COVENANT HISTORY. Creation and fall, the promise of restoration, and Israel s place in God s story, A S T O L D I N THE BOOKS OF

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1 Creation and fall, the promise of restoration, and Israel s place in God s story, A S T O L D I N THE BOOKS OF COVENANT HISTORY NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

2 Call us today or visit us online to receive a free catalog featuring hundreds of biblical resources priced for ministry. Website: Biblica.com Phone: BiblicaDirectService@Biblica.com Mail: 1820 Jet Stream Drive Colorado Springs, CO The Books of the Bible!" Covenant History 2011 by Biblica, Inc.!" HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION # NIV # Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.!" All rights reserved worldwide. The Drama of the Bible Notes 2011 by Biblica, Inc.!" All rights reserved worldwide. No part of The Drama of the Bible Notes may be reproduced without written consent of Biblica, Inc.!" The NIV # text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses, without express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible, nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five (25) percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Permission requests that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Biblica, Inc.!" Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION # NIV #. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.!" Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.!" All rights reserved worldwide. NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.!" When quotations from the NIV # are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required but the initials (NIV # ) must appear at the end of each quotation. Biblica provides God s Word to people through Bible translation, Bible publishing and Bible engagement in Africa, East Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, and South Asia. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God s Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eng. Bible NIV /11 XXXXX Printed in U.S.A : ISBN

3 Then King Sol o mon sum moned into his pres ence at Je ru sa lem the el ders of Is ra el, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Is ra el ite fam i lies, to bring up the ark of the Lord s cov enant from Zion, the City of Da vid. All the Is ra el ites came to geth er to King Sol o mon at the time of the fes ti val in the month of Eth a nim, the sev enth month. When all the el ders of Is ra el had ar rived, the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meet ing and all the 1.7:41 8:4

4 Samuel-Kings 477 sa cred fur nish ings in it. The priests and Le vites car ried them up, and King Sol o mon and the en tire as sem bly of Is ra el that had gath ered about him were be fore the ark, sac ri fic ing so many sheep and cat tle that they could not be re cord ed or count ed. The priests then brought the ark of the Lord s cov enant to its place in the in ner sanc tu ary of the tem ple, the Most Holy Place, and put it be neath the wings of the cher u bim. The cher u bim spread their wings over the place of the ark and over shad owed the ark and its car ry ing poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the in ner sanc tu ary, but not from out side the Holy Place; and they are still there to day. There was noth ing in the ark ex cept the two stone tab lets that Mo ses had placed in it at Ho reb, where the Lord made a cov enant with the Is ra el ites af ter they came out of Egypt. When the priests with drew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the tem ple of the Lord. And the priests could not per form their ser vice because of the cloud, for the glo ry of the Lord filled his tem ple. Then Sol o mon said, The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have in deed built a mag nif i cent tem ple for you, a place for you to dwell for ev er. While the whole as sem bly of Is ra el was stand ing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Is ra el, who with his own hand has ful filled what he prom ised with his own mouth to my fa ther Da vid. For he said, Since the day I brought my peo ple Is ra el out of Egypt, I have not cho sen a city in any tribe of Is ra el to have a tem ple built so that my Name might be there, but I have cho sen Da vid to rule my peo ple Is ra el. My fa ther Da vid had it in his heart to build a tem ple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Is ra el. But the Lord said to my fa ther Da vid, You did well to have it in your heart to build a tem ple for my Name. Nev er the less, you are not the one to build the tem ple, but your son, your own flesh and blood he is the one who will build the tem ple for my Name. The Lord has kept the prom ise he made: I have suc ceed ed Da vid my fa ther and now I sit on the throne of Is ra el, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the tem ple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Is ra el. I have pro vid ed a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our an ces tors when he brought them out of Egypt. Then Sol o mon stood be fore the al tar of the Lord in front of the whole as sem bly of Is ra el, spread out his hands to ward heav en and said: Lord, the God of Is ra el, there is no God like you in heav en above or 1.8:5 8:23

