1 Kings 21

1 Kings 21:1 Some time passed after these events. Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard; it was in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.

1 Kings 21:2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can have it for a vegetable garden, since it is right next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”

1 Kings 21:3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “I will never give my fathers’ inheritance to you.”

1 Kings 21:4 So Ahab went to his palace resentful and angry because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had told him. He had said, “I will not give you my fathers’ inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and didn’t eat any food.

1 Kings 21:5 Then his wife Jezebel came to him and said to him, “Why is your breath so stubborn that you refuse to eat?”

1 Kings 21:6 “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite,” he replied. “I told him: Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you a vineyard in its place. But he said, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard! ‘”

1 Kings 21:7 Then his wife Jezebel said to him, “Now, exercise your royal power over Israel. Get up, eat some food, and be happy. For I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

1 Kings 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.

1 Kings 21:9 In the letters, she wrote: Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people.

1 Kings 21:10 Then seat two wicked men opposite him and have them testify against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king!” Then take him out and stone him to death.

1 Kings 21:11 The men of his city, the elders and nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters she had sent them.

1 Kings 21:12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

1 Kings 21:13 The two wicked men came in and sat opposite him. Then the wicked men testified against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

1 Kings 21:14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

1 Kings 21:15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite who refused to give it to you for silver, since Naboth isn’t alive, but dead.”

1 Kings 21:16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

1 Kings 21:17 Then the word of Yahveh came to Elijah the Tishbite:

1 Kings 21:18 “Get up and go to meet King Ahab of Israel, who is in Samaria. He’s in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.

1 Kings 21:19 Tell him, ‘This is what Yahveh says: Have you murdered and taken possession? ‘ Then tell him, ‘This is what Yahveh says: In the place where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will also lick up your blood! ‘”

1 Kings 21:20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So, my enemy, you’ve found me, have you?” He replied, “I have found you because you devoted yourself to do what is evil in Yahveh ‘s sight.

1 Kings 21:21 This is what Yahveh says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you and will eradicate your descendants: I will wipe out all of Ahab’s males, both slave and free, in Israel;

1 Kings 21:22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have angered me and caused Israel to sin.’

1 Kings 21:23 Yahveh also speaks of Jezebel: ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel:

1 Kings 21:24 Anyone who belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.'”

1 Kings 21:25 Still, there was no one like Ahab, who devoted himself to do what was evil in Yahveh ‘s sight, because his wife Jezebel incited him.

1 Kings 21:26 He committed the most detestable acts by following idols as the Amorites had, whom Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites.

1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around subdued.

1 Kings 21:28 Then the word of Yahveh came to Elijah the Tishbite:

1 Kings 21:29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son’s lifetime.”

links:

a simple desire – Devotions
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, October 11, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, October 11, 2023

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:1 Now King Ben-hadad of Aram assembled his entire army. Thirty-two kings, along with horses and chariots, were with him. He marched up, besieged Samaria, and fought against it.

1 Kings 20:2 He sent agents into the city to King Ahab of Israel and said to him, “This is what Ben-hadad says:

1 Kings 20:3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine! And your best wives and children are mine as well! ‘”

1 Kings 20:4 Then the king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”

1 Kings 20:5 The agents then returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent messengers to you, saying: You are to give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.

1 Kings 20:6 But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and your servants’ houses. They will lay their hands on and take away whatever is precious to you.'”

1 Kings 20:7 Then the king of Israel called for all the elders of the land and said, “Recognize that this one is only looking for trouble, for he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I didn’t turn him down.”

1 Kings 20:8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen or agree.”

1 Kings 20:9 So he said to Ben-hadad’s agents, “Say to my lord the king, ‘Everything you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'” So, the messengers left and took word back to him.

1 Kings 20:10 Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if Samaria’s dust amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

1 Kings 20:11 The king of Israel answered, “Say this: ‘Don’t let the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.'”

1 Kings 20:12 When Ben-hadad heard this response, while he and the kings were drinking in their quarters, he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So, they took their positions against the city.

1 Kings 20:13 A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘Do you see this whole huge army? Watch, I am handing it over to you today so that you may know that I am Yahveh.'”

1 Kings 20:14 Ahab asked, “By whom?” And the prophet said, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘By the boys of the provincial leaders.'” Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle?” He said, “You.”

