1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:1 After a long time, the word of Yahveh came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.”

1 Kings 18:2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.

1 Kings 18:3 Ahab called for Obadiah, who oversaw the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared Yahveh

1 Kings 18:4 and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered Yahveh ‘s prophets.

1 Kings 18:5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”

1 Kings 18:6 They divided the land between them to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

1 Kings 18:7 While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

1 Kings 18:8 “It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here! ‘”

1 Kings 18:9 But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?

1 Kings 18:10 As Yahveh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.

1 Kings 18:11 “Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!”‘

1 Kings 18:12 But when I leave you, the Breath of Yahveh may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared Yahveh from my youth.

1 Kings 18:13 Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered Yahveh’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of Yahveh, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.

1 Kings 18:14 Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ‘ He will kill me!”

1 Kings 18:15 Then Elijah said, “As Yahveh of Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.”

1 Kings 18:16 Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

1 Kings 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?”

1 Kings 18:18 He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned Yahveh ‘s commands and followed the Baals.

1 Kings 18:19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

1 Kings 18:20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel.

1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you limp between two opinions? If Yahveh is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.

1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of Yahveh, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

1 Kings 18:23 Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.

1 Kings 18:24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahveh. The God who answers with fire, he is God.” All the people answered, “That’s fine.”

1 Kings 18:25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.”

1 Kings 18:26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.

1 Kings 18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”

1 Kings 18:28 They screamed, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.

1 Kings 18:29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.

1 Kings 18:30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So, all the people approached him. Then he repaired Yahveh’s altar that had been torn down:

1 Kings 18:31 Elijah took twelve stones — according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahveh had come, saying, “Israel will be your name” —

1 Kings 18:32 and he built an altar with the stones in the name of Yahveh. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.

1 Kings 18:33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.”

1 Kings 18:34 Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time.

1 Kings 18:35 So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.

1 Kings 18:36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things.

1 Kings 18:37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, Yahveh, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”

1 Kings 18:38 Then Yahveh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

1 Kings 18:39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “Yahveh, he is God! Yahveh, he is God!”

1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So, they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there.

1 Kings 18:41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”

1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bent down on the ground and put his face between his knees.

1 Kings 18:43 Then he said to his boy, “Go up and look toward the sea.” So, he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

1 Kings 18:44 On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.'”

1 Kings 18:45 In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So, Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:46 The power of Yahveh was on Elijah, and he tucked his mantle under his belt and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 17

1 Kings 17:1 Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As Yahveh God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”

1 Kings 17:2 Then the word of Yahveh came to him:

1 Kings 17:3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.

1 Kings 17:4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

1 Kings 17:5 So he proceeded to do what Yahveh commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.

1 Kings 17:6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi.

1 Kings 17:7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

1 Kings 17:8 Then the word of Yahveh came to him:

1 Kings 17:9 “Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.”

1 Kings 17:10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”

1 Kings 17:11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

1 Kings 17:12 But she said, “As Yahveh your God lives, I don’t have anything baked– only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”

1 Kings 17:13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son,

1 Kings 17:14 for this is what Yahveh God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day Yahveh sends rain on the surface of the land.'”

1 Kings 17:15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.

1 Kings 17:16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of Yahveh he had spoken through Elijah.

1 Kings 17:17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.

1 Kings 17:18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why are you here? Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death?”

1 Kings 17:19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

1 Kings 17:20 Then he cried out to Yahveh and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?”

1 Kings 17:21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to Yahveh and said, “Yahveh my God, please let this boy’s throat be restored inside him!”

1 Kings 17:22 And Yahveh listened to Elijah’s voice, and the boy’s throat was restored inside him, and he lived.

1 Kings 17:23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and Yahveh ‘s word from your mouth is true.”

links:

a lesson in faith – Devotions
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, October 9, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, October 9, 2019
submitting to the stretch

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 16

1 Kings 16:1 Now the word of Yahveh came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha:

1 Kings 16:2 “Because I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel, but you have walked in the ways of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, angering me with their sins,

1 Kings 16:3 take note: I will eradicate Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat:

1 Kings 16:4 Anyone who belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and anyone who is his and dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

1 Kings 16:5 The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 16:6 Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place.

