"Upcoming X-citing Worship, Faith Development, Congregational Care, Compassionate Outreach, Next Generation Ministries and Community News" from Saint James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Saint James United Methodist Church
X-CITING WORSHIP
Access is limited to volunteers and parents dropping off children on Sundays between the hours of 8:30a - 1:00p and Wednesdays between 6:30p - 8:00p.
Parents will check in children on the lower level at the Paseo campus.
UPCOMING EVENTS/MEETINGS
St. James members, family and friends, help spread the word and sign-up to met and greet the community as a volunteer!
Saturday, July 28 from 10a - Noon
August 6-10 from 10a - 3p
Special focus on donations of children and youth clothing!
1 Kings 10:1 When the queen of Sh’va heard what was being said about Shlomo because of the name of Adonai, she came to test him with difficult questions. 2 She arrived in Yerushalayim accompanied by a very great retinue, including camels bearing spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones. When she appeared before Shlomo she spoke with him about everything on her heart, 3 and Shlomo answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 After the queen of Sh’va had seen all Shlomo’s wisdom, the palace he had built, 5 the food at his table, the manner of seating his officials, the manner in which his staff served him, how they were dressed, his personal servants and his burnt offering which he offered in the house of Adonai, it left her breathless. 6 She said to the king, “What I heard in my own country about your deeds and your wisdom is true, 7 but I couldn’t believe the report until I came and saw for myself. Actually, they didn’t tell me even the half of it — your wisdom and prosperity surpass the reports I heard. 8 How happy your people must be, how happy these servants of yours who are always here attending you and get to hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be Adonai your God, who took pleasure in you to put you on the throne of Isra’el. Because of Adonai’s eternal love for Isra’el, he has made you king, to administer judgment and justice fairly.” 10 Then she gave the king four tons of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones; never again did there arrive such an abundance of spices as those the queen of Sh’va gave to King Shlomo.
11 Hiram’s fleet which had brought gold from Ofir now brought in from Ofir a large quantity of sandalwood and precious stones. 12 The king used the sandalwood to make columns for the house of Adonai and for the royal palace, and also lyres and lutes for the singers. No sandalwood like it has come or been seen to this day.
13 King Shlomo gave the queen of Sh’va everything she wanted, whatever she asked, in addition to the presents he gave her on his own initiative. After this, she returned and went back to her own country, she and her servants.
14 The weight of the gold Shlomo received annually came to twenty-two tons of gold, 15 besides that which came from sales taxes, customs duties and assessments collected by all the kings of the mixed peoples and by the district governors. 16 King Shlomo made 200 large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of gold went into one shield. 17 He made 300 more shields of hammered gold, with three-and-three-quarters pounds going into one shield; the king put these in the House of the L’vanon Forest.
18 The king also made a large throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, a back with a rounded top, arms on either side of the seat, two lions standing beside the arms, 20 and twelve more lions standing on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made in any kingdom.
21 All King Shlomo’s drinking vessels were of gold; and all the utensils in the House of the L’vanon Forest were of pure gold; none was of silver, for in Shlomo’s time it was regarded as having little value. 22 The king had a fleet of large “Tarshish” ships along with Hiram’s fleet; once every three years the “Tarshish” fleet came in, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.
23 So King Shlomo surpassed all the kings on earth in both wealth and wisdom. 24 All the earth sought to have an audience with Shlomo, in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each one brought his present — articles of silver, articles of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses and mules; and this continued year after year.
26 Shlomo amassed chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen; he assigned them to the chariot cities and to the king in Yerushalayim. 27 The king made silver in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees are in the Sh’felah. 28 Shlomo’s horses had been brought from Egypt and from Keveh, with the king’s agents having bought them from the dealers in Keveh at the going price. 29 A chariot from Egypt cost fifteen pounds of silver shekels and a horse three-and-three quarters pounds [of shekels]; all the kings of the Hittim and the kings of Aram purchased them at these prices through Shlomo’s agents.
11:1 King Shlomo loved many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh. There were women from the Mo’avi, ‘Amoni, Edomi, Tzidoni and Hitti — 2 nations about which Adonai had said to the people of Isra’el, “You are not to go among them or they among you, because they will turn your hearts away toward their gods.” But Shlomo was deeply attached to them by his love. 3 He had 700 wives, all princesses, and 300 concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Shlomo became old, his wives turned his heart away toward other gods; so that he was not wholehearted with Adonai his God, as David his father had been. 5 For Shlomo followed ‘Ashtoret the goddess of the Tzidoni and Milkom the abomination of the ‘Amoni. 6 Thus Shlomo did what was evil in Adonai’s view and did not fully follow Adonai, as David his father had done. 7 Shlomo built a high place for K’mosh the abomination of Mo’av on the hill on front of Yerushalayim, and another for Molekh the abomination of the people of ‘Amon. 8 This is what he did for all his foreign wives, who then offered and sacrificed to their gods. 9 So Adonai grew angry with Shlomo, because his heart had turned away from Adonai the God of Isra’el, who had appeared to him twice 10 and given him orders concerning this matter that he should not follow other gods. But he didn’t obey Adonai’s orders.
