A Walk Through The Word

14 About this same time, Abijah (Jeroboam’s son) became very ill.

⁴ Jeroboam’s wife did this urgent thing. She traveled quickly to Shiloh and found the dwelling place of Ahijah. Ahijah was blind in his old age and could not see a thing. ⁵ The Eternal One had already told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is on her way to ask you to prophesy the fate of her boy who is ill. This is what you are to say to her. But beware, when she comes to your house, she will pretend to be someone else.”

⁶ Ahijah heard her footsteps come into his house, and he called out to her.

¹⁷ Jeroboam’s wife then got up and traveled to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped into the house, her son died. ¹⁸ All Israel buried him and grieved for him, just as the Eternal One said they would in the message He gave through the prophet Ahijah.

¹⁹ Is not the rest of Jeroboam’s story—how he caused war, as well as the general history of his actions and reign—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?

²⁰ Jeroboam ruled over Israel for 22 years, then he left this world to sleep with his fathers. Jeroboam’s son, Nadab, then inherited the throne.

²¹ Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, ruled over Judah. He was granted kingship when he was 41 years old, and he ruled 17 years. He lived out his reign in Jerusalem, the city which the Eternal chose from all of Israel’s tribes as the dwelling place for His name. His mother was Naamah the Ammonitess, one of Solomon’s foreign wives.

²² Judah was also wicked in the Eternal’s eyes. Their wickedness aroused His jealousy more than the wickedness of all their ancestors combined. ²³ They constructed high places and crafted holy pillars. They infected the pure earth with their sacred poles on every mountain and beneath every beautiful tree. ²⁴ There were also temple prostitutes who worked throughout the land. They followed the examples of the nations and were wicked just as the nations were before the arrival of the Israelites.

²⁵ During the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak, Egypt’s king, waged war against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He stole all the treasures from the Eternal’s temple and from the palace. He stole everything, even the golden shields Solomon had crafted.

²⁷ King Rehoboam crafted bronze shields to replace the golden shields. He put the shields in the hands of the leaders of the guard who stood guard at the entrance of the palace. ²⁸ On ceremonial occasions, such as when the king entered the Eternal’s temple, the guards carried the shields. They would then return the shields to their room.

²⁹ Is not the rest of Rehoboam’s story documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? ³⁰ There were always wars taking place between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ³¹ Rehoboam left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid to rest with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother was called Naamah the Ammonitess. Then his son, Abijam, inherited the throne.

15 During the 18th year of Jeroboam’s reign (Jeroboam was Nebat’s son), Abijam^[a] took over the throne of Judah. ² Abijam reigned 3 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah^[b] (Abishalom’s daughter). ³ Abijam indulged in the same wicked things as his father did. His heart did not wholly belong to the Eternal One his God, as his ancestor David’s heart had. ⁴ Nevertheless, the Eternal One his God left the lamp of His presence in Jerusalem for David’s sake, so that He might allow his son to grow up there and to make a strong foundation for Jerusalem. ⁵ David did what was good in the eyes of the Eternal, for he did not abandon the commands of the Eternal during his lifetime, with the exception of the incident with Uriah the Hittite.^{[c] 6} The war between Rehoboam’s and Jeroboam’s people continued during Abijam’s entire lifetime.

⁷ Is not the rest of Abijam’s story documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? How war continued between Abijam and Jeroboam? ⁸ Abijam left this world to sleep with his fathers, and they laid him to rest in the city of David, as was the tradition. His son, Asa, then inherited the throne.

⁹ During the 20th year of Israel’s king, Jeroboam, Asa took over the throne in Judah. ¹⁰ He ruled for 41 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah^[d] (Abishalom’s daughter).

¹¹ Asa did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes, just as his ancestor David had. ¹² He eliminated cult prostitution throughout the land, and he destroyed every idol his fathers had crafted. ¹³ He also took away his mother’s position as queen mother because she, Maacah, had made a corrupt and vile image honoring the goddess Asherah. Asa stripped down the goddess’s image and set fire to it in the trash heap beside the Kidron stream. ¹⁴ The high places were left alone. Asa did not touch them, but his heart belonged wholly to the Eternal One for his entire life. ¹⁵ He transported silver and gold and objects into the Eternal’s temple, replacing those that Shishak had taken. He dedicated old things of his father’s, as well as his own new things.