1 Kings 16:7 But through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of Yahveh also had come against Baasha and against his house because of all the evil he had done in Yahveh’s sight. His actions angered Yahveh, and Baasha’s house became like the house of Jeroboam, because he had struck it down.

1 Kings 16:8 In the twenty-sixth year of Judah’s King Asa, Elah son of Baasha became king over Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

1 Kings 16:9 His servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza, who oversaw the household at Tirzah.

1 Kings 16:10 In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, killing him. Then Zimri became king in his place.

1 Kings 16:11 When he became king, as soon as he was seated on his throne, Zimri struck down the entire house of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, including his kinsmen and his friends.

1 Kings 16:12 So Zimri exterminated the entire house of Baasha, according to the word of Yahveh he had spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu.

1 Kings 16:13 This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, angering Yahveh God of Israel with their worthless idols.

1 Kings 16:14 The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 16:15 In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri became king for seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines.

1 Kings 16:16 When these troops heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king, then all Israel made Omri, the army commander, king over Israel that very day in the camp.

1 Kings 16:17 Omri along with all Israel marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.

1 Kings 16:18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down over himself. He died

1 Kings 16:19 because of the sin he committed by doing what was evil in Yahveh ‘s sight and by walking in the ways of Jeroboam and the sin he caused Israel to commit.

1 Kings 16:20 The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, along with the conspiracy that he instigated, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 16:21 At that time the people of Israel were divided: half the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.

1 Kings 16:22 However, the people who followed Omri were stronger than those who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

1 Kings 16:23 In the thirty-first year of Judah’s King Asa, Omri became king over Israel, and he reigned twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah,

1 Kings 16:24 then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for 150 pounds of silver, and he built up the hill. He named the city he built Samaria based on the name Shemer, the lord of the hill.

1 Kings 16:25 Omri did what was evil in Yahveh ‘s sight; he did more evil than all who were before him.

1 Kings 16:26 He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat in every respect and continued in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, angering Yahveh God of Israel with their worthless idols.

1 Kings 16:27 The rest of the events of Omri’s reign, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 16:28 Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.

1 Kings 16:29 Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Judah’s King Asa; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

1 Kings 16:30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in Yahveh ‘s sight more than all who were before him.

1 Kings 16:31 Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then proceeded to serve Baal and bow in worship to him.

1 Kings 16:32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.

1 Kings 16:33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to anger Yahveh God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

1 Kings 16:34 During his reign, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest, he finished its gates, according to the word of Yahveh he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

links:

ending it all
formed from the dust – Snips and snails
the LORD watching
three Solomons

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 15

1 Kings 15

1 Kings 15:1 In the eighteenth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah,

1 Kings 15:2 and he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

1 Kings 15:3 Abijam walked in all the sins his father before him had committed, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to Yahveh his God as his ancestor David had been.

1 Kings 15:4 But for the sake of David, Yahveh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up his son after him and by preserving Jerusalem.

1 Kings 15:5 Because David did what was right in Yahveh’s sight, and he did not turn aside from anything he had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hethite.

1 Kings 15:6 There had been war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Rehoboam’s life.

1 Kings 15:7 The rest of the events of Abijam’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. There was also war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

1 Kings 15:8 Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place.

1 Kings 15:9 In the twentieth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Asa became king of Judah,

1 Kings 15:10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

1 Kings 15:11 Asa did what was right in Yahveh’s sight, as his ancestor David had done.

1 Kings 15:12 He banished the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

1 Kings 15:13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

1 Kings 15:14 The high places were not taken away, but Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to Yahveh his entire life.

1 Kings 15:15 He brought his father’s consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into Yahveh ‘s temple: silver, gold, and utensils.

1 Kings 15:16 There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their reigns.

1 Kings 15:17 Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.

1 Kings 15:18 So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of Yahveh ‘s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,

1 Kings 15:19 “There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go and break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”

1 Kings 15:20 Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all Chinnereth, and the whole land of Naphtali.

1 Kings 15:21 When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stayed in Tirzah.

1 Kings 15:22 Then King Asa gave a command to everyone without exception in Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah with them.

