Feeding Five Thousand
(Matthew 14.13-21; Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17)

John 6 Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, which was also known as Lake Tiberias. ²A large crowd had seen him work miracles to heal the sick, and those people went with him. ^3-4It was almost time for the Jewish festival of Passover, and Jesus went up on a mountain with his disciples and sat down.
⁵When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, "Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?" ⁶He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.
⁷Philip answered, "Don't you know that it would take almost a year's wages just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?"
⁸Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said, ⁹"There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?"
¹⁰The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to have everyone sit down. About five thousand men were in the crowd. ¹¹Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.
¹²The people ate all they wanted, and Jesus told his disciples to gather up the leftovers, so that nothing would be wasted. ¹³The disciples gathered them up and filled twelve large baskets with what was left over from the five barley loaves.
¹⁴After the people had seen Jesus work this miracle, they began saying, "This must be the Prophet who is to come into the world!" ¹⁵Jesus realized that they would try to force him to be their king. So he went up on a mountain, where he could be alone.

Jesus Walks on the Water
(Matthew 14.22-27; Mark 6.45-52)

¹⁶That evening, Jesus' disciples went down to the lake. ¹⁷They got into a boat and started across for Capernaum. Later that evening Jesus had still not come to them, ¹⁸and a strong wind was making the water rough.
¹⁹When the disciples had rowed for three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He kept coming closer to the boat, and they were terrified. ²⁰But he said, "I am Jesus! Don't be afraid!" ²¹The disciples wanted to take him into the boat, but suddenly the boat reached the shore where they were headed.

David Prepares To Build the Temple

1 Chronicles 22 ²David ordered the foreigners living in Israel to come to Jerusalem. Then he assigned some to cut blocks of stone for building the temple. ³He got a large supply of iron to make into nails and hinges for the doors, and he provided so much bronze that it could not be weighed. ⁴He also had cedar logs brought in from the cities of Sidon and Tyre.
⁵He said, "The temple for the LORD must be great, so that everyone in the world will know about it. But since my son Solomon is young and has no experience, I will make sure that everything is ready for the temple to be built."
That's why David did all these things before he died.

David Instructs Solomon To Build the Temple

⁶David sent for his son Solomon and told him to build a temple for the LORD God of Israel. ⁷He said:

My son, I wanted to build a temple where the LORD my God would be worshiped. ⁸But some time ago, he told me, "David, you have killed too many people and have fought too many battles. That's why you are not the one to build my temple. ⁹But when your son becomes king, I will give him peace throughout his kingdom. His name will be Solomon, because during his rule I will keep Israel safe and peaceful. ¹⁰Solomon will build my temple. He will be like a son to me, and I will be like a father to him. In fact, one of his descendants will always rule in Israel."

¹¹Solomon, my son, I now pray that the LORD your God will be with you and keep his promise to help you build a temple for him. ¹²May he give you wisdom and knowledge, so that you can rule Israel according to his Law. ¹³If you obey the laws and teachings that the LORD gave Moses, you will be successful. Be strong and brave and don't get discouraged or be afraid of anything.

¹⁴I have all the supplies you'll need to build the temple: You have four thousand tons of gold and forty thousand tons of silver. There's also plenty of wood, stone, and more bronze and iron than I could weigh. Ask for anything else you need. ¹⁵I have also assigned men who will cut and lay the stone. And there are carpenters and people who are experts in working with ¹⁶gold, silver, bronze, and iron. You have plenty of workers to do the job. Now get started, and I pray that the LORD will be with you in your work.

¹⁷David then gave orders for the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. ¹⁸David said:

The LORD our God has helped me defeat all the people who lived here before us, and he has given you peace from all your enemies. Now this land belongs to the LORD and his people. ¹⁹Obey the LORD your God with your heart and soul. Begin work on the temple to honor him, so that the sacred chest and the things used for worship can be kept there.

