DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MAY 10:
WORD OF WISDOM
He who throws mud loses ground.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Committed to the Cause
"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up,
he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before
his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to
make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as
though he would go to Jerusalem."
Luke 9:51-53
One of only twelve men to walk on the moon, Apollo 15's Colonel James Irwin,
was a committed Christian. When he retired from NASA he established the High
Flight Foundation and traveled the world telling people about Jesus. Irwin
could have been proud of his achievement, but instead he dedicated himself
to service. He said, "As I was returning to earth I realized I was a
servant, not a celebrity. So I'm here as God's servant on planet Earth to
share what I've experienced that others might know the glory of God."
The Christian life requires commitment. We live in a day of people dabbling
in this and toying with that before taking something else up as a hobby to
divert their attention still further. The ministry of Jesus Christ was
powerful in large part because it was focused. Jesus knew what was
important, and He did not allow other things to get in the way of what God
wanted Him to do on any particular day.
If we only do what is easy, we will not get much done. Pressures, obstacles,
and setbacks are not necessarily a sign that we have strayed from God's
purpose; often, they are the devil trying to derail us. If we follow the
example of Jesus, we will stay on task and hold fast to our commitment to
follow the will of the Father. If we want to succeed in His work, then we
must "set our face" and keep moving forward.
If we are going to accomplish anything of value for God, we must be
committed to follow it through to the end.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
cles 34-36Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Josiah, King of Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He was king for 31 years
in Jerusalem. 2 He lived in a way that pleased the Lord, always doing what
was right, as his ancestor David had done. Josiah never changed this way of
life. 3 When Josiah was in his eighth year as king, he began to follow the
God worshiped by David his ancestor. He was still young when he began to
obey God. When he was in his twelfth year as king he began to destroy the
high places, the Asherah poles, and idols that were carved and idols that
were made from molds from Judah and Jerusalem. 4 As Josiah watched, the
people broke down the altars for the Baal gods. Then he cut down the incense
altars that stood high above the people. He broke the idols that were carved
and the idols that were made from molds. He beat the idols into powder and
sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices
to the Baal gods. 5 Josiah even burned the bones of the priests who had
served the Baal gods on their own altars. This is how he destroyed idols and
idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem. 6 Josiah did the same for the towns
in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and all the way to Naphtali. He
did the same for the ruins near all these towns.[a] 7 Josiah broke down the
altars and the Asherah poles. He beat the idols into powder. He cut down all
the incense altars used for Baal worship in all the country of Israel. Then
he went back to Jerusalem.
8 When Josiah was in his 18th year as king of Judah, he sent Shaphan,
Maaseiah, and Joah to rebuild and repair the Temple of the Lord his God.
Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Maaseiah was the city leader. Joah, who was
the son of Joahaz, wrote about what happened.
So Josiah commanded the Temple to be repaired so that he could make Judah
and the Temple clean. 9 These men came to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave
him the money that people gave for God's Temple. The Levite doorkeepers had
collected this money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from all the
Israelites who were left. They also collected this money from all Judah,
Benjamin, and all the people living in Jerusalem. 10 Then the Levites paid
the men who supervised the work on the Lord's Temple. And the supervisors
paid the workers who repaired the Lord's Temple. 11 They gave the money to
carpenters and builders to buy large rocks that were already cut, and to buy
wood. The wood was used to rebuild the buildings and to make beams for the
buildings. In the past, the kings of Judah did not take care of the Temple
buildings. The buildings had become old and ruined. 12-13 The men worked
faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah. Jahath and Obadiah
were Levites, and they were descendants of Merari. Other supervisors were
Zechariah and Meshullam. They were descendants of Kohath. The Levites who
were skilled in playing instruments of music also supervised the laborers
and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officials,
and doorkeepers.
The Book of the Law Found
14 The Levites brought out the money that was in the Lord's Temple. At that
time Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that was given
through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, "I found the Book
of the Law in the Lord's house.[b]" Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16
Shaphan brought the book to King Josiah. Shaphan reported to the king, "Your
servants are doing everything you told them to do. 17 They got the money
that was in the Lord's Temple and are paying the supervisors and the
workers." 18 Then Shaphan said to King Josiah, "Hilkiah the priest gave a
book to me." Then Shaphan read from the book in front of the king. 19 When
King Josiah heard the words of the law being read, he tore his clothes.[c]
20 Then the king gave a command to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son
of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant. 21 The king said,
"Go, ask the Lord for me and for the people who are left in Israel and in
Judah. Ask about the words in the book that was found. The Lord is very
angry with us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord's word. They did
not do everything this book says to do."
22 Hilkiah and the king's servants[d] went to the newer part of Jerusalem to
see Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath,
whose father was Hasrah. Shallum had the job of taking care of the king's
clothes. Hilkiah and the king's servants told Huldah what had happened. 23
Huldah said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell
King Josiah that 24 the Lord says, 'I will bring trouble to this place and
to the people living here. I will bring all the terrible things that are
written in the book that was read in front of the king of Judah. 25 I will
do this because the people left me and burned incense to other gods. They
made me angry because of all the bad things they have done. So I will pour
out my anger on this place. Like a hot burning fire, my anger will not be
put out!'
