John 12 (23) Jesus said:
The time has come for the Son of Man to be given his glory. (24) I tell you for certain that a grain of wheat that falls on the ground will never be more than one grain unless it dies. But if it dies, it will produce lots of wheat. love your life, you will lose it. If (25) If you you give it up in this world, you will be given eternal life. (26) you must go with me. My servants will If you serve me, be with me wherever I am. If you serve me, my Father will honor you.
(27) Now I am deeply troubled, and I don't know what to say. But I must not ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering. In fact, I came into the world to suffer. (28) So Father, bring glory to yourself.
A voice from heaven then said, "I have already brought glory to myself, and I will do it again!" (29) When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.
(30) Then Jesus told the crowd, "That voice spoke to help you, not me. (31) This world's people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out! (32) If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me." (33) Jesus was talking about the way he would be put to death.
(34) The crowd said to Jesus, "The Scriptures teach that the Messiah will live forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"
(35) Jesus answered, "The light will be with you for only a little longer. Walk in the light while you can. Then you won't be caught walking blindly in the dark. (36) Have faith in the light while it is with you, and you will be children of the light."
The People Refuse To Have Faith in Jesus
After Jesus had said these things, he left and went into hiding. (37) He had worked a lot of miracles among the people, but they were still not willing to have faith in him. (38) This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah had said would come true,
"Lord, who has believed our message?
And who has seen your mighty strength?"
(39) The people could not have faith in Jesus, because Isaiah had also said,
(40) "The Lord has blinded the eyes of the people,
and he has made the people stubborn.
He did this so that they could not see or understand,
and so that they would not turn to the Lord
and be healed."
(41) Isaiah said this, because he saw the glory of Jesus and spoke about him. (42) Even then, many of the leaders put their faith in Jesus, but they did not tell anyone about it. The Pharisees had already given orders for the people not to have anything to do with anyone who had faith in Jesus. (43) And besides, the leaders liked praise from others more than they liked praise from God.
Jesus Came To Save the World
(44) In a loud voice Jesus said:
Everyone who has faith in me also has faith in the one who sent me. (45) And everyone who has seen me has seen the one who sent me. (46) I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark.
(47) I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge. (48) But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day by what I have said. (49) I don't speak on my own. I say only what the Father who sent me has told me to say. (50) I know that his commands will bring eternal life. That is why I tell you exactly what the Father has told me.
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King Baasha of Israel Invades Judah
(1 Kings 15.16-22)
2 Chronicles 16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
(2) When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: (3) "I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?"
(4) Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. (5) When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.
(6) Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.
Hanani the Prophet Condemns Asa
(7) Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said:
You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the LORD your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. (8) Remember how powerful the Ethiopian and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the LORD to help you then, and you defeated them. (9) The LORD is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again.
(10) When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.
Asa Dies
(1 Kings 15.23, 24)
(11) Everything Asa did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. (12) In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, he got a very bad foot disease, but he relied on doctors and refused to ask the LORD for help. (13) He died two years later.
(14) Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honor.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
2 Chronicles 17 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defenses against Israel. (2) He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
(3-4) When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the LORD and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the LORD. And so the LORD blessed Jehoshaphat 5and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, (6) he remained completely faithful to the LORD. He destroyed all the local shrines in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshiped.
(7) In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the LORD's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. (8) Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. (9) They carried with them a copy of the LORD's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.
(10) The nations around Judah were afraid of the LORD's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. (11) Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him seventy-seven hundred rams and the same number of goats.
(12) As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities (13) where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers (14) from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.
Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had three hundred thousand soldiers under his command. (15) Jehohanan was second in command, with two hundred eighty thousand soldiers under him. (16) Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the LORD, was third in command, with two hundred thousand soldiers under him.
(17) Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had two hundred thousand soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. (18) Jehozabad was second in command, with one hundred eighty thousand soldiers under him. (19) These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.
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Psalm 78
[A special psalm by Asaph.]
What God Has Done for His People
(1) My friends, I beg you to listen as I teach.
(2) I will give instruction
and explain the mystery of what happened long ago.
(3) These are things we learned from our ancestors,
(4) and we will tell them to the next generation.
We won't keep secret the glorious deeds
and the mighty miracles of the LORD.
(5) God gave his Law to Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
And he told our ancestors to teach their children,
(6) so that each new generation would know his Law
and tell it to the next.
(7) Then they would trust God and obey his teachings,
without forgetting anything God had done.
(8) They would be different from their ancestors,
who were stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful to God.
(9) The warriors from Ephraim were armed with arrows,
but they ran away when the battle began.
(10) They broke their agreement with God,
and they turned their backs on his teaching.
(11) They forgot all he had done, even the mighty miracles
(12) he did for their ancestors near Zoan in Egypt.
(13) God made a path in the sea
and piled up the water as he led them across.
(14) He guided them during the day with a cloud,
and each night he led them with a flaming fire.
(15) God made water flow from rocks
he split open in the desert,
and his people drank freely, as though from a lake.
(16) He made streams gush out like rivers from rocks.
(17) But in the desert,
the people of God Most High
kept sinning and rebelling.
(18) They stubbornly tested God
and demanded from him what they wanted to eat.
(19) They challenged God by saying,
"Can God provide food out here in the desert?
(20) It's true God struck the rock
and water gushed out like a river,
but can he give his people bread and meat?"
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