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2 Chronicles 21 Daily Bible Reading with Paul Nison
2 Chronicles 21 New Living Translation (NLT)
Jehoram Rules in Judah
21 When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king.
2 Jehoram’s brothers—the other sons of Jehoshaphat—were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.[a] 3 Their father had given each of them valuable gifts of silver, gold, and costly items, and also some of Judah’s fortified towns. However, he designated Jehoram as the next king because he was the oldest. 4 But when Jehoram had become solidly established as king, he killed all his brothers and some of the other leaders of Judah.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 6 But Jehoram followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab, for he had married one of Ahab’s daughters. So Jehoram did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. 7 But the Lord did not want to destroy David’s dynasty, for he had made a covenant with David and promised that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever.
8 During Jehoram’s reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own king. 9 So Jehoram went out with his full army and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them[b] under cover of darkness. 10 Even so, Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time. All this happened because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11 He had built pagan shrines in the hill country of Judah and had led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to give themselves to pagan gods and to go astray.
12 Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this letter:
“This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: You have not followed the good example of your father, Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King Asa of Judah. 13 Instead, you have been as evil as the kings of Israel. You have led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship idols, just as King Ahab did in Israel. And you have even killed your own brothers, men who were better than you. 14 So now the Lord is about to strike you, your people, your children, your wives, and all that is yours with a heavy blow. 15 You yourself will suffer with a severe intestinal disease that will get worse each day until your bowels come out.”
16 Then the Lord stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs, who lived near the Ethiopians,[c] to attack Jehoram. 17 They marched against Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried away everything of value in the royal palace, including the king’s sons and his wives. Only his youngest son, Ahaziah,[d] was spared.
18 After all this, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. 19 The disease grew worse and worse, and at the end of two years it caused his bowels to come out, and he died in agony. His people did not build a great funeral fire to honor him as they had done for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.
Footnotes:
21:2 Masoretic Text reads of Israel; also in 21:4. The author of Chronicles sees Judah as representative of the true Israel. (Some Hebrew manuscripts, Greek and Syriac versions, and Latin Vulgate read of Judah.)
21:9 Or he went out and escaped. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
21:16 Hebrew the Cushites.
21:17 Hebrew Jehoahaz, a variant spelling of Ahaziah; compare 22:1.
2 Chronicles 20 Daily Bible Reading with Paul Nison
2 Chronicles 20 New Living Translation (NLT)
War with Surrounding Nations
20 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites[a] declared war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edom[b] is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea.[c] They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi.)
3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war,[d] plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”
13 As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.
15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”
18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.
20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!”
22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing,[e] and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing,[f] which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
27 Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies. 28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord.
29 When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. 30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat ruled over the land of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32 Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. 33 During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.
34 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Jehu Son of Hanani, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Israel.
35 Some time later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who was very wicked.[g] 36 Together they built a fleet of trading ships[h] at the port of Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your work.” So the ships met with disaster and never put out to sea.[i]
Footnotes:
- 20:1 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 26:7); Hebrew repeats Ammonites.
- 20:2a As in one Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions read Aram.
- 20:2b Hebrew the sea.
- 20:9 Or sword of judgment; or sword, judgment.
- 20:25 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts read corpses.
- 20:26 Hebrew valley of Beracah.
- 20:35 Or who made him do what was wicked.
- 20:36 Hebrew fleet of ships that could go to Tarshish.
- 20:37 Hebrew never set sail for Tarshish.
1 Chronicles 13 Daily Bible Reading with Paul Nison
1 Chronicles 13 New Living Translation (NLT)
David Attempts to Move the Ark
13 David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army.[a] 2 Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: “If you approve and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. 3 It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.”
4 The whole assembly agreed to this, for the people could see it was the right thing to do. 5 So David summoned all Israel, from the Shihor Brook of Egypt in the south all the way to the town of Lebo-hamath in the north, to join in bringing the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. 6 Then David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (also called Kiriath-jearim) to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name[b] of the Lord who is enthroned between the cherubim. 7 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. 8 David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
9 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon,[c] the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. 10 Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.
11 David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.
12 David was now afraid of God, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?” 13 So David did not move the Ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. 14 The Ark of God remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned.
Sabbath Issues and Love
Sabbath Issues and Love
1 Chronicles 2 Daily Bible Reading with Paul Nison
1 Chronicles 2 New Living Translation (NLT)
Descendants of Israel
2 The sons of Israel[a] were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
Descendants of Judah
3 Judah had three sons from Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the Lord saw that the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so he killed him. 4 Later Judah had twin sons from Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. Their names were Perez and Zerah. So Judah had five sons in all.
5 The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
6 The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda[b]—five in all.
7 The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan,[c] who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the Lord.[d]
8 The son of Ethan was Azariah.
From Judah’s Grandson Hezron to David
9 The sons of Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.[e]
10 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of Judah.
11 Nahshon was the father of Salmon.[f]
Salmon was the father of Boaz.
12 Boaz was the father of Obed.
Obed was the father of Jesse.
13 Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, 14 his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, 15 his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David.
16 Their sisters were named Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah had three sons named Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. 17 Abigail married a man named Jether, an Ishmaelite, and they had a son named Amasa.
Other Descendants of Hezron
18 Hezron’s son Caleb had sons from his wife Azubah and from Jerioth.[g] Her sons were named Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah,[h] and they had a son named Hur. 20 Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel.
21 When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Gilead’s sister, the daughter of Makir. They had a son named Segub. 22 Segub was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. 23 (But Geshur and Aram captured the Towns of Jair[i] and also took Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.