26 "Go back to King Josiah of Judah, who sent you to ask what the Lord
wants. Tell him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the
words you heard being read: 27 Josiah, when you heard my words against this
city and its people, you were sorry and humbled yourself before me. You even
tore your clothes to show your sorrow and cried before me. Because your
heart was tender, I the Lord, have heard you. 28 I will take you to be with
your ancestors.[e] You will go to your grave in peace. You will not have to
see any of the trouble that I will bring on this place and on the people
living here.'" Hilkiah and the king's servants brought back this message to
King Josiah.
29 Then King Josiah called for all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to come
and meet with him. 30 The king went up to the Lord's Temple. All the people
from Judah, the people living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and
all the people, both important and not important, were with Josiah. He read
to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in
the Lord's Temple. 31 Then the king stood up in his place. He made an
agreement with the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and to obey his
commands, laws, and rules. He agreed to obey with all his heart and soul the
words of the agreement written in this book. 32 Then Josiah made all the
people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the agreement. The people
of Jerusalem obeyed the agreement of God, the God their ancestors obeyed. 33
The Israelites had idols from many different countries, but Josiah destroyed
all the terrible idols. He made all the people in Israel serve the Lord
their God. And as long as Josiah was alive, the people continued to serve
the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
Josiah Celebrates Passover
35 King Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. The
Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. 2 Josiah chose
the priests to do their duties. He encouraged the priests while they were
serving in the Lord's Temple. 3 He spoke to the Levites who taught the
Israelites and who were made holy for service to the Lord. He said to the
Levites, "Put the Holy Box in the Temple that Solomon built. Solomon was
David's son. David was king of Israel. Don't carry the Holy Box from place
to place on your shoulders again. Now serve the Lord your God and his
people, the Israelites. 4 Make yourselves ready for service in the Temple by
your tribes. Do the jobs that King David and his son King Solomon gave you
to do. 5 Stand in the Holy Place with a group of Levites. Do this for each
different tribe of the people so that you can help them. 6 Kill the Passover
lambs and make yourselves holy to the Lord. Get ready to help your fellow
Israelites. Do everything the Lord commanded us in the laws he gave to
Moses."
7 Josiah gave the Israelites 30,000 sheep and goats to kill for the Passover
sacrifices. He also gave 3000 cattle to the people. All these animals were
from King Josiah's own animals. 8 Josiah's officials also freely gave
animals and things to the people, to the priests, and Levites to use for the
Passover. Hilkiah the high priest, Zechariah, and Jehiel were the officials
in charge of the Temple. They gave the priests 2600 lambs and goats and 300
bulls for Passover sacrifices. 9 Also Conaniah with Shemaiah and Nethanel,
his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad gave 500 sheep and goats and
500 bulls for Passover sacrifices to the Levites. These men were leaders of
the Levites.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover service to begin, the priests
and Levites went to their places. This is what the king commanded. 11 The
Passover lambs were killed. Then the Levites skinned the animals and gave
the blood to the priests. The priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. 12
Then they gave the animals to be used for burnt offerings to the different
tribes. This was done so that the burnt offerings could be offered to the
Lord the way the Law of Moses taught. And they did the same with the bulls.
13 The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire in the way they
were commanded. And they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and
pans. Then they quickly gave the meat to the people. 14 After this was
finished, the Levites got meat for themselves and for the priests who were
descendants of Aaron. These priests were kept very busy, working until it
got dark. They worked hard burning the burnt offerings and the fat of the
sacrifices. 15 The Levite singers from Asaph's family got in the places that
King David had chosen for them to stand. They were Asaph, Heman, and
Jeduthun the king's prophet. The gatekeepers at each gate did not have to
leave their places because their brother Levites made everything ready for
them for the Passover.
16 So everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord as King
Josiah commanded. The Passover was celebrated and the burnt offerings were
offered on the Lord's altar. 17 The Israelites who were there celebrated
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Passover
hadn't been celebrated like this since the time of Samuel the prophet! None
of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like this. King
Josiah, the priests, the Levites, and the people of Judah and Israel who
were there with all the people in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover in a
very special way. 19 They celebrated this Passover in Josiah's 18th year as
king.
The Death of Josiah
20 Josiah did all these good things for the Temple. Later, King Neco of
Egypt led an army to fight against the town of Carchemish on the Euphrates
River. King Josiah went out to fight against Neco. 21 But Neco sent
messengers to Josiah.
They said, "King Josiah, this war is not your problem. I didn't come to
fight against you. I came to fight my enemies. God told me to hurry. He is
on my side, so don't bother me. If you fight against me, God will destroy
you!"
22 But Josiah did not go away. He put on different clothes to hide who he
was and went to fight the battle. Josiah refused to listen to the warning
Neco had received from God and went to fight on the plain of Megiddo. 23
Then King Josiah was shot by arrows while he was in the battle. He told his
servants, "Take me away, I am wounded badly!"
