Bible Readings for June 25, 2017

Today our passages are 2 Kings 8:1–9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; and Proverbs 17:26. 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 8-9:13 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Kings 8

The Woman from Shunem Is Given Back Her Land

 ¹Elisha told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} "The LORD has warned that there will be no food here for seven years. Take your family and go live somewhere else for a while." ²The woman did exactly what Elisha had said and went to live in Philistine territory. She and her family lived there seven years. ³Then she returned to Israel and immediately begged the king to give back her house and property.     ⁴Meanwhile, the king was asking Gehazi the servant of Elisha about the amazing things Elisha had been doing. ⁵While Gehazi was telling him that Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life, the woman and her son arrived.
   "Here's the boy, Your Majesty," Gehazi said. "And this is his mother."
    ⁶The king asked the woman to tell her story, and she told him everything that had happened. He then said to one of his officials, "I want you to make sure that this woman gets back everything that belonged to her, including the money her crops have made since the day she left Israel."
   

Hazael Kills Benhadad

 ⁷Some time later Elisha went to the capital city of Damascus to visit King Benhadad of Syria, who was sick. And when Benhadad was told he was there, ⁸he said to Hazael, ^[b<="">] "Go meet with Elisha the man of God and have him ask the LORD if I will get well. And take along a gift for him." ⁹Hazael left with forty camel loads of the best things made in Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He found the prophet and said, "Your servant, King Benhadad, wants to know if he will get well."     ¹⁰"Tell him he will," Elisha said to Hazael. "But the LORD has already told me that Benhadad will definitely die." ¹¹Elisha stared at him until Hazael was embarrassed, then Elisha began crying. ^{[c<="">] 12}"Sir, why are you crying?" Hazael asked.
   Elisha answered, "Because I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn down their walled cities and slaughter their young men. You will even crush the heads of their babies and rip open their pregnant women."
    ¹³"How could I ever do anything like that?" Hazael replied. "I'm only a servant and don't have that kind of power."
   "Hazael, the LORD has told me that you will be the next king of Syria."
    ¹⁴Hazael went back to Benhadad and told him, "Elisha said that you will get well." ¹⁵But the very next day, Hazael got a thick blanket; he soaked it in water and held it over Benhadad's face until he died. Hazael then became king.
   

King Jehoram of Judah

(2 Chronicles 21.2-20)

 ¹⁶Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah in Joram's fifth year as king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah. ^{[d<="">] 17}Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years from Jerusalem. ¹⁸Jehoram disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong. He married Ahab's daughter and was as sinful as Ahab's family and the kings of Israel. ¹⁹But the LORD refused to destroy Judah, because he had promised his servant David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah.     ²⁰While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. ²¹So Jehoram ^[e<="">] and his cavalry marched to Zair, where the Edomite army surrounded him and his commanders. During the night he attacked the Edomites, but he was defeated, and his troops escaped to their homes. ^{[f<="">] 22}Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah ^[g<="">] rebelled at that time. ²³Everything else Jehoram did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁴Jehoram died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. ^[h<="">] His son Ahaziah then became king.

King Ahaziah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 22.1-6)

 ²⁵Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah in the twelfth year of Joram's rule in Israel. ²⁶Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for only one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷Since Ahaziah was related to Ahab's family, ^[i<="">] he acted just like them and disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong. ²⁸Ahaziah went with King Joram of Israel to attack King Hazael and the Syrian troops at Ramoth in Gilead. Joram was wounded in that battle, ²⁹so he went to the town of Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went there to visit him.    