24 Soon after Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah gave birth to a son named Ashhur (the father of[j] Tekoa).
Descendants of Hezron’s Son Jerahmeel
25 The sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram (the firstborn), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had a second wife named Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.
27 The sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.
The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.
29 The sons of Abishur and his wife Abihail were Ahban and Molid.
30 The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children, 31 but Appaim had a son named Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. Sheshan had a descendant named Ahlai.
32 The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children, 33 but Jonathan had two sons named Peleth and Zaza.
These were all descendants of Jerahmeel.
34 Sheshan had no sons, though he did have daughters. He also had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave one of his daughters to be the wife of Jarha, and they had a son named Attai.
36 Attai was the father of Nathan.
Nathan was the father of Zabad.
37 Zabad was the father of Ephlal.
Ephlal was the father of Obed.
38 Obed was the father of Jehu.
Jehu was the father of Azariah.
39 Azariah was the father of Helez.
Helez was the father of Eleasah.
40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai.
Sismai was the father of Shallum.
41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah.
Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.
Descendants of Hezron’s Son Caleb
42 The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, included Mesha (the firstborn), who became the father of Ziph. Caleb’s descendants also included the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron.[k]
43 The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44 Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 45 The son of Shammai was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-zur.
46 Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.
47 The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48 Another of Caleb’s concubines, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also gave birth to Shaaph (the father of Madmannah) and Sheva (the father of Macbenah and Gibea). Caleb also had a daughter named Acsah.
50 These were all descendants of Caleb.
Descendants of Caleb’s Son Hur
The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb’s wife Ephrathah, were Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim), 51 Salma (the founder of Bethlehem), and Hareph (the founder of Beth-gader).
52 The descendants of Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim) were Haroeh, half the Manahathites, 53 and the families of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites, from whom came the people of Zorah and Eshtaol.
54 The descendants of Salma were the people of Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, the other half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, 55 and the families of scribes living at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab.[l]
Footnotes:
- 2:1 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
- 2:6 As in many Hebrew manuscripts, some Greek manuscripts, and Syriac version (see also 1 Kgs 4:31); Hebrew reads Dara.
- 2:7a Hebrew Achar; compare Josh 7:1. Achar means “disaster.”
- 2:7b The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
- 2:9 Hebrew Kelubai, a variant spelling of Caleb; compare 2:18.
- 2:11 As in Greek version (see also Ruth 4:20); Hebrew reads Salma.
- 2:18 Or Caleb had a daughter named Jerioth from his wife, Azubah. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 2:19 Hebrew Ephrath, a variant spelling of Ephrathah; compare 2:50 and 4:4.
- 2:23 Or captured Havvoth-jair.
- 2:24 Or the founder of; also in 2:42, 45, 49.
- 2:42 Or who founded Hebron. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 2:55 Or the founder of Beth-recab.
Sin is more contagious than covid-19
Sin is more contagious than covid-19
Sufficient For Today
Sufficient For Today
(#361 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has its own worries. Each day has enough of its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)
Listen closely loved one. Yahweh says exactly what He means and He means exactly what He says. And He knows that to raise children; it takes repeating His words (Deuteronomy 4:9-10; 6:7; 11:19) and sometimes a rod as well (Proverbs 13:24). If He says that you should not be worried about tomorrow, then any concern for the future will be absent His anointing. Meditate over and over on these words: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to the Mighty One. And the peace of the Mighty One, which transcends all understanding, will guard the thoughts, feelings and purpose of your hearts [minds] in the Messiah Yahshua.(Philippians 4:6) If you are instructed to not be anxious or worried about anything, then losing your peace or having anxiety over your desires, hopes, or concerns for the future is foolishness. He is your everything today and your everything tomorrow.
Trust in Yahweh, and do good; dwell in the land [what is firm], and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in Yahweh, and He shall give [grant, set, appoint, assign] you the desires of your heart [satisfy your thoughts, feelings, and purpose]. (Psalm 37:3-4) Do you get how powerful this is? You have no need for anxiety about your future because Yahweh both assigns the desires of your heart and then He grants them. If you are living in obedience, you can be confident that the very desires you have in your heart were place there by the Mighty One and will also be fulfilled by Him. The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Yahweh; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Psalm 21:1-2)
You should have no anxiety about tomorrow, but this does not mean that you should not cultivate a vision for what Yahweh has for you, the purpose for why you were created. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the Law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18) There is a call on your life, and obedience to that call brings happiness. Besides, the gifts of Yahweh are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). The desires that He placed in your heart are the very clues which identify your calling, define your purpose, and cultivate Yahweh’s vision for you. “I know the plans I have for you,” declares Yahweh, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) And the key to assuring that your desires are His desires is to be a man after the heart of Yahweh (Acts 13:22). It is the key of David; “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” (Isaiah 22:22, Revelation 3:7) When you are after the heart of Yahweh, you have in your hand the keys to the Kingdom.
Those keys unlock Yahweh’s vision for your life and help define your purpose. However, one thing above all will insure that you have no worries about tomorrow. It is to be satisfied with your cup being filled by the Almighty alone. If your happiness, peace, and contentment require a new job, or perhaps a better marriage, then your hope is in idols, something other than Him. It says that your emotional stability is subject to your physical or emotional satisfaction from people or things. To the contrary, when you are complete in Him, everything else is provided automatically (Matthew 6:33)! The mind (heart) longs for nothing else, needs nothing else, and is utterly and overwhelmingly satisfied with Yahweh alone!
If today, you cry out for Him to be your everything, to love Him and His will alone, then you will find that you have more than you could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). It will be too glorious to even think about tomorrow.