11 So Adonai said to Shlomo, “Since this is what has been in your mind, and you haven’t kept my covenant and my regulations which I ordered you to obey, I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for David your father’s sake I won’t do it while you are alive, but I will tear it away from your son. 13 Even then, I won’t tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Yerushalayim, which I have chosen.”
14 Then Adonai raised up an adversary against Shlomo, Hadad the Edomi, of the royal line of Edom. 15 Back when David had been in Edom, and Yo’av the commander of the army had gone up to bury the dead, having killed every male in Edom 16 (for Yo’av and all Isra’el had stayed there six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), 17 Hadad had fled, he and a number of Edomi servants of his father’s with him, and gone into Egypt; at the time Hadad had been but a small boy. 18 On their way, they passed through Midyan and arrived in Pa’ran, took with them men from Pa’ran, and went on into Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. He gave Hadad a house, saw to it that he had food and gave him land. 19 Hadad became a great favorite of Pharaoh, so that he gave him his own wife’s sister in marriage, that is, the sister of Tachp’neis the queen. 20 The sister of Tachp’neis bore him G’nuvat his son, and Tachp’neis brought him up in Pharaoh’s own house, so that G’nuvat was in Pharaoh’s house along with Pharaoh’s sons. 21 When Hadad in Egypt heard that David slept with his ancestors and Yo’av the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so that I can return to my own country.” 22 Pharaoh asked him, “But what have you lacked with me that makes you want just now to go to your own country?” “Nothing in particular,” he replied, “but let me leave, anyway.”
23 God raised up another adversary against Shlomo, Rezon the son of Elyada, who had fled from his lord Hadad‘ezer king of Tzovah 24 when David killed the men from Tzovah. Rezon rallied men to himself and became the leader of a band of marauders; they went to Dammesek and settled there, while he became king of Dammesek. 25 He remained an adversary as long as Shlomo lived, causing difficulties in addition to those of Hadad. He detested Isra’el and ruled Aram.
26 Also Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, an Efrati from Tz’redah, whose mother’s name was Tz’ru‘ah, one of Shlomo’s servants, rebelled against the king. 27 Here is the reason he rebelled against the king: Shlomo was building the Millo and closing the breach in [the wall of] the City of David his father. 28 Now this Yarov‘am was a strong, energetic man; and Shlomo, seeing how serious the young man was, made him supervisor over all the work being done by the tribe of Yosef. 29 Once, during this period, when Yarov‘am had gone out of Yerushalayim, the prophet Achiyah from Shiloh spotted him traveling. Achiyah was wearing a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in open country. 30 Achiyah took hold of his new cloak that he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Yarov‘am, “Take ten pieces for yourself! For here is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘I am going to tear the kingdom out of Shlomo’s hand, and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 But he will keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Yerushalayim, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Isra’el. 33 I will do this because they have abandoned me and worshipped ‘Ashtoret the goddess of the Tzidoni, K’mosh the god of Mo’av and Milkom the god of the people of ‘Amon. They haven’t lived according to my ways, so that they could do what was right in my view and obey my regulations and rulings, as did David his father. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the entire kingdom away from him; but I will make him prince as long as he lives, for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose, because he obeyed my mitzvot and regulations. 35 However, I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten tribes of it to you. 36 To his son I will give one tribe, so that David my servant will always have a light burning before me in Yerushalayim, the city I chose for myself as the place to put my name. 37 I will take you, and you will rule over everything you want; you will be king over Isra’el. 38 Now if you will listen to all that I order you, live according to my ways and do what is right in my view, so that you observe my regulations and mitzvot, as David my servant did; then I will be with you, and I will build you a lasting dynasty, as I built for David; and I will give Isra’el to you. 39 For this [offense] I will trouble David’s descendants, but not forever.” 40 Because of this Shlomo tried to kill Yarov‘am; but Yarov‘am roused himself, fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and stayed in Egypt until the death of Shlomo.
41 Other activities of Shlomo, all he accomplished and his wisdom are recorded in the Annals of Shlomo. 42 The length of Shlomo’s reign in Yerushalayim over all Isra’el was forty years. 43 Then Shlomo slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David his father, and Rechav‘am his son became king in his place.
12:1 Rechav‘am went to Sh’khem, where all Isra’el had come to proclaim him king. 2 When Yarov‘am the son of N’vat heard of it — for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from Shlomo; so Yarov‘am was living in Egypt; 3 but they sent and summoned him — Yarov‘am and the whole community of Isra’el came and said to Rechav‘am, 4 “Your father laid a harsh yoke on us. But if you will lighten the harsh service we had to render your father and ease his heavy yoke that he put on us, we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Leave me alone for three days, then come back to me.” So the people left.
