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First Reading: 1 Chronicles Chapter 29 and Hosea Chapter 1

1 Chronicles 29

29:1 Offerings for Building the Temple

Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3 Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?"
6 Then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king's work, offered willingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
10 David's Praise to God

Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said:
"Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,The power and the glory,The victory and the majesty;For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,And You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You,And You reign over all.In Your hand is power and might;In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.
13 "Now therefore, our God,We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people,That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?For all things come from You,And of Your own we have given You. 15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You,As were all our fathers;Our days on earth are as a shadow,And without hope.
16 "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision."
20 Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the LORD your God." So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
21 Solomon Anointed King
(1 Kings 1:38-40; 2:12)

And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the LORD with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon. 25 So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
26 The Close of David's Reign

Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

Hosea 1

1:1 Hosea's Unfaithful Wife

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 The Family of Hosea

When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
"Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry,For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the LORD."
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him:
"Call his name Jezreel,For in a little whileI will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 It shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
"Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,But I will utterly take them away. 7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,Will save them by the LORD their God,And will not save them by bow,Nor by sword or battle,By horses or horsemen."
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:
"Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people,And I will not be your God.
10 The Restoration of Israel
'Yet the number of the children of IsraelShall be as the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered.And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them,'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them,'You are sons of the living God.' 11 Then the children of Judah and the children of IsraelShall be gathered together,And appoint for themselves one head;And they shall come up out of the land,For great will be the day of Jezreel!

Second Reading: 2 Timothy Chapter 2

2 Timothy 2

2:1 Be Strong in Grace

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure,We shall also reign with Him.If we deny Him,He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless,He remains faithful;He cannot deny Himself.
14 Approved and Disapproved Workers

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Bible Background

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

HOSEA

Part 1 of 2

The book of Hosea written around 755-710 B.C. describes the patient long-suffering of God towards the rebellious and unfaithful northern kingdom of Israel. However, it is made clear to the Israelites that punishment will engulf anyone who remains willfully rebellious. A key theme is Hosea's marriage to the unfaithful Gomer, who is a symbolic representation of Israel.

 

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