5 478 Samuel-Kings on earth be low you who keep your cov enant of love with your servants who con tin ue whole heart ed ly in your way. You have kept your prom ise to your ser vant Da vid my fa ther; with your mouth you have prom ised and with your hand you have ful filled it as it is to day. Now Lord, the God of Is ra el, keep for your ser vant Da vid my fa ther the prom is es you made to him when you said, You shall nev er fail to have a suc ces sor to sit be fore me on the throne of Is ra el, if only your de scen dants are care ful in all they do to walk be fore me faith ful ly as you have done. And now, God of Is ra el, let your word that you promised your ser vant Da vid my fa ther come true. But will God real ly dwell on earth? The heav ens, even the high est heav en, can not con tain you. How much less this tem ple I have built! Yet give at ten tion to your ser vant s prayer and his plea for mer cy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your ser vant is pray ing in your pres ence this day. May your eyes be open to ward this tem ple night and day, this place of which you said, My Name shall be there, so that you will hear the prayer your ser vant prays to ward this place. Hear the sup pli ca tion of your ser vant and of your peo ple Is ra el when they pray to ward this place. Hear from heav en, your dwell ing place, and when you hear, for give. When any one wrongs their neigh bor and is re quired to take an oath and they come and swear the oath be fore your al tar in this temple, then hear from heav en and act. Judge be tween your ser vants, condemn ing the guilty by bring ing down on their heads what they have done, and vin di cat ing the in no cent by treat ing them in ac cor dance with their in no cence. When your peo ple Is ra el have been de feat ed by an en e my be cause they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, pray ing and mak ing sup pli ca tion to you in this tem ple, then hear from heav en and for give the sin of your peo ple Is ra el and bring them back to the land you gave to their an ces tors. When the heav ens are shut up and there is no rain be cause your peo ple have sinned against you, and when they pray to ward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin be cause you have af flict ed them, then hear from heav en and for give the sin of your servants, your peo ple Is ra el. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your peo ple for an in her i tance. When fam ine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mil dew, locusts or grass hop pers, or when an en e my be sieg es them in any of their cit ies, what ev er di sas ter or dis ease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any one among your peo ple Is ra el be ing aware of the af flic tions of their own hearts, and spread ing out their hands to ward this tem ple then hear from heav en, your dwell ing place. For give and act; deal with ev ery one ac cord ing to all they do, since you know their 1.8:24 8:39

6 Samuel-Kings 479 hearts (for you alone know ev ery hu man heart), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our an ces tors. As for the for eign er who does not be long to your peo ple Is ra el but has come from a dis tant land be cause of your name for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your out stretched arm when they come and pray to ward this tem ple, then hear from heav en, your dwell ing place. Do what ev er the for eign er asks of you, so that all the peo ples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own peo ple Is ra el, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. When your peo ple go to war against their en e mies, wher ev er you send them, and when they pray to the Lord to ward the city you have cho sen and the tem ple I have built for your Name, then hear from heav en their prayer and their plea, and up hold their cause. When they sin against you for there is no one who does not sin and you be come an gry with them and give them over to their en e- mies, who take them cap tive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held cap tive, and re pent and plead with you in the land of their cap tors and say, We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have act ed wick ed ly ; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their en e mies who took them cap tive, and pray to you to ward the land you gave their an ces tors, to ward the city you have cho sen and the tem ple I have built for your Name; then from heav en, your dwell ing place, hear their prayer and their plea, and up hold their cause. And for give your peo ple, who have sinned against you; for give all the of fens es they have com mit ted against you, and cause their cap tors to show them mer cy; for they are your peo ple and your in her i tance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelt ing fur nace. May your eyes be open to your ser vant s plea and to the plea of your peo ple Is ra el, and may you lis ten to them when ev er they cry out to you. For you sin gled them out from all the na tions of the world to be your own in her i tance, just as you de clared through your ser vant Moses when you, Sov er eign Lord, brought our an ces tors out of Egypt. When Sol o mon had fin ished all these prayers and sup pli ca tions to the Lord, he rose from be fore the al tar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out to ward heav en. He stood and blessed the whole as sem bly of Is ra el in a loud voice, say ing: Praise be to the Lord, who has giv en rest to his peo ple Is ra el just as he prom ised. Not one word has failed of all the good prom is es he gave through his ser vant Mo ses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our an ces tors; may he nev er leave us nor for sake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obe di ence to him and keep the com- 1.8:40 8:58