¹⁶ There was war continually between Asa and Baasha (Israel’s king who took the throne in a coup against Nadab) during their reigns. ¹⁷ Baasha, Israel’s king, challenged Judah and fortified Ramah. He built up the region so that no one could approach or leave Asa, Judah’s king.

¹⁸ Asa then gathered up all the silver and gold from the treasuries in the Eternal’s temple and in the king’s house. He handed it all over to those who were in his service. King Asa told them to go see Ben-hadad (son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, Aram’s king) in Damascus.

²⁰ Ben-hadad heard King Asa’s request and immediately dispatched military leaders to wage war against Israel’s cities. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth, and all of Naphtali. ²¹ Baasha received word of this, and he immediately stopped fortifying Ramah as an outpost against Asa. Then he stayed in Tirzah.

²² When King Asa heard it, he made a declaration to Judah. There was not a single citizen or foreigner who did not hear his words. Everyone tore down the fortifications around Ramah; Baasha had been using large rocks and timber. King Asa then fortified his own cities of Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah with those rocks and timbers.

²³ Is not the rest of Asa’s story—his actions, strengths, and records of cities built—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? When he was an old man, his feet were struck with a horrible disease. ²⁴ Asa left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid with them to rest in the city of David. His son, Jehoshaphat, then inherited the throne.

10 Cornelius, a Roman Centurion and a member of a unit called the Italian Cohort, lived in Caesarea. ² Cornelius was an outsider, but he was a devout man—a God-fearing fellow with a God-fearing family. He consistently and generously gave to the poor, and he practiced constant prayer to God. ³ About three o’clock one afternoon, he had a vision of a messenger of God.

⁷ After the messenger departed, Cornelius immediately called two of his slaves and a soldier under his command—an especially devout soldier. ⁸ He told them the whole story and sent them to Joppa.

⁹ Just as these men were nearing Joppa about noon the next day, Peter went up on the flat rooftop of Simon the tanner’s house. He planned to pray, ¹⁰ but he soon grew hungry. While his lunch was being prepared, Peter had a vision of his own—a vision that linked his present hunger with what was about to happen: ¹¹ A rift opened in the sky, and a wide container—something like a huge sheet suspended by its four corners—descended through the torn opening toward the ground. ¹² This container teemed with four-footed animals, creatures that crawl, and birds—pigs, bats, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and vultures.

¹⁶ Peter saw this vision three times; but the third time, the container of animals flew up through the rift in the sky, the rift healed, ¹⁷ and Peter was confused and unsettled as he tried to make sense of this strange vision.

At that very moment, Peter heard the voices of Cornelius’s delegation, who had asked for directions to Simon’s house, coming from the front gate.

^19-20 Peter’s mind was still racing about the vision when the voice of the Holy Spirit broke through his churning thoughts.

²¹ Peter rushed downstairs to the men.

²³ Peter extended hospitality to them and gave them lodging overnight. When they departed together the next morning, Peter brought some believers from Joppa.

Psalm 133

A song of David for those journeying to worship.

²⁰ Now when the entire community of Israel received word that Jeroboam had returned, they invited him to the assembly where they made him king over the entire Kingdom of Israel. Only the tribe of Judah was still devoted to David’s house.

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered together the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. There were 180,000 handpicked warriors gathered together in a plot to battle against Israel in order to get the kingdom back under the rule of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. ²² But the word of the True God visited Shemaiah, the man of God.

They honored the message of warning from the Eternal, returned to their homes, and did exactly as He had instructed them to do.

²⁵ In Israel Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hilly land of Ephraim. He lived there for a time, then he took on another project and fortified Penuel.

²⁸ The king sought out advice and then cast two calves out of gold.

²⁹ Jeroboam placed one of the golden calves in Bethel and the other in Dan. ³⁰ This was a horribly wicked sin. People even traveled with the golden calf in a religious procession when it was placed in Dan. ³¹ Jeroboam constructed temples on high places, and he appointed men to be priests who were not descendants of Levi.

³² Jeroboam instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. It was similar to the Feast of Booths that is celebrated in the seventh month in Judah.^[a] He then approached the altar in Bethel and offered sacrifices to the golden calves he had crafted. While he was doing this, he instructed the priests of the country’s high places to serve in Bethel. ³³ Jeroboam then approached the altar in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to make sacrifices according to a plan he had devised. There, he instituted this festival for all the Israelites. Then he approached the altar and burned incense.

