Bible Reading Plan

Day 169 - Read 1 Kings 21-22

Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, had a man named Naboth killed so Ahab could take his land. God warned Ahab that dogs would lick up his blood, and dogs would devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Ahab was humbled. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in taking the land of Ramoth-gilead. Prophets told Ahab he would be successful. Micaiah prophesied against Ahab, but Ahab did not believe his message. Ahab was killed in battle and his blood was licked up by dogs. His son Ahaziah reigned in his place for two years and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah for twenty-five years in Jerusalem then he died. His son Jehoram reigned in his place.

Broadcast on:: 09 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

Welcome to the Daily Bible Reading. Today, we will be reading First Kings 21 and 22. Jezebel, Ahab's wife, had a man named Aboth, killed so Ahab could take his land. God warned Ahab that dogs would lick up his blood, and dogs would devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Ahab was humbled. Ahab asked Jehosephat, King of Judah, to join him in taking the land of Vermont Gilead. Prophets told Ahab he would be successful. Mackiah prophesied against Ahab, but Ahab did not believe his message. Ahab was killed in battle, and his blood was licked up by the dogs. His son, Ahaziah, reigned in his place for two years and did evil on the side of the Lord. Jehosephat reigned over Judah for 25 years in Jerusalem, then he died. His son, Jehorem, reigned in his place. Read along with me in First Kings 21. Now, Aboth, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the place of Ahab, King of Samaria. And after this, Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it if it seems good to you, or if it seems good to you, I will give you its value and money." But Naboth said to Ahab, "The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my father's." And Ahab went into his house, vexed, and sullen, because of what Naboth, the Jezreelite, had said to him, for he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my father's." And he laid down on his bed and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him, and said, "Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?" And he said to her, "Because I spoke with Naboth, the Jezreelite, and said to him, "Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it pleads you, I will give you another vineyard for it." And he answered, "I will not give you my vineyard." And Jezebel, his wife, said to him, "Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite." So she wrote letters that Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent letters to the elders and the leaders who lived in Naboth in his city, and she wrote in the letters, proclaim a fast and sent Naboth at the head of the people, and set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, "You have cursed God and the King, then take him out and stone him to death." In the man of the city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city did as Jezebel had sent work to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and sent Naboth at the head of the table, and the two worthless men came in and sent opposite him, and the worthless man brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the King." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned, he is dead." As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezero light," which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive but dead. And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezero light to take possession of it. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying, "Arise and go down to meet Ahab, King of Israel, who was in Samaria, behold he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, have you killed and also taken possession, and you shall say to him, thus says the Lord, in the place where the dogs looked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs look up your own blood." Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me on my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Naboth, and like the house of Basha, the son of Ahajah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel, the Lord also said, the dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Israel. Anyone belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country, the birds of the heavens shall eat. There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominally in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel. And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted and lay on sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. And when the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishby, saying, Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring disaster in his days, but in his son's days I will bring disaster upon his house. 1 Kings 22 For three years, Syrian Israel continued without war, but in the third year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel, and the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramath Gilaam belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand the king of Syria? And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to the battle at Ramath Gilaad? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are my people as your people, my horses as your horses. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Enquire first for the word of the Lord. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together about four hundred men and said to them, Shall I go to battle with Ramath Gilaad or shall I refrain? And they said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? In the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire, Makaha the son of Amla. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, Bring quickly Makaha the son of Amla. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their raves at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah the son of Kanaha made for himself horns of iron and said, Thus says the Lord, With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. And all the prophets prophesied so and said, Go up to Ramath Gilaad and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. And the messenger who went to summon Makaha said to them, Behold, the words of the prophets, with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them and speak favorably. But Makaha said, As the Lord lives with the Lord says to me, That I will speak. And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Makaha shall we go to Ramath Gilaad to battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go up and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth, in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let each return to his home in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehosephat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me but evil? And Makaha said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand, and on his left. And the Lord said, Who will entice ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramath Gilaad? And one said one thing, and another said another. Then the spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying, I will entice him. And the Lord said to him by what means. And he said, I will go out and will be a lion spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You are to entice him, and you shall succeed. Go out and do so. Now therefore behold, the Lord was putting a lion spirit in the mouth of all your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster for you. Then Zedekiah, the son of, then Zedekiah, the son of Kahanah, came near and struck Makiah on the cheek and said, How do the spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you? And Makaha said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. And the king of Israel said, sees Makahan taken back to Amnon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son, and say, Thus is the king, put this fellow in prison, and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in peace. Then Makaha said, If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. Here are you peoples. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramallahad. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded 32 captains of his chariots, fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel. And when the captains of the chariots, Sehoshaphat, they said, It is surely the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel. They turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around and carry me out of battle for I am wounded. And the battle continued that day and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until that at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. And about sunset a cry went through the army. Every man to his city and every man to his country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot by the pull of Samaria. And the dogs looked up his blood and the prostitutes washed themselves in it according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built. Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. So Ahab slept with his fathers and Haziah his son reigned in his place. Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abua the daughter of Shilhai. He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it doing what was right on the side of the Lord. Yet the high places were not taken away and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and the might that he showed and how he wore it. Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa. There was no king in Edom, a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made three ships of Tarshish to go to Orpha for gold, but they did not go. For the ships were wrecked at Isan gabur. Then Haziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat was not willing. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father. In Jehoshaphat his son rained in his place. Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel and Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. And he rained two years over Israel. He did what was evil on the side of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeerboim the son of Nabat who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshipped him and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger in every way that his father had done.