Select: First Reading Second Reading Bible Background
First Reading: 2 Chronicles Chapter 19 and 202 Chronicles 19
19:1 When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,
2 Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king,
"Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of
this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. 3 There is, however, some good in you,
for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking
God."
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from
Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the
God of their fathers. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified
cities of Judah. 6 He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because
you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give
a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for
with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery."
8 In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and
heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the LORD and to settle
disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. 9 He gave them these orders: "You
must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD. 10 In every
case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities-whether
bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances-you
are to warn them not to sin against the LORD; otherwise his wrath will come
on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin.
11 "Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning
the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will
be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as
officials before you. Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do
well."
2 Chronicles 20
20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came
to make war on Jehoshaphat.
2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you
from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar"
(that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD,
and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together
to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek
him.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple
of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said:
"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You
rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand,
and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants
of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants
of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary
for your Name, saying, 9'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment,
or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that
bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us
and save us.' 10 "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir,
whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;
so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are
repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.
12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast
army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon
you."
13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood
there before the LORD.
14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son
of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant
of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem!
This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because
of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow march
down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will
find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have
to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance
the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'"
18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah
and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from
the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel,
with very loud voice.
20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!
Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets
and you will be successful." 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat
appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his
holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
"Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever."
22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of
Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
23 The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy
and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they
helped to destroy one another.
24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked
toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one
had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder,
and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also
articles of value-more than they could take away. There was so much plunder
that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in
the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called
the Valley of Beracah to this day.
27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully
to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.
28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and
lutes and trumpets.
29 The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard
how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of
Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became
king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name
was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the ways of his father Asa and
did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. 33 The
high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their
hearts on the God of their fathers.
34 The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are written
in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings
of Israel.
35 Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel,
who was guilty of wickedness. 36 He agreed with him to construct a fleet of
trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber, 37 Eliezer son of Dodavahu
of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have made
an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made." The
ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.
Hebrews 5
5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent
them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He
is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since
he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices
for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron
was. 5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high
priest. But God said to him,
"You are my Son; today I have become your Father."
6 And he says in another place,
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions
with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was
heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned
obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source
of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be
high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are
slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.
You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,
is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is
for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good
from evil.
CRITICS OF THE BIBLE
Part 3 of 8
Answers to Bible criticism can be found in the following sources:
The study sections on the following 5 days will give an introduction to each of these sources.
Select: First Reading Second Reading Bible Background