13 A man of God from Judah arrived in Bethel because the Eternal One had told him to go there for a divine purpose. He arrived in the city while Jeroboam was burning incense at the altar. ² The prophet proclaimed the message of the Eternal against the altar.

³ The prophet offered a sign that day.

⁴ The king heard the threatening message that the man of God boldly proclaimed against the altar in Bethel.

When Jeroboam raised his hand from the altar, it shriveled up instantaneously, and he could not bring it back to his body. ⁵ The altar broke apart, and the ashes of fat fell out of the altar. This sign occurred exactly as the man of God said it would in the message he gave from the Eternal One.

So the man of God called upon the Eternal, and Jeroboam’s hand became normal again, as if it had never changed.

¹⁰ So the man of God took a different path from the one he had originally traveled to Bethel.

¹¹ There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. The old prophet’s sons heard about the sign the man of God had performed and about the words he spoke to the king, and they relayed these things to their father.

The old prophet’s sons had seen which way the man of God from Judah had gone, so they told their father which direction to take.

The old prophet’s sons saddled the donkey, and the father got on it and went to find the man of God. ¹⁴ Along his journey, he found the man of God resting beneath an oak tree.

But the old prophet lied. ¹⁹ The man of God trusted the old prophet and accompanied him back to his house, where he ate bread and drank water.

²⁰ While they were sitting at the prophet’s table, the Eternal gave a grim message to the prophet who brought the man of God to his house. ²¹ He spoke it to the man of God who was from Judah.

²³ After having a sobering meal and some water, the prophet prepared his donkey for the man of God. ²⁴ While the man of God was traveling on the donkey, he was killed by a lion and his body fell to the ground, right in the middle of the road. ²⁵ It was the strangest sight, for the donkey and the lion both remained standing beside the man’s body. People walked by on the road and saw the body of the man of God with the lion standing beside it. The people brought word of this strange sight to the city of the old prophet.

And so his sons saddled the donkey for him. ²⁸ The prophet traveled to the body of the man of God. The donkey and the lion remained standing beside it on the road. The strange thing is that the lion had not tried to eat any of the dead body or kill the donkey. ²⁹ The prophet gathered up the lifeless body of the man of God and placed it on the donkey, then he led the donkey back to the old prophet’s city where he grieved for the man of God and gave him a proper burial. ³⁰ The prophet buried the man of God in his own grave; and everyone grieved for him, crying out, “I’m so sorry, brother!” ³¹ After the prophet had buried the man of God, he spoke to his sons.

³³ Even after all of this, Jeroboam still did not repent from his wickedness. He continued to choose priests for the high places out of anyone and everyone. Any man who was willing to be a priest, Jeroboam ordained him so that the man could act as a priest of the high places. ³⁴ This was wicked enough to annihilate Jeroboam’s entire house and reign from the history of the world.

²⁶ and he returned to Jerusalem.

He tried to join the disciples there, but they didn’t think he was sincere.

²⁷ Only one person accepted Saul as a genuine disciple, Barnabas, who became Saul’s advocate to the apostles. He told the whole story of what happened in Damascus, from Saul’s vision and message from the Lord to his transformation into a confident proclaimer of the name of Jesus. ²⁸ Finally they accepted Saul and gave him access to their community, and he continued to speak confidently in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He dialogued—and argued—with a group of Greek-speaking Jews. That didn’t go well either, because soon they were plotting to kill him also. ³⁰ His fellow believers helped him escape by bringing him to Caesarea and sending him to his hometown, Tarsus.

³¹ And so the church enjoyed a period of peace and growth throughout the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. The disciples lived in deep reverence for the Lord, they experienced the strong comfort of the Holy Spirit, and their numbers increased.

³² Peter hadn’t been idle during all this time. He was having a number of amazing experiences of his own, traveling from group to group and visiting the various communities of believers. Once he came to a town called Lydda, a border town between Samaria and Judea, and met with God’s special people there. ³³ He visited a man named Aeneas. This poor fellow had been paralyzed for eight years, unable to leave his bed.

