1 JOHN
1 John 1 The
Word that gives life was from the beginning,
and this is the one our message is about.
Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen,
and our hands touched this Word.
2The
one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are
witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you
about this eternal life that was with the Father and
appeared to us. 3We are telling you what we
have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life
with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his
Son Jesus Christ. 4We are writing to tell you
these things, because this makes us truly happy.
God Is Light
5Jesus
told us that God is light and doesn't have any darkness
in him. Now we are telling you.
6If
we say that we share in life with God and keep on living
in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the
truth. 7But if we live in the light, as God
does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of
his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. 8If we
say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves,
and the truth isn't in our hearts. 9But if we
confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to
forgive us and take our sins away.
10If
we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and
his message isn't in our hearts.
King Josiah of Judah
(2 Kings 22.1, 2)
2 Chronicles 34 Josiah
was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he
ruled thirty-one years from Jerusalem. 2He
followed the example of his ancestor David and always
obeyed the LORD.
Josiah Stops the Worship of
Foreign Gods
(2 Kings 23.4-20)
3When
Josiah was only sixteen years old he began worshiping
God, just as his ancestor David had done. Then, four
years later, he decided to destroy the local shrines in
Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles for
worshiping the goddess Asherah and the idols of foreign
gods. 4He watched as the altars for the
worship of the god Baal were torn down, and as the nearby
incense altars were smashed. The Asherah poles, the
idols, and the stone images were also smashed, and the
pieces were scattered over the graves of their
worshipers. 5Josiah then had the bones of the
pagan priests burned on the altars.
And
so Josiah got rid of the worship of foreign gods in Judah
and Jerusalem. 6He did the same things in the
towns and ruined villages in the territories of West
Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as the border of
Naphtali. 7Everywhere in the northern kingdom
of Israel, Josiah tore down pagan altars and Asherah
poles; he crushed idols to dust and smashed incense
altars.
Then
Josiah went back to Jerusalem.
Hilkiah Finds
The Book of God's Law
(2 Kings 22.3-20)
8In
the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule in Judah, after he
had gotten rid of all the sinful things from the land and
from the LORD's temple, he sent
three of his officials to repair the temple. They were
Shaphan son of Azaliah, Governor Maaseiah of Jerusalem,
and Joah son of Joahaz, who kept the government records.
9These
three men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him
the money that the Levite guards had collected from the
people of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of Israel,
as well as those living in Judah, Benjamin, and
Jerusalem. 10Then the money was turned over to
the men who supervised the repairs to the temple. They
used some of it to pay the workers, 11and they
gave the rest of it to the carpenters and builders, who
used it to buy the stone and wood they needed to repair
the other buildings that Judah's kings had not taken care
of.
12The
workers were honest, and their supervisors were Jahath
and Obadiah from the Levite clan of Merari, and Zechariah
and Meshullam from the Levite clan of Kohath. Other
Levites, who were all skilled musicians, 13were
in charge of carrying supplies and supervising the
workers. Other Levites were appointed to stand guard
around the temple.
14While
the money was being given to these supervisors, Hilkiah
found the book that contained the laws that the LORD had given to Moses. 15Hilkiah
handed the book to Shaphan the official and said,
"Look what I found here in the temple--The Book
of God's Law."
16Shaphan
took the book to Josiah and reported, "Your
officials are doing everything you wanted. 17They
have collected the money from the temple and have given
it to the men supervising the repairs. 18But
there's something else, Your Majesty. The priest Hilkiah
gave me this book." Then Shaphan read it aloud.
19When
Josiah heard what was in The Book of God's Law, he
tore his clothes in sorrow. 20At once he
called together Hilkiah, Shaphan, Ahikam son of Shaphan,
Abdon son of Micah, and his own servant Asaiah. He said, 21"The
LORD must be furious with me and
everyone else in Israel and Judah, because our ancestors
did not obey the laws written in this book. Go find out
what the LORD wants us to do."
22Hilkiah
and the four other men left right away and went to talk
with Huldah the prophet. Her husband was Shallum, who was
in charge of the king's clothes. Huldah lived in the
northern part of Jerusalem, and when they met in her
home, 23she said:
You were sent here by King Josiah, and
this is what the LORD God of
Israel says to him: 24"Josiah, I am
the LORD! And I intend to
punish this country and everyone in it, just as this
book says. 25The people of Judah and
Israel have rejected me. They have offered sacrifices
to foreign gods and have worshiped their own idols. I
can't stand it any longer. I am furious.
26-27"Josiah,
listen to what I am going to do. I noticed how sad
you were when you heard that this country and its
people would be completely wiped out. You even tore
your clothes in sorrow, and I heard you cry. 28So
before I destroy this place, I will let you die in
peace."
The
men left and reported to Josiah what Huldah had said.
Josiah Reads
The Book of God's Law
(2 Kings 23.1-3)
29King
Josiah called together the leaders of Judah and
Jerusalem. 30Then he went to the LORD's temple, together with all the
people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the
Levites.
Finally,
when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of
God's Law that had been found in the temple.
31After
Josiah had finished reading, he stood in the place
reserved for the king. He promised in the LORD's
name to faithfully obey the LORD
and to follow his laws and teachings that were written in
the book. 32Then he asked the people of
Jerusalem and Benjamin to make that same promise and to
obey the God their ancestors had worshiped.
33Josiah
destroyed all the idols in the territories of Israel, and
he commanded everyone in Israel to worship only the LORD God. The people did not turn away
from the LORD God of their
ancestors for the rest of Josiah's rule as king.
Psalm 89
19In a vision, you once said to your faithful
followers:
"I have helped a mighty hero.
I
chose him from my people and made him famous.
20David,
my servant, is the one I chose to be king,
21 and I
will always be there to help and strengthen him.
22"No
enemy will outsmart David,
and he won't be defeated by any hateful people.
23I
will strike down and crush his troublesome enemies.
24He
will always be able to depend on my love,
and I will make him strong with my own power.
25I
will let him rule the lands across the rivers and seas.
26He
will say to me, 'You are my Father and my God,
as well as the mighty rock where I am safe.'
27"I
have chosen David as my first-born son,
and he will be the ruler of all kings on earth.
28My
love for him will last,
and my agreement with him will never be broken.
29"One
of David's descendants will always be king,
and his family will rule until the sky disappears.
30Suppose
some of his children should reject my Law
and refuse my instructions.
31Or
suppose they should disobey all of my teachings.
32Then
I will correct and punish them
because of their sins.
33But
I will always love David
and faithfully keep all of my promises to him.
34"I
won't break my agreement or go back on my word.
35I
have sworn once and for all by my own holy name,
and I won't lie to David.
36His
family will always rule. I will let his kingdom last
as long as the sun 37and moon appear in the
sky."
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