Another grey, windy, rainy, unseasonably cool day here. Weathercasters tell us we may see some snowflakes tomorrow evening and perhaps Monday evening as well. Read that again...SNOW! In MAY! Can we take the "warmists" out back and beat them with sticks? Please?? So our "high" for the day is predicted to hit all of 46°. We are now about half nearing the mid-point of the Spring season, and looking at potential snow and "highs" in the low-to-mid-40's. Little Ice Age beginning?
Wife's having a not-too-great-but-not-too-terrible day. I'm feeling a little bit better than I did the last few days. A bit. Not great, not willing to leap tall buildings, but a bit. One of those times when you really want to go DO something, but just can't. Frustrating, but I deal with that quite often. Circumstances always seem to intrude. Reality does that, sometimes.
But we shall persevere.
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The Old Testament passage here is chapters 12 and 13 of 1st Kings. David is gone. Solomon is gone as well. But their failures are still there, and have grown and metastasized. Now things are going to get real bad, and it won't change any time soon either.
I Kings 12
1 And
Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make
him king. 2
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in
Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon,
and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all
the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made
our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy
father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will
serve thee. 5
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.
And the people departed.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood
before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise
that I may answer this people?
7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a
servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them,
and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
8 But he
forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and
consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which
stood before him: 9
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this
people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father
did put upon us lighter?
10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto
him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto
thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter
unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be
thicker than my father's loins.
11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy
yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to
Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me
again the third day. 13
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's
counsel that they gave him;
14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men,
saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my
father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with
scorpions. 15
Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from
the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by
Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 So when all Israel saw that
the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying,
What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of
Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So
Israel departed unto their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in
the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram,
who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he
died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot,
to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 20
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come
again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him
king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David,
but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled
all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and
fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the
house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of
Solomon. 22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23
Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all
the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people,
saying, 24
Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren
the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing
is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and
returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem
in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built
Penuel. 26
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the
house of David: 27
If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at
Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their
lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go
again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two
calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30
And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the
one, even unto Dan. 31
And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of
the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in
the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast
that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel,
sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel
the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he offered upon the altar
which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even
in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast
unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt
incense.
I Kings 13
1 And,
behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD
unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against
the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith
the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah
by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places
that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
3 And he gave a
sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken;
Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall
be poured out. 4
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of
God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his
hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put
forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to
him. 5 The
altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according
to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
6 And the king
answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD
thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the
man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him
again, and became as it was before.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home
with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God
said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go
in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it
charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink
water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. 11
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told
him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the
words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their
father. 12 And
their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen
what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons,
Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after
the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto
him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16
And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither
will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by
the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor
turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet
also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD,
saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread
and drink water. But he lied unto him.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 20
And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the
LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God
that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou
hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment
which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and
drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no
bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre
of thy fathers. 23
And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk,
that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had
brought back. 24
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his
carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also
stood by the carcass.
25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the
way, and the lion standing by the carcass: and they came and told it in
the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 And when the prophet that brought him back
from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was
disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered
him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the
word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. 28
And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the
lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor
torn the ass. 29
And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon
the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to
mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned
over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him,
that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the
sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his
bones: 32 For
the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in
Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the
cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
33 After this thing Jeroboam returned
not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people
priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he
became one of the priests of the high places.
34 And this thing became sin unto the
house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the
face of the earth.
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Our New Testament passage today is verses 36-53 of Luke chapter 24. This concludes the scheduled readings in the Gospel of Luke for the year. Yet it is a passage that merits frequent re=reading. This is their final earthly time with the resurrected Jesus. I imagine that in future times, when trouble appeared and the temptation to be discouraged came upon them, as it does on all, they had this memory to reassure them that no matter what, He was still with them and always would be. As He is with His children even today.
Luke 24:36-53
36 And as
they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith
unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed
that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself:
handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me
have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto
them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them. 44
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me. 45
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures, 46
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in
the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
50 And he led them
out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came
to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
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