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First Reading: 1 Kings Chapter 1 and 2
1 Kings 1
1:1 Adonijah Presumes to Be King
Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but
he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, "Let a young
woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the
king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord
the king may be warm." 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout
all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her
to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king,
and served him; but the king did not know her.
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be
king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men
to run before him. 6(And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying,
"Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother
had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah
and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But Zadok
the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and
the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of
Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's
sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants. 10 But he did not invite
Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Have you
not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord
does not know it? 12 Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may
save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go immediately to King
David and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant,
saying,"Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit
on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' 14 Then, while you are
still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm
your words."
15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old,
and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and
did homage to the king. Then the king said, "What is your wish?"
17 Then she said to him, "My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your
maidservant, saying, 'Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he
shall sit on my throne.' 18 So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now,
my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19 He has sacrificed oxen and fattened
cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar
the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he
has not invited. 20 And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel
are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord
the king after him. 21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests
with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders."
22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet
also came in. 23 So they told the king, saying, "Here is Nathan the prophet."
And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his
face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, "My lord, O king, have you said,
'Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne'? 25 For he has
gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance,
and has invited all the king's sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar
the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say,'Long
live King Adonijah!' 26 But he has not invited me me your servant
nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.
27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your
servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"
28 David Proclaims Solomon King
(1 Chron 29:22-25)
Then King David answered and said, "Call Bathsheba to me." So she
came into the king's presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king took
an oath and said,"As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every
distress, 30 just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, 'Assuredly
Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my
place,' so I certainly will do this day."
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king,
and said,"Let my lord King David live forever!"
32 And King David said, "Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet,
and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada." So they came before the king. 33 The
king also said to them,"Take with you the servants of your lord, and have
Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34 There let
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow
the horn, and say,'Long live King Solomon!' 35 Then you shall come up after
him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place.
For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah."
36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said,"Amen! May the
LORD God of my lord the king say so too. 37 As the LORD has been with my lord
the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the
throne of my lord King David."
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the
Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David's
mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from
the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people
said, "Long live King Solomon!" 40 And all the people went up after
him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the
earth seemed to split with their sound.
41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished
eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, "Why is the
city in such a noisy uproar?" 42 While he was still speaking, there came
Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, "Come
in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news."
43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "No! Our lord King David
has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan
the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites;
and they have made him ride on the king's mule. 45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan
the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there
rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have
heard. 46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the
king's servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying,'May God make
the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater
than your throne.' Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 Also the king
said thus, 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my
throne this day, while my eyes see it!'"
49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each
one went his way.
50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of
the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, "Indeed Adonijah
is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar,
saying, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant
to death with the sword.'"
52 Then Solomon said, "If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair
of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall
die." 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And
he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, "Go
to your house."
1 Kings 2
2:1 David's Instructions to Solomon
Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon
his son, saying: 2 "I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore,
and prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk
in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His
testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all
that you do and wherever you turn; 4 that the LORD may fulfill His word which
He spoke concerning me, saying,'If your sons take heed to their way, to walk
before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said,'you
shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'
5 "Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what
he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner
and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in
peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and
on his sandals that were on his feet. 6 Therefore do according to your wisdom,
and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
7 "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them
be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from
Absalom your brother.
8 "And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from
Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim.
But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying,
'I will not put you to death with the sword.' 9 Now therefore, do not hold him
guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but
bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood."
10 Death of David
(1 Chron 3:4; 29:26-28)
So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. 11 The
period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned
in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 Then Solomon sat
on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Solomon Executes Adonijah
Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So
she said,"Do you come peaceably?"
And he said, "Peaceably." 14 Moreover he said, "I have something
to say to you."
And she said, "Say it."
15 Then he said, "You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had
set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has
been turned over, and has become my brother's; for it was his from the LORD.
16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me."
And she said to him, "Say it."
17 Then he said, "Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse
you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife."
18 So Bathsheba said, "Very well, I will speak for you to the king."
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And
the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne
and had a throne set for the king's mother; so she sat at his right hand. 20
Then she said, "I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me."
And the king said to her, "Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you."
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother
as wife."
22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, "Now why do you ask
Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also for
he is my older brother for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for
Joab the son of Zeruiah." 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying,"May
God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against
his own life! 24 Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and
set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for
me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!"
25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck
him down, and he died.
26 Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed
And to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth, to your own
fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this
time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and
because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted." 27 So Solomon
removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word
of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had
not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and took
hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, "Joab has
fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; there he is, by the altar." Then Solomon
sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, "Go, strike him down." 30
So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, "Thus says
the king,'Come out!'"
And he said, "No, but I will die here." And Benaiah brought back word
to the king, saying, "Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me."
31 Then the king said to him,"Do as he has said, and strike him down and
bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the
innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 So the LORD will return his blood on his
head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and
killed them with the sword Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the
army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah
though my father David did not know it. 33 Their blood shall therefore
return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But
upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be
peace forever from the LORD."
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he
was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son
of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in
the place of Abiathar.
36 Shimei Executed
Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, "Build yourself
a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.
37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for
certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head."
38 And Shimei said to the king, "The saying is good. As my lord the king
has said, so your servant will do." So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran
away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying,
"Look, your slaves are in Gath!" 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey,
and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his
slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem
to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and
said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying,
'Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall
surely die'? And you said to me, 'The word I have heard is good.' 43 Why then
have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the commandment that I gave you?"
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, "You know, as your heart acknowledges,
all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will
return your wickedness on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed,
and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever."
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck
him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Psalms 87
87:1 The Glories of the City of God
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2 The LORD loves the gates of ZionMore
than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of you,O city
of God!Selah
4 "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;Behold,
O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:'This one was born there.'"
5 And of Zion it will be said,"This one and that one were born in her;And
the Most High Himself shall establish her." 6 The LORD will record,When
He registers the peoples:"This one was born there."Selah
7 Both the singers and the players on instruments say,"All my springs are
in you."
Psalms 88
88:1 A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to "Mahalath
Leannoth." A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
O LORD, God of my salvation,I have cried out day and night before You. 2 Let
my prayer come before You;Incline Your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles,And my life draws near to the grave. 4 I am
counted with those who go down to the pit;I am like a man who has no strength,
5 Adrift among the dead,Like the slain who lie in the grave,Whom You remember
no more,And who are cut off from Your hand.
6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,In darkness, in the depths. 7 Your wrath
lies heavy upon me,And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.Selah 8 You
have put away my acquaintances far from me;You have made me an abomination to
them;I am shut up, and I cannot get out; 9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.
LORD, I have called daily upon You;I have stretched out my hands to You. 10
Will You work wonders for the dead?Shall the dead arise and praise You?Selah
11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?Or Your faithfulness in
the place of destruction? 12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?And Your
righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD,And in the morning my prayer comes before
You. 14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul?Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;I suffer Your terrors;I
am distraught. 16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;Your terrors have cut me
off. 17 They came around me all day long like water;They engulfed me altogether.
18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,And my acquaintances into darkness.
SUPER HEROES OF THE BIBLE
JESUS
Part 3 of 3
After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, Peter stood before a crowd of people and proclaimed that Jesus was risen from the dead and that he is Lord:
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2
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