211 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria . 2 Ahab spoke to Naboth , saying , " Give me your vineyard , that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house , and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place ; if you like e , I will give you the price of it in money ." 3 But Naboth said to Ahab , "The Lord forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers ." 4 So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said , "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers ." And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food .
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, "How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food ?" 6 So he said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money ; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place .' But he said , 'I will not give you my vineyard .' " 7 Jezebel his wife said to him, " Do you now reign e over Israel ? Arise , eat bread , and let your heart be joyful ; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite ." 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal , and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city . 9 Now she wrote in the letters , saying , "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people ; 10 and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying , ' You cursed God and the king .' Then take him out and stone him to death ." 11 So the men of his city , the elders and the nobles who lived in his city , did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people . 13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth , before the people , saying , "Naboth cursed God and the king ." So they took him outside e the city and stoned him to death with stones . 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel , saying , "Naboth has been stoned and is dead ." 15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead , Jezebel said to Ahab , "Arise , take possession of the vineyard of Naboth , the Jezreelite , which he refused to give you for money ; for Naboth is not alive , but dead ." 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead , Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite , to take possession of it.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite , saying , 18 "Arise , go down to meet Ahab king of Israel , who is in Samaria ; behold , he is in the vineyard of Naboth where e he has gone down to take possession of it. 19 "You shall speak to him, saying , 'Thus says the Lord , " Have you murdered and also taken possession ?"' And you shall speak to him, saying , 'Thus says the Lord , " In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood , even yours .""' 20 Ahab said to Elijah , " Have you found me, O my enemy ?" And he answered , "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord . 21 "Behold , I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away , and will cut off from Ahab every male e , both bond and free in Israel ; 22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah , because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger , and because you have made Israel sin . 23 "Of Jezebel also has the Lord spoken , saying , ' The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel .' 24 " The one belonging to Ahab , who dies in the city , the dogs will eat , and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat ." 25 Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord , because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26 He acted very abominably in following e idols , according to all that the Amorites had done , whom the Lord cast out before e the sons of Israel . 27 It came about when Ahab heard these words , that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted , and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently . 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite , saying , 29 "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before e Me? Because e he has humbled himself before e Me, I will not bring the evil in his days , but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days ."
221 Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel . 2 In the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel . 3 Now the king of Israel said to his servants , "Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram ?" 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat , "Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead ?" And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel , " I am as you are, my people as your people , my horses as your horses ." 5 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel , "Please inquire first for the word of the Lord ." 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men , and said to them, "Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain ?" And they said , "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king ." 7 But Jehoshaphat said , "Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?" 8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord , but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil . He is Micaiah son of Imlah ." But Jehoshaphat said , "Let not the king say so ." 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said , "Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah ." 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne , arrayed in their robes , at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria ; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said , "Thus says the Lord , ' With these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed .' " 12 All the prophets were prophesying thus , saying , "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper , for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king ." 13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying , "Behold now , the words of the prophets are uniformly e favorable to the king . Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably ." 14 But Micaiah said , " As the Lord lives , what e the Lord says to me, that I shall speak ."
15 When he came to the king , the king said to him, "Micaiah , shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle , or shall we refrain ?" And he answered him, " Go up and succeed , and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king ." 16 Then the king said to him, "How e many e times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord ?" 17 So he said , "I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains , Like sheep which have no shepherd . And the Lord said , 'These have no master . Let each of them return to his house in peace .' " 18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , " Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil ?" 19 Micaiah said , "Therefore , hear the word of the Lord . I saw the Lord sitting on His throne , and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left . 20 "The Lord said , 'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead ?' And one said this while another said that. 21 "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said , 'I will entice him.' 22 "The Lord said to him, 'How ?' And he said , 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets .' Then He said , 'You are to entice him and also prevail . Go and do so .' 23 "Now therefore, behold , the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets ; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you." 24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said , " How e did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?" 25 Micaiah said , "Behold , you shall see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself." 26 Then the king of Israel said , "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son ; 27 and say , 'Thus says the king , " Put this man in prison e and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely .""' 28 Micaiah said , " If you indeed return safely the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said , " Listen , all you people ."
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead . 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , " I will disguise myself and go into the battle , but you put on your robes ." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle . 31 Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two e captains of his chariots , saying , "Do not fight with small or great , but with the king of Israel alone ." 32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat , they said , "Surely it is the king of Israel ," and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel , they turned back from pursuing him. 34 Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor . So he said to the driver of his chariot , "Turn around and take me out of the fight ; for I am severely wounded ." 35 The battle raged that day , and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans , and died at evening , and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot . 36 Then a cry passed throughout the army close to sunset e , saying , "Every man to his city and every man to his country ." 37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria , and they buried the king in Samaria . 38 They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria , and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots bathed themselves there), according to the word of the Lord which He spoke . 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built , are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles e of the Kings of Israel ? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers , and Ahaziah his son became king in his place .
41 Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel . 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five e years old when he became king , and he reigned twenty-five e years in Jerusalem . And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi . 43 He walked in all the way of Asa his father ; he did not turn aside from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord . However , the high places were not taken away ; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places . 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel . 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat , and his might which he showed and how he warred , are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles e of the Kings of Judah ? 46 The remnant of the sodomites who remained in the days of his father Asa , he expelled from the land . 47 Now there was no king in Edom ; a deputy was king . 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold , but they did not go for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber . 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat , "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships ." But Jehoshaphat was not willing . 50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David , and Jehoram his son became king in his place .
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth e year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah , and he reigned two years over Israel . 52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , who caused Israel to sin . 53 So he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger , according to all that his father had done .
