Bible Readings for June 22, 2017

Today our passages are 2 Kings 3:1–4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; and Proverbs 17:22. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version.  If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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2 Kings 3-4:17 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Kings 3

King Joram of Israel

 ¹Joram ^[a] son of Ahab became king of Israel in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year as king of Judah. ^[b] Joram ruled twelve years from Samaria ²and disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong. He tore down the stone image his father had made to honor Baal, and so he wasn't as sinful as his parents. ³But he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to do. ^[c]

The Country of Moab Rebels against Israel

 ⁴For many years the country of Moab had been controlled by Israel and was forced to pay taxes to the kings of Israel. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep, so he paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool from one hundred thousand rams. ⁵But soon after the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against Israel.     ⁶One day, Joram left Samaria and called together Israel's army. ⁷He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, "The king of Moab has rebelled. Will you go with me to attack him?"
   "Yes, I will," Jehoshaphat answered. "I'm on your side, and my soldiers and horses are at your command. ⁸But which way should we go?"
   "We will march through Edom Desert," Joram replied.
    ⁹So Joram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom led their troops out. But seven days later, there was no drinking water left for them or their animals. ¹⁰Joram cried out, "This is terrible! The LORD must have led us out here to be captured by Moab's army."
    ¹¹Jehoshaphat said, "Which of the LORD's prophets is with us? We can find out from him what the LORD wants us to do."
   One of Joram's officers answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was one of Elijah's closest followers."
    ¹²Jehoshaphat replied, "He can give us the LORD's message."
   The three kings went over to Elisha, ¹³and he asked Joram, "Why did you come to me? Go talk to the prophets of the foreign gods your parents worshiped." ^[d] "No," Joram answered. "It was the LORD who led us out here, so that Moab's army could capture us."
    ¹⁴Elisha said to him, "I serve the LORD All-Powerful, and as surely as he lives, I swear I wouldn't even look at you if I didn't respect King Jehoshaphat." ¹⁵Then Elisha said, "Send for someone who can play the harp."
   The harpist began playing, and the LORD gave Elisha this message for Joram:
    ¹⁶The LORD says that this dry riverbed will be filled with water. ^[e] ¹⁷You won't feel any wind or see any rain, but there will be plenty of water for you and your animals. ¹⁸That simple thing isn't all the LORD is going to do. He will also help you defeat Moab's army. ¹⁹You will capture all their walled cities and important towns. You will chop down every good tree and stop up every spring of water, then ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.
    ²⁰The next morning, while the sacrifice was being offered, water suddenly started flowing from the direction of Edom, and it flooded the land.
    ²¹Meanwhile, the people of Moab had heard that the three kings were coming to attack them. They had called together all of their fighting men, from the youngest to the oldest, and these troops were now standing at their border, ready for battle. ²²When they got up that morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look red. The Moabite troops took one look ²³and shouted, "Look at that blood! The armies of those kings must have fought and killed each other. Come on, let's go take what's left in their camp."
    ²⁴But when they arrived at Israel's camp, the Israelite soldiers came out and attacked them, until they turned and ran away. Israel's army chased them all the way back to Moab, and even there they kept up the attack. ^[f] ²⁵The Israelites destroyed the Moabite towns. They chopped down the good trees and stopped up the springs of water, then covered the fertile fields with rocks. Finally, the only city left standing was Kir-Hareseth, but soldiers armed with slings surrounded and attacked it. ²⁶King Mesha of Moab saw that he was about to be defeated. So he took along seven hundred soldiers with swords and tried to break through the front line where the Edomite troops were positioned. But he failed. ²⁷He then grabbed his oldest son who was to be the next king and sacrificed him as an offering on the city wall. The Israelite troops were so horrified that ^[g] they left the city and went back home.

2 Kings 4

Elisha Helps a Poor Widow

 ¹One day the widow of one of the LORD's prophets said to Elisha, "You know that before my husband died, he was a follower of yours and a worshiper of the LORD. But he owed a man some money, and now that man is on his way to take my two sons as his slaves."     ²"Maybe there's something I can do to help," Elisha said. "What do you have in your house?"
   "Sir, I have nothing but a small bottle of olive oil."
    ³Elisha told her, "Ask your neighbors for their empty jars. And after you've borrowed as many as you can, ⁴go home and shut the door behind you and your sons. Then begin filling the jars with oil and set each one aside as you fill it." ⁵The woman left.
   Later, when she and her sons were back inside their house, the two sons brought her the jars, and she began filling them.
    ⁶At last, she said to one of her sons, "Bring me another jar."
   "We don't have any more," he answered, and the oil stopped flowing from the small bottle.
    ⁷After she told Elisha what had happened, he said, "Sell the oil and use part of the money to pay what you owe the man. You and your sons can live on what is left."
   

