[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 16

Sat Apr 16 01:12:43 UTC 2022

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 16

DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Kings 10-12 New King James Version
Ahab's Seventy Sons Killed
10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to
Samaria, to the rulers of [a]Jezreel, to the elders, and to [b]those who
reared Ahab's sons, saying:

2 Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with
you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, 3
choose the [c]best qualified of your master's sons, set him on his father's
throne, and fight for your master's house.

4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Look, two kings could not
[d]stand up to him; how then can we stand?" 5 And he who was in charge of
the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those
who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, we will do
all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your
sight." 6 Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying:

If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your
master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.

Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city,
who were rearing them. 7 So it was, when the letter came to them, that they
took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in
baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

8 Then a messenger came and told him, saying, "They have brought the heads
of the king's sons."

And he said, "Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until
morning."

9 So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the
people, "You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed
him; but who killed all these? 10 Know now that nothing shall fall to the
earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of
Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah." 11 So Jehu
killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great
men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none
remaining.

Ahaziah's Forty-two Brothers Killed
12 And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at [e]Beth
Eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of
Judah, and said, "Who are you?"

So they answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to
greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother."

14 And he said, "Take them alive!" So they took them alive, and killed them
at the well of [f]Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

The Rest of Ahab's Family Killed
15 Now when he departed from there, he [g]met Jehonadab the son of Rechab,
coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart
right, as my heart is toward your heart?"

And Jehonadab answered, "It is."

Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." So he gave him his hand, and he
took him up to him into the chariot. 16 Then he said, "Come with me, and see
my zeal for the Lord." So they had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he
came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had
destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

Worshipers of Baal Killed
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab
served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore, call to me
all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one
be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall
not live." But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the
worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, [h]"Proclaim a solemn assembly for
Baal." So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and
all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did
not come. So they came into the [i]temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal
was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of
the wardrobe, "Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal." So he
brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab
went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search
and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you, but only the
worshipers of Baal." 24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt
offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and
had said, "If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes,
whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other."

25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, "Go in and kill
them; let no one come out!" And they killed them with the edge of the sword;
then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the [j]inner
room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of
the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sacred
pillar of Baal, and tore down the [k]temple of Baal and made it a refuse
dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

29 However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at
Bethel and Dan. 30 And the Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in
doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that
was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth
generation." 31 But Jehu [l]took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God
of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of
Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

Death of Jehu
32 In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael
conquered them in all the territory of Israel 33 from the Jordan eastward:
all the land of Gilead-Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh-from Aroer, which is by the
River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 35 So
Jehu [m]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then
Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 And the period that Jehu reigned
over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah
11 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose
and destroyed all the royal heirs. 2 But [n]Jehosheba, the daughter of King
Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took [o]Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him
away from among the king's sons who were being murdered; and they hid him
and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3 So
he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, while
Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds-of
the bodyguards and the [p]escorts-and brought them into the house of the
Lord to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in
the house of the Lord, and showed them the king's son. 5 Then he commanded
them, saying, "This is what you shall do: One-third of you who [q]come on
duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king's house, 6
one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the
escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. 7
The two [r]contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the
watch of the house of the Lord for the king. 8 But you shall surround the
king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes
within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he
goes out and as he comes in."

9 So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the
priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the
Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to
Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the
spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple
of the Lord. 11 Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his
hand, all around the king, from the right [s]side of the temple to the left
side of the temple, by the altar and the house. 12 And he brought out the
king's son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony;[t] they made
him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, "Long live
the king!"

Death of Athaliah
13 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came
to the people in the temple of the Lord. 14 When she looked, there was the
king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the
trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and
blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, "Treason!
Treason!"

15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the
officers of the army, and said to them, "Take her outside [u]under guard,
and slay with the sword whoever follows her." For the priest had said, "Do
not let her be killed in the house of the Lord." 16 So they seized her; and
she went by way of the horses' entrance into the king's house, and there she
was killed.

17 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people,
that they should be the Lord's people, and also between the king and the
people. 18 And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and
tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and [v]images, and
killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed
[w]officers over the house of the Lord. 19 Then he took the captains of
hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and
they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and went by way of
the gate of the escorts to the king's house. Then he sat on the throne of
the kings. 20 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was
quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king's house. 21
Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.

Jehoash Repairs the Temple
12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash[x] became king, and he reigned forty
years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did
what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the
priest instructed him. 3 But the [y]high places were not taken away; the
people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

4 And Jehoash said to the priests, "All the money of the dedicated gifts
that are brought into the house of the Lord-each man's census[z] money, each
man's assessment money-and all the money that [aa]a man purposes in his
heart to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take it
themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the [ab]damages
of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found."

6 Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests
had not repaired the damages of the temple. 7 So King Jehoash called
Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, "Why have you
not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more
money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of
the temple." 8 And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more
money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it
beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord;
and the priests who [ac]kept the door put there all the money brought into
the house of the Lord. 10 So it was, whenever they saw that there was much
money in the chest, that the king's scribe[ad] and the high priest came up
and [ae]put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of
the Lord. 11 Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the
hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the
Lord; and they [af]paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on
the house of the Lord, 12 and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying
timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the Lord, and
for all that was paid out to repair the temple. 13 However there were not
made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls,
trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought
into the house of the Lord. 14 But they gave that to the workmen, and they
repaired the house of the Lord with it. 15 Moreover they did not require an
account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to
workmen, for they dealt faithfully. 16 The money from the trespass offerings
and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the
Lord. It belonged to the priests.

Hazael Threatens Jerusalem
17 Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then
Hazael set his face to [ag]go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah
took all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and
Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all
the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king's
house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from
Jerusalem.

Death of Joash
19 Now the rest of the acts of [ah]Joash, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20 And his servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the
house of [ai]the Millo, which goes down to Silla. 21 For [aj]Jozachar the
son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of [ak]Shomer, his servants, struck
him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David.
Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes
2 Kings 10:1 So with MT, Syr., Tg.; LXX Samaria; Vg. city
2 Kings 10:1 the guardians of
2 Kings 10:3 most upright
2 Kings 10:4 Lit. stand before
2 Kings 10:12 Or The Shearing House
2 Kings 10:14 Or The Shearing House
2 Kings 10:15 Lit. found
2 Kings 10:20 Consecrate
2 Kings 10:21 Lit. house
2 Kings 10:25 Lit. city
2 Kings 10:27 Lit. house
2 Kings 10:31 was not careful
2 Kings 10:35 Died and joined his ancestors
2 Kings 11:2 Jehoshabeath, 2 Chr. 22:11
2 Kings 11:2 Or Jehoash
2 Kings 11:4 guards
2 Kings 11:5 Lit. enter in
2 Kings 11:7 companies
2 Kings 11:11 Lit. shoulder
2 Kings 11:12 Law, Ex. 25:16, 21; Deut. 31:9
2 Kings 11:15 Lit. between ranks
2 Kings 11:18 Idols
2 Kings 11:18 Lit. offices
2 Kings 12:1 Joash, 2 Kin. 11:2ff.
2 Kings 12:3 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 12:4 Lit. the money coming over
2 Kings 12:4 any man's heart prompts him to bring
2 Kings 12:5 Lit. breaches
2 Kings 12:9 guarded at the door
2 Kings 12:10 secretary
2 Kings 12:10 tied it up
2 Kings 12:11 Lit. weighed
2 Kings 12:17 Advance upon
2 Kings 12:19 Jehoash, vv. 1-18
2 Kings 12:20 Lit. The Landfill
2 Kings 12:21 Zabad, 2 Chr. 24:26
2 Kings 12:21 Shimrith, 2 Chr. 24:26