The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday June 27, 2017 (NIV)

Jehu Dies

³² In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael of Syria defeated the Israelites and took control ³³ of the regions of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan River and north of the town of Aroer near the Arnon River. This was the land where the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh had once lived.

³⁴ Everything else Jehu did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ³⁵ Jehu died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz became king. ³⁶ Jehu had ruled Israel twenty-eight years from Samaria.

Queen Athaliah of Judah

11 As soon as Athaliah heard that her son King Ahaziah was dead, she decided to kill any relative who could possibly become king. She would have done that, ² but Jehosheba rescued Joash son of Ahaziah just as he was about to be murdered. Jehosheba, who was Jehoram’s^[a] daughter and Ahaziah’s half sister, hid her nephew Joash and his personal servant in a bedroom in the Lord’s temple where he was safe from Athaliah. ³ Joash hid in the temple with Jehosheba^[b] for six years while Athaliah ruled as queen of Judah.

Jehoiada Makes Joash King of Judah

⁴ Joash son of Ahaziah had hidden in the Lord’s temple six years. Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest sent for the commanders of the king’s special bodyguards^[c] and the commanders of the palace guards. They met him at the temple, and he asked them to make a promise in the name of the Lord. Then he brought out Joash ⁵ and said to them:

⁹ The commanders followed Jehoiada’s orders. Each one called together his guards—those coming on duty and those going off duty. ¹⁰ Jehoiada brought out the swords and shields that had belonged to King David and gave them to the commanders. ¹¹ Then they gave the weapons to their guards, who took their positions around the temple and the altar to protect Joash on every side.

¹² Jehoiada brought Joash outside, where he placed the crown on his head and gave him a copy of instructions for ruling the nation. Olive oil was poured on his head to show that he was now king, while the crowd clapped and shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹³ Queen Athaliah heard the crowd and went to the temple. ¹⁴ There she saw Joash standing by one of the columns, which was the usual place for the king. The singers^[d] and the trumpet players were standing next to him, and the people were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes in anger and shouted, “You betrayed me, you traitors!”

¹⁵ Right away, Jehoiada said to the army commanders, “Kill her! But don’t do it anywhere near the Lord’s temple. Take her out in front of the troops and kill anyone who is with her!” ¹⁶ So the commanders dragged her to the gate where horses are led into the palace, and they killed her there.

¹⁷ Jehoiada the priest asked King Joash and the people to promise that they would be faithful to each other and to the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the crowd went to the temple built to honor Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal right in front of the altars.

After Jehoiada had placed guards around the Lord’s temple, ¹⁹ he called together all the commanders, the king’s special bodyguards,^[e] the palace guards, and the people. They led Joash from the temple, through the Guards' Gate, and into the palace. He took his place on the throne and became king of Judah. ²⁰ Everyone celebrated because Athaliah had been killed and Jerusalem was peaceful again. ²¹ Joash was only seven years old when this happened.

King Joash of Judah

12 Joash^[f] became king of Judah in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel, and he ruled forty years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.

² Jehoiada the priest taught Joash what was right, and so for the rest of his life Joash obeyed the Lord. ³ But even Joash did not destroy the local shrines,^[g] and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

⁴ One day, Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that has been given to the Lord’s temple, whether from taxes or gifts, ⁵ and use it to repair the temple. You priests can contribute your own money too.”^[h]

⁶ But the priests never started repairing the temple. So in the twenty-third year of his rule, ⁷ Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and said, “Why aren’t you using the money to repair the temple? Don’t take any more money for yourselves. It is only to be used to pay for the repairs.” ⁸ The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money or be in charge of the temple repairs.

⁹ Jehoiada found a wooden box; he cut a hole in the top of it and set it on the right side of the altar where people went into the temple. Whenever someone gave money to the temple, the priests guarding the entrance would put it into this box. ¹⁰ When the box was full of money, the king’s secretary and the chief priest would count the money and put it in bags. ¹¹ Then they would give it to the men supervising the repairs to the temple. Some of the money was used to pay the builders, the woodworkers, ¹² the stonecutters, and the men who built the walls. And some was used to buy wood and stone and to pay any other costs for repairing the temple.

¹³ While the repairs were being made, the money that was given to the temple was not used to make silver bowls, lamp snuffers, small sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or anything gold or silver for the temple. ¹⁴ It went only to pay for repairs. ¹⁵ The men in charge were honest, so no one had to keep track of the money.

¹⁶ The fines that had to be paid along with the sacrifices to make things right and the sacrifices for sin did not go to the temple. This money belonged only to the priests.

¹⁷ About the same time, King Hazael of Syria attacked the town of Gath and captured it. Next, he decided to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸ So Joash collected everything he and his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah had dedicated to the Lord, as well as the gold in the storage rooms in the temple and palace. He sent it all to Hazael as a gift, and when Hazael received it, he ordered his troops to leave Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Everything else Joash did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ^20-21 At the end of his rule, some of his officers rebelled against him. Jozabad^[i] son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him in a building where the land was filled in on the east side of Jerusalem,^[j] near the road to Silla. Joash was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem,^[k] and his son Amaziah became king.

Paul in Corinth

18 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, ² where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome.^[a] Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla ³ and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them, and they worked together.

⁴ Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles^[b] and tried to win them over. ⁵ But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah. ⁶ Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes^[c] and told them, “Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles.”

⁷ Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the Jewish meeting place. ⁸ Crispus was the leader of the meeting place. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized.

⁹ One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, “Don’t be afraid to keep on preaching. Don’t stop! ¹⁰ I am with you, and you won’t be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me.” ¹¹ Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God’s message to the people.

¹² While Gallio was governor of Achaia, some of the Jewish leaders got together and grabbed Paul. They brought him into court ¹³ and said, “This man is trying to make our people worship God in a way that is against our Law!”

¹⁴ Even before Paul could speak, Gallio said, “If you were charging this man with a crime or some other wrong, I would have to listen to you. ¹⁵ But since this concerns only words, names, and your own law, you will have to take care of it. I refuse to judge such matters.” ¹⁶ Then he sent them out of the court. ¹⁷ The crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the Jewish leader, and beat him up in front of the court. But none of this mattered to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

¹⁸ After Paul had stayed for a while with the Lord’s followers in Corinth, he told them good-by and sailed on to Syria with Aquila and Priscilla. But before he left, he had his head shaved^[d] at Cenchreae because he had made a promise to God.

¹⁹ The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the Jewish meeting place to talk with the people there. ²⁰ They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. ²¹ He told them good-by and said, “If God lets me, I will come back.”

²² Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch.

(By David for praise.)

The Lord Is Kind and Merciful

It’s Wrong to Favor the Guilty