7 480 Samuel-Kings mands, de crees and laws he gave our an ces tors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed be fore the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may up hold the cause of his ser vant and the cause of his peo ple Is ra el ac cord ing to each day s need, so that all the peo ples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no oth er. And may your hearts be ful ly com mit ted to the Lord our God, to live by his de crees and obey his com mands, as at this time. Then the king and all Is ra el with him of fered sac ri fic es be fore the Lord. Sol o mon of fered a sac ri fice of fel low ship of fer ings to the Lord: twen ty-two thou sand cat tle and a hun dred and twen ty thou sand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Is ra el ites ded i cat ed the tem ple of the Lord. On that same day the king con se crat ed the mid dle part of the courtyard in front of the tem ple of the Lord, and there he of fered burnt of ferings, grain of fer ings and the fat of the fel low ship of fer ings, be cause the bronze al tar that stood be fore the Lord was too small to hold the burnt of fer ings, the grain of fer ings and the fat of the fel low ship of fer ings. So Sol o mon ob served the fes ti val at that time, and all Is ra el with him a vast as sem bly, peo ple from Lebo Ha math to the Wadi of Egypt. They cel e brat ed it be fore the Lord our God for sev en days and sev en days more, four teen days in all. On the fol low ing day he sent the peo ple away. They blessed the king and then went home, joy ful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his ser vant Da vid and his peo ple Is ra el. When Sol o mon had fin ished build ing the tem ple of the Lord and the roy al pal ace, and had achieved all he had de sired to do, the Lord ap peared to him a sec ond time, as he had ap peared to him at Gib e on. The Lord said to him: I have heard the prayer and plea you have made be fore me; I have con se crat ed this tem ple, which you have built, by put ting my Name there for ev er. My eyes and my heart will al ways be there. As for you, if you walk be fore me faith ful ly with in teg ri ty of heart and up right ness, as Da vid your fa ther did, and do all I com mand and ob serve my de crees and laws, I will es tab lish your roy al throne over Is ra el for ev er, as I prom ised Da vid your fa ther when I said, You shall nev er fail to have a suc ces sor on the throne of Is ra el. But if you or your de scen dants turn away from me and do not observe the com mands and de crees I have giv en you and go off to serve oth er gods and wor ship them, then I will cut off Is ra el from the land I have giv en them and will re ject this tem ple I have con se crat ed for my Name. Is ra el will then be come a by word and an ob ject of rid i cule among all peo ples. This tem ple will be come a heap of rub ble. All who pass by will be ap palled and will scoff and say, Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this tem ple? Peo ple will an swer, 1.8:59 9:9

8 Samuel-Kings 481 Be cause they have for sak en the Lord their God, who brought their an ces tors out of Egypt, and have em braced oth er gods, wor ship ing and serv ing them that is why the Lord brought all this di sas ter on them. At the end of twen ty years, dur ing which Sol o mon built these two buildings the tem ple of the Lord and the roy al pal ace King Sol o mon gave twen ty towns in Gal i lee to Hi ram king of Tyre, be cause Hi ram had supplied him with all the ce dar and ju ni per and gold he want ed. But when Hi ram went from Tyre to see the towns that Sol o mon had giv en him, he was not pleased with them. What kind of towns are these you have giv en me, my broth er? he asked. And he called them the Land of Ka bul, a name they have to this day. Now Hi ram had sent to the king 120 tal ents of gold. Here is the ac count of the forced la bor King Sol o mon con script ed to build the Lord s tem ple, his own pal ace, the ter rac es, the wall of Je ru salem, and Ha zor, Me gid do and Ge zer. (Phar aoh king of Egypt had at tacked and cap tured Ge zer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Ca naan ite in habi tants and then gave it as a wed ding gift to his daugh ter, Sol o mon s wife. And Sol o mon re built Ge zer.) He built up Low er Beth Ho ron, Ba al ath, and Tad mor in the des ert, with in his land, as well as all his store cit ies and the towns for his char i ots and for his hors es what ev er he de sired to build in Je ru sa lem, in Leb a non and through out all the ter ri to ry he ruled. There were still peo ple left from the Am o rites, Hit tites, Per iz zites, Hivites and Jeb u sites (these peo ples were not Is ra el ites). Sol o mon con scripted the de scen dants of all these peo ples re main ing in the land whom the Is ra el ites could not ex ter mi nate to serve as slave la bor, as it is to this day. But Sol o mon did not make slaves of any of the Is ra el ites; they were his fight ing men, his gov ern ment of fi cials, his of fi cers, his cap tains, and the com mand ers of his char i ots and char i ot eers. They were also the chief of fi cials in charge of Sol o mon s proj ects 550 of fi cials su per vis ing those who did the work. Af ter Phar aoh s daugh ter had come up from the City of Da vid to the pal ace Sol o mon had built for her, he con struct ed the ter rac es. Three times a year Sol o mon sac ri ficed burnt of fer ings and fel low ship of fer ings on the al tar he had built for the Lord, burn ing in cense be fore the Lord along with them, and so ful filled the tem ple ob li ga tions. King Sol o mon also built ships at Ezi on Ge ber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hi ram sent his men sail ors who knew the sea to serve in the fleet with Sol o mon s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 tal ents of gold, which they de liv ered to King Sol o mon. When the queen of She ba heard about the fame of Sol o mon and his re la- 1.9:10 10:1

