Daily Bible CEV June 22 Scroll

The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus
(Matthew 13.53-58; Luke 4.16-30)

Mark 6 Jesus left and returned to his hometown with his disciples. ²The next Sabbath he taught in the Jewish meeting place. Many of the people who heard him were amazed and asked, "How can he do all this? Where did he get such wisdom and the power to work these miracles? ³Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary? Aren't James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon his brothers? Don't his sisters still live here in our town?" The people were very unhappy because of what he was doing.

⁴But Jesus said, "Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their relatives and their own family." ⁵Jesus could not work any miracles there, except to heal a few sick people by placing his hands on them. ⁶He was surprised that the people did not have any faith.

Instructions for the Twelve Apostles
(Matthew 10.5-15; Luke 9.1-6)

Jesus taught in all the neighboring villages. ⁷Then he called together his twelve apostles and sent them out two by two with power over evil spirits. ⁸He told them, "You may take along a walking stick. But don't carry food or a traveling bag or any money. ⁹It's all right to wear sandals, but don't take along a change of clothes. ¹⁰When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹If any place won't welcome you or listen to your message, leave and shake the dust from your feet as a warning to them."

¹²The apostles left and started telling everyone to turn to God. ¹³They forced out many demons and healed a lot of sick people by putting olive oil on them.

The Death of John the Baptist
(Matthew 14.1-12; Luke 9.7-9)

¹⁴Jesus became so well-known that Herod the ruler heard about him. Some people thought he was John the Baptist, who had come back to life with the power to work miracles. ¹⁵Others thought he was Elijah or some other prophet who had lived long ago. ¹⁶But when Herod heard about Jesus, he said, "This must be John! I had his head cut off, and now he has come back to life."

^17-18Herod had earlier married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. But John had told him, "It isn't right for you to take your brother's wife!" So, in order to please Herodias, Herod arrested John and put him in prison.

¹⁹Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she could not do it ²⁰because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew that John was a good and holy man. Even though Herod was confused by what John said, he was glad to listen to him. And he often did.

²¹Finally, Herodias got her chance when Herod gave a great birthday celebration for himself and invited his officials, his army officers, and the leaders of Galilee. ²²The daughter of Herodias came in and danced for Herod and his guests. She pleased them so much that Herod said, "Ask for anything, and it's yours! ²³I swear that I will give you as much as half of my kingdom, if you want it."

²⁴The girl left and asked her mother, "What do you think I should ask for?"

Her mother answered, "The head of John the Baptist!"

²⁵The girl hurried back and told Herod, "Right now on a platter I want the head of John the Baptist!"

²⁶The king was very sorry for what he had said. But he did not want to break the promise he had made in front of his guests. ²⁷At once he ordered a guard to cut off John's head there in prison. ²⁸The guard put the head on a platter and took it to the girl. Then she gave it to her mother.

²⁹When John's followers learned that he had been killed, they took his body and put it in a tomb.

Absalom Rebels against David

2 Samuel 15 Some time later, Absalom got himself a chariot with horses to pull it, and he had fifty men run in front. ²He would get up early each morning and wait by the side of the road that led to the city gate. Anyone who had a complaint to bring to King David would have to go that way, and Absalom would ask each of them, "Where are you from?"

If they said, "I'm from a tribe in the north," ³Absalom would say, "You deserve to win your case. It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear complaints like yours. ⁴I wish someone would make me the judge around here! I would be fair to everyone."

⁵Whenever anyone would come to Absalom and start bowing down, he would reach out and hug and kiss them. ⁶That's how he treated everyone from Israel who brought a complaint to the king. Soon everyone in Israel liked Absalom better than they liked David.

⁷Four years later, Absalom said to David, "Please, let me go to Hebron. I have to keep a promise that I made to the LORD, ⁸when I was living with the Arameans in Geshur. I promised that if the LORD would bring me back to live in Jerusalem, I would worship him in Hebron."

⁹David gave his permission, and Absalom went to Hebron. ^10-12He took two hundred men from Jerusalem with him, but they had no idea what he was going to do. Absalom offered sacrifices in Hebron and sent someone to Gilo to tell David's advisor Ahithophel to come.

More and more people were joining Absalom and supporting his plot. Meanwhile, Absalom had secretly sent some messengers to the northern tribes of Israel. The messengers told everyone, "When you hear the sound of the trumpets, you must shout, 'Absalom now rules as king in Hebron!' "

David Has To Leave Jerusalem

¹³A messenger came and told David, "Everyone in Israel is on Absalom's side!"

¹⁴David's officials were in Jerusalem with him, and he told them, "Let's get out of here! We'll have to leave soon, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry! If he moves fast, he could catch us while we're still here. Then he will kill us and everyone else in the city."

¹⁵The officials said, "Your Majesty, we'll do whatever you say."

^16-17David left behind ten of his wives to take care of the palace, but the rest of his family and his officials and soldiers went with him.

They stopped at the last house at the edge of the city. ¹⁸Then David stood there and watched while his regular troops and his bodyguards marched past. The last group was the six hundred soldiers who had followed him from Gath. Their commander was Ittai.

¹⁹David spoke to Ittai and said, "You're a foreigner from the town of Gath. You don't have to leave with us. Go back and join the new king! ²⁰You haven't been with me very long, so why should you have to follow me, when I don't even know where I'm going? Take your soldiers and go back. I pray that the Lord will be kind and faithful to you."

