Jesus
Goes to the Temple
(Matthew 21.12-17;
Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
Mark 11 15When
they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and
began to drive out all those who were buying and selling.
He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the
stools of those who sold pigeons, 16and he
would not let anyone carry anything through the Temple
courtyards. 17He then taught the people:
"It is written in the Scriptures that God said, 'My
Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of
all nations.' But you have turned it into a hideout for
thieves!"
 18The
chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this,
so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They
were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at
his teaching.
19When
evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city.
The Lesson from the Fig
Tree
(Matthew 21.20-22)
20Early
next morning, as they walked along the road, they saw the
fig tree. It was dead all the way down to its roots. 21Peter
remembered what had happened and said to Jesus,
"Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has
died!"
22Jesus
answered them, "Have faith in God. 23I
assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and
throw itself in the sea and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that what he says will happen, it will be
done for him. 24For this reason I tell you:
When you pray and ask for something, believe that you
have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask
for. 25And when you stand and pray, forgive
anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father
in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done."
The Question about Jesus'
Authority
(Matthew 21.23-27;
Luke 20.1-8)
27They
arrived once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in
the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law,
and the elders came to him 28and asked him,
"What right do you have to do these things? Who gave
you such right?"
29Jesus
answered them, "I will ask you just one question,
and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right
I have to do these things. 30Tell me, where
did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or
from human beings?"
31They
started to argue among themselves: "What shall we
say? If we answer, 'From God,' he will say, 'Why, then,
did you not believe John?' 32But if we say,
'From human beings . . .'" (They were afraid of the
people, because everyone was convinced that John had been
a prophet.) 33So their answer to Jesus was,
"We don't know."
 Jesus
said to them, "Neither will I tell you, then, by
what right I do these things."
David's Last Instructions
to Solomon
1 Kings 2 When
David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and
gave him his last instructions: 2"My time
to die has come. Be confident and determined, 3and
do what the LORD your God orders
you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in
the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper
in everything you do. 4If you obey him, the LORD will keep the promise he made when he
told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as
they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with
all their heart and soul.
5"There
is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by
killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son
of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he
murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they
had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men, and
now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I
suffer the consequences. 6You know what to do;
you must not let him die a natural death.
7"But
show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and
take care of them, because they were kind to me when I
was fleeing from your brother Absalom.
8"There
is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in
Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to
Mahanaim, but when he met me at the Jordan River, I gave
him my solemn promise in the name of the LORD
that I would not have him killed. 9But you
must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and
you must see to it that he is put to death."
The Death of David
10David
died and was buried in David's City. 11He had
been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years
in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12Solomon
succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power
was firmly established.
The Death of Adonijah
13Then
Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba,
who was Solomon's mother. "Is this a friendly
visit?" she asked.
"It
is," he answered, 14and then he added,
"I have something to ask of you."
"What
is it?" she asked.
15He
answered, "You know that I should have become king
and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened
differently, and my brother became king because it was
the LORD's will. 16And
now I have one request to make; please do not
refuse me."
"What
is it?" Bathsheba asked.
17He
answered, "Please ask King Solomon--I know he won't
refuse you--to let me have Abishag, the young woman from
Shunem, as my wife."
18"Very
well," she answered. "I will speak to the king
for you."
19So
Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of
Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed
to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one
brought in on which she sat at his right. 20She
said, "I have a small favor to ask of you; please do
not refuse me."
"What
is it, mother?" he asked. "I will not
refuse you."
21She
answered, "Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as
his wife."
22"Why
do you ask me to give Abishag to him?" the king
asked. "You might as well ask me to give him the
throne too. After all, he is my older brother, and
Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!" 23Then
Solomon made a solemn promise in the LORD's
name, "May God strike me dead if I don't make
Adonijah pay with his life for asking this! 24The
LORD has firmly established me on
the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise
and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear
by the living LORD that Adonijah
will die this very day!"
25So
King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and
killed Adonijah.
Abiathar's Banishment
and Joab's Death
26Then
King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, "Go to
your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I
will not have you put to death now, for you were in
charge of the LORD's Covenant Box
while you were with my father David, and you shared in
all his troubles." 27Then Solomon
dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the LORD, and so made come true what the LORD had said in Shiloh about the priest
Eli and his descendants.
28Joab
heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but
not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the LORD's presence and took hold of the
corners of the altar. 29When the news reached
King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by
the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him
why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had
fled to the LORD because he was
afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiah to kill
Joab. 30He went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and said to Joab,
"The king orders you to come out."
"No,"
Joab answered. "I will die here."
Benaiah
went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.
31"Do
what Joab says," Solomon answered. "Kill him
and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David's
descendants will any longer be held responsible for what
Joab did when he killed innocent men. 32The LORD will punish Joab for those murders,
which he committed without my father David's knowledge.
Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he:
Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa,
commander of the army of Judah. 33The
punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his
descendants forever. But the LORD
will always give success to David's descendants who sit
on his throne."
34So
Benaiah went to the Tent of the LORD's
presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home
in the open country. 35The king made Benaiah
commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the
priest in Abiathar's place.
The Death of Shimei
36Then
the king sent for Shimei and said to him, "Build a
house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and
don't leave the city. 37If you ever leave and
go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die--and you
yourself will be to blame."
38"Very
well, Your Majesty," Shimei answered. "I will
do what you say." So he lived in Jerusalem a long
time.
39Three
years later, however, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to
the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard
that they were in Gath, 40he saddled his
donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his
slaves. He found them and brought them back home. 41When
Solomon heard what Shimei had done, 42he sent
for him and said, "I made you promise in the LORD's name not to leave Jerusalem. And I
warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die.
Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? 43Why,
then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my
command? 44You know very well all the wrong
that you did to my father David. The LORD
will punish you for it. 45But he will bless
me, and he will make David's kingdom secure
forever."
46Then
the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed
Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.
Hosea Warns against Idolatry
Hosea 5 4The
evil that the people have done keeps them from returning
to their God. Idolatry has a powerful hold on them, and
they do not acknowledge the LORD. 5The
arrogance of the people of Israel cries out against them.
Their sins make them stumble and fall, and the people of
Judah fall with them. 6They take their sheep
and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the LORD,
but it does them no good. They cannot find him, for he
has left them. 7They have been unfaithful to
the LORD; their children do not
belong to him. So now they and their lands will soon be
destroyed.
War between Judah
and Israel
8Blow
the war trumpets in Gibeah! Sound the alarm in Ramah!
Raise the war cry at Bethaven! Into battle, men of
Benjamin! 9The day of punishment is coming,
and Israel will be ruined. People of Israel, this will
surely happen!
10The
LORD says, "I am angry because
the leaders of Judah have invaded Israel and stolen land
from her. So I will pour out punishment on them like a
flood. 11Israel is suffering oppression; she
has lost land that was rightfully hers, because she
insisted on going for help to those who had none to give.
12I will bring destruction on Israel and
ruin on the people of Judah.
13"When
Israel saw how sick she was and when Judah saw her own
wounds, then Israel went to Assyria to ask the great
emperor for help, but he could not cure them or heal
their wounds. 14I will attack the people
of Israel and Judah like a lion. I myself will tear them
to pieces and then leave them. When I drag them off, no
one will be able to save them.
15"I
will abandon my people until they have suffered enough
for their sins and come looking for me. Perhaps in their
suffering they will try to find me."
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