9 482 Samuel-Kings tion ship to the Lord, she came to test Sol o mon with hard ques tions. Ar riving at Je ru sa lem with a very great car a van with cam els car ry ing spic es, large quan ti ties of gold, and pre cious stones she came to Sol o mon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Sol o mon an swered all her ques tions; noth ing was too hard for the king to ex plain to her. When the queen of She ba saw all the wis dom of Sol o mon and the pal ace he had built, the food on his ta ble, the seat ing of his of fi cials, the at tend ing servants in their robes, his cup bear ers, and the burnt of fer ings he made at the tem ple of the Lord, she was over whelmed. She said to the king, The re port I heard in my own coun try about your achieve ments and your wis dom is true. But I did not be lieve these things un til I came and saw with my own eyes. In deed, not even half was told me; in wis dom and wealth you have far ex ceed ed the re port I heard. How happy your peo ple must be! How hap py your of fi cials, who con tin u al ly stand be fore you and hear your wis dom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has de light ed in you and placed you on the throne of Is ra el. Be cause of the Lord s eter nal love for Is ra el, he has made you king to main tain jus tice and righ teous ness. And she gave the king 120 tal ents of gold, large quan ti ties of spic es, and pre cious stones. Nev er again were so many spic es brought in as those the queen of She ba gave to King Sol o mon. (Hi ram s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great car goes of al mug wood and pre cious stones. The king used the almug wood to make sup ports for the tem ple of the Lord and for the roy al pal ace, and to make harps and lyres for the mu si cians. So much al mugwood has nev er been im port ed or seen since that day.) King Sol o mon gave the queen of She ba all she de sired and asked for, be sides what he had giv en her out of his roy al boun ty. Then she left and re turned with her ret i nue to her own coun try. The weight of the gold that Sol o mon re ceived year ly was 666 tal ents, not in clud ing the rev e nues from mer chants and trad ers and from all the Arabi an kings and the gov er nors of the ter ri to ries. King Sol o mon made two hun dred large shields of ham mered gold; six hun dred shek els of gold went into each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of ham mered gold, with three mi nas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Pal ace of the For est of Leb a non. Then the king made a great throne cov ered with ivo ry and over laid with fine gold. The throne had six steps, and its back had a round ed top. On both sides of the seat were arm rests, with a lion stand ing be side each of them. Twelve li ons stood on the six steps, one at ei ther end of each step. Noth ing like it had ever been made for any oth er king dom. All King Sol o- mon s gob lets were gold, and all the house hold ar ti cles in the Pal ace of the For est of Leb a non were pure gold. Noth ing was made of sil ver, be cause sil- 1.10:2 10:21

