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Reading Plan
Day 136 Day 137Day 138

1 Kings chapter 2

1
When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions:
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"My time to die has come. Be confident and determined,
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and 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.
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If 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.
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"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.
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You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.
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"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.
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"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.
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But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death."
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David died and was buried in David's City.
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He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
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Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.
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Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's mother. "Is this a friendly visit?" she asked. "It is," he answered,
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and then he added, "I have something to ask of you." "What is it?" she asked.
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He 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.
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And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me." "What is it?" Bathsheba asked.
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He 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."
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"Very well," she answered. "I will speak to the king for you."
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So 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.
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She 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."
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She answered, "Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife."
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"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!"
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Then 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!
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The 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!"
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So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.
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Then 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."
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Then 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.
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Joab 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.
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When 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.
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He 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.
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"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.
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The 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.
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The 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."
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So Benaiah went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country.
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The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.
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Then 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.
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If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die---and you yourself will be to blame."
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"Very well, Your Majesty," Shimei answered. "I will do what you say." So he lived in Jerusaleat my son Solomon would succeed number="39"> Three 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,
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he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home.
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When Solomon heard what Shimei had done,
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he 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?
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Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command?
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You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The LORD will punish you for it.
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But he will bless me, and he will make David's kingdom secure forever."
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Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.

1 Chronicles chapter 29

1
King David announced to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the LORD God.
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I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple---gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble.
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Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.
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I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple
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and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the LORD?"
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Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give
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the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron.
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Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon.
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The people had given willingly to the LORD, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.
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There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the LORD. He said, "LORD God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever!
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You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.
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All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong.
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Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.
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"Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.
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You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.
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O LORD, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you.
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I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.
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LORD God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you.
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Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations."
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Then David commanded the people, "Praise the LORD your God!" And the whole assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the LORD and also to the king.
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The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the LORD, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine.
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So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the LORD. For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the LORD they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest.
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So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the LORD had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him.
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All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king.
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The LORD made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.
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David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel
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for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.
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He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king.
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The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad.
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The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

Psalm chapter 95

1
Come, let us praise the LORD! Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us!
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Let us come before him with thanksgiving and sing joyful songs of praise.
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For the LORD is a mighty God, a mighty king over all the gods.
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He rules over the whole earth, from the deepest caves to the highest hills.
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He rules over the sea, which he made; the land also, which he himself formed.
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Come, let us bow down and worship him; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
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He is our God; we are the people he cares for, the flock for which he provides. Listen today to what he says:
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"Don't be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah, as they were that day in the desert at Massah.
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There they put me to the test and tried me, although they had seen what I did for them.
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For forty years I was disgusted with those people. I said, 'How disloyal they are! They refuse to obey my commands.'
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I was angry and made a solemn promise: 'You will never enter the land where I would have given you rest.' "

2 Thessalonians chapter 1

1
From Paul, Silas, and Timothy--- To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
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May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
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Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater.
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That is why we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God. We boast about the way you continue to endure and believe through all the persecutions and sufferings you are experiencing.
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All of this proves that God's judgment is just and as a result you will become worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.
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God will do what is right: he will bring suffering on those who make you suffer,
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and he will give relief to you who suffer and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his mighty angels,
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with a flaming fire, to punish those who reject God and who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus.
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They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious might,
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when he comes on that Day to receive glory from all his people and honor from all who believe. You too will be among them, because you have believed the message that we told you.
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That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to make you worthy of the life he has called you to live. May he fulfill by his power all your desire for goodness and complete your work of faith.
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In this way the name of our Lord Jesus will receive glory from you, and you from him, by the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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