Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Chronicles
chapter 21 and 2 Kings chapters 11 and 12. 2
Chronicles chapter 21 And Jehoshaphat rested
with his fathers and was buried with his fathers
in the city of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned
in his place. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat
king of Israel. Their father gave them great
gifts of silver and gold and precious things
with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the
kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom
of his father, he strengthened himself and killed
all his brothers with the sword and also others
of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was 32 years
old when he became king, and he reigned 8 years
in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the
kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had
done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife.
And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet
the Lord would not destroy the house of David,
because of the covenant that he had made with
David, and since he had promised to give a lamb
to him and to his sons forever. In his days,
Edom revolted against Judah's authority and made
a king over themselves. So Jehoram went out with
his officers and all his chariots with him, and
he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who
had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots.
Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah's
authority to this day. At that time, Libna revolted
against his rule because he had forsaken the
Lord God of his fathers. Moreover, he had made
high places in the mountains of Judah and caused
the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry
and led Judah astray. And the letter came to
him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says
the Lord God of your father David, Because you
have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your
father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
and have made Judah an inhabitants of Jerusalem
to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house
of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers,
those of your father's household, who were better
than yourself. Behold, the Lord will strike your
people with a serious affliction. your children,
your wives, and all your possessions. And you
will become very sick with a disease of your
intestines, until your intestines come out by
reason of the sickness day by day. Moreover,
the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit
of the Philistines and the Arabians who were
near the Ethiopians. And they came up into Judah
and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions
that were found in the king's house, and also
his sons and his wives, so that there was not
a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest
of his sons. After all this, the Lord struck
him in his intestines with an incurable disease.
Then it happened in the course of time, after
the end of two years, that his intestines came
out because of his sickness. So he died in severe
pain, and his people made no burning for him
like the burning for his fathers. He was thirty
-two years old when he became king. He reigned
in Jerusalem eight years, and to no one's sorrow
departed. However, they buried him in the city
of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
When Ataliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that
her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all
the royal heirs. But Jehoshabah, the daughter
of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash,
the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among
the king's sons who were being murdered, and
they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom from
Ataliah so that he was not killed. So he was
hidden with her in the house of the Lord for
six years, while Ataliah reigned over the land.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent and brought
the captains of hundreds, of the bodyguards and
the escorts, and brought them into the house
of the Lord to him. And he made a covenant with
them and took an oath from them in the house
of the Lord, and showed them the king's son.
Then he commanded them, saying, This is what
you shall do. One third of you who come on duty
on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the
king's house. One third shall be at the gate
of Sur, and one third at the gate behind the
escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house,
lest it be broken down. The two contingents of
you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep
the watch of the house of the Lord for the king.
But you shall surround the king on all sides,
every man with his weapons in his hand, and whoever
comes within range, let him be put to death.
You are to be with the king as he goes out and
as he comes in. So the captains of the hundreds
did according to all that Jehoiada the priest
commanded. Each of them took his men who were
to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who
were going off duty on the Sabbath. and came
to Jehoiada the priest. And the priest gave the
captains of hundreds the spears and shields which
had belonged to King David that were in the temple
of the Lord. Then the escorts stood every man
with his weapons in his hand all around the king
from the right side of the temple to the left
side of the temple by the altar and the house.
And he brought out the king's son, put the crown
on him, and gave him the testimony. They made
him king and anointed him, and they clapped their
hands and said, Long live the king. Now when
Atalia heard the noise of the escorts and the
people, she came to the people in the temple
of the Lord. When she looked, there was the king
standing by a pillar according to custom, and
the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king.
All the people of the land were rejoicing and
blowing trumpets. So Atalia tore her clothes
and cried out, Treason! Treason! And Jehoiada
the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds,
the officers of the army, and said to them, Take
her outside under guard, and slay with the sword
whoever follows her. For the priests had said,
Do not let her be killed in the house of the
Lord. So they seized her, and she went by way
of the horse's entrance into the king's house,
and there she was killed. Then Jehoiada made
a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the
people, that they should be the Lord's people,
and also between the king and the people. And
all the people of the land went to the temple
of Baal and tore it down. They thoroughly broke
in pieces its altars and images and killed Matan
the priest of Baal before the altars, and the
priest appointed officers over the house of the
Lord. Then he took the captains of hundreds,
the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people
of the land, and they brought the king down from
the house of the Lord, and went by way of the
gate of the escorts to the king's house. Then
he sat on the throne of the kings, so all the
people of the land rejoiced, and the city was
quiet, for they had slain Ataiah with the sword
in the king's house. Jehoash was seven years
old when he became king. Chapter 12 In the seventh
year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned
forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was
Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did what was right
in the sight of the Lord all the days in which
Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high
places were not taken away. The people still
sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.
And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money
of the dedicated gifts that are brought into
the house of the Lord, each man's census money,
each man's assessment money, and all the money
that a man proposes in his heart to bring into
the house of the Lord, let the priests take it
themselves, each from his constituency, and let
them repair the damages of the temple, wherever
any dilapidation is found. Now it was so by the
twenty -third year of King Jehoash that the priests
had not repaired the damages of the temple. So
King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the
other priests and said to them, Why have you
not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore
do not take more money from your constituency,
but deliver it for repairing the damages of the
temple. And the priests agreed that they would
neither receive more money from the people nor
repair the damages of the temple. Then Jehoiada
the priest took a chest, bored a hole, in its
lid and set it beside the altar on the right
side as one comes into the house of the lord
and the priests who kept the door put there all
the money brought into the house of the lord
so it was whenever they saw that there was so
much money in the chest that the king's scribe
and the high priest came up and put it in bags
and counted the money that was found in the house
of the lord then they gave the money which had
been apportioned into the hands of those who
did the work who had the oversight of the house
of the lord and they paid it out to the carpenters
and builders who worked on the house of the lord
and to masons and stone cutters and for buying
timber and hewn stone to repair the damage of
the house of the lord and for all that was paid
out to repair the temple however there were not
made for the house of the lord basins of silver
trimmers sprinkling bowls trumpets any articles
of gold or articles of silver from the money
brought into the house of the lord But they gave
that to the workmen, and they repaired the house
of the Lord with it. Moreover, they did not require
an account from the men into whose hand they
delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for
they dealt faithfully. The money from the trespass
offerings and the money from the sin offerings
was not brought into the house of the Lord. It
belonged to the priests. Hazel, king of Syria,
went up and fought against Gad and took it. Then
Hazel set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And
Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred things
that his fathers Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and
Ahaziah kings of Judah had dedicated and his
own sacred things and all the gold found in the
treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the
king's house and sent them to Haziel king of
Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem. Now
the rest of the acts of Jehoash and all that
he did are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? And his servants
arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash
in the house of the Milo, which goes down to
Sila. For Jozakar, the son of Shemit, and Jehozabad,
the son of Shomer, his servants struck him. So
he died, and they buried him with his fathers
in the city of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned
in his place. I hope you enjoyed today's reading
as much as I did. And I look forward to seeing
you again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.