Friday, 31 May

1.   In the eighteenth year of King 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 the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, 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.   "Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, 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 to withstand the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9.   "Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, 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 as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. 11.   "And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him. 12.   "Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!" 13.   But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14.   And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets. 15.   Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16.   And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. 17.   Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain. 18.   Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers. 19.   And 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.   But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty–two sons and sixteen daughters. 22.   Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo.

1.   So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years. 2.   Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, 3.   for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. 4.   He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. 5.   He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. 6.   And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. 7.   Therefore he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them , and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him , and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. 8.   And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor. 9.   Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10.   So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11.   And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, "LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!" 12.   So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13.   And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil. 14.   Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them. 15.   They also attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

1.   And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2.   So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3.   And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." 4.   Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5.   And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6.   Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7.   But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8.   and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9.   So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10.   For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11.   And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." 12.   But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 13.   And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14.   Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15.   and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16.   Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17.   James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; 18.   Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19.   and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.