Through the Bible – Day 124

₁About the same time, Abijah son of Jeroboam got sick. _2-3Jeroboam told his wife:

₄She got ready and left for Ahijah's house in Shiloh.

Ahijah was now old and blind, ₅but the LORD told him, “Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask about her son. I will tell you what to say to her.”

Jeroboam's wife came to Ahijah's house, pretending to be someone else. ₆But when Ahijah heard her walking up to the door, he said:

₁₇Jeroboam's wife left and went back home to the town of Tirzah. As soon as she set foot in her house, her son died. ₁₈Everyone in Israel came and mourned at his funeral, just as the LORD's servant Ahijah had said.

₁₉Everything else Jeroboam did while he was king, including the battles he won, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₂₀He was king of Israel for twenty-two years, then he died, and his son Nadab became king.

₂₁Rehoboam son of Solomon was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled seventeen years from Jerusalem, the city where the LORD had chosen to be worshipped. His mother Naamah was from Ammon.

₂₂The people of Judah disobeyed the LORD and made him even angrier than their ancestors had. ₂₃They also built their own local shrines and stone images of foreign gods, and they set up sacred poles for worshipping the goddess Asherah on every hill and in the shade of large trees. ₂₄Even worse, they allowed prostitutes at the shrines, and followed the disgusting customs of the foreign nations that the LORD had forced out of Canaan.

₂₅After Rehoboam had been king for four years, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. ₂₆He took everything of value from the temple and the palace, including Solomon's gold shields.

₂₇Rehoboam had bronze shields made to replace the gold ones, and he ordered the guards at the city gates to keep them safe. ₂₈Whenever Rehoboam went to the LORD's temple, the guards carried the shields. But they always took them back to the guardroom as soon as he had finished.

₂₉Everything else Rehoboam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ₃₀He and Jeroboam were constantly at war. ₃₁Rehoboam's mother Naamah was from Ammon, but when Rehoboam died, he was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Abijam then became king.

₁Abijam became king of Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year as king of Israel, ₂and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

₃Abijam did not truly obey the LORD his God as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he was sinful just like his father Rehoboam. _4-5David had always obeyed the LORD's commands by doing right, except in the case of Uriah. And since Abijam was David's great-grandson, the LORD kept Jerusalem safe and let Abijam have a son who would be the next king.

_6-7The war that had broken out between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during the time that Abijam was king.

Everything else Abijam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ₈Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king.

₉Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel, ₁₀and he ruled forty-one years from Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

₁₁Asa obeyed the LORD, as David had done. ₁₂He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made. ₁₃His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burnt it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.

₁₄As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines. ₁₅He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the LORD.

₁₆Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel. ₁₇One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.

₁₈When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: ₁₉“Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?”

₂₀Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-Bethmaacah, and the territories of Chinneroth and Naphtali. ₂₁When Baasha heard about it, he left Ramah and went back to Tirzah.

₂₂Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.

₂₃Everything else Asa did while he was king, including his victories and the towns he rebuilt, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. When he got older, he had a foot disease. ₂₄Asa died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jehoshaphat then became king.

₂₅Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year as king of Judah, and he ruled two years. ₂₆Nadab disobeyed the LORD by following the evil example of his father, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

_27-28Baasha son of Ahijah was from the tribe of Issachar, and he made plans to kill Nadab. When Nadab and his army went to attack the town of Gibbethon in Philistia, Baasha killed Nadab there. So in the third year of Asa's rule, Baasha became king of Israel.

₂₉The LORD's prophet Ahijah had earlier said, “Not one man or boy in Jeroboam's family will be left alive.” And, as soon as Baasha became king, he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family, ₃₀because Jeroboam had made the LORD God of Israel angry by sinning and causing the Israelites to sin.

₃₁Everything else Nadab did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₃₂King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were always at war.

₁The Festival of Thin Bread, also called Passover, was near. ₂The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus, because they were afraid of what the people might do. ₃Then Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve apostles.

₄Judas went to talk with the chief priests and the officers of the temple police about how he could help them arrest Jesus. ₅They were very pleased and offered to pay Judas some money. ₆He agreed and started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus when the crowds were not around.

₇The day had come for the Festival of Thin Bread, and it was time to kill the Passover lambs. ₈So Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat.”

₉But they asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”

₁₀Jesus told them, “As you go into the city, you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house ₁₁and say to the owner, ‘Our teacher wants to know where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples.’ ₁₂The owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room ready for you to use. Prepare the meal there.”

₁₃Peter and John left. They found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

₁₄When the time came for Jesus and the apostles to eat, ₁₅he said to them, “I have very much wanted to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. ₁₆I tell you that I will not eat another Passover meal until it is finally eaten in God's kingdom.”

₁₇Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he told the apostles, “Take this wine and share it with each other. ₁₈I tell you that I will not drink any more wine until God's kingdom comes.”

₁₉Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it. He broke the bread and handed it to his apostles. Then he said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me!”

₂₀After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. Then he said, “This is my blood. It is poured out for you, and with it God makes his new agreement. ₂₁The one who will betray me is here at the table with me! ₂₂The Son of Man will die in the way that has been decided for him, but it will be terrible for the one who betrays him!”

₂₃Then the apostles started arguing about who would ever do such a thing.