10 Samuel-Kings 483 ver was con sid ered of lit tle val ue in Sol o mon s days. The king had a fleet of trad ing ships at sea along with the ships of Hi ram. Once ev ery three years it re turned, car ry ing gold, sil ver and ivo ry, and apes and ba boons. King Sol o mon was great er in rich es and wis dom than all the oth er kings of the earth. The whole world sought au di ence with Sol o mon to hear the wis dom God had put in his heart. Year af ter year, ev ery one who came brought a gift ar ti cles of sil ver and gold, robes, weap ons and spic es, and hors es and mules. Sol o mon ac cu mu lat ed char i ots and hors es; he had four teen hun dred char i ots and twelve thou sand hors es, which he kept in the char i ot cities and also with him in Je ru sa lem. The king made sil ver as com mon in Je ru sa lem as stones, and ce dar as plen ti ful as syc a more-fig trees in the foot hills. Sol o mon s hors es were im port ed from Egypt and from Kue the roy al mer chants pur chased them from Kue at the cur rent price. They import ed a char i ot from Egypt for six hun dred shek els of sil ver, and a horse for a hun dred and fif ty. They also ex port ed them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Ar a me ans. King Sol o mon, how ev er, loved many for eign wom en be sides Phar aoh s daugh ter Mo ab ites, Am mon ites, Edom ites, Si do ni ans and Hit tites. They were from na tions about which the Lord had told the Is ra el ites, You must not in ter mar ry with them, be cause they will sure ly turn your hearts af ter their gods. Nev er the less, Sol o mon held fast to them in love. He had sev en hun dred wives of roy al birth and three hun dred con cu bines, and his wives led him astray. As Sol o mon grew old, his wives turned his heart af ter oth er gods, and his heart was not ful ly de vot ed to the Lord his God, as the heart of Da vid his fa ther had been. He fol lowed Ash to reth the god dess of the Si do ni ans, and Mo lek the de test able god of the Am mon ites. So Sol o mon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not fol low the Lord com plete ly, as Da vid his fa ther had done. On a hill east of Je ru sa lem, Sol o mon built a high place for Che mosh the de test able god of Moab, and for Mo lek the de test able god of the Ammon ites. He did the same for all his for eign wives, who burned in cense and of fered sac ri fic es to their gods. The Lord be came an gry with Sol o mon be cause his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Is ra el, who had ap peared to him twice. Al though he had for bid den Sol o mon to fol low oth er gods, Sol o mon did not keep the Lord s com mand. So the Lord said to Sol o mon, Since this is your at ti tude and you have not kept my cov enant and my de crees, which I com mand ed you, I will most cer tain ly tear the king dom away from you and give it to one of your sub or di nates. Nev er the less, for the sake of Da vid your fa ther, I will not do it dur ing your life time. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole king dom from him, but will give 1.10:22 11:13

11 484 Samuel-Kings him one tribe for the sake of Da vid my ser vant and for the sake of Je ru salem, which I have cho sen. Then the Lord raised up against Sol o mon an ad ver sary, Ha dad the Edom ite, from the roy al line of Edom. Ear li er when Da vid was fight ing with Edom, Joab the com mand er of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Is ra el ites stayed there for six months, un til they had de stroyed all the men in Edom. But Ha dad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edom ite of fi cials who had served his fa ther. They set out from Mid i an and went to Pa ran. Then tak ing peo ple from Pa ran with them, they went to Egypt, to Phar aoh king of Egypt, who gave Ha dad a house and land and pro vid ed him with food. Phar aoh was so pleased with Ha dad that he gave him a sis ter of his own wife, Queen Tah pe nes, in mar riage. The sis ter of Tah pe nes bore him a son named Ge nu bath, whom Tah pe nes brought up in the roy al pal ace. There Ge nu bath lived with Phar aoh s own chil dren. While he was in Egypt, Ha dad heard that Da vid rest ed with his an cestors and that Joab the com mand er of the army was also dead. Then Ha dad said to Phar aoh, Let me go, that I may re turn to my own coun try. What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own coun try? Phar aoh asked. Noth ing, Ha dad re plied, but do let me go! And God raised up against Sol o mon an oth er ad ver sary, Re zon son of Eli a da, who had fled from his mas ter, Had ad e zer king of Zo bah. When David de stroyed Zo bah s army, Re zon gath ered a band of men around him and be came their lead er; they went to Da mas cus, where they set tled and took con trol. Re zon was Is ra el s ad ver sary as long as Sol o mon lived, add ing to the trou ble caused by Ha dad. So Re zon ruled in Aram and was hos tile to ward Is ra el. Also, Jer o bo am son of Ne bat re belled against the king. He was one of Sol o- mon s of fi cials, an Ephra im ite from Zer e dah, and his moth er was a wid ow named Ze ru ah. Here is the ac count of how he re belled against the king: Sol o mon had built the ter rac es and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of Da vid his fa ther. Now Jer o bo am was a man of stand ing, and when Sol o mon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole la bor force of the tribes of Jo seph. About that time Jer o bo am was go ing out of Je ru sa lem, and Ahi jah the proph et of Shi loh met him on the way, wear ing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the coun try, and Ahi jah took hold of the new cloak he was wear ing and tore it into twelve piec es. Then he said to Jer o bo am, Take ten piec es for your self, for this is what the Lord, the God of Is ra el, says: See, I am go ing to tear the king dom out of Sol o mon s hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my ser vant Da vid and the city of Je ru- 1.11:14 11:32

