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Reading Plan
Day 173 Day 174Day 175

2 Kings chapter 10

1
There were seventy descendants of King Ahab living in the city of Samaria. Jehu wrote a letter and sent copies to the rulers of the city, to the leading citizens, and to the guardians of Ahab's descendants. The letter read:
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"You are in charge of the king's descendants, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, weapons, and fortified cities. So then, as soon as you receive this letter,
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you are to choose the best qualified of the king's descendants, make him king, and fight to defend him."
4
The rulers of Samaria were terrified. "How can we oppose Jehu," they said, "when neither King Joram nor King Ahaziah could?"
5
So the officer in charge of the palace and the official in charge of the city, together with the leading citizens and the guardians, sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants, and we are ready to do anything you say. But we will not make anyone king; do whatever you think best."
6
Jehu wrote them another letter: "If you are with me and are ready to follow my orders, bring the heads of King Ahab's descendants to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow." The seventy descendants of King Ahab were under the care of the leading citizens of Samaria, who were bringing them up.
7
When Jehu's letter was received, the leaders of Samaria killed all seventy of Ahab's descendants, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
8
When Jehu was told that the heads of Ahab's descendants had been brought, he ordered them to be piled up in two heaps at the city gate and to be left there until the following morning.
9
In the morning he went out to the gate and said to the people who were there, "I was the one who plotted against King Joram and killed him; you are not responsible for that. But who killed all these?
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This proves that everything that the LORD said about the descendants of Ahab will come true. The LORD has done what he promised through his prophet Elijah."
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Then Jehu put to death all the other relatives of Ahab living in Jezreel, and all his officers, close friends, and priests; not one of them was left alive.
12
Jehu left Jezreel to go to Samaria. On the way, at a place called "Shepherds' Camp,"
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he met some relatives of the late King Ahaziah of Judah and asked them, "Who are you?" "Ahaziah's relatives," they answered. "We are going to Jezreel to pay our respects to the children of Queen Jezebel and to the rest of the royal family."
14
Jehu ordered his men, "Take them alive!" They seized them, and he put them to death near a pit there. There were forty-two people in all, and not one of them was left alive.
15
Jehu started out again, and on his way he was met by Jonadab son of Rechab. Jehu greeted him and said, "You and I think alike. Will you support me?" "I will," Jonadab answered. "Give me your hand, then," Jehu replied. They clasped hands, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot,
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saying, "Come with me and see for yourself how devoted I am to the LORD." And they rode on together to Samaria.
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When they arrived there, Jehu killed all of Ahab's relatives, not sparing even one. This is what the LORD had told Elijah would happen.
18
Jehu called the people of Samaria together and said, "King Ahab served the god Baal a little, but I will serve him much more.
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Call together all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers, and all his priests. No one is excused; I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal, and whoever is not present will be put to death." (This was a trick on the part of Jehu by which he meant to kill all the worshipers of Baal.)
20
Then Jehu ordered, "Proclaim a day of worship in honor of Baal!" The proclamation was made,
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and Jehu sent word throughout all the land of Israel. All who worshiped Baal came; not one of them failed to come. They all went into the temple of Baal, filling it from one end to the other.
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Then Jehu ordered the priest in charge of the sacred robes to bring the robes out and give them to the worshipers.
23
After that, Jehu himself went into the temple with Jonadab son of Rechab and said to the people there, "Make sure that only worshipers of Baal are present and that no worshiper of the LORD has come in."
24
Then he and Jonadab went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings to Baal. He had stationed eighty men outside the temple and had instructed them: "You are to kill all these people; anyone who lets one of them escape will pay for it with his life!"
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As soon as Jehu had presented the offerings, he said to the guards and officers, "Go in and kill them all; don't let anyone escape!" They went in with drawn swords, killed them all, and dragged the bodies outside. Then they went on into the inner sanctuary of the temple,
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brought out the sacred pillar that was there, and burned it.
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So they destroyed the sacred pillar and the temple, and turned the temple into a latrine---which it still is today.
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That was how Jehu wiped out the worship of Baal in Israel.
29
But he imitated the sin of King Jeroboam, who led Israel into the sin of worshiping the gold bull-calves he set up in Bethel and in Dan.
30
The LORD said to Jehu, "You have done to Ahab's descendants everything I wanted you to do. So I promise you that your descendants, down to the fourth generation, will be kings of Israel."
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But Jehu did not obey with all his heart the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel; instead, he followed the example of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin.
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At that time the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel's territory. King Hazael of Syria conquered all the Israelite territory
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east of the Jordan, as far south as the town of Aroer on the Arnon River---this included the territories of Gilead and Bashan, where the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh lived.
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Everything else that Jehu did, including his brave deeds, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.
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He died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king.
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Jehu had ruled in Samaria as king of Israel for twenty-eight years.