6 King Rechav‘am consulted the older men who had been in attendance on Shlomo his father during his lifetime and asked, “What advice would you give me as to how to answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “If you will start today being a servant to these people — if you will serve them, be responsive to them and give them favorable consideration, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he didn’t take the advice the older men gave him; instead he consulted the young men he had grown up with, who were now his attendants. 9 He asked them, “What advice would you give me, so that we can give an answer to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father laid on us’?” 10 The young men he had grown up with said to him, “These people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; but you, make it lighter for us’ — here’s the answer you should give them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! 11 Yes, my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will make it heavier! My father controlled you with whips, but I will control you with scorpions!’”
12 So Yarov‘am and all the people came to Rechav‘am the third day, as the king had requested by saying, “Come to me again the third day”; 13 and the king answered the people harshly. Abandoning the advice the older men had given him, 14 he addressed them according to the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke! My father controlled you with whips, but I will control you with scorpions!” 15 So the king didn’t listen to the people; and that was something Adonai brought about, so that he could fulfill his word, which Adonai had spoken through Achiyah from Shiloh to Yarov‘am the son of N’vat.
16 When all Isra’el saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people answered the king,
“Do we have any share in David?
We have no heritage in the son of Yishai!
Go to your tents, Isra’el!
Care for your own house, David!”
So Isra’el left for their tents.
17 But as for the people of Isra’el living in the cities of Y’hudah, Rechav‘am ruled over them. 18 King Rechav‘am then sent Adoram, who was in charge of forced labor; but all Isra’el stoned him to death. King Rechav‘am managed to mount his chariot and flee to Yerushalayim. 19 Isra’el has been in rebellion against the dynasty of David to this day.
20 On hearing that Yarov‘am had returned, all Isra’el summoned him to the assembly and proclaimed him king over all Isra’el. No one followed the dynasty of David except the tribe of Y’hudah.
21 When Rechav‘am arrived in Yerushalayim, he assembled all the house of Y’hudah and the tribe of Binyamin, 180,000 select soldiers, to fight the house of Isra’el and bring the rulership back to Rechav‘am the son of Shlomo. 22 But this word from God came to Sh’ma‘yah the man of God: 23 “Speak to Rechav‘am the son of Shlomo, king of Y’hudah, to all the house of Y’hudah and Binyamin and to the rest of the people; tell them 24 that this is what Adonai says: ‘You are not to go up and fight your brothers the people of Isra’el! Every man is to go back home, because this is my doing.’” They paid attention to the word of Adonai and turned back, as Adonai had told them to do.
25 Then Yarov‘am built up Sh’khem in the hills of Efrayim and lived there. After that, he left and built up P’nu’el. 26 Nevertheless Yarov‘am said to himself, “Now the rulership will return to the house of David. 27 For if these people continue going up to offer sacrifices in the house of Adonai in Yerushalayim, their hearts will turn back to their lord, Rechav‘am king of Y’hudah. Then they will kill me and return to Rechav‘am king of Y’hudah.” 28 After seeking advice, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people, “You have been going up to Yerushalayim long enough! Here are your gods, Isra’el, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 29 He placed one in Beit-El and the other in Dan, 30 and the affair became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one [in Beit-El and] all the way to Dan [to worship the other]. 31 He also set up temples on the high places and made cohanim from among all the people, even though they were not descended from Levi.
32 Yarov‘am instituted a festival in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, similar to the festival held in Y’hudah; he went up to the altar in Beit-El to sacrifice to the calves he had made; and he placed in Beit-El the cohanim he had appointed for the high places. 33 He went up to the altar which he had set up in Beit-El on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had chosen on his own, and instituted a festival for the people of Isra’el; he went up to the altar to burn incense.
13:1 Just then, as Yarov‘am was standing by the altar to burn incense, a man of God came out of Y’hudah, directed to Beit-El by a word from Adonai. 2 And by the word from Adonai he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar, here is what Adonai says: ‘A son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Yoshiyahu; and on you he will sacrifice the cohanim of the high places who burn incense on you! They will burn human bones on you!’” 3 That same day he also gave a sign: “Here is the sign which Adonai has decreed:
“‘The altar will be split apart;
the ashes on it will be scattered about.’”
4 When the king heard what the man of God said, how he denounced the altar in Beit-El, Yarov‘am took his hand away from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But his hand, the one he had stretched out against him, shriveled up; so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 Also the altar was split apart, and the ashes scattered from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Adonai. 6 The king then responded to the man of God. “Ask now the favor of Adonai your God,” he said, “and pray for me, that my hand will be restored to me.” The man of God prayed to Adonai, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it had been before. 7 The king then said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. 8 But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you give me half your household, I will not accept your hospitality; nor will I eat food or drink water in this place. 9 For this is the order I received through the word of Adonