The Parable of the Shepherd

John 10 Jesus said, "I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. ⁴When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice."
⁶Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he meant.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷So Jesus said again, "I am telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All others who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life--life in all its fullness.
¹¹"I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. ¹²When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. ^14-15I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. ¹⁶There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
¹⁷"The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again. ¹⁸No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do."
¹⁹Again there was a division among the people because of these words. ²⁰Many of them were saying, "He has a demon! He is crazy! Why do you listen to him?"
²¹But others were saying, "A man with a demon could not talk like this! How could a demon give sight to blind people?"

Solomon's Achievements
(1 Kings 9.10 -28)

2 Chronicles 8 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Temple and his palace. ²He also rebuilt the cities that King Hiram had given him, and sent Israelites to settle in them. ³He captured the territory of Hamath and Zobah ⁴and fortified the city of Palmyra in the desert. He rebuilt all the cities in Hamath that were centers for storing supplies. ⁵Solomon also rebuilt the following cities: Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon (fortified cities with gates that could be barred), ⁶the city of Baalath, all the cities where he stored supplies, and the cities where his horses and chariots were stationed. He carried out all his plans for building in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout the territory that he ruled over. ^7-8Solomon employed at forced labor all the descendants of the people of Canaan whom the Israelites had not killed when they took possession of the land. These included Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, whose descendants continue to be slaves down to the present time. ⁹Israelites were not used at forced labor, but served as soldiers, officers, chariot commanders, and cavalry troops. ¹⁰There were 250 officials in charge of the forced labor working on the various building projects.
¹¹Solomon moved his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, from David's City to a house he built for her. He said, "She must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, because any place where the Covenant Box has been is holy."
¹²Solomon offered sacrifices to the LORD on the altar which he had built in front of the Temple. ¹³He offered burnt offerings according to the requirements of the Law of Moses for each holy day: Sabbaths, New Moon Festivals, and the three annual festivals--the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters. ¹⁴Following the rules laid down by his father David, he organized the daily work of the priests and of the Levites who assisted the priests in singing hymns and in doing their work. He also organized the Temple guards in sections for performing their daily duties at each gate, in accordance with the commands of David, the man of God. ¹⁵The instructions which David had given the priests and the Levites concerning the storehouses and other matters were carried out in detail.
¹⁶By this time all of Solomon's projects had been completed. From the laying of the foundation of the LORD's Temple to its completion, all the work had been successful.
¹⁷Then Solomon went to Eziongeber and Elath, ports on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸King Hiram sent him ships under the command of his own officers and with experienced sailors. They sailed with Solomon's officers to the land of Ophir and brought back to Solomon about sixteen tons of gold.

BOOK THREE
(Psalms 73--89)

The Justice of God

Psalm 73 God is indeed good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
²But I had nearly lost confidence;
my faith was almost gone
³because I was jealous of the proud
when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

⁴They do not suffer pain;
they are strong and healthy.
⁵They do not suffer as other people do;
they do not have the troubles that others have.
⁶And so they wear pride like a necklace
and violence like a robe;
⁷their hearts pour out evil,
and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.
⁸They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;
they are proud and make plans to oppress others.
⁹They speak evil of God in heaven
and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,
¹⁰so that even God's people turn to them
and eagerly believe whatever they say.
¹¹They say, "God will not know;
the Most High will not find out."
¹²That is what the wicked are like.
They have plenty and are always getting more.

¹³Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure
and have not committed sin?
¹⁴O God, you have made me suffer all day long;
every morning you have punished me.

¹⁵If I had said such things,
I would not be acting as one of your people.
¹⁶I tried to think this problem through,
but it was too difficult for me
¹⁷until I went into your Temple.
Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

¹⁸You will put them in slippery places
and make them fall to destruction!
¹⁹They are instantly destroyed;
they go down to a horrible end.
²⁰They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;
when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

²¹When my thoughts were bitter
and my feelings were hurt,
²²I was as stupid as an animal;
I did not understand you.
²³Yet I always stay close to you,
and you hold me by the hand.
²⁴You guide me with your instruction
and at the end you will receive me with honor.
²⁵What else do I have in heaven but you?
Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?
²⁶My mind and my body may grow weak,
but God is my strength;
he is all I ever need.

²⁷Those who abandon you will certainly perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,
to find protection with the Sovereign LORD
and to proclaim all that he has done!