Through the Bible – Day 157

Bible text(s)

2 Chronicles 19

Jehoshaphat appoints judges to settle cases

₄Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he often travelled through his kingdom, from Beersheba in the south to the edge of the hill country of Ephraim in the north. He talked with the people and convinced them to turn back to the LORD God and worship him, just as their ancestors had done.

₅He assigned judges to each of the fortified cities in Judah ₆and told them:

Be careful when you make your decisions in court, because these are the LORD's people, and he will know what you decide. ₇So do your work in honour of him and know that he won't allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.

₈Jehoshaphat also chose some Levites, some priests, and some of the family leaders, and he appointed them to serve as judges in Jerusalem. ₉He told them:

Faithfully serve the LORD! ₁₀The people of Judah will bring you legal cases that involve every type of crime, including murder. You must settle these cases and warn the people to stop sinning against the LORD, so that he won't get angry and punish Judah. Remember, if you follow these instructions, you won't be held responsible for anything that happens.

₁₁Amariah the high priest will have the final say in any religious case. And Zebadiah, the leader of the Judah tribe, will have the final say in all other cases. The rest of the Levites will serve as your assistants. Be brave, and I pray that the LORD will help you do right.

2 Chronicles 20

Moab and Ammon are defeated

₁Some time later, the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Meunites, went to war against Jehoshaphat. ₂Messengers told Jehoshaphat, “A large army from Edom east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi.”

₃Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the LORD what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow. ₄They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the LORD's help.

₅After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the LORD's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard ₆and prayed:

You, LORD, are the God our ancestors worshipped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. ₇Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham for ever. ₈Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honour you. ₉They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.

₁₀You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. ₁₁Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us. ₁₂Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do—we are begging for your help.

₁₃While every man, woman, and child of Judah was standing there at the temple, ₁₄the LORD's Spirit suddenly spoke to Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan. ₁₅Then Jahaziel said:

Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the LORD says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! ₁₆So here's what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. ₁₇You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the LORD rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the LORD will be there with you.

₁₈Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshipped the LORD. ₁₉Then some Levites from the Kohath and Korah clans stood up and shouted praises to the LORD God of Israel.

₂₀Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen my friends, if we trust the LORD God and believe what these prophets have told us, the LORD will help us, and we will be successful.” ₂₁Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the LORD for his holy power by singing:

“Praise the LORD!

His love never ends.”

₂₂As soon as they began singing, the LORD confused the enemy camp, ₂₃so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!

₂₄When Judah's army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead on the ground. ₂₅So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into the camp to carry away everything of value. They found a large herd of livestock, a lot of equipment, clothes, and other valuable things. It took them three days to carry it all away, and there was still some left over.

₂₆Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the LORD. That's why that place was called Praise Valley.

_27-28Jehoshaphat led the crowd back to Jerusalem. And as they marched, they played harps and blew trumpets. They were very happy because the LORD had given them victory over their enemies, so when they reached the city, they went straight to the temple.

₂₉When the other nations heard how the LORD had fought against Judah's enemies, they were too afraid ₃₀to invade Judah. The LORD let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.

Jehoshaphat dies

(1 Kings 22.41-50)

₃₁Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ₃₂Jehoshaphat obeyed the LORD, just as his father Asa had done, ₃₃but he did not destroy the local shrines. So the people still worshipped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshipped.

₃₄Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₃₅While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel. ₃₆They agreed to build several seagoing ships at Ezion-Geber. ₃₇But the prophet Eliezer warned Jehoshaphat, “The LORD will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah.” The ships were wrecked and never sailed.

2 Chronicles 21

₁Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.

King Jehoram of Judah

₂King Jehoshaphat had seven sons: Jehoram, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. ₃Jehoshaphat gave each of them silver and gold, as well as other valuable gifts. He also put them in charge of the fortified cities in Judah, but he had chosen his eldest son Jehoram to succeed him as king.

₄After Jehoram had taken control of Judah, he had his brothers killed, as well as some of the nation's leaders. ₅He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years from Jerusalem.

₆Jehoram married Ahab's daughter and followed the sinful example of Ahab's family and the other kings of Israel. He disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong, ₇but because the LORD had made a solemn promise to King David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah, he refused to wipe out David's descendants.

₈While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. ₉Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite army surrounded them. He escaped during the night, ₁₀but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah rebelled at that time.

Those things happened because Jehoram had turned away from the LORD, the God his ancestors had worshipped. ₁₁Jehoram even built local shrines in the hills of Judah and let the people sin against the LORD by worshipping foreign gods.

₁₂One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:

I have a message for you from the LORD God your ancestor David worshipped. He knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa your grandfather. ₁₃Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshipping the LORD, just as Ahab and his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men than you.

₁₄Because you have done these terrible things, the LORD will severely punish the people in your kingdom, including your own family, and he will destroy everything you own. ₁₅You will be struck with a painful stomach disease and suffer until you die.

₁₆The LORD later caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to become angry with Jehoram. ₁₇They invaded Judah and stole the royal property from the palace, and they led Jehoram's wives and sons away as prisoners. The only one left behind was Ahaziah, his youngest son.

₁₈After this happened, the LORD struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach disease. ₁₉About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was built to honour him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.

₂₀Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years from Jerusalem. He died, and no one even felt sad. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.

2 Chronicles 19:4-21:20CEVOpen in Bible reader

John 17

Jesus prays

₁After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up towards heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. ₂And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. ₃Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. ₄I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. ₅Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

₆You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. ₇They know that you gave me everything I have. ₈I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. ₉I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. ₁₀All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

₁₁Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. ₁₂While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

₁₃I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. ₁₄I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don't belong to this world, just as I don't.

₁₅Father, I don't ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. ₁₆They don't belong to this world, and neither do I. ₁₇Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. ₁₈I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. ₁₉I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

₂₀I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. ₂₁I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

₂₂I have honoured my followers in the same way that you honoured me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. ₂₃I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

₂₄Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. ₂₅Good Father, the people of this world don't know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. ₂₆I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.

John 17:1-26CEVOpen in Bible reader