Category: Scripture

Now there was a man named Naboth from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”

But Naboth replied, “THe Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”

So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wasll and refused to eat!

“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”

I asked Naboth to sell me his vinard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.

“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!” (vv 1-7, NLT)

So Elijah went and found Elisha som of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elijah was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and this I will go with you!”

Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.”

So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire and to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they. all ate. Then Elisha went with Elijah as his assistant. (vvl 19-21, NLT)

But the Lord said to Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars, and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

“Go out and stand before Me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, an a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars, and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimishi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as My prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (vv. 9b-18, NLT)

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”

So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he was a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” s she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”

But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

So she did what Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough, just at the Lord had promised though Elijah. (vv. 1-16, NLT)

Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as teh Lord, the God of Israel, lives-the God I serve-there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word.”

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”

So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan River. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and each evening, and he drank from the brook. But after the brook dried up, there was no rainfall in the land. (vv. 1-7, NLT)

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. (vv. 1-4, NLT)

The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heard had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, :Since you have not kept My covenant and disobeyed My decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take away the kingdom from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, My chosen city.” (vv. 9-13, NLT)

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord, she cam to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for al her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bears and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard that half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be! Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel, He has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” (vv. 1-9, NLT)

So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everyting he had planned to do. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had done before iat Gibeon. The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy-this place you have built whey My name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to My heart.”

“As for you, if you will follow Me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commandments, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made a promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.””

“But if your descendants abandon Me and disobey the commandments and Decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, the I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor My name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads in amazement. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?”

“And the answer will be, ‘Because this people abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to then. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters on them.'” (vv. 1-9, NLT)

It was midspring in the moth of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 fee wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet from the front of the Temple. (vv. 1-4, NLT)

Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: “Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon My people. (vv. 11-13, NLT)

Solomon loved the Lord and followed all of the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burnt incense at the local places of worship . The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask and I will give it to you!”

Solomon replied, “You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to You. And You have continued Your faithful love to him today, by giving him as son to sit on his throne.”

“No, O Lord my God, You have made me king instead of my father David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of Your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern Your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing My people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies-I will give you what you have asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or every will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for-riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow Me and obey My decrees and My commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and pease offerings. Then he invited all of his officials to a great banquet.” (vv. 3-15, NLT)