26 When they led Him away , they seized a man , Simon of Cyrene , coming in from the country , and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus . 27 And following Him was a large crowd of the people , and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him. 28 But Jesus turning to them said , "Daughters of Jerusalem , stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children . 29 "For behold , the days are coming when e they will say , ' Blessed are the barren , and the wombs that never bore , and the breasts that never nursed .' 30 "Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS , 'FALL ON US,' AND TO THE HILLS , 'COVER US.' 31 "For if they do these things when the tree is green , what will happen when it is dry ?"
32 Two others also , who were criminals , were being led away to be put to death with Him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull , there they crucified Him and the criminals , one on the right and the other on the left . 34 But Jesus was saying , " Father , forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing ." And they cast lots , dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying , "He saved others ; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God , His Chosen One ." 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine 37 and saying , " If You are the King of the Jews , save Yourself !" 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, " THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS . 39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying , "Are You not the Christ ? Save Yourself and us!" 40 But the other answered , and rebuking him said , "Do you not even fear God , since you are under the same sentence of condemnation ? 41 "And we indeed are suffering justly , for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds e ; but this man has done nothing wrong ." 42 And he was saying , "Jesus , remember me when You come in Your kingdom !" 43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise ."
44 It was now about the sixth hour , and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour , 45 because the sun was obscured ; and the veil of the temple was torn in two . 46 And Jesus , crying out with a loud voice , said , "Father , INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT ." Having said this , He breathed His last . 47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened , he began praising God , saying , "Certainly this man was innocent ." 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle , when they observed what had happened , began to return , beating their breasts . 49 And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance , seeing these things .
50 And a man named Joseph , who was a member of the Council , a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their plan and action ), a man from Arimathea , a city of the Jews , who was waiting for the kingdom of God ; 52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus . 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth , and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock , where no one had ever lain . 54 It was the preparation day , and the Sabbath was about to begin . 55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed , and saw the tomb and how His body was laid . 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes . And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment .
(Read Luke 23:26-31)
We have here the blessed Jesus, the Lamb of God, led as a lamb to the slaughter, to the sacrifice. Though many reproached and reviled him, yet some pitied him. But the death of Christ was his victory and triumph over his enemies: it was our deliverance, the purchase of eternal life for us. Therefore weep not for him, but let us weep for our own sins, and the sins of our children, which caused his death; and weep for fear of the miseries we shall bring upon ourselves, if we slight his love, and reject his grace. If God delivered him up to such sufferings as these, because he was made a sacrifice for sin, what will he do with sinners themselves, who make themselves a dry tree, a corrupt and wicked generation, and good for nothing! The bitter sufferings of our Lord Jesus should make us stand in awe of the justice of God. The best saints, compared with Christ, are dry trees; if he suffer, why may not they expect to suffer? And what then shall the damnation of sinners be! Even the sufferings of Christ preach terror to obstinate transgressors.
(Read Luke 23:32-43)
As soon as Christ was fastened to the cross, he prayed for those who crucified him. The great thing he died to purchase and procure for us, is the forgiveness of sin. This he prays for. Jesus was crucified between two thieves; in them were shown the different effects the cross of Christ would have upon the children of men in the preaching the gospel. One malefactor was hardened to the last. No troubles of themselves will change a wicked heart. The other was softened at the last: he was snatched as a brand out of the burning, and made a monument of Divine mercy. This gives no encouragement to any to put off repentance to their death-beds, or to hope that they shall then find mercy. It is certain that true repentance is never too late; but it is as certain that late repentance is seldom true. None can be sure they shall have time to repent at death, but every man may be sure he cannot have the advantages this penitent thief had. We shall see the case to be singular, if we observe the uncommon effects of God's grace upon this man. He reproved the other for railing on Christ. He owned that he deserved what was done to him. He believed Jesus to have suffered wrongfully. Observe his faith in this prayer. Christ was in the depth of disgrace, suffering as a deceiver, and not delivered by his Father. He made this profession before the wonders were displayed which put honour on Christ's sufferings, and startled the centurion. He believed in a life to come, and desired to be happy in that life; not like the other thief, to be only saved from the cross. Observe his humility in this prayer. All his request is, Lord, remember me; quite referring it to Jesus in what way to remember him. Thus he was humbled in true repentance, and he brought forth all the fruits for repentance his circumstances would admit. Christ upon the cross, is gracious like Christ upon the throne. Though he was in the greatest struggle and agony, yet he had pity for a poor penitent. By this act of grace we are to understand that Jesus Christ died to open the kingdom of heaven to all penitent, obedient believers. It is a single instance in Scripture; it should teach us to despair of none, and that none should despair of themselves; but lest it should be abused, it is contrasted with the awful state of the other thief, who died hardened in unbelief, though a crucified Saviour was so near him. Be sure that in general men die as they live.
(Read Luke 23:44-49)
We have here the death of Christ magnified by the wonders that attended it, and his death explained by the words with which he breathed out his soul. He was willing to offer himself. Let us seek to glorify God by true repentance and conversion; by protesting against those who crucify the Saviour; by a sober, righteous, and godly life; and by employing our talents in the service of Him who died for us and rose again.
(Read Luke 23:50-56)
Many, though they do not make any show in outward profession, yet, like Joseph of Arimathea, will be far more ready to do real service, when there is occasion, than others who make a greater noise. Christ was buried in haste, because the sabbath drew on. Weeping must not hinder sowing. Though they were in tears for the death of their Lord, yet they must prepare to keep holy the sabbath. When the sabbath draws on, there must be preparation. Our worldly affairs must be so ordered, that they may not hinder us from our sabbath work; and our holy affections so stirred up, that they may carry us on in it. In whatever business we engage, or however our hearts may be affected, let us never fail to get ready for, and to keep holy, the day of sacred rest, which is the Lord's day.