And immediately—he got up! ³⁵ All the local residents—both of Lydda and nearby Sharon—saw Aeneas healthy and strong again, so they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ In a nearby coastal city, Joppa, there lived a disciple whose Aramaic name was Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek. She was a good woman—devotedly doing good and giving to the poor. ³⁷ While Peter was in Lydda, she fell sick and died. Her fellow disciples washed her body and laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸ They had heard Peter was nearby, so two of them went with an urgent message, “Please come to Joppa as soon as possible.”

³⁹ Peter went with them and immediately entered the room where the corpse had been placed. It was quite a scene—the widows of the community were crowded in the room, weeping, showing the various items of clothing that Dorcas had made for them.

⁴⁰ Peter asked them to leave the room; then he got on his knees. He prayed for a while and then turned to her body.

She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. ⁴¹ Giving her his hand, Peter lifted her up. Then he called in the other disciples—including the widows—and reintroduced them to their beloved friend. ⁴² The news of this miracle spread throughout the city, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for some time as the guest of Simon, a tanner by profession.

Psalm 132

A song for those journeying to worship.

11 King Solomon loved countless women from other countries—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites—as well as Pharaoh’s daughter.

² All the countries of the king’s lovers were heathen countries that the Eternal One had warned the Israelites about: “Do not mingle with them, and do not allow them to mingle with you. They will corrupt you and lead you away from Me. They will seduce your hearts to follow their own gods.”^[a] But Solomon clung to these lovers. ³ He had 700 royal wives, as well as 300 mistresses. And his wives and mistresses seduced his heart away from God.

⁴ Solomon followed the Lord during youth and middle age, but when Solomon was an old man, these women seduced him into following other gods. His heart was led astray and no longer completely belonged to the Eternal One, his True God, as his father David’s heart did. ⁵ Solomon pursued Ashtoreth (the Sidonian goddess) and Milcom (the abomination of the Ammonites). ⁶ Solomon abandoned his lifelong integrity and committed evil in the eyes of the Eternal. He did not follow Him completely, as his father David had. ⁷ Instead Solomon constructed a high place on the mountain east of Jerusalem for Chemosh (Moab’s horrific idol) and for Molech (the Ammonites’ abhorrence). ⁸ He constructed such sites for all his wives from other countries, so that they would have a place to burn incense and offer sacrifices to their many gods.

⁹ The Eternal boiled with anger toward Solomon because he had allowed his heart to be seduced away from the Eternal One, Israel’s True God, who had appeared to Solomon twice ¹⁰ and had warned him about this very act of faithlessness. But Solomon did not heed His command.

¹⁴ The Eternal brought an enemy against him—Hadad the Edomite, who was a descendant of Edom’s king.

¹⁵ While David was in Edom, Joab, the head of the army, was burying the dead after he had killed every male in Edom. ¹⁶ (Joab and all of Israel had remained in Edom for six months until Joab had killed every male in Edom.) ¹⁷ But Hadad ran away to Egypt. Some of the Edomites who guarded Hadad’s father traveled with Hadad in order to look after him because he was only a boy at the time. ¹⁸ They traveled from Midian and arrived at Paran. They gathered men from Paran to journey with them, and they arrived in Egypt. They went to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and he provided Hadad with a place to stay and with food. Pharaoh also gave him his own land; he treated Hadad as family. ¹⁹ Pharaoh liked Hadad so much that he offered his sister-in-law to Hadad to marry. She was the sister of the queen, Tahpenes. ²⁰ Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to Hadad’s son, whom they called Genubath. Tahpenes weaned Genubath in Pharaoh’s house where he stayed and grew up with Pharaoh’s sons. ²¹ When Hadad received word in Egypt that David had left this world to sleep with his fathers and that Joab, the head of the army, was also dead, he made a special request to Pharaoh.

²³ The True God brought another enemy against Solomon—Rezon (Eliada’s son) who ran away from his lord Hadadezer (Zobah’s king). ²⁴ After David killed the people of Zobah, Rezon formed a band of thieves and acted as its leader. The band of thieves traveled to Damascus, the capital of Aram, and ruled there. ²⁵ Rezon was Israel’s perpetual enemy during Solomon’s reign, in addition to all that Hadad did. Rezon despised Israel and ruled Aram.