1 Kings 15:23 The rest of all the events of Asa’s reign, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. But in his old age he developed a disease in his feet.

1 Kings 15:24 Then Asa rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat became king in his place.

1 Kings 15:25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Judah’s King Asa; he reigned over Israel two years.

1 Kings 15:26 Nadab did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight and walked in the ways of his father and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.

1 Kings 15:27 Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon.

1 Kings 15:28 In the third year of Judah’s King Asa, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

1 Kings 15:29 When Baasha became king, he struck down the entire house of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone breathing[1] but exterminated his family according to the word of Yahveh he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

1 Kings 15:30 This was because Jeroboam had angered Yahveh God of Israel by the sins he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

1 Kings 15:31 The rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 15:32 There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their reigns.

1 Kings 15:33 In the third year of Judah’s King Asa, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.

1 Kings 15:34 He did what was evil in Yahveh ‘s sight and walked in the ways of Jeroboam and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.

[1] נְשָׁמָה = breathing. 1 Kings 15:29; 17:17.

links:

a hero among zeroes
looking for spiritual integrity – Devotions
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, October 11, 2021
the LORD watching
where did all the spirits go?

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 14

1 Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became sick.

1 Kings 14:2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go disguise yourself, so they won’t know that you’re Jeroboam’s wife, and go to Shiloh. The prophet Ahijah is there; it was he who told about me becoming king over this people.

1 Kings 14:3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

1 Kings 14:4 Jeroboam’s wife did that: she went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Ahijah could not see; he was blind due to his age.

1 Kings 14:5 But Yahveh had said to Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming soon to ask you about her son, because he is sick. You are to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will be disguised.”

1 Kings 14:6 When Ahijah heard her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? I have bad news for you.

1 Kings 14:7 Go tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what Yahveh God of Israel says: I raised you up from among the people, appointed you ruler over my people Israel,

1 Kings 14:8 tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what is right in my sight.

1 Kings 14:9 You behaved more wickedly than all who were before you. To anger me, you have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and cast images, but you have flung me behind your back.

1 Kings 14:10 Because of all this, I am about to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will wipe out all of Jeroboam’s males, both slave and free, in Israel; I will sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone!

1 Kings 14:11 Anyone who belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat, because Yahveh has spoken! ‘

1 Kings 14:12 “As for you, get up and go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the boy will die.

1 Kings 14:13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He alone out of Jeroboam’s house will be given a proper burial because out of the house of Jeroboam something favorable to Yahveh God of Israel was found in him.

1 Kings 14:14 Yahveh will raise up for himself a king over Israel, who will wipe out the house of Jeroboam. This is the day, yes, even today!

1 Kings 14:15 Because Yahveh will strike Israel so that they will shake as a reed shakes in water. He will uproot Israel from this good soil that he gave to their ancestors. He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates because they made their Asherah poles, angering Yahveh.

1 Kings 14:16 He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins that he committed and caused Israel to commit.”

1 Kings 14:17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As she was crossing the threshold of the house, the boy died.

1 Kings 14:18 He was buried, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Yahveh he had spoken through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

1 Kings 14:19 As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, how he waged war and how he reigned, note that they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

1 Kings 14:20 The length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years. He lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab became king in his place.

1 Kings 14:21 Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where Yahveh had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

1 Kings 14:22 Judah did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight. They provoked him to jealous anger more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed.

1 Kings 14:23 They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree;

1 Kings 14:24 there were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.

1 Kings 14:25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem.

1 Kings 14:26 He seized the treasuries of Yahveh ‘s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

1 Kings 14:27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them into the care of the captains of the guards who protected the entrance to the king’s palace.

1 Kings 14:28 Whenever the king entered Yahveh ‘s temple, the guards would carry the shields, then they would take them back to the armory.

1 Kings 14:29 The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

1 Kings 14:30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns.

1 Kings 14:31 Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam became king in his place.

links:

a hero among zeroes
making the best – Devotions
no disguise – Devotions

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library