12 Samuel-Kings 485 sa lem, which I have cho sen out of all the tribes of Is ra el, he will have one tribe. I will do this be cause they have for sak en me and wor shiped Ash toreth the god dess of the Si do ni ans, Che mosh the god of the Mo ab ites, and Mo lek the god of the Am mon ites, and have not walked in obe di ence to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my de crees and laws as Da vid, Sol o mon s fa ther, did. But I will not take the whole king dom out of Sol o mon s hand; I have made him rul er all the days of his life for the sake of Da vid my ser vant, whom I chose and who obeyed my com mands and de crees. I will take the king dom from his son s hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that Da vid my ser vant may al ways have a lamp be fore me in Je ru sa lem, the city where I chose to put my Name. How ev er, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart de sires; you will be king over Is ra el. If you do what ev er I com mand you and walk in obedi ence to me and do what is right in my eyes by obey ing my de crees and com mands, as Da vid my ser vant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dy nas ty as en dur ing as the one I built for Da vid and will give Is ra el to you. I will hum ble Da vid s de scen dants be cause of this, but not for ev er. Sol o mon tried to kill Jer o bo am, but Jer o bo am fled to Egypt, to Shi shak the king, and stayed there un til Sol o mon s death. As for the oth er events of Sol o mon s reign all he did and the wis dom he dis played are they not writ ten in the book of the an nals of Sol o mon? Solo mon reigned in Je ru sa lem over all Is ra el for ty years. Then he rest ed with his an ces tors and was bur ied in the city of Da vid his fa ther. And Re ho bo am his son suc ceed ed him as king. Re ho bo am went to She chem, for all Is ra el had gone there to make him king. When Jer o bo am son of Ne bat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Sol o mon), he re turned from Egypt. So they sent for Jer o bo am, and he and the whole as sem bly of Is ra el went to Re hobo am and said to him: Your fa ther put a heavy yoke on us, but now light en the harsh la bor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you. Re ho bo am an swered, Go away for three days and then come back to me. So the peo ple went away. Then King Re ho bo am con sult ed the el ders who had served his fa ther Sol o mon dur ing his life time. How would you ad vise me to an swer these peo ple? he asked. They re plied, If to day you will be a ser vant to these peo ple and serve them and give them a fa vor able an swer, they will al ways be your ser vants. But Re ho bo am re ject ed the ad vice the el ders gave him and con sulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serv ing him. He 1.11:33 12:9