1 Kings 20:15 So Ahab mobilized the boys of the provincial leaders, and there were 232. After them he mobilized all the Israelite troops: 7,000.

1 Kings 20:16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings who were helping him were getting drunk in their quarters.

1 Kings 20:17 The boys of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

1 Kings 20:18 So he said, “If they have marched out in peace, take them alive, and if they have marched out for battle, take them alive.”

1 Kings 20:19 The boys of the provincial leaders and the army behind them marched out from the city,

1 Kings 20:20 and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.

1 Kings 20:21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the cavalry and the chariots. He inflicted a severe slaughter on Aram.

1 Kings 20:22 The prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go and make yourself strong, then consider carefully what you should do, for in the spring the king of Aram will attack you.”

1 Kings 20:23 Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are.

1 Kings 20:24 Also do this: remove each king from his position and appoint captains in their place.

1 Kings 20:25 Raise another army for yourself like the army you lost– horse for horse, chariot for chariot– and let’s fight with them on the plain; and we will certainly be stronger than they are.” The king listened to them and did it.

1 Kings 20:26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to battle Israel.

1 Kings 20:27 The Israelites mobilized, gathered supplies, and went to fight them. The Israelites camped in front of them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the land.

1 Kings 20:28 Then the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘Because the Arameans have said: Yahveh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys, I will hand over all this whole huge army to you. Then you will know that I am Yahveh.'”

1 Kings 20:29 They camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle took place, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans– one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.

1 Kings 20:30 The ones who remained fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on those twenty-seven thousand remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled and went into an inner room in the city.

1 Kings 20:31 His servants said to him, “Consider this: we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. So, let’s put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and let’s go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your throat.”

1 Kings 20:32 So they dressed in sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.'” So, he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

1 Kings 20:33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, so they quickly picked up on this and responded, “Yes, it is your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” So, Ben-hadad came out to him and Ahab had him come up into the chariot.

1 Kings 20:34 Then Ben-hadad said to him, “I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria.” Ahab responded, “On the basis of this treaty, I release you.” So, he made a treaty with him and released him.

1 Kings 20:35 One of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow prophet by the word of Yahveh, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.

1 Kings 20:36 He told him, “Because you did not listen to the voice of Yahveh, mark my words: When you leave me, a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.

1 Kings 20:37 The prophet found another man and said to him, “Strike me!” So, the man struck him, inflicting a wound.

1 Kings 20:38 Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

1 Kings 20:39 As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your throat in place of his throat, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’

1 Kings 20:40 But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it.”

1 Kings 20:41 He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:42 The prophet said to him, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘Because you released from your hand the man I had set apart for destruction, it will be your throat in place of his throat and your people in place of his people.'”

1 Kings 20:43 The king of Israel left for home resentful and angry, and he entered Samaria.

links:

a simple desire – Devotions
false confidence – Devotions
set apart for destruction
the price of presumption

The 1 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Kings 19

1 Kings 19:1 Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

1 Kings 19:2 So Jezebel sent an agent to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your throat like the throat of one of them by this time tomorrow!”

1 Kings 19:3 Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his throat. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his boy there,

1 Kings 19:4 but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my throat, for I’m no better than my fathers.”

1 Kings 19:5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an agent touched him. The agent told him, “Get up and eat.”

1 Kings 19:6 Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So, he ate and drank and lay down again.

1 Kings 19:7 Then the agent of Yahveh returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”

1 Kings 19:8 So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:9 He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of Yahveh came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahveh God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek me to take my throat.”

1 Kings 19:11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in Yahveh ‘s presence.” At that moment, Yahveh passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before Yahveh, but Yahveh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Yahveh was not in the earthquake.

1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but Yahveh was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a fine whisper.

1 Kings 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:14 “I have been very zealous for Yahveh God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re seeking me to take my throat.”

1 Kings 19:15 Then Yahveh said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

1 Kings 19:16 You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

1 Kings 19:17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.

1 Kings 19:18 But I will leave seven thousand in Israel — every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

1 Kings 19:19 Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him.

1 Kings 19:20 Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?”

1 Kings 19:21 So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.

links:

a gentle whisper
in the fine whisper
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, November 7, 2024
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, October 10, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, October 12, 2021
where did all the spirits go?

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