Through the Bible – Day 117

₁King David was now an old man, and he always felt cold, even under a lot of blankets. ₂His officials said, “Your Majesty, we will look for a young woman to take care of you. She can lie down beside you and keep you warm.” _3-4They looked everywhere in Israel until they found a very beautiful young woman named Abishag, who lived in the town of Shunem. They brought her to David, and she took care of him. But David did not have sex with her.

_5-6Adonijah was the son of David and Haggith. He was Absalom's younger brother and was very handsome. One day, Adonijah started boasting, “I'm going to make myself king!” So he got some chariots and horses, and he hired fifty men as bodyguards. David did not want to hurt his feelings, so he never asked Adonijah why he was doing these things.

₇Adonijah met with Joab the son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest and asked them if they would help him become king. Both of them agreed to help. ₈But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's bodyguards all refused.

₉Adonijah invited his brothers and David's officials from Judah to go with him to Crawling Rock near Rogel Spring, where he sacrificed some sheep, cattle, and fat calves. ₁₀But he did not invite Nathan, Benaiah, David's bodyguards, or his own brother Solomon.

₁₁When Nathan heard what had happened, he asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother:

₁₅Meanwhile, David was in his bedroom where Abishag was taking care of him because he was so old. Bathsheba went in ₁₆and bowed down.

“What can I do for you?” David asked.

₁₇Bathsheba answered:

₂₂Just then, Nathan the prophet arrived. ₂₃Someone told David that he was there, and Nathan came in. He bowed with his face to the ground ₂₄and said:

₂₈David said, “Tell Bathsheba to come here.” She came and stood in front of him. _29-30Then he said, “The living LORD God of Israel has kept me safe. And so today, I will keep the promise I made to you in his name: Solomon will be the next king!”

₃₁Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Your Majesty, I pray that you will live a long time!”

₃₂Then David said, “Tell Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah to come here.”

When they arrived, ₃₃he told them:

₃₆Benaiah answered, “We will do it, Your Majesty. I pray that the LORD your God will let it happen. ₃₇The LORD has always watched over you, and I pray that he will now watch over Solomon. May the LORD help Solomon to be an even greater king than you.”

₃₈Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah left and took along the two groups of David's special bodyguards. Solomon rode on David's mule as they led him to Gihon Spring. ₃₉Zadok the priest brought some olive oil from the sacred tent and poured it on Solomon's head to show that he was now king. A trumpet was blown and everyone shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” ₄₀Then they played flutes and celebrated as they followed Solomon back to Jerusalem. They made so much noise that the ground shook.

₄₁Adonijah and his guests had almost finished eating when they heard the noise. Joab also heard the trumpet and asked, “What's all that noise about in the city?”

₄₂Just then, Jonathan son of Abiathar came running up. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “An important man like you must have some good news.”

₄₃Jonathan answered:

₄₉Adonijah's guests shook with fear when they heard this news, and they left as fast as they could. ₅₀Adonijah himself was afraid of what Solomon might do to him, so he ran to the sacred tent and grabbed hold of the corners of the altar for protection.

₅₁Someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you and is holding on to the corners of the altar. He wants you to promise that you won't kill him.”

₅₂Solomon answered, “If Adonijah doesn't cause any trouble, I won't hurt him. But if he does, I'll have him killed.” ₅₃Then he sent someone to the altar to get Adonijah.

After Adonijah came and bowed down, Solomon said, “Adonijah, go home.”

₁Not long before David died, he told Solomon:

_10-11David was king of Israel forty years. He ruled seven years from Hebron and thirty-three years from Jerusalem. Then he died and was buried in Jerusalem. ₁₂His son Solomon became king and took control of David's kingdom.

₁₈An important man asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?”

₁₉Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ₂₀You know the commandments: ‘Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother.’ ”

₂₁He told Jesus, “I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”

₂₂When Jesus heard this, he said, “There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower.” ₂₃When the man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.

₂₄Jesus saw how sad the man was. So he said, “It's terribly hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom! ₂₅In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”

₂₆When the crowd heard this, they asked, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

₂₇Jesus replied, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

₂₈Peter said, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!”

₂₉Jesus answered, “You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brothers or family or children because of God's kingdom ₃₀will be given much more in this life. And in the future world they will have eternal life.”

₃₁Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said:

₃₄The apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand, because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them.

₃₅When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. ₃₆The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. ₃₇Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. ₃₈So the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” ₃₉The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”

₄₀Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, ₄₁“What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see!” he answered.

₄₂Jesus replied, “Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” ₄₃Straight away the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. When the crowds saw what happened, they praised God.