13 486 Samuel-Kings asked them, What is your ad vice? How should we an swer these peo ple who say to me, Light en the yoke your fa ther put on us? The young men who had grown up with him re plied, These peo ple have said to you, Your fa ther put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke light er. Now tell them, My lit tle fin ger is thick er than my fa ther s waist. My fa ther laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavi er. My fa ther scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scor pi ons. Three days lat er Jer o bo am and all the peo ple re turned to Re ho bo am, as the king had said, Come back to me in three days. The king an swered the peo ple harsh ly. Re ject ing the ad vice giv en him by the el ders, he followed the ad vice of the young men and said, My fa ther made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavi er. My fa ther scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scor pi ons. So the king did not lis ten to the peo ple, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to ful fill the word the Lord had spo ken to Jer o bo am son of Ne bat through Ahi jah the Shi lo nite. When all Is ra el saw that the king re fused to lis ten to them, they answered the king: What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David! So the Is ra el ites went home. But as for the Is ra el ites who were liv ing in the towns of Ju dah, Re ho bo am still ruled over them. King Re ho bo am sent out Ad o ni ram, who was in charge of forced la bor, but all Is ra el stoned him to death. King Re ho bo am, how ev er, man aged to get into his char i ot and es cape to Je ru sa lem. So Is ra el has been in re bel lion against the house of Da vid to this day. When all the Is ra el ites heard that Jer o bo am had re turned, they sent and called him to the as sem bly and made him king over all Is ra el. Only the tribe of Ju dah re mained loy al to the house of Da vid. When Re ho bo am ar rived in Je ru sa lem, he mus tered all Ju dah and the tribe of Ben ja min a hun dred and eighty thou sand able young men to go to war against Is ra el and to re gain the king dom for Re ho bo am son of Sol o mon. But this word of God came to She ma iah the man of God: Say to Reho bo am son of Sol o mon king of Ju dah, to all Ju dah and Ben ja min, and to the rest of the peo ple, This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your broth ers, the Is ra el ites. Go home, ev ery one of you, for this is my do ing. So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had or dered. Then Jer o bo am for ti fied She chem in the hill coun try of Ephra im and lived there. From there he went out and built up Pe ni el. 1.12:10 12:25

14 Samuel-Kings 487 Jer o bo am thought to him self, The king dom will now like ly re vert to the house of Da vid. If these peo ple go up to of fer sac ri fic es at the tem ple of the Lord in Je ru sa lem, they will again give their al le giance to their lord, Re hobo am king of Ju dah. They will kill me and re turn to King Re ho bo am. Af ter seek ing ad vice, the king made two gold en calves. He said to the peo ple, It is too much for you to go up to Je ru sa lem. Here are your gods, Is ra el, who brought you up out of Egypt. One he set up in Beth el, and the oth er in Dan. And this thing be came a sin; the peo ple came to wor ship the one at Beth el and went as far as Dan to wor ship the oth er. Jer o bo am built shrines on high plac es and ap point ed priests from all sorts of peo ple, even though they were not Le vites. He in sti tut ed a fes ti val on the fif teenth day of the eighth month, like the fes ti val held in Ju dah, and of fered sac ri fic es on the al tar. This he did in Beth el, sac ri fic ing to the calves he had made. And at Beth el he also in stalled priests at the high places he had made. On the fif teenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choos ing, he of fered sac ri fic es on the al tar he had built at Beth el. So he in sti tut ed the fes ti val for the Is ra el ites and went up to the al tar to make of fer ings. By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Ju dah to Beth el, as Jero bo am was stand ing by the al tar to make an of fer ing. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the al tar: Al tar, al tar! This is what the Lord says: A son named Jo si ah will be born to the house of Da vid. On you he will sacri fice the priests of the high plac es who make of fer ings here, and hu man bones will be burned on you. That same day the man of God gave a sign: This is the sign the Lord has de clared: The al tar will be split apart and the ash es on it will be poured out. When King Jer o bo am heard what the man of God cried out against the al tar at Beth el, he stretched out his hand from the al tar and said, Seize him! But the hand he stretched out to ward the man shriv eled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the al tar was split apart and its ash es poured out ac cord ing to the sign giv en by the man of God by the word of the Lord. Then the king said to the man of God, In ter cede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be re stored. So the man of God in ter ced ed with the Lord, and the king s hand was re stored and be came as it was be fore. The king said to the man of God, Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift. But the man of God an swered the king, Even if you were to give me half your pos ses sions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink wa ter here. For I was com mand ed by the word of the Lord: You must 1.12:26 13:9

