Through the Bible – Day 156

Bible text(s)

2 Chronicles 16

King Baasha of Israel invades Judah

1In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.

2When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: 3“I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?”

4Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. 5When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.

6Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.

Hanani the prophet condemns Asa

7Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said:

You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the LORD your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. 8Remember how powerful the Ethiopian and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the LORD to help you then, and you defeated them. 9The LORD is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again.

10When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.

Asa dies

11Everything Asa did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, he got a very bad foot disease, but he relied on doctors and refused to ask the LORD for help. 13He died two years later.

14Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honour.

2 Chronicles 17

King Jehoshaphat of Judah

1Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defences against Israel. 2He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

3-4When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the LORD and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshipped the LORD. And so the LORD blessed Jehoshaphat 5and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, 6he remained completely faithful to the LORD. He destroyed all the local shrines in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshipped.

7In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the LORD's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. 9They carried with them a copy of the LORD's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.

10The nations around Judah were afraid of the LORD's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. 11Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him seventy-seven hundred rams and the same number of goats.

12As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities 13where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers 14from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.

Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had three hundred thousand soldiers under his command. 15Jehohanan was second in command, with two hundred and eighty thousand soldiers under him. 16Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the LORD, was third in command, with two hundred thousand soldiers under him.

17Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had two hundred thousand soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. 18Jehozabad was second in command, with one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers under him. 19These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.

2 Chronicles 18

Micaiah warns King Ahab of Israel

(1 Kings 22.1-28)

1Jehoshaphat was now very rich and famous. He signed a treaty with King Ahab of Israel by arranging the marriage of his son and Ahab's daughter.

2One day, Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab in his capital city of Samaria. Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle and prepared a big feast to honour Jehoshaphat and the officials with him. Ahab talked about attacking the city of Ramoth in Gilead, 3and finally asked, “Jehoshaphat, would you go with me to attack Ramoth?”

“Yes,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army is at your command. 4But first let's ask the LORD what to do.”

5Ahab sent for four hundred prophets and asked, “Should I attack the city of Ramoth?”

“Yes!” the prophets answered. “God will help you capture the city.”

6But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the LORD's prophets we can ask?”

7“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. 8Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.

9All 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, listening to the prophets tell them what the LORD had said.

10Zedekiah 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!”

11All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth and promised that the LORD would help him defeat them.

12Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”

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

14Then Micaiah went up to Ahab, who asked, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth?”

“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The LORD will help you capture the city.”

15Ahab shouted, “Micaiah, I've told you over and over again to tell me the truth! What does the LORD really say?”

16Micaiah answered, “In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers wandering around, lost in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The LORD said, ‘These troops have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”

17Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring me bad news!”

18Micaiah replied:

I then saw the LORD seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. 19The LORD asked, “Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed?”

They talked about it for a while, 20then finally a spirit came forward and said to the LORD, “I can trick Ahab.”

“How?” the LORD asked.

21“I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him.”

“Good!” the LORD replied. “Now go and do it. You will be successful.”

22Ahab, this is exactly what has happened. The LORD made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed.

23Zedekiah walked over and slapped Micaiah on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the LORD would speak to you and not to me?”

24Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”

25Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. 26Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”

27Micaiah 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!”

Ahab dies at Ramoth

(1 Kings 22.29-35)

28Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. 29Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.

30The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. 31So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But Jehoshaphat prayed, and the LORD made the Syrian soldiers stop. 32And when they realized he wasn't Ahab, they left him alone.

33However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab between two pieces of his armour. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”

34The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He stayed there until evening, and by sundown he was dead.

2 Chronicles 19

1Jehoshaphat returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. 2But the prophet Jehu son of Hanani met him and said:

By helping that wicked Ahab, you have made friends with someone who hates the LORD. Now the LORD God is angry with you! 3But not everything about you is bad. You destroyed the sacred poles used in worshipping the goddess Asherah—that shows you have tried to obey the LORD.

2 Chronicles 16:1-19:3CEVOpen in Bible reader

John 16

Jesus continued:

1I am telling you this to keep you from being afraid. 2You will be chased out of the Jewish meeting places. And the time will come when people will kill you and think they are doing God a favour. 3They will do these things because they don't know either the Father or me. 4I am saying this to you now, so that when the time comes, you will remember what I have said.

The work of the Holy Spirit

Jesus continued:

I was with you at the first, and so I didn't tell you these things. 5But now I am going back to the Father who sent me, and none of you asks me where I am going. 6You are very sad from hearing all this. 7But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.

8The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. 9The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn't have faith in me. 10They are wrong about God's justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won't see me again. 11And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.

12I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn't speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. 14The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. 15Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you.

Sorrow will turn into joy

16Jesus told his disciples, “For a little while you won't see me, but after a while you will see me.”

17They said to each other, “What does Jesus mean by saying that for a little while we won't see him, but after a while we will see him? What does he mean by saying that he is going to the Father? 18What is this ‘little while’ that he is talking about? We don't know what he means.”

19Jesus knew that they had some questions, so he said:

You are wondering what I meant when I said that for a little while you won't see me, but after a while you will see me. 20I tell you for certain that you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but later you will be happy.

21When a woman is about to give birth, she is in great pain. But after it is all over, she forgets the pain and is happy, because she has brought a child into the world. 22You are now very sad. But later I will see you, and you will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel. 23When that time comes, you won't have to ask me about anything. I tell you for certain that the Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. 24You have not asked for anything in this way before, but now you must ask in my name. Then it will be given to you, so that you will be completely happy.

25I have used examples to explain to you what I have been talking about. But the time will come when I will speak to you plainly about the Father and will no longer use examples like these. 26You will ask the Father in my name, and I won't have to ask him for you. 27God the Father loves you because you love me, and you believe that I have come from him. 28I came from the Father into the world, but I am leaving the world and returning to the Father.

29The disciples said, “Now you are speaking plainly to us! You are not using examples. 30At last we know that you understand everything, and we don't have any more questions. Now we believe that you truly have come from God.”

31Jesus replied:

Do you really believe me? 32The time will come and is already here when all of you will be scattered. Each of you will go back home and leave me by myself. But the Father will be with me, and I won't be alone. 33I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.

John 16:1-33CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.23.1
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