²⁶ Solomon had a servant named Jeroboam whose mother, Zeruah, was a widow. His father was Nebat (an Ephraimite from Zeredah). Jeroboam grew resentful and rebelled against his king, Solomon, and became one of his enemies. ²⁷ This is the reason Jeroboam rebelled against the king: Solomon constructed the Millo and sealed up the gap in the wall of his father’s city—the city of David. ²⁸ Jeroboam was a strong and fierce warrior. Solomon recognized that Jeroboam was a hard worker and put him in charge of all the workers from Joseph’s tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh.

²⁹ When Jeroboam was traveling outside of Jerusalem, he encountered the prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite, on the road. Ahijah was dressed in a new robe, and there was no one else anywhere around except for him and Jeroboam. ³⁰ Ahijah then did something unexpected. He pulled his new robe off his body and tore it into a dozen pieces.

⁴⁰ Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam because of this, but Jeroboam ran away to Egypt to seek shelter with Shishak, Egypt’s king. Jeroboam remained in Egypt until Solomon died.

⁴¹ Is not the rest of Solomon’s story—his actions and his wisdom—documented in the book of the acts of Solomon?

⁴² In all Solomon ruled over Jerusalem for 40 years. ⁴³ Solomon left this world to sleep with his fathers. He was laid to rest in his father’s city, the city of David. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, then inherited the throne.

12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, a border city between Ephraim and Manasseh, because the entire community of Israel had gathered there to install him as the new king. ² Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) received word of this while he was living in Egypt, hiding from King Solomon. ³ Then the people of the northern tribes called for Jeroboam, and with him the entire community of Israel spoke to Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.

The people left.

⁶ King Rehoboam then went to talk with the elders who had been in the service of his father, Solomon, when he was alive. He asked for their advice on this matter.

⁸ But Rehoboam ignored the advice of the elders. Instead he went to consult his childhood friends—the young men with whom he had grown up and who served him.

¹² Jeroboam and all the people of Israel came back to meet with Rehoboam after they had been away for three days. They did this because Rehoboam had given them this instruction: “Go away for three days, then come back to me.” ¹³ So Rehoboam spoke to the people in a tyrannical tone and completely ignored the advice of the experienced elders. ¹⁴ Rehoboam instead heeded the advice of the young men with whom he had grown up.

¹⁵ After King Rehoboam had finished speaking to Jeroboam and the Israelites, the king did not listen to them as the Eternal intended. Thus Rehoboam fulfilled the promise the Eternal One gave through the prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite, to Jeroboam (Nebat’s son). ¹⁶ The people of Israel realized the king had not listened to them.

The Israelites left and went back to their homes. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam ruled over all the Israelites who lived in the cities that were a part of Judah. ¹⁸ Rehoboam sent Adoram (commander over the forced workers) to compel the Israelites to end their rebellion, but the entire community of Israel killed him with stones. Afraid for his life, King Rehoboam quickly got into his chariot to run back to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Israel has been in conflict with David’s house ever since.

9 Back to Saul—this fuming, raging, hateful man who wanted to kill every last one of the Lord’s disciples: he went to the high priest in Jerusalem ² for authorization to purge all the synagogues in Damascus of followers of the way of Jesus.^[a] His plan was to arrest and chain any of Jesus’ followers—women as well as men—and transport them back to Jerusalem. ³ He traveled north toward Damascus with a group of companions.

Imagine this: Suddenly a light flashes from the sky around Saul, ⁴ and he falls to the ground at the sound of a voice.

Then he hears these words:

⁷ His other traveling companions just stand there, paralyzed, speechless because they, too, heard the voice; but there is nobody in sight. ⁸ Saul rises to his feet, his eyes wide open, but he can’t see a thing. So his companions lead their blind friend by the hand and take him into Damascus. ⁹ He waits for three days—completely blind—and does not eat a bite or drink a drop of anything.

¹⁰ Meanwhile, in Damascus a disciple named Ananias had a vision in which the Lord Jesus spoke to him.

¹⁷ So Ananias went and entered the house where Saul was staying. He laid his hands on Saul and called to him.

¹⁸ At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see. So he got up, received the ceremonial washing of baptism^[b] identifying him as a disciple, ¹⁹ ate some food (remember, he had not eaten for three days), and regained his strength. He spent a lot of time with the disciples in Damascus over the next several days. ²⁰ Then he went into the very synagogues he had intended to purge, proclaiming,

²¹ Obviously this amazed everybody, and the buzz spread.