David Assigns the Levites Their Duties

1 Chronicles 23 David was old when he chose his son Solomon to be king of Israel. ²Some time later, David called together all of Israel's leaders, priests, and Levites. ³He then counted the Levite men who were at least thirty years old, and the total was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴He said, "Twenty-four thousand of the Levites will be in charge of the temple, six thousand will be temple officials and judges, ⁵four thousand will be guards at the temple, and four thousand will praise the LORD by playing the musical instruments I have given them."
⁶David then divided the Levites into three groups according to the clans of Levi's sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
⁷Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸Ladan was the father of Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel. ⁹They were all family leaders among their father's descendants. Shimei was the father of Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. ^10-11Later, Shimei had four more sons, in the following order: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. But Jeush and Beriah didn't have many children, so their descendants were counted as one family.
¹²Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹³Amram was the father of Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be in charge of all the sacred things. They served the LORD by offering sacrifices to him and by blessing the people in his name. ^14-15Moses, the man of God, was the father of Gershom and Eliezer, and their descendants were considered Levites. ¹⁶Gershom's oldest son was Shebuel. ¹⁷Rehabiah, who was Eliezer's only son, had many children. ¹⁸The second son born to Kohath was Izhar, and his oldest son was Shelomith. ¹⁹Hebron, the third son of Kohath, was the father of Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. ²⁰Kohath's youngest son, Uzziel, was the father of Micah and Isshiah.
²¹Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli was the father of Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar had no sons, only daughters, and they married their uncle's sons. ²³Mushi the second son of Merari, was the father of Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
²⁴These were the clans and families of the tribe of Levi. Those who were twenty years and older were assigned to work at the LORD's temple.
²⁵David said:

The LORD God of Israel has given his people peace, and he will live in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶And so, the Levites won't need to move the sacred tent and the things used for worship from place to place. ²⁷From now on, all Levites at least twenty years old ²⁸will serve the LORD by helping Aaron's descendants do their work at the temple, by keeping the courtyards and rooms of the temple clean, and by making sure that everything used in worship stays pure. ²⁹They will also be in charge of the sacred loaves of bread, the flour for the grain sacrifices, the thin wafers, any offerings to be baked, and the flour mixed with olive oil. These Levites will weigh and measure these offerings.

³⁰Every morning and evening, the Levites are to give thanks to the LORD and sing praises to him. ³¹They must also give thanks and sing praises when sacrifices are offered on each Sabbath, as well as during New Moon Festivals and other religious feasts. There must always be enough Levites on duty at the temple to do everything that needs to be done. ³²They were once in charge of taking care of the sacred tent; now they are responsible for the temple and for helping Aaron's descendants.

Israel's Enemies Will Be Punished

Zechariah 9 This is a message from the LORD:
His eyes are on everyone, especially the tribes of Israel.
So he pronounces judgment
against the cities of Hadrach and Damascus.
²Judgment will also fall on the nearby city of Hamath,
as well as on Tyre and Sidon, whose people are clever.
³Tyre has built a fortress and piled up silver and gold,
as though they were dust or mud from the streets.
⁴Now the Lord will punish Tyre with poverty;
he will sink its ships and send it up in flames.

⁵Both Ashkelon and Gaza will tremble with fear;
Ekron will lose all hope.
Gaza's king will be killed,
and Ashkelon emptied of its people.
⁶A mob of half-breeds will settle in Ashdod,
and the Lord himself will rob Philistia of pride.

⁷No longer will the Philistines eat meat with blood in it
or any unclean food.
They will become part of the people of our God
from the tribe of Judah.
And God will accept the people of Ekron,
as he did the Jebusites.

⁸God says, "I will stand guard to protect my temple
from those who come to attack.
I know what's happening,
and no one will mistreat my people ever again."

The LORD Tells about the Coming King

⁹Everyone in Jerusalem, celebrate and shout!
Your king has won a victory, and he is coming to you.
He is humble and rides on a donkey;
he comes on the colt of a donkey.
¹⁰I, the LORD, will take away war chariots and horses
from Israel and Jerusalem.
Bows that were made for battle will be broken.
I will bring peace to nations,
and your king will rule from sea to sea.
His kingdom will reach from the Euphrates River
across the earth.

The LORD Promises To Rescue Captives

¹¹When I made a sacred agreement with you, my people,
we sealed it with blood.
Now some of you are captives in waterless pits,
but I will come to your rescue ¹²and offer you hope.
Return to your fortress,
because today I will reward you
with twice what you had.
¹³I will use Judah as my bow and Israel as my arrow.
I will take the people of Zion as my sword
and attack the Greeks.

The LORD Will Protect His People

¹⁴Like a cloud, the LORD God will appear over his people,
and his arrows will flash like lightning.
God will sound his trumpet
and attack in a whirlwind from the south.
¹⁵The LORD All-Powerful will protect his people,
and they will trample down the sharpshooters
and their slingshots.
They will drink and get rowdy;
they will be as full as a bowl
at the time of sacrifice.

¹⁶The LORD God will save them on that day,
because they are his people,
and they will shine on his land like jewels in a crown.
¹⁷How lovely they will be.
Young people will grow there like grain in a field
or grapes in a vineyard.