Elisha Brings a Rich Woman's Son Back to Life

 ⁸Once, while Elisha was in the town of Shunem, ^[h] he met a rich woman who invited him to her home for dinner. After that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would have a meal there with her and her husband. ⁹Some time later the woman said to her husband, "I'm sure the man who comes here so often is a prophet of God. ¹⁰Why don't we build him a small room on the flat roof of our house? We can put a bed, a table and chair, and an oil lamp in it. Then whenever he comes, he can stay with us."     ¹¹The next time Elisha was in Shunem, he stopped at their house and went up to his room to rest. ^12-13He said to his servant Gehazi, "This woman has been very helpful. Have her come up here to the roof for a moment." She came, and Elisha told Gehazi to say to her, "You've gone to a lot of trouble for us, and we want to help you. Is there something we can request the king or army commander to do?" ^[i] The woman answered, "With my relatives nearby, I have everything I need."
    ¹⁴"Then what can we do for her?" Elisha asked Gehazi.
   Gehazi replied, "I do know that her husband is old, and that she doesn't have a son."
    ¹⁵"Ask her to come here again," Elisha told his servant. He called for her, and she came and stood in the doorway of Elisha's room.
    ¹⁶Elisha said to her, "Next year at this time, you'll be holding your own baby son in your arms."
   "You're a man of God," the woman replied. "Please don't lie to me."
    ¹⁷But a few months later, the woman got pregnant. She gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised.
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Kings 3:1 Joram: See the note at 1.17.
2. 2 Kings 3:1 Joram. . . Judah: See 1.17 and 8.16 and the notes there.
3. 2 Kings 3:3 the sinful things. . . to do: When Jeroboam became king of Israel, he made two gold statues of calves and put them in the towns of Bethel and Dan, so the people of Israel could worship them (see 1 Kings 12.26-30).
4. 2 Kings 3:13 the prophets. . . worshiped: These were prophets of the Canaanite god Baal and the goddess Asherah (see 1 Kings 16.30-33; 18.19).
5. 2 Kings 3:16 that. . . water: Or "to dig holes everywhere in this riverbed."
6. 2 Kings 3:24 chased. . . attack: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. 2 Kings 3:27 The Israelite. . . that: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. 2 Kings 4:8 Shunem: A town in Israel, about twenty-five miles north of Samaria.
9. 2 Kings 4:12 request the king. . . do: Elisha may have meant that he could ask these leaders to lower her taxes.

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Acts 14:8-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Paul and Barnabas in Lystra

 ⁸In Lystra there was a man who had been born with crippled feet and had never been able to walk. ⁹The man was listening to Paul speak, when Paul saw that he had faith in Jesus and could be healed. So he looked straight at the man ¹⁰and shouted, "Stand up!" The man jumped up and started walking around.     ¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they yelled out in the language of Lycaonia, "The gods have turned into humans and have come down to us!" ¹²The people then gave Barnabas the name Zeus, and they gave Paul the name Hermes, ^[a] because he did the talking. ¹³The temple of Zeus was near the entrance to the city. Its priest and the crowds wanted to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. So the priest brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. ¹⁴When the two apostles found out about this, they tore their clothes in horror and ran to the crowd, shouting:
    ¹⁵Why are you doing this? We are humans just like you. Please give up all this foolishness. Turn to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. ¹⁶In times past, God let each nation go its own way. ¹⁷But he showed that he was there by the good things he did. God sends rain from heaven and makes your crops grow. He gives food to you and makes your hearts glad.
    ¹⁸Even after Paul and Barnabas had said all this, they could hardly keep the people from offering a sacrifice to them.
    ¹⁹Some Jewish leaders from Antioch and Iconium came and turned the crowds against Paul. They hit him with stones and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰But when the Lord's followers gathered around Paul, he stood up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas went to Derbe.
   

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

 ²¹Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in Derbe and won some people to the Lord. Then they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. ²²They encouraged the followers and begged them to remain faithful. They told them, "We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God's kingdom." ²³Paul and Barnabas chose some leaders for each of the churches. Then they went without eating ^[b] and prayed that the Lord would take good care of these leaders. ²⁴Paul and Barnabas went on through Pisidia to Pamphylia, ²⁵where they preached in the town of Perga. Then they went down to Attalia ²⁶and sailed to Antioch in Syria. It was there that they had been placed in God's care for the work they had now completed. ^[c] ²⁷After arriving in Antioch, they called the church together. They told the people what God had helped them do and how he had made it possible for the Gentiles to believe. ²⁸Then they stayed there with the followers for a long time.    

Footnotes:

1. Acts 14:12 Hermes: The Greeks thought of Hermes as the messenger of the other gods, especially of Zeus, their chief god.
2. Acts 14:23 went without eating: See the note at 13.2.
3. Acts 14:26 the work they had now completed: See 13.1-3.

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Psalm 140:1-13 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 140

(A psalm by David for the music leader.)

A Prayer for the LORD's Help

 ¹Rescue me from cruel    and violent enemies, LORD!
    ²They think up evil plans
   and always cause trouble.
    ³Their words bite deep
   like the poisonous fangs
   of a snake.
    ⁴Protect me, LORD, from cruel
   and brutal enemies,
   who want to destroy me.
    ⁵Those proud people have hidden
   traps and nets
   to catch me as I walk.
    ⁶You, LORD, are my God!
   Please listen to my prayer.
    ⁷You have the power to save me,
   and you keep me safe
   in every battle.
    ⁸Don't let the wicked succeed
   in doing what they want,
   or else they might never
   stop planning evil.
    ⁹They have me surrounded,
   but make them the victims
   of their own vicious lies. ^[a] ¹⁰Dump flaming coals on them
   and throw them into pits
   where they can't climb out.
    ¹¹Chase those cruel liars away!
   Let trouble hunt them down.
    ¹²Our LORD, I know that you
   defend the homeless
   and see that the poor
   are given justice.
    ¹³Your people will praise you
   and will live with you
   because they do right.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 140:9 or else. . . lies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 17:22 (Contemporary English Version)

²²If you are cheerful,
   you feel good;
   if you are sad,
   you hurt all over.

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Thought for the Day

American author, aviator, and the wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote, “I find I am shedding hypocrisy in human relationships. What a rest that will be! The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere. That is why so much of social life is exhausting; one is wearing a mask. I have shed my mask.”

 

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Joke for the Day

 

A minister is walking down the street one day when he notices a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, the boy is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach.

 

After watching the boy’s efforts for some time, the minister moves closer to the boy's position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow and, placing his hand kindly on the child's shoulder leans over and gives the doorbell a solid ring. Crouching down to the child's level, the minister smiles benevolently and asks, "And now what, my little man?" To which the boy replies, "Now we run!"