Jesus and John

John 3 ²²After this, Jesus and his disciples of went to the province Judea, where he spent some time with them and baptized. ²³Aenon, not far from Salim, John also was baptizing in because there was plenty of water in that place. People were going to him, and he was baptizing them. ( ²⁴This was before John had been put in prison.)
²⁵Some of John's disciples began arguing with a Jew about the matter of ritual washing. ²⁶So they went to John and told him, "Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him!"
²⁷John answered, "No one can have anything unless God gives it. ²⁸You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.' ²⁹The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete. ³⁰He must become more important while I become less important."

He Who Comes from Heaven

³¹He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all. ³²He tells what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his message. ³³But whoever accepts his message confirms by this that God is truthful. ³⁴The one whom God has sent speaks God's words, because God gives him the fullness of his Spirit. ³⁵The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.

The Covenant Box Is Moved from Kiriath Jearim
(2 Samuel 6.1-11)

1 Chronicles 13 King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men. ²Then he announced to all the people of Israel, "If you give your approval and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns, and tell them to assemble here with us. ³Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king." ⁴The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.
⁵So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country, from the Egyptian border in the south to Hamath Pass in the north, in order to bring the Covenant Box from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. ⁶David and the people went to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of Judah, to get the Covenant Box of God, which bears the name of the LORD enthroned above the winged creatures. ⁷At Abinadab's house they brought out the Covenant Box and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart, ⁸while David and all the people danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments--harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.
⁹As they came to the threshing place of Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. ¹⁰At once the LORD became angry with Uzzah and killed him for touching the Box. He died there in God's presence, ¹¹and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the LORD had punished Uzzah in anger.
¹²Then David was afraid of God and said, "How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?" ¹³So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ¹⁴It stayed there three months, and the LORD blessed Obed Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.

David's Activities in Jerusalem
(2 Samuel 5.11-16)

1 Chronicles 14 King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace. ²And so David realized that the LORD had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.
³There in Jerusalem, David married more wives and had more sons and daughters. ⁴The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

Victory over the Philistines
(2 Samuel 5.17-25)

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had now been made king over the whole country of Israel, their army went out to capture him. So David marched out to meet them. ⁹The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and began plundering. ¹⁰David asked God, "Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?"
The LORD answered, "Yes, attack! I will give you the victory!"
¹¹So David attacked them at Baal Perazim and defeated them. He said, "God has used me to break through the enemy army like a flood." So that place is called Baal Perazim. ¹²When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David gave orders for them to be burned.
¹³Soon the Philistines returned to the valley and started plundering it again. ¹⁴Once more David consulted God, who answered, "Don't attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. ¹⁵When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack, because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army." ¹⁶David did what God had commanded, and so he drove the Philistines back from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. ¹⁷David's fame spread everywhere, and the LORD made every nation afraid of him.

The Prophet's Vision of the High Priest

Zechariah 3 In another vision the LORD showed me the High Priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD. And there beside Joshua stood Satan, ready to bring an accusation against him. ²The angel of the LORD said to Satan, "May the LORD condemn you, Satan! May the LORD, who loves Jerusalem, condemn you. This man is like a stick snatched from the fire."
³Joshua was standing there, wearing filthy clothes. ⁴The angel said to his heavenly attendants, "Take away the filthy clothes this man is wearing." Then he said to Joshua, "I have taken away your sin and will give you new clothes to wear."
⁵He commanded the attendants to put a clean turban on Joshua's head. They did so, and then they put the new clothes on him while the angel of the LORD stood there.
⁶Then the angel told Joshua that ⁷the LORD Almighty had said: "If you obey my laws and perform the duties I have assigned you, then you will continue to be in charge of my Temple and its courts, and I will hear your prayers, just as I hear the prayers of the angels who are in my presence. ⁸Listen then, Joshua, you who are the High Priest; and listen, you fellow priests of his, you that are the sign of a good future: I will reveal my servant, who is called The Branch! ⁹I am placing in front of Joshua a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, and in a single day I will take away the sin of this land. ¹⁰When that day comes, each of you will invite your neighbor to come and enjoy peace and security, surrounded by your vineyards and fig trees."