Today’s Reading : 2Chronicles 12 – 15  and  Galatians 3  (KJV)

 

 

2Chronicles 12

2Ch 12:1  And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.

2Ch 12:2  And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,

2Ch 12:3  With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.

2Ch 12:4  And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

2Ch 12:5  Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.

2Ch 12:6  Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

2Ch 12:7  And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

2Ch 12:8  Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

2Ch 12:9  So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

2Ch 12:10  Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.

2Ch 12:11  And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.

2Ch 12:12  And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

2Ch 12:13  So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

2Ch 12:14  And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

2Ch 12:15  Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

2Ch 12:16  And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

 

2Chronicles 13

2Ch 13:1  Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.

2Ch 13:2  He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

2Ch 13:3  And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.

2Ch 13:4  And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;

2Ch 13:5  Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

2Ch 13:6  Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.

2Ch 13:7  And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.

2Ch 13:8  And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

2Ch 13:9  Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.

2Ch 13:10  But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:

2Ch 13:11  And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.

2Ch 13:12  And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

2Ch 13:13  But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.

2Ch 13:14  And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.

2Ch 13:15  Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

2Ch 13:16  And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.

2Ch 13:17  And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

2Ch 13:18  Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.

2Ch 13:19  And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.

2Ch 13:20  Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died.

2Ch 13:21  But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begot twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.

2Ch 13:22  And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

 

2Chronicles 14

2Ch 14:1  So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

2Ch 14:2  And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:

2Ch 14:3  For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves:

2Ch 14:4  And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

2Ch 14:5  Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

2Ch 14:6  And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

2Ch 14:7  Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

2Ch 14:8  And Asa had an army of men that bore targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.

2Ch 14:9  And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.

2Ch 14:10  Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

2Ch 14:11  And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

2Ch 14:12  So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

2Ch 14:13  And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.

2Ch 14:14  And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.

2Ch 14:15  They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

 

2Chronicles 15

2Ch 15:1  And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

2Ch 15:2  And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

2Ch 15:3  Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

2Ch 15:4  But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

2Ch 15:5  And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.

2Ch 15:6  And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

2Ch 15:7  Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

2Ch 15:8  And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

2Ch 15:9  And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

2Ch 15:10  So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

2Ch 15:11  And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

2Ch 15:12  And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

2Ch 15:13  That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

2Ch 15:14  And they swore unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

2Ch 15:15  And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

2Ch 15:16  And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

2Ch 15:17  But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

2Ch 15:18  And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

2Ch 15:19  And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

 

 

Galatians 3

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Gal 3:5  He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Gal 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Gal 3:8  And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Gal 3:11  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Gal 3:12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Gal 3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Gal 3:15  Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Gal 3:17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Gal 3:18  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Gal 3:19  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Gal 3:20  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Gal 3:21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

Gal 3:22  But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.