²¹Ittai answered, "Your Majesty, just as surely as you and the LORD live, I will go where you go, no matter if it costs me my life."

²²"Then come on!" David said.

So Ittai and all his men and their families walked on past David.

David Sends the Sacred Chest Back to Jerusalem

²³The people of Jerusalem were crying and moaning as David and everyone with him passed by. He led them across Kidron Valley and along the road toward the desert.

²⁴Zadok and Abiathar the priests were there along with several men from the tribe of Levi who were carrying the sacred chest. They set the chest down, and left it there until David and his followers had gone out of the city.

²⁵Then David said:

Zadok, take the sacred chest back to Jerusalem. If the LORD is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see it and his tent again. ²⁶But if he says he isn't pleased with me, then let him do what he knows is best.

²⁷Zadok, you are a good judge of things, so return to the city and don't cause any trouble. Take your son Ahimaaz with you. Abiathar and his son Jonathan will also go back. ²⁸I'll wait at the river crossing in the desert until I hear from you.

²⁹Zadok and Abiathar took the sacred chest back into Jerusalem and stayed there. ³⁰David went on up the slope of the Mount of Olives. He was barefoot and crying, and he covered his head to show his sorrow. Everyone with him was crying, and they covered their heads too.

³¹Someone told David, "Ahithophel is helping Absalom plot against you!"

David said, "Please, LORD, keep Ahithophel's plans from working!"

David Sends Hushai Back as a Spy

³²When David reached the top of the Mount of Olives, he met Hushai the Archite at a place of worship. Hushai's robe was torn, and dust was on his head. ³³David told him:

If you come with me, you might slow us down. ³⁴Go back into the city and tell Absalom, "Your Majesty, I am your servant. I will serve you now, just as I served your father in the past."

Hushai, if you do that, you can help me ruin Ahithophel's plans. ³⁵Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you, and you can tell them everything you hear in the palace. ³⁶Then have them send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what you've heard.

³⁷David's advisor Hushai slipped back into Jerusalem, just about the same time that Absalom was coming in.

Daniel Prays for the People

Daniel 9 ^1-2Daniel wrote:

Some years later, Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes, had become king of Babylonia. And during his first year as king, I found out from studying the writings of the prophets that the LORD had said to Jeremiah, "Jerusalem will lie in ruins for seventy years." ^3-4Then, to show my sorrow, I went without eating and dressed in sackcloth and sat in ashes. I confessed my sins and earnestly prayed to the LORD my God:

Our Lord, you are a great and fearsome God, and you faithfully keep your agreement with those who love and obey you. ⁵But we have sinned terribly by rebelling against you and rejecting your laws and teachings. ⁶We have ignored the message your servants the prophets spoke to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors, and everyone else.

⁷Everything you do is right, our Lord. But still we suffer public disgrace because we have been unfaithful and have sinned against you. This includes all of us, both far and near--the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel, as well as those you dragged away to foreign lands, ⁸and even our kings, our officials, and our ancestors. ⁹LORD God, you are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you ¹⁰and rejected your teachings that came to us from your servants the prophets.

¹¹Everyone in Israel has stubbornly refused to obey your laws, and so those curses written by your servant Moses have fallen upon us. ¹²You warned us and our leaders that Jerusalem would suffer the worst disaster in human history, and you did exactly as you had threatened. ¹³We have not escaped any of the terrible curses written by Moses, and yet we have refused to beg you for mercy and to remind ourselves of how faithful you have always been. ¹⁴And when you finally punished us with this horrible disaster, that was also the right thing to do, because we deserved it so much.

¹⁵Our Lord God, with your own mighty arm you rescued us from Egypt and made yourself famous to this very day, but we have sinned terribly. ¹⁶In the past, you treated us with such kindness, that we now beg you to stop being so terribly angry with Jerusalem. After all, it is your chosen city built on your holy mountain, even though it has suffered public disgrace because of our sins and those of our ancestors.

¹⁷I am your servant, Lord God, and I beg you to answer my prayers and bring honor to yourself by having pity on your temple that lies in ruins. ¹⁸Please show mercy to your chosen city, not because we deserve it, but because of your great kindness. ¹⁹Forgive us! Hurry and do something, not only for your city and your chosen people, but to bring honor to yourself.

The Seventy Weeks

Daniel wrote:

²⁰I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the LORD my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain, ²¹when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision, ²²and he explained:

Daniel, I am here to help you understand the vision. ²³God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying, I was sent to give you the answer. ²⁴God has decided that for seventy weeks, your people and your holy city must suffer as the price of their sins. Then evil will disappear, and justice will rule forever; the visions and words of the prophets will come true, and a most holy place will be dedicated.

²⁵You need to realize that from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Chosen Leader, it will be seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks. Streets will be built in Jerusalem, and a trench will be dug around the city for protection, but these will be difficult times. ²⁶At the end of the sixty-two weeks, the Chosen Leader will be killed and left with nothing.

A foreign ruler and his army will sweep down like a mighty flood, leaving both the city and the temple in ruins, and war and destruction will continue until the end, just as God has decided. ²⁷For one week this foreigner will make a firm agreement with many people, and halfway through this week, he will end all sacrifices and offerings. Then the "Horrible Thing" that causes destruction will be put there. And it will stay there until the time God has decided to destroy this one who destroys.

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