24 So the servants took Josiah out of his chariot and put him in another
chariot he had brought with him to the battle. Then they took Josiah to
Jerusalem. He died there and was buried in the tombs where his ancestors
were buried. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem were very sad because
Josiah was dead. 25 Jeremiah wrote and sang some funeral songs for Josiah.
And the men and women singers still sing these sad songs today. It became
something the people of Israel always do-they sing a sad song for Josiah.
These songs are written in the book, Funeral Songs.
26-27 Everything else Josiah did while he was king, from the beginning to
the end of his rule, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of
Israel and Judah. The book tells about the way he served God faithfully by
obeying the law of the Lord.
Jehoahaz, King of Judah
36 The people of Judah chose Jehoahaz to be the new king in Jerusalem.
Jehoahaz was Josiah's son. 2 He was 23 years old when he became king of
Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco from
Egypt made Jehoahaz a prisoner. Neco made the people of Judah pay 3 3/4
tons[f] of silver and 75 pounds[g] of gold for a fine. 4 Neco chose
Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Neco
gave Eliakim a new name. He named him Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz to
Egypt.
Jehoiakim, King of Judah
5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the new king of Judah. He was
king in Jerusalem for eleven years. Jehoiakim did not obey God. He did what
the Lord his God considered evil.
6 King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon attacked Judah. He made Jehoiakim a
prisoner and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took King
Jehoiakim to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the
Lord's Temple. He carried them to Babylon and put them in his own house. 8
Everything else Jehoiakim did, the terrible sins he did, and everything he
was guilty of doing, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of
Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin became the new king in his
place.
Jehoiachin, King of Judah
9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in
Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did not obey God. He did what
the Lord considered evil. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent some
servants to get Jehoiachin. They brought Jehoiachin and some valuable
treasures from the Lord's Temple to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah
to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one of Jehoiachin's
relatives.
Zedekiah, King of Judah
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in
Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 Zedekiah did what the Lord his God considered
evil. Jeremiah the prophet told him messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did
not humble himself and obey what Jeremiah said.
Jerusalem Is Destroyed
13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar
forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to him. Zedekiah used God's
name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was
stubborn and would not change his life. He refused to obey the Lord, the God
of Israel. 14 Also, all the leaders of the priests and the leaders of the
people of Judah sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord. They
followed the evil example of the other nations. They ruined the Temple that
the Lord had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their
ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this
because he felt sorry for them and for his Temple. He didn't want to destroy
them or his Temple. 16 But they made fun of God's prophets and refused to
listen to them. They hated God's messages. Finally, the Lord could not hold
his anger any longer. He became angry with his people and there was nothing
that could be done to stop it. 17 So God brought the king of Babylon to
attack the people of Judah and Jerusalem.[h] The king of Babylon killed the
young men even when they were in the Temple. He didn't have mercy on the
people of Judah and Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed young and old
people. He killed men and women. He killed sick and healthy people. God
permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 18
Nebuchadnezzar carried all the things in God's Temple away to Babylon. He
took all the valuable things from the Lord's Temple, from the king, and from
the king's officials. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army burned the Temple. They
broke down Jerusalem's wall and burned all the houses that belonged to the
king and his officials. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in
Jerusalem. 20 Nebuchadnezzar took the people who were still alive back to
Babylon and forced them to be slaves. They stayed in Babylon as slaves until
the Persian kingdom defeated the kingdom of Babylon. 21 The land of Judah
became an empty desert and stayed that way for 70 years. All this time the
land rested to make up for the Sabbath rests[i] that the people had not
kept. This is just what the Lord said would happen in the warning he gave
through the prophet Jeremiah.[j]
22 During the first year that Cyrus[k] was king of Persia, the Lord caused
Cyrus to make a special announcement. He did this so that what the Lord
promised through Jeremiah the prophet would really happen. Cyrus sent
messengers to every place in his kingdom. They carried this message:
23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of heaven, made me king over the whole earth. He gave me
the responsibility of building a Temple for him in Jerusalem. Now, all of
you who are his people are free to go to Jerusalem. And may the Lord your
God be with you.
Footnotes:
a.2 Chronicles 34:6 ruins near all these towns The Hebrew text here is hard
to understand.
b.2 Chronicles 34:15 the Lord's house Another name for the Temple in
Jerusalem.
c.2 Chronicles 34:19 tore his clothes A way of showing that a person was
upset. Josiah was upset because his people had not obeyed the Lord's laws.
Also in verse 27.
d.2 Chronicles 34:22 the king's servants Literally, "those . of the king."
e.2 Chronicles 34:28 take you to be with your ancestors This means that
Josiah would die.
f.2 Chronicles 36:3 3 3/4 tons Literally, "100 talents" (3450 kg).
g.2 Chronicles 36:3 75 pounds Literally, "1 talent" (34.5 kg).
h.2 Chronicles 36:17 This happened in the year 586 B.C., when Jerusalem was
finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon.
i.2 Chronicles 36:21 Sabbath rests The Law said that every seventh year the
land was not to be farmed. See Lev. 25:1-7.
j.2 Chronicles 36:21 warning . Jeremiah See Jer. 25:11; 29:10.
k.2 Chronicles 36:22 the first year . Cyrus This was about 539-538 B.C.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