2 Kings 9

Jehu Becomes King of Israel

 ¹One day, Elisha called for one of the other prophets and said:    Take this bottle of olive oil and get ready to go to the town of Ramoth in Gilead. ²When you get there, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a place where the two of you can be alone, ³then pour olive oil on his head to show that he is the new king. Say to him, "The LORD has chosen you to be king of Israel." Then leave quickly--don't wait around for anything!
    ⁴The young prophet left for Ramoth. ⁵When he arrived, the army officers were meeting together. "Sir, I have a message for you," he said.
   "For which one of us?" Jehu asked.
   "You, sir," the prophet answered. ⁶So Jehu got up and went inside. ^[j<="">] The prophet poured olive oil on Jehu's head and told him: The LORD God of Israel has this message for you: "I am the LORD, and I have chosen you to be king of my people Israel. ⁷I want you to wipe out the family of Ahab, so Jezebel will be punished for killing the prophets and my other servants. ⁸Every man and boy in Ahab's family must die, whether slave or free. ⁹His whole family must be destroyed, just like the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. ¹⁰As for Jezebel, her body will be eaten by dogs in the town of Jezreel. There won't be enough left of her to bury."
   Then the young prophet opened the door and ran out.
    ¹¹Jehu went back to his officers, and one of them asked, "What did that crazy prophet want? Is everything all right?"
   "You know him and how he talks," Jehu answered.
    ¹²"No, we don't. What did he say?" they asked.
   "He had a message from the LORD," Jehu replied. "He said that the LORD has chosen me to be the next king of Israel."
    ¹³They quickly grabbed their coats and spread them out on the steps where Jehu was standing. Someone blew a trumpet, and everyone shouted, "Jehu is king!"
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Kings 8:1 Elisha. . . life: See 4.8-37.
2. 2 Kings 8:8 Hazael: Probably one of Benhadad's officials.
3. 2 Kings 8:11 Elisha stared. . . crying: Or "Hazael stared at him until Elisha was embarrassed and began to cry."
4. 2 Kings 8:16 while Jehoshaphat. . . Judah: In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. That way, when the father died, his son would already have control of the kingdom.
5. 2 Kings 8:21 Jehoram: The Hebrew text has "Joram," another spelling of the name.
6. 2 Kings 8:21 he attacked. . . homes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. 2 Kings 8:22 Even the town of Libnah: This was a town on the border between Philistia and Judah, which means that Jehoram was facing rebellion on two sides of his kingdom.
8. 2 Kings 8:24 Jerusalem: Hebrew "the city of David."
9. 2 Kings 8:27 Since. . . family: Ahaziah's mother was Ahab's daughter (see verse 18).
10. 2 Kings 9:6 went inside: The officers were probably meeting outside in an open courtyard of some building

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Acts 16:16-40 (Contemporary English Version)

Paul and Silas Are Put in Jail

 ¹⁶One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners. ¹⁷The girl followed Paul and the rest of us and kept yelling, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved."     ¹⁸This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone!" At once the evil spirit left her.
    ¹⁹When the girl's owners realized that they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court. ²⁰They told the officials, "These Jews are upsetting our city! ²¹They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do."
    ²²The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. ²³After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. ²⁴The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.
    ²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. ²⁶Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
    ²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped."
    ²⁹The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, "What must I do to be saved?"
    ³¹They replied, "Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home."
    ³²Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. ³³While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. ³⁴They were very glad that they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.
    ³⁵The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. ³⁶The jailer told Paul, "The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace."
    ³⁷But Paul told the police, "We are Roman citizens, ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out." ³⁸When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. ³⁹So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. ⁴⁰But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.
   

Footnotes:

1. Acts 16:37 Roman citizens: Only a small number of the people living in the Roman Empire were citizens, and they had special rights and privileges.

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Psalm 143:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 143

(A psalm by David.)

A Prayer in Time of Danger

 ¹Listen, LORD, as I pray!    You are faithful and honest
   and will answer my prayer.
    ²I am your servant.
   Don't try me in your court,
   because no one is innocent
   by your standards.
    ³My enemies are chasing me,
   crushing me in the ground.
   I am in total darkness,
   like someone long dead.
    ⁴I have given up all hope,
   and I feel numb all over.
    ⁵I remember to think about
   the many things
   you did
   in years gone by.
    ⁶Then I lift my hands in prayer,
   because my soul is a desert,
   thirsty for water from you.
    ⁷Please hurry, LORD,
   and answer my prayer.
   I feel hopeless.
   Don't turn away
   and leave me here to die.
    ⁸Each morning let me learn
   more about your love
   because I trust you.
   I come to you in prayer,
   asking for your guidance.
    ⁹Please rescue me
   from my enemies, LORD!
   I come to you for safety. ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[] 10}You are my God. Show me
   what you want me to do,
   and let your gentle Spirit
   lead me in the right path.
    ¹¹Be true to your name, LORD,
   and keep my life safe.
   Use your saving power
   to protect me from trouble.
    ¹²I am your servant.
   Show how much you love me
   by destroying my enemies.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 143:9 I. . . safety: Or " You are my hiding place."

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Proverbs 17:26 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁶It isn't fair
   to punish the innocent
   and those who do right.

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Verse of Day

“There are no secret places where you can hide from me.” - Jeremiah 23:24

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American author and social worker, Virginia Satir wrote, “Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.”

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A Joke for Today

A young boy enters a barbershop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you."

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"

The boy takes the quarters and leaves.

"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. "Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?"

The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!"