be seen the same day. He said, “This is what the Lord says will be seen. ‘See, the altar will be broken in two. And the ashes on it will be poured out.’” ⁴ When King Jeroboam heard the words the man of God cried against the altar in Bethel, he put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Take hold of him!” But his hand which he put out against him dried up. So he could not pull it back to himself. ⁵ The altar was broken in two and the ashes were poured out. It was the special thing to see that happened just as the man of God said it would by the word of the Lord. ⁶ The king said to the man of God, “I beg you, ask for the favor of the Lord your God. Pray for me, that my hand may be made well again.” So the man of God asked for the Lord’s favor. And the king’s hand was made well again. It became as it was before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and have something to eat to make yourself strong again. And I will pay you.” ⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “I would not go with you if you were to give me half your house. I would not eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For the word of the Lord said to me, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he went another way. He did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

The Death of the Man of God

¹¹ Now an old man who spoke for God was living in Bethel. His sons came and told him all the things which the man of God had done that day in Bethel. And they told their father the words which the man had spoken to the king. ¹² Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Get the donkey ready for me.” So they got the donkey ready for him, and he went away on it. ¹⁴ He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” ¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” ¹⁶ And he said, “I cannot return with you or go with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For I was told by the word of the Lord, ‘Do not eat bread or drink water there. Do not return by the way you came.’” ¹⁸ And he said to him, “I am a man who speaks for God like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he returned with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

²⁰ As they were sitting down at the table, the word of the Lord came to the man who spoke for God who had brought him back. ²¹ And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have not obeyed the word of the Lord. You have not done what the Lord your God told you to do. ²² You have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water.” So now your body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” ²³ And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he got the donkey ready for the man of God whom he had brought back. ²⁴ When he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it. The lion stood beside the body also. ²⁵ Then men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body. So they came and told about it in the city where the old man who spoke for God lived.

²⁶ When the man who spoke for God who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God. He did not obey the word of the Lord. So the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him. It was done as had been spoken to him by the word of the Lord.” ²⁷ Then he said to his sons, “Get the donkey ready for me.” And they got it ready. ²⁸ Then he went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. ²⁹ So the man who spoke for God picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey, and returned with it to the city. He had sorrow for him and buried him. ³⁰ He laid his body in his own grave, and they had sorrow for him, saying, “O, my brother!” ³¹ After he had 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 beside his bones. ³² For what he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria will happen for sure.”

Jeroboam’s Sinful Way

³³ After this, Jeroboam did not return from his sinful way. Again he made religious leaders of the high places from among all the people. He set apart any of them who were willing to be religious leaders of the high places. ³⁴ This became the sin of the family of Jeroboam, that caused it to be cut off and destroyed from the earth.

They Look for a Way to Put Jesus to Death ^(A)

22 The time for the supper of bread without yeast was near. It was the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. ² The religious leaders and the teachers of the Law looked for a way to kill Jesus. But they were afraid of the people.

³ Then Satan came into the heart of Judas who was called Iscariot. He was one of the twelve followers. ⁴ Judas went away and talked with the religious leaders and the leaders of the people. He talked about how he might hand Jesus over to them. ⁵ They were glad and promised to pay him money. ⁶ Judas promised to do this and then looked for a way to hand Jesus over when there were no people around.

Getting Ready for the Special Supper ^(B)

⁷ The day of bread without yeast came. It was the day when the lamb had to be killed and given on the altar in worship in the house of God. It was the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John and said, “Go and get this special supper ready for us that we may eat.” ⁹ They said to Him, “Where do You want us to get it ready?” ¹⁰ He answered, “See, when you go into the city, you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house where he goes. ¹¹ Say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks you, “Where is the room you keep for friends where I may eat this special supper with My followers?”’ ¹² He will take you to a large room on the second floor with everything in it. Make it ready for us.”

¹³ They went and found everything as Jesus had said. They got ready for the special supper.

The First Lord’s Supper ^(C)

¹⁴ When the time came, Jesus sat down with the twelve followers. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have wanted very much to eat this special supper with you to remember how the Jews left Egypt. I have wanted to eat this with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ I say to you, I will not eat this special supper again until its true meaning is completed in the holy nation of God.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus took the cup and gave thanks. He said, “Take this and pass it to each one. ¹⁸ I say to you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the holy nation of God comes.”

¹⁹ Then Jesus took bread and gave thanks and broke it in pieces. He gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after they had finished the bread, He took the cup. He said, “This cup is My blood of the New Way of Worship which is given for you.

Jesus Tells of the One Who Will Hand Him Over

²¹ “See, the hand of the one who will give Me over to the leaders of the country is on the table with Me. ²² The Son of Man will be taken this way because it has been in God’s plan. But it is bad for that man who hands Him over!” ²³ They began to ask each other which of them would do this.

Arguing about Who Is the Greatest

²⁴ They started to argue among themselves about who was thought to be the greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the nations show their power to the people. Those who have power over the people are given names of honor. ²⁶ But you will not be like that. Let the greatest among you be as the least. Let the leader be as the one who cares for others. ²⁷ Who is greater, the one who is eating at the table, or the one who is caring for him? Is it not the one who is eating at the table? But I am here with you as One Who cares for you.

The Followers Will Be Honored

²⁸ “You have stayed with Me through all the hard things that have come to Me. ²⁹ As My Father has given Me a holy nation, I will give you the right ³⁰ to eat and drink at My table in My holy nation. You will sit on thrones and judge the twelve family groups of the Jewish nation.”