Pilate Questions Jesus
(Matthew 27.1, 2, 11-14; Luke 23.1-5; John 18.28-38)

Mark 15 Early the next morning the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses met together with the whole Jewish council. They tied up Jesus and led him off to Pilate.
²He asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Those are your words," Jesus answered.
³The chief priests brought many charges against Jesus. ⁴Then Pilate questioned him again, "Don't you have anything to say? Don't you hear what crimes they say you have done?" ⁵But Jesus did not answer, and Pilate was amazed.

The Death Sentence
(Matthew 27.15-26; Luke 23.13-25; John 18.39--19.16)

⁶During Passover, Pilate always freed one prisoner chosen by the people. ⁷And at that time there was a prisoner named Barabbas. He and some others had been arrested for murder during a riot. ⁸The crowd now came and asked Pilate to set a prisoner free, just as he usually did.
⁹Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?" ¹⁰Pilate knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.
¹¹But the chief priests told the crowd to ask Pilate to free Barabbas.
¹²Then Pilate asked the crowd, "What do you want me to do with this man you say is the king of the Jews?"
¹³They yelled, "Nail him to a cross!"
¹⁴Pilate asked, "But what crime has he done?"
"Nail him to a cross!" they yelled even louder.
¹⁵Pilate wanted to please the crowd. So he set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.

Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
(Matthew 27.27-30; John 19.2, 3)

¹⁶The soldiers led Jesus inside the courtyard of the fortress and called together the rest of the troops. ¹⁷They put a purple robe on him, and on his head they placed a crown that they had made out of thorn branches. ¹⁸They made fun of Jesus and shouted, "Hey, you king of the Jews!" ¹⁹Then they beat him on the head with a stick. They spit on him and knelt down and pretended to worship him.
²⁰When the soldiers had finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple robe. They put his own clothes back on him and led him off to be nailed to a cross.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
(2 Chronicles 9.1-12)

1 Kings 10 The Queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she went to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. ²She took along several of her officials, and she loaded her camels with gifts of spices, jewels, and gold. When she arrived, she and Solomon talked about everything she could think of. ³He answered every question, no matter how difficult it was.
^4-5The Queen was amazed at Solomon's wisdom. She was breathless when she saw his palace, the food on his table, his officials, his servants in their uniforms, the people who served his food, and the sacrifices he offered at the LORD's temple. ⁶She said:

Solomon, in my own country I had heard about your wisdom and all you've done. ⁷But I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes! And there's so much I didn't hear about. You are wiser and richer than I was told. ⁸Your wives and officials are lucky to be here where they can listen to the wise things you say.

⁹I praise the LORD your God. He is pleased with you and has made you king of Israel. The LORD loves Israel, so he has given them a king who will rule fairly and honestly.

¹⁰The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon almost five tons of gold, many jewels, and more spices than anyone had ever brought into Israel.
^11-13In return, Solomon gave her the gifts he would have given any other ruler, but he also gave her everything else she wanted. Then she and her officials went back to their own country.

Solomon's Wealth
(2 Chronicles 9.13-28)

King Hiram's ships brought gold, juniper wood, and jewels from the country of Ophir. Solomon used the wood to make steps for the temple and palace, and harps and other stringed instruments for the musicians. It was the best juniper wood anyone in Israel had ever seen.
¹⁴Solomon received about twenty-five tons of gold a year. ¹⁵The merchants and traders, as well as the kings of Arabia and rulers from Israel, also gave him gold.
¹⁶Solomon made two hundred gold shields and used about seven and a half pounds of gold for each one. ¹⁷He also made three hundred smaller gold shields, using almost four pounds for each one, and he put the shields in his palace in Forest Hall.
¹⁸His throne was made of ivory and covered with pure gold. ^19-20The back of the throne was rounded at the top, and it had armrests on each side. There was a statue of a lion on both sides of the throne, and there was a statue of a lion at both ends of each of the six steps leading up to the throne. No other throne in the world was like Solomon's.
²¹Since silver was almost worthless in those days, everything was made of gold, even the cups and dishes used in Forest Hall.
²²Solomon had a lot of seagoing ships. Every three years he sent them out with Hiram's ships to bring back gold, silver, and ivory, as well as monkeys and peacocks.
²³He was the richest and wisest king in the world. ²⁴People from every nation wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him. ²⁵Year after year people came and brought gifts of silver and gold, as well as clothes, weapons, spices, horses, or mules.
²⁶Solomon had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses that he kept in Jerusalem and other towns.
²⁷While he was king, there was silver everywhere in Jerusalem, and cedar was as common as ordinary sycamore trees in the foothills.
^28-29Solomon's merchants bought his horses and chariots in the regions of Musri and Kue. They paid about fifteen pounds of silver for a chariot and almost four pounds of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to the Hittite and Syrian kings.

Israel and Judah Compared

Hosea 11¹²Israel is deceitful to me, their loyal and holy God;
they surround me with lies,
and Judah worships other gods.

Hosea 12All day long Israel chases wind from the desert;
deceit and violence are found everywhere.
Treaties are made with Assyria;
olive oil is taken to Egypt.

Israel and Judah Condemned

²The LORD also brings charges against the people of Judah,
the descendants of Jacob.
He will punish them for what they have done.
³Even before Jacob was born, he cheated his brother,
and when he grew up, he fought against God.

⁴At Bethel, Jacob wrestled with an angel and won;
then with tears in his eyes, he asked for a blessing,
and God spoke to us there.
⁵God's name is the LORD, the LORD God All-Powerful.
⁶So return to your God. Patiently trust him,
and show love and justice.

⁷Israel, you enjoy cheating and taking advantage of others.
⁸You say to yourself, "I'm rich! I earned it all on my own,
without committing a sin."

The LORD Is Still the God of Israel

⁹Israel, I, the LORD, am still your God,
just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.
Now I will force you to live in tents once again,
as you did in the desert.
¹⁰I spoke to the prophets-- often I spoke in visions.
And so, I will send my prophets with messages of doom.
¹¹Gilead is terribly sinful and will end up ruined.
Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal on altars made of stones,
but those stones will be scattered in every field.
¹²Jacob escaped to Syria
where he tended sheep to earn himself a wife.
¹³I sent the prophet Moses to lead Israel from Egypt
and to keep them safe.
¹⁴Israel, I will make you pay for your terrible sins
and for insulting me.