2 Chronicles chapter 22

1
Some Arabs had led a raid and killed all of King Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, the youngest. So now the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king as his father's successor.
2
Ahaziah became king at the age of twenty-two, and he ruled in Jerusalem for one year. Ahaziah also followed the example of King Ahab's family, since his mother Athaliah---the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel---gave him advice that led him into evil.
3
(SEE 22:2)
4
He sinned against the LORD, because after his father's death other members of King Ahab's family became his advisers, and they led to his downfall.
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Following their advice, he joined King Joram of Israel in a war against King Hazael of Syria. The armies clashed at Ramoth in Gilead, and Joram was wounded in battle.
6
He returned to the city of Jezreel to recover from his wounds, and Ahaziah went there to visit him.
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God used this visit to Joram to bring about Ahaziah's downfall. While Ahaziah was there, he and Joram were confronted by a man named Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had chosen to destroy the dynasty of Ahab.
8
As Jehu was carrying out God's sentence on the dynasty, he came across a group made up of Judean leaders and of Ahaziah's nephews that had accompanied Ahaziah on his visit. Jehu killed them all.
9
A search was made for Ahaziah, and he was found hiding in Samaria. They took him to Jehu and put him to death. But they did bury his body out of respect for his grandfather King Jehoshaphat, who had done all he could to serve the LORD. No member of Ahaziah's family was left who could rule the kingdom.
10
As soon as King Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learned of her son's murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family of Judah to be killed.
11
Ahaziah had a half sister, Jehosheba, who was married to a priest named Jehoiada. She secretly rescued one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash, took him away from the other princes who were about to be murdered and hid him and a nurse in a bedroom at the Temple. By keeping him hidden, she saved him from death at the hands of Athaliah.
12
For six years he remained there in hiding, while Athaliah ruled as queen.

2 Chronicles chapter 23

1
After waiting six years Jehoiada the priest decided that it was time to take action. He made a pact with five army officers: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.
2
They traveled to all the cities of Judah and brought back with them to Jerusalem the Levites and all the heads of the clans.
3
They all gathered in the Temple, and there they made a covenant with Joash, the king's son. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the son of the late king. He is now to be king, as the LORD promised that King David's descendants would be.
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This is what we will do. When the priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of them will guard the Temple gates,
5
another third will guard the royal palace, and the rest will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. All the people will assemble in the Temple courtyard.
6
No one is to enter the Temple buildings except the priests and the Levites who are on duty. They may enter, because they are consecrated, but the rest of the people must obey the LORD's instructions and stay outside.
7
The Levites are to stand guard around the king, with their swords drawn, and are to stay with the king wherever he goes. Anyone who tries to enter the Temple is to be killed."
8
The Levites and the people of Judah carried out Jehoiada's instructions. The men were not dismissed when they went off duty on the Sabbath, so the commanders had available both those coming on duty and those going off.
9
Jehoiada gave the officers the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and had been kept in the Temple.
10
He stationed the men with drawn swords all around the front of the Temple, to protect the king.
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Then Jehoiada led Joash out, placed the crown on his head, and gave him a copy of the laws governing kingship. And so he was made king. Jehoiada the priest and his sons anointed Joash, and everyone shouted, "Long live the king!"
12
Athaliah heard the people cheering for the king, so she hurried to the Temple, where the crowd had gathered.
13
There she saw the new king at the Temple entrance, standing by the column reserved for kings and surrounded by the army officers and the trumpeters. All the people were shouting joyfully and blowing trumpets, and the Temple musicians with their instruments were leading the celebration. She tore her clothes in distress and shouted, "Treason! Treason!"
14
Jehoiada did not want Athaliah killed in the Temple area, so he called out the army officers and said, "Take her out between the rows of guards, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her."
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They seized her, took her to the palace, and there at the Horse Gate they killed her.
16
The priest Jehoiada had King Joash and the people join him in making a covenant that they would be the LORD's people.
17
Then they all went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols there and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
18
Jehoiada put the priests and Levites in charge of the work of the Temple. They were to carry out the duties assigned to them by King David and to burn the sacrifices offered to the LORD in accordance with the Law of Moses. They were also in charge of the music and the celebrations.
19
Jehoiada also put guards on duty at the Temple gates to keep out anyone who was ritually unclean.
20
The army officers, the leading citizens, the officials, and all the rest of the people joined Jehoiada in a procession that brought the king from the Temple to the palace. They entered by the main gate, and the king took his place on the throne.
21
All the people were filled with happiness, and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been killed.

1 Timothy chapter 5

1
Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat the younger men as your brothers,
2
the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with all purity.
3
Show respect for widows who really are all alone.
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But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to carry out their religious duties toward their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents, because that is what pleases God.
5
A widow who is all alone, with no one to take care of her, has placed her hope in God and continues to pray and ask him for his help night and day.
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But a widow who gives herself to pleasure has already died, even though she lives.
7
Give them these instructions, so that no one will find fault with them.
8
But if any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.
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Do not add any widow to the list of widows unless she is over sixty years of age. In addition, she must have been married only once
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and have a reputation for good deeds: a woman who brought up her children well, received strangers in her home, performed humble duties for other Christians, helped people in trouble, and devoted herself to doing good.
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But do not include younger widows in the list; because when their desires make them want to marry, they turn away from Christ,
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and so become guilty of breaking their earlier promise to him.
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They also learn to waste their time in going around from house to house; but even worse, they learn to be gossips and busybodies, talking of things they should not.
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So I would prefer that the younger widows get married, have children, and take care of their homes, so as to give our enemies no chance of speaking evil of us.
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For some widows have already turned away to follow Satan.
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But if any Christian woman has widows in her family, she must take care of them and not put the burden on the church, so that it may take care of the widows who are all alone.
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The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
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For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain" and "Workers should be given their pay."
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Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or more witnesses.
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Rebuke publicly all those who commit sins, so that the rest may be afraid.
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In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the holy angels I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favor to anyone in anything you do.
22
Be in no hurry to lay hands on people to dedicate them to the Lord's service. Take no part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
23
Do not drink water only, but take a little wine to help your digestion, since you are sick so often.
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The sins of some people are plain to see, and their sins go ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others are seen only later.
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In the same way good deeds are plainly seen, and even those that are not so plain cannot be hidden.

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