15 488 Samuel-Kings not eat bread or drink wa ter or re turn by the way you came. So he took an oth er road and did not re turn by the way he had come to Beth el. Now there was a cer tain old proph et liv ing in Beth el, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their fa ther what he had said to the king. Their fa ther asked them, Which way did he go? And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Ju dah had tak en. So he said to his sons, Sad dle the don key for me. And when they had sad dled the don key for him, he mount ed it and rode af ter the man of God. He found him sit ting un der an oak tree and asked, Are you the man of God who came from Ju dah? I am, he re plied. So the proph et said to him, Come home with me and eat. The man of God said, I can not turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink wa ter with you in this place. I have been told by the word of the Lord: You must not eat bread or drink wa ter there or re turn by the way you came. The old proph et an swered, I too am a proph et, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink wa ter. (But he was ly ing to him.) So the man of God re turned with him and ate and drank in his house. While they were sit ting at the ta ble, the word of the Lord came to the old proph et who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Ju dah, This is what the Lord says: You have de fied the word of the Lord and have not kept the com mand the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank wa ter in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. There fore your body will not be bur ied in the tomb of your an ces tors. When the man of God had fin ished eat ing and drink ing, the prophet who had brought him back sad dled his don key for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left ly ing on the road, with both the don key and the lion stand ing be side it. Some peo ple who passed by saw the body ly ing there, with the lion standing be side the body, and they went and re port ed it in the city where the old proph et lived. When the proph et who had brought him back from his jour ney heard of it, he said, It is the man of God who de fied the word of the Lord. The Lord has giv en him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him. The proph et said to his sons, Sad dle the don key for me, and they did so. Then he went out and found the body ly ing on the road, with the donkey and the lion stand ing be side it. The lion had nei ther eat en the body nor mauled the don key. So the proph et picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the don key, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him 1.13:10 13:29

16 Samuel-Kings 489 and bury him. Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, Alas, my broth er! Af ter bury ing him, he said to his sons, When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is bur ied; lay my bones be side his bones. For the mes sage he de clared by the word of the Lord against the al tar in Beth el and against all the shrines on the high plac es in the towns of Sa mar ia will cer tain ly come true. Even af ter this, Jer o bo am did not change his evil ways, but once more ap point ed priests for the high plac es from all sorts of peo ple. Any one who want ed to be come a priest he con se crat ed for the high plac es. This was the sin of the house of Jer o bo am that led to its down fall and to its de struc tion from the face of the earth. At that time Abi jah son of Jer o bo am be came ill, and Jer o bo am said to his wife, Go, dis guise your self, so you won t be rec og nized as the wife of Jero bo am. Then go to Shi loh. Ahi jah the proph et is there the one who told me I would be king over this peo ple. Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of hon ey, and go to him. He will tell you what will hap pen to the boy. So Jer o bo am s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah s house in Shi loh. Now Ahi jah could not see; his sight was gone be cause of his age. But the Lord had told Ahi jah, Jer o bo am s wife is com ing to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an an swer. When she ar rives, she will pre tend to be some one else. So when Ahi jah heard the sound of her foot steps at the door, he said, Come in, wife of Jer o bo am. Why this pre tense? I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jer o bo am that this is what the Lord, the God of Is ra el, says: I raised you up from among the peo ple and ap point ed you rul er over my peo ple Is ra el. I tore the king dom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my ser vant Da vid, who kept my com mands and fol lowed me with all his heart, do ing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived be fore you. You have made for your self oth er gods, idols made of met al; you have aroused my an ger and turned your back on me. Be cause of this, I am go ing to bring di sas ter on the house of Jer o boam. I will cut off from Jer o bo am ev ery last male in Is ra el slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jer o bo am as one burns dung, un til it is all gone. Dogs will eat those be long ing to Jer o bo am who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the coun try. The Lord has spo ken! As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. All Is ra el will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belong ing to Jer o bo am who will be bur ied, be cause he is the only one in the 1.13:30 14:13

17 490 Samuel-Kings house of Jer o bo am in whom the Lord, the God of Is ra el, has found anything good. The Lord will raise up for him self a king over Is ra el who will cut off the fam i ly of Jer o bo am. Even now this is be gin ning to hap pen. And the Lord will strike Is ra el, so that it will be like a reed sway ing in the wa ter. He will up root Is ra el from this good land that he gave to their an ces tors and scat ter them be yond the Eu phra tes Riv er, be cause they aroused the Lord s an ger by mak ing Ashe rah poles. And he will give Is ra el up be cause of the sins Jer o bo am has com mit ted and has caused Is ra el to com mit. Then Jer o bo am s wife got up and left and went to Tir zah. As soon as she stepped over the thresh old of the house, the boy died. They bur ied him, and all Is ra el mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the proph et Ahi jah. The oth er events of Jer o bo am s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are writ ten in the book of the an nals of the kings of Is ra el. He reigned for twen ty-two years and then rest ed with his an ces tors. And Na dab his son suc ceed ed him as king.