121 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt; 3 and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. 5 And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people? 7 And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him. 9 And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us? 10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us,—thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father's loins; 11 and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by Jehovah, that he might give effect to his word, which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents. 17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day. 20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel: none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 21 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to 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 remainder of the people, saying, 24 Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah.
25 And 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 Jehovah at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt! 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; and the people went [to worship] before the one, as far as Dan. 31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who 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 the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made a feast for the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar, burning incense.
131 And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah 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 the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him. 5 And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah. 6 And the king answered and said to the man of God, Intreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God intreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present. 8 And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy 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 Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt a certain 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 that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father. 12 And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah. 13 And he said to 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 a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16 And he said, I cannot 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 Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest. 18 And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him. 19 Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee, 22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back; 24 and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [of it] and said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him. 27 And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother! 31 And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass. 33 After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes 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 by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
221 Now the feast of unleavened bread, which [is] called the passover, drew nigh, 2 and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people. 3 And Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariote, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them. 5 And they were rejoiced, and agreed to give him money. 6 And he came to an agreement to do it, and sought an opportunity to deliver him up to them away from the crowd.
7 And the day of unleavened bread came, in which the passover was to be killed. 8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat [it]. 9 But they said to him, Where wilt thou that we prepare [it]? 10 And he said to them, Behold, as ye enter into the city a man will meet you, carrying an earthen pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he goes in; 11 and ye shall say to the master of the house, The Teacher says to thee, Where is the guest-chamber where I may eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. 13 And having gone they found it as he had said to them; and they prepared the passover. 14 And when the hour was come, he placed himself at table, and the [twelve] apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I say unto you, that I will not eat any more at all of it until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And having received a cup, when he had given thanks he said, Take this and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I say unto you, that I will not drink at all of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God come. 19 And having taken a loaf, when he had given thanks, he broke [it], and gave [it] to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 In like manner also the cup, after having supped, saying, This cup [is] the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 Moreover, behold, the hand of him that delivers me up [is] with me on the table; 22 and the Son of man indeed goes as it is determined, but woe unto that man by whom he is delivered up. 23 And they began to question together among themselves who then it could be of them who was about to do this.
24 And there was also a strife among them which of them should be held to be [the] greatest. 25 And he said to them, The kings of the nations rule over them, and they that exercise authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But ye [shall] not [be] thus; but let the greater among you be as the younger, and the leader as he that serves. 27 For which [is] greater, he that is at table or he that serves? [Is] not he that is at table? But I am in the midst of you as the one that serves. 28 But ye are they who have persevered with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you, as my Father has appointed unto me, a kingdom, 30 that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Read Luke 22:1-6)
Christ knew all men, and had wise and holy ends in taking Judas to be a disciple. How he who knew Christ so well, came to betray him, we are here told; Satan entered into Judas. It is hard to say whether more mischief is done to Christ's kingdom, by the power of its open enemies, or by the treachery of its pretended friends; but without the latter, its enemies could not do so much evil as they do.
(Read Luke 22:7-18)
Christ kept the ordinances of the law, particularly that of the passover, to teach us to observe his gospel institutions, and most of all that of the Lord's supper. Those who go upon Christ's word, need not fear disappointment. According to the orders given them, the disciples got all ready for the passover. Jesus bids this passover welcome. He desired it, though he knew his sufferings would follow, because it was in order to his Father's glory and man's redemption. He takes his leave of all passovers, signifying thereby his doing away all the ordinances of the ceremonial law, of which the passover was one of the earliest and chief. That type was laid aside, because now in the kingdom of God the substance was come.
(Read Luke 22:19-20)
The Lord's supper is a sign or memorial of Christ already come, who by dying delivered us; his death is in special manner set before us in that ordinance, by which we are reminded of it. The breaking of Christ's body as a sacrifice for us, is therein brought to our remembrance by the breaking of bread. Nothing can be more nourishing and satisfying to the soul, than the doctrine of Christ's making atonement for sin, and the assurance of an interest in that atonement. Therefore we do this in rememberance of what He did for us, when he died for us; and for a memorial of what we do, in joining ourselves to him in an everlasting covenant. The shedding of Christ's blood, by which the atonement was made, is represented by the wine in the cup.
(Read Luke 22:21-38)
How unbecoming is the worldly ambition of being the greatest, to the character of a follower of Jesus, who took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross! In the way to eternal happiness, we must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger. Unless we watch and pray always, we may be drawn in the course of the day into those sins which we were in the morning most resolved against. If believers were left to themselves, they would fall; but they are kept by the power of God, and the prayer of Christ. Our Lord gave notice of a very great change of circumstances now approaching. The disciples must not expect that their friends would be kind to them as they had been. Therefore, he that has a purse, let him take it, for he may need it. They must now expect that their enemies would be more fierce than they had been, and they would need weapons. At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spake only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.
