Through the Bible – Day 128

₁For the next three years there was peace between Israel and Syria. ₂During the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.

₃Ahab asked his officials, “Why haven't we tried to get Ramoth in Gilead back from the Syrians? It belongs to us.” ₄Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Would you go to Ramoth with me and attack the Syrians?”

“Just tell me what to do,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army and horses are at your command. ₅But first, let's ask the LORD.”

₆Ahab sent for about four hundred prophets and asked, “Should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”

“Yes!” the prophets answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”

₇But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the LORD's prophets we can ask?”

₈“We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah,” Ahab said. “But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me.”

“Don't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied. ₉Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.

₁₀All this time, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were seated on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. They were listening to the prophets tell them what the LORD had said.

₁₁Zedekiah son of Chenaanah was one of the prophets. He had made some horns out of iron and shouted, “Ahab, the LORD says you will attack the Syrians like a bull with iron horns and wipe them out!”

₁₂All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth, and they promised that the LORD would help him defeat them.

₁₃Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”

₁₄“I'll say whatever the living LORD tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.

₁₅Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, “Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”

“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The LORD will help you defeat them.”

₁₆“Micaiah, I've told you over and over again to tell me the truth!” Ahab shouted. “What does the LORD really say?”

₁₇He answered, “In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The LORD said, ‘This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”

₁₈Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring bad news!”

₁₉Micaiah replied:

₂₄Zedekiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the LORD would speak to you and not to me?”

₂₅Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”

₂₆Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. ₂₇Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”

₂₈Micaiah said, “If you do come back, I was wrong about what the LORD wanted me to say.” Then he told the crowd, “Don't forget what I said!”

₂₉Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. ₃₀Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Then Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.

₃₁The king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. ₃₂So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to them, ₃₃they realized he wasn't Ahab, and they left him alone.

₃₄However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armour joined. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”

₃₅The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He bled so much that the bottom of the chariot was covered with blood, and by evening he was dead.

₃₆As the sun was going down, someone in Israel's army shouted to the others, “Retreat! Go back home!”

₃₇Ahab's body was taken to Samaria and buried there. ₃₈Some workers washed his chariot near a spring in Samaria, and prostitutes washed themselves in his blood. Dogs licked Ahab's blood off the ground, just as the LORD had warned.

₃₉Everything else Ahab did while he was king, including the towns he strengthened and the palace he built and furnished with ivory, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₄₀Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king.

₄₁Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in Ahab's fourth year as king of Israel. ₄₂Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

_43-46Jehoshaphat obeyed the LORD, just as his father Asa had done, and during his rule he was at peace with the king of Israel.

He got rid of the rest of the prostitutes from the local shrines, but he did not destroy the shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king, including his brave deeds and military victories, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.

₄₇The country of Edom had no king at the time, so a lower official ruled the land.

₄₈Jehoshaphat had seagoing ships built to sail to Ophir for gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber and never sailed. ₄₉Ahaziah son of Ahab offered to let his sailors go with Jehoshaphat's sailors, but Jehoshaphat refused.

₅₀Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.

₅₁Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria.

₅₂Ahaziah disobeyed the LORD, just as his father, his mother, and Jeroboam had done. They all led Israel to sin. ₅₃Ahaziah worshipped Baal and made the LORD God of Israel very angry, just as his father had done.

₂₆As Jesus was being led away, some soldiers grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Simon. He was coming in from the fields, but they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

₂₇A large crowd was following Jesus, and in the crowd a lot of women were crying and weeping for him. ₂₈Jesus turned to the women and said:

₃₂Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. ₃₃When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull”, they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus.

_34-35Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing.”

While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, “He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God's chosen Messiah!”

₃₆The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine. ₃₇They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

₃₈Above him was a sign that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”

₃₉One of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying, “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!”

₄₀But the other criminal told the first one off, “Don't you fear God? Aren't you getting the same punishment as this man? ₄₁We got what was coming to us, but he didn't do anything wrong.” ₄₂Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into power!”

₄₃Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.”

₄₄Around midday the sky turned dark and stayed that way until the middle of the afternoon. ₄₅The sun stopped shining, and the curtain in the temple split down the middle. ₄₆Jesus shouted, “Father, I put myself in your hands!” Then he died.

₄₇When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Jesus must really have been a good man!”

₄₈A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight. Then after they had seen it, they felt brokenhearted and went home. ₄₉All Jesus' close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched.

_50-51There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God's kingdom to come. He was also a member of the Jewish council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.

₅₂Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. ₅₃He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used. ₅₄It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

₅₅The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb. ₅₆Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.