Day 153 – 2 Chronicles 10-13; Psalm 118:129–144; Proverbs 26:24–29; John 12:37–50

2 Chronicles 10-13

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is how you should speak to the people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—this you shall tell them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!’ ”
¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me three days from now.” ¹³ And the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders ¹⁴ and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, so the Lord might fulfill the word He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What share have we in David? What inheritance do we have in the son of Jesse? Every man to your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David!” So all Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ And the men of Israel dwelt in the cities of Judah, and Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue, but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
The Prophecy of Shemaiah
​¹ When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled one hundred eighty thousand young men, warriors from Judah and Benjamin, to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. ² But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and to all Judah and Benjamin, saying, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up and fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this is from Me.” ’ ” And they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.
Defensive Fortifications
⁵ So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built cities with walls in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, walled cities which belong to Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ He fortified them with walls and put captains in them and stores of food, olive oil, and wine. ¹² In every city he put shields and spears and made them very strong, and they belonged to Judah and Benjamin. ¹³ And the priests and the Levites throughout Israel gathered to him from all their regions. ¹⁴ For the Levites left the habitations of their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving the Lord. ¹⁵ Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places and the idols, and the vain things and the calves Jeroboam had made. ¹⁶ Then Jeroboam cast them out of the tribes of Israel, those who had set their heart on seeking the Lord God of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and strengthened Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, because he walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.
Rehoboam’s Family
¹⁸ Then Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliah the son of Jesse. ¹⁹ And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ Then he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines, for he took eighteen wives and thirty concubines and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²² And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maachah as chief to be the leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ He grew more powerful than all his sons throughout the territories of Judah and Benjamin and in all the fortified cities, and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.
  Egypt Invades Judah
​¹ When Rehoboam’s kingdom was established and strengthened, he forsook the commandments of the Lord, as did all Israel along with him. ² And in the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they sinned against the Lord. ³ And he brought twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him from Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. ⁴ And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have forsaken Me, and I shall forsake you in the hand of Shishak.’ ” ⁶ So the leaders of Israel and the king were ashamed and said, “The Lord is righteous.” ⁷ Now when the Lord saw that they repented, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They repented. Therefore I will not destroy them, and I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem; ⁸ nevertheless, they will be servants of the king, and they will know My service as well as the service of the kingdom of the land.”
⁹ So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took everything. He even carried away the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ Then Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ¹¹ And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guard would go and bring them out. Then they would take them back into the guardroom. ¹² When Rehoboam repented, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Things went well in Judah.
Rehoboam’s Reign Ends
¹³ Thus Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. ¹⁴ And he did evil because he did not direct his heart to seek the Lord. ¹⁵ The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And Rehoboam waged war against Jeroboam all their days. ¹⁶ So Rehoboam died and rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.
Abijah Is King of Judah
​¹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah set a battle in array with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand mighty men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel, ⁵ do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David and his sons forever by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. ⁷ Then worthless rogues gathered to him and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them. ⁸ And now you think you can stand against the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David. You are a great multitude, and you have as gods the golden calves Jeroboam made for you. ⁹ Did you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves from the peoples of the land, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?
¹⁰ “But we have not forsaken the Lord our God. And the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ¹¹ And every morning and every evening they offer burnt sacrifices and sweet incense to the Lord, and they set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the golden lamp stand with its lamps to burn every evening. For we keep the command of the Lord God of our fathers, but you have forsaken Him. ¹² Listen, Israel, God Himself is with us as our head, and so are His priests, with trumpets to sound the alarm over us. Children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”
  ¹³ And Jeroboam sent men to slip behind Judah, so Jeroboam would be in front of Judah with an ambush being behind them. ¹⁴ Judah looked back, and behold, a battle line was behind them and in front of them. And they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah shouted. And as the men of Judah shouted, God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ And the sons of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter, and five hundred thousand mighty men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus the sons of Israel were subdued on that day, because Judah relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages. ²⁰ So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah. And the Lord struck him, and he died.
²¹ However, Abijah grew mighty. He married fourteen wives and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah and his ways and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo. ²³ And Abijah died and rested with his fathers. They buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land of Judah was quiet for ten years.
Psalm 118:129–144

¹²⁹ Wondrous are Your testimonies;

For this reason my soul searches them out.

¹³⁰ The revelation of Your words gives light,

And it causes children to understand.

¹³¹ I opened my mouth and drew in my breath,

For I longed for Your commandments.

¹³² Look upon me and have mercy on me,

According to the judgment of those who love Your name.

¹³³ Direct my steps according to Your teaching

And let no lawlessness rule over me.

¹³⁴ Ransom me from the slander of men,

And I will keep Your commandments.

¹³⁵ Make Your face shine upon Your servant

And teach me Your ordinances.

¹³⁶ My eyes poured down streams of tears

Because they did not keep Your law.

¹³⁷ Righteous are You, O Lord,

And upright is Your judgment.

¹³⁸ You commanded Your testimonies exceedingly

In righteousness and truth.

¹³⁹ The zeal of Your house caused me to yearn for home,

For my enemies forgot Your words.

¹⁴⁰ Your teaching is exceedingly purified in fire,

And Your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹ I am young, and beheld as nothing,

But I have not forgotten Your ordinances.

¹⁴² Your righteousness is righteousness forever,

And Your law is truth.

¹⁴³ Affliction and trouble found me,

But Your commandments are my meditation.

¹⁴⁴ Your testimonies are righteousness forever;

Give me understanding, and I shall live.

Proverbs 26:24–29

²⁴ Money given with deceit is like a sharp piece of broken pottery;

So smooth lips hide a heart that causes pain.

²⁵ A weeping enemy promises everything with his lips,

But in his heart he devises deceits.

²⁶ If your enemy entreats you with a loud voice,

Do not consent, for there are seven vices in his soul.

²⁷ He who hides enmity contrives deceit,

But being well known in the assemblies, he exposes his own sins.

²⁸ He who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it,

And he who rolls a stone rolls it upon himself.

²⁹ A lying tongue hates the truth,

And an unguarded mouth causes confusion.

John 12:37–50

³⁷ But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
³⁸ that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
³⁹ Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
⁴¹ These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Walk in the Light
⁴² Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
⁴³ for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
⁴⁵ “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
⁴⁶ “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
⁴⁷ “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
  ⁴⁸ “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
⁴⁹ “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
⁵⁰ “And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”