The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the VOICE. Switch to the VOICE to read along with the audio.
Jeroboam Becomes King of Israel
20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No tribe was left which followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone.
(2 Chronicles 11:1-4)
21 When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he assembled the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand specially chosen soldiers, to fight against the house of Israel and to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God: 23 “Say the following to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the rest of the people. 24 This is what the Lord says. Do not attack and do not fight against your brothers, the people of Israel. Go home, every one of you, for this turn of events is from me.”
So they listened to the word of the Lord, and they returned home, just as the Lord said. 25 But Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived there. From there he also went out and fortified Penuel.[a]
The Sin of Jeroboam Son of Nebat
26 But Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingship will go back to the house of David. 27 If this people goes up to offer sacrifices at the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the hearts of the people will return to their master, Rehoboam king of Judah. Then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 After the king sought advice, he made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much trouble for you. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 He set up one in Bethel and the other one in Dan.
30 This sin took hold, and the people traveled as far as Dan to worship. 31 Jeroboam also made shrines[b] on the high places,[c] and he appointed priests from all kinds of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam instituted a festival in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival[d] that is held in Judah. He offered sacrifices on the altar. He did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. He appointed priests in Bethel for the high places he had made. 33 He instituted sacrifices on the altar which he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month which he chose on his own. He instituted a festival for the people of Israel. He went up to the altar to send offerings up in smoke.
The Prophet From Judah Testifies Against Jeroboam
13 At that moment, by the word of the Lord, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel while Jeroboam was standing in front of the altar to send offerings up in smoke. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of Lord, “Altar! Altar! This is what the Lord says. Listen! A son will be born to the house of David. Josiah will be his name. On you he will slaughter the priests of the high places, who are burning offerings on you, and human bones will be burned on you.”
3 On that day he gave them a sign: “This is the sign which the Lord announces: This very altar will be torn apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.”
4 When King Jeroboam heard this message that the man of God had proclaimed against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him from the altar and cried, “Seize him!” But the hand that the king pointed at the man withered, and he could not pull it back. 5 Then the altar was torn apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar in fulfillment of the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
6 Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede before the Lord your God and pray on my behalf that my hand may be restored for me.” So the man of God interceded before the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored for him, so that it was like it had been before.
7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and eat something, and I will give you a gift.”
8 But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your wealth, I would not go with you, and I would not eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For this is what I was commanded by the word of the Lord: Do not eat bread and do not drink water, and do not return by the way you came.” 10 So he left by a different road. He did not go back the same way he had come to Bethel.
The Prophets’ Sins
11 Another prophet, an old man, was living in Bethel. His sons[e] came and told him everything that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also reported to their father the words he had spoken to the king.
12 Then their father said to them, “Which road did he take?” So his sons showed him the road[f] which the man of God from Judah had taken.
13 He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” So they saddled his donkey, and he got on it. 14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under a terebinth tree.
He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
He answered, “I am.”
15 The old prophet said to him, “Come with me to my house and have something to eat.”
16 But he said, “No, I cannot return with you, or go with you, or eat bread and drink water with you in this place. 17 For I was told by the word of the Lord, ‘Do not eat bread and do not drink water there, and do not return by the same road you came on.’”
18 But the old prophet said to him, “I also am a prophet, just like you, and an angel told me by the word of the Lord, ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he was lying to him. 19 Then the man of God returned with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought the man of God back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says. Because you have rebelled against the mouth of the Lord and have not obeyed the command which the Lord your God gave you, 22 but instead you came back and ate bread and drank water in the place about which he had told you, ‘Do not eat bread or drink water there,’ your corpse will not enter the tomb of your fathers.”
23 Then after he ate and drank, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 As the man of God went on his way, a lion attacked him and killed him. His corpse was left lying on the road, and his donkey remained standing next to it. The lion was also standing next to the corpse. 25 Then some men who were passing by saw the corpse lying on the road, and the lion was standing next to the corpse. They came and told the story in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 When the prophet who had brought the man of God back from his journey heard this, he said, “This is the man of God who rebelled against the mouth of the Lord. Now the Lord has given him to the lion. It mauled him and killed him according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.”
27 He said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey.” So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found the corpse of the man of God lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor had it mauled the donkey.
29 The old prophet picked up the corpse of the man of God, placed it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn and to bury it. 30 He laid the corpse in his own tomb, and they mourned over him, “Oh, my brother!”
31 After he had buried him, the old prophet said to his sons, “When I die and you bury me, lay my bones to rest beside the bones of the man of God, in the same tomb where he is buried. 32 For the message which he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines of the high places in the cities of Samaria will certainly come true.”
33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but he continued to appoint all kinds of people as priests for the high places. He ordained anyone who wanted to be a priest for the high places. 34 This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, which erased and exterminated it from the face of the earth.
26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him because they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
28 Saul stayed with them, coming and going freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He kept on talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they were looking for a way to kill him. 30 When the brothers[a] learned about this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace as it was strengthened. It grew in numbers as it lived in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Peter Heals Aeneas and Raises Tabitha From the Dead
32 As Peter went around from place to place, he also went down to the saints who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a paralyzed man named Aeneas, who had been lying on a mat for eight years. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat!” Immediately, he got up. 35 All those who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.[b] She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. 38 Since Lydda is near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, who urged him, “Come to us without delay!”
39 Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them.
40 After Peter sent them all outside, he got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. After he called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive.
42 This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon the tanner.
Psalm 132
Remember David and His Son
Heading
A song of the ascents.
David’s Oath
1 Remember for David’s sake, O Lord, all his afflictions.
2 Remember how he swore to the Lord.
He made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my own house.[a]
I will not get into my own bed.[b]
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Israel’s Response
6 Yes, we heard about it in Ephrathah.
We found it in the fields of Ja’ar.
7 Let us go to his dwelling place.
Let us bow down at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness.
May your favored ones shout for joy.
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject the face of your Anointed One.[c]
The Lord’s Oath
11 The Lord swore to David
a truth from which he will not turn back:
“From the fruit of your body
I will place kings on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I teach them,
then their sons will sit on your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion.
He has desired it for his dwelling.
14 “This is my resting place forever.
Here I will live, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her greatly with food.
I will satisfy Zion’s poor with bread.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her favored ones will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn shoot up for David.
I will set up a lamp for my Anointed One.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on him his crown will be beautiful.”
6 Grandchildren are a crown for the elderly,
and parents are a source of pride for their children.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.