²² As time passed, Saul’s confidence grew stronger and stronger, so much so that he debated with the Jews of Damascus and made an irrefutable case that Jesus is, in fact, God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.

²³ They didn’t like being confounded like this; so after several days, the Jews plotted to assassinate Saul. ²⁴ But he learned of the plot. He knew they were keeping the city gates under constant surveillance, so they could follow and kill him when he left. ²⁵ To save Saul, the disciples came up with a plan of their own. During the night, they put Saul in a basket and lowered him by ropes from an opening in the wall of the city rather than passing through the gates. Their plan worked,

Psalm 131

A song of David for those journeying to worship.

9 After Solomon had constructed the Eternal’s temple, his own palace, and many other building projects that he desired, ² the Eternal came to Solomon again just as He had at Gibeon.

¹⁰ Twenty years passed, and Solomon had constructed the two houses: the temple of the Eternal and the palace of the king. ¹¹ Tyre’s king, Hiram, had given Solomon all the cedar, cypress, and gold he desired for those projects, so Solomon granted Hiram twenty cities in Galilee.

¹² Hiram traveled from Tyre to view the cities Solomon was giving to him, but he was not satisfied.

People still refer to these cities as the land of Cabul, meaning “worthless,” even today.

¹⁴ Hiram gave approximately 9,000 pounds^[b] of gold to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon used foreign slave laborers, taken from cities he conquered, for the construction of the Eternal’s temple, the king’s palace, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. What follows is the report of it:

¹⁶ Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, had captured Gezer, set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who were dwelling there, and then given the entire city as a dowry for his daughter who married Solomon. ¹⁷ Solomon restored the border areas of Gezer, the lower part of Beth-horon, ¹⁸ Baalath and Tamar in Judah’s desert country, ¹⁹ all the cities he used for storage, as well as the cities he used for his chariots and horsemen. Solomon also built whatever he desired in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all lands he reigned over. ²⁰ All the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who still remained in his territories even though they were not Israelites, ²¹ the Israelites sought to annihilate; but from those who remained, Solomon assembled his conscripted labor force. This is still done today. ²² Solomon did not turn the Israelites into slaves. The Israelites were soldiers, servants, princes, captains, charioteers, and cavalrymen. ²³ All these men—550 in all—were the most important officials involved in Solomon’s work, controlling all the workers.

²⁴ Pharaoh’s daughter traveled from the city of David to visit the house which Solomon had raised for her. Solomon then constructed the Millo.

²⁵ Three times a year, Solomon presented burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar he constructed in honor of the Eternal One. He burned incense on this altar which stood before the Eternal. His work on the temple was finished.

²⁶ King Solomon constructed a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is in the land of Edom near Eloth on the Red Sea. ²⁷ Hiram commanded some of his most experienced sailors to be the crew of the fleet. These sailors were in the company of Solomon’s servants. ²⁸ They traveled to Ophir. When they got there, they gathered 16 tons of gold and transported it back to King Solomon.

10 The queen of Sheba was fascinated when she heard about the famous Solomon and his devotion to the name of the Eternal One. She traveled a long way to meet him and to challenge him with her difficult questions. ² She arrived in Jerusalem accompanied by many advisors, assistants, and camels carrying spices and a lot of gold and rare jewels. When she met Solomon, she asked him about everything she could think of.

³ Solomon gave her an answer to every question. The king knew all the answers, and he explained all she asked. ⁴ When the queen recognized Solomon’s wisdom and observed the palace he had envisioned and constructed, ⁵ the food on his table, the orderly arrangement of his servants, the attentive service and fine dress of his waiters, his wine servers, and the beautiful stairway^[c] that led up to the Eternal’s temple, she was in complete awe.

¹⁰ The queen then presented Solomon with 9,000 pounds^[d] of gold and a large gift of spices and rare jewels. No other gift of spices given to the king ever compared to the gift the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹³ King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything her heart desired (besides the usual royal gift). She then departed and returned to her own country with all those who were in her service.^[e]

¹¹ Hiram’s ships—the ones that transported all the gold from Ophir—also transported a large amount of almug trees and rare jewels. ¹² The king transformed the almug trees into steps for the Eternal’s temple and the palace. He also made lyres and harps for the musicians. Almug trees like these had never before entered Israel, and they never have since.

¹⁴ Solomon received 25 tons of gold each year. ¹⁵ This amount does not include the amount of gold received through taxation of explorers, traders, and merchants and revenue from the Arab kings and provincial governors. ¹⁶ King Solomon crafted 200 large shields, each made from 7½ pounds of hammered gold. ¹⁷ Then he crafted 300 shields made from 60 ounces of hammered gold. He kept them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ He also crafted an ivory throne and covered it with the purest gold. ¹⁹ There were 6 steps leading up to the throne. The back of the throne was rounded, and a lion stood next to each armrest. ²⁰ There were 12 lions on the 6 steps: 6 lions on one side and 6 on the other. Nothing anywhere in the world compared to it. ²¹ All of King Solomon’s cups were made out of gold, and all the cups in the house of the forest of Lebanon were made out of the purest gold as well. Nothing was crafted out of silver because silver was worthless during that time. ²² Tarshish’s ships and Hiram’s ships were out at sea under the rule of Solomon. Tarshish’s ships brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks^[f] to Solomon once every 3 years.

²³ King Solomon became mightier than any other king in the entire world. He was wealthy in material and in wisdom. ²⁴ People from around the world wanted to meet the famous Solomon. They desired to learn the wisdom God had planted in his heart. ²⁵ They brought gifts—silver, gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. The gifts accumulated as the years passed.

²⁶ Solomon summoned his chariots and cavalrymen. He commanded 1,400 chariots and 12,000 cavalrymen, and he sent them to the appointed cities (known as chariot cities) or to guard Jerusalem’s king. ²⁷ The king had made silver as common as stones are in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as common as sycamore trees are in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon brought his horses from Egypt^[g] and Kue, and the king’s businessmen paid the people of Kue for the horses. ²⁹ One chariot was bought from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver, and one horse was bought for 60 ounces of silver. Some chariots and horses were then exported to the Hittite and Aramean kings along the route from Kue back to Israel.

¹⁴ Meanwhile word had reached the Lord’s emissaries^[a] in Jerusalem that the message of God was welcomed in Samaria—a land of half-breeds and heretics in the minds of many Judeans. They sent Peter and John ¹⁵ to pray for the Samaritans. They were especially eager to see if the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶ because until this point they had been baptized^[b] in the name of the Lord Jesus but had not experienced the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ When Peter and John laid hands on the people, the Holy Spirit did indeed come upon them all.

¹⁸ Simon watched all this closely. He saw the Holy Spirit coming to the people when the apostles laid hands on them. So he came to Peter and John and offered them money.

²⁵ Peter and John preached to and talked with the Samaritans about the message of the Lord; and then they returned to Jerusalem, stopping in many other Samaritan villages along the way to proclaim the good news.

²⁶ A heavenly messenger brought this short message from the Lord to Philip during his time preaching in Samaria:

The message was especially unusual because this road runs through the middle of uninhabited desert. ²⁷ But Philip got up, left the excitement of Samaria, and did as he was told to do. Along this road, Philip saw a chariot in the distance. In the chariot was a dignitary from Ethiopia (the treasurer for Queen Candace), an African man who had been castrated. He had gone north to Jerusalem to worship at the Jewish temple, ²⁸ and he was now heading southwest on his way home. He was seated in the chariot and was reading aloud from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹ Philip received another prompting from the Holy Spirit:

³⁰ So he started running until he was even with the chariot. Philip heard the Ethiopian reading aloud and recognized the words from the prophet Isaiah.

Then he invited Philip to sit in the chariot. ³² Here’s the passage he was reading from the Hebrew Scriptures:

³⁵ That began a conversation in which Philip used the passage to explain the good news of Jesus. ³⁶ Eventually the chariot passed a body of water beside the road.

The Ethiopian said that he believed.]^[e]

³⁸ He commanded the charioteer to stop the horses. Then Philip and the Ethiopian official walked together into the water. There Philip baptized^[f] him, initiating him as a fellow disciple. ³⁹ When they came out of the water, Philip was immediately caught up by the Holy Spirit and taken from the sight of the Ethiopian, who climbed back into his chariot and continued on his journey, overflowing with joy. ⁴⁰ Philip found himself at a town called Azotus (formerly the Philistine capital city of Ashdod, on the Mediterranean); and from there he traveled north again, proclaiming the good news in town after town until he came to Caesarea.

Psalm 130

A song for those journeying to worship.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

8 ^(A)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, ^(B)the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(C)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of ^(D)the city of David, which is Zion. ² And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at ^(E)the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³ And all the elders of Israel came, and ^(F)the priests took up the ark. ⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(G)the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, ^(H)sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ^6 (I)Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(J)to its place in ^(K)the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. ^8 (L)And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before ^(M)the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. ⁹ There was nothing in the ark except ^(N)the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where ^(O)the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, ^(P)a cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Blesses the Lord

^12 (Q)Then Solomon said, “The Lord^[a] has said that he would dwell ^(R)in thick darkness. ^13 (S)I have indeed built you an exalted house, ^(T)a place for you to dwell in forever.” ¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(U)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. ¹⁵ And he said, ^(V)“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled ^(W)what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, ^16 (X)‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, ^(Y)that my name might be there. ^(Z)But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ ^17 (AA)Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. ^19 (AB)Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ ²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(AC)as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have provided a place for the ark, ^(AD)in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

²² Then Solomon ^(AE)stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and ^(AF)spread out his hands toward heaven, ²³ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^(AG)there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(AH)keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ²⁴ you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. ^(AI)You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. ²⁵ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^(AJ)‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ ^26 (AK)Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(AL)heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! ²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, ^29 (AM)that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^(AN)‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

³¹ “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take ^(AO)an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, ^(AP)condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

^33 (AQ)“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and ^(AR)if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

^35 (AS)“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when ^(AT)you teach them ^(AU)the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

^37 (AV)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,^[b] whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, ³⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (^(AW)for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), ⁴⁰ that they may fear you ^(AX)all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake ⁴² (for they shall hear of your great name ^(AY)and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order ^(AZ)that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and ^(BA)fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

⁴⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord ^(BB)toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “If they sin against you—^(BC)for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive ^(BD)to the land of the enemy, far off or near, ⁴⁷ yet ^(BE)if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^(BF)‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ ^48 (BG)if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you ^(BH)toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause ⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and ^(BI)grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹ (^(BJ)for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, ^(BK)from the midst of the iron furnace). ^52 (BL)Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. ⁵³ For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, ^(BM)as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon's Benediction

^54 (BN)Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had ^(BO)knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(BP)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^(BQ)Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. ⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. ^(BR)May he not leave us or forsake us, ⁵⁸ that he may ^(BS)incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, ⁶⁰ that ^(BT)all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(BU)the Lord is God; there is no other. ^61 (BV)Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon's Sacrifices

^62 (BW)Then ^(BX)the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because ^(BY)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon held ^(BZ)the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from ^(CA)Lebo-hamath to ^(CB)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.^{[c] 66} On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

^51 (A)“You stiff-necked people, ^(B)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(C)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (D)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(E)the Righteous One, ^(F)whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law ^(G)as delivered by angels and ^(H)did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things ^(I)they were enraged, and they ^(J)ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(K)full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^(L)the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(M)at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see ^(N)the heavens opened, and ^(O)the Son of Man standing ^(P)at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^[a] at him. ⁵⁸ Then ^(Q)they cast him out of the city and ^(R)stoned him. And ^(S)the witnesses laid down their garments ^(T)at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, ^(U)he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^(V)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And ^(W)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^(X)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^(Y)he fell asleep.

Saul Ravages the Church

8 And ^(Z)Saul ^(AA)approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^(AB)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³ But ^(AC)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^(AD)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴ Now ^(AE)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. ^5 (AF)Philip went down to the city^[b] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ^6 (AG)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^(AH)and saw the signs that he did. ⁷ For ^(AI)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So ^(AJ)there was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

⁹ But there was a man named Simon, ^(AK)who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ^(AL)saying that he himself was somebody great. ¹⁰ They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^(AM)“This man is the power of God that is called ^(AN)Great.” ¹¹ And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^(AO)amazed them with his magic. ¹² But when ^(AP)they believed Philip as he preached good news ^(AQ)about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^(AR)they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^(AS)seeing signs and ^(AT)great miracles^[c] performed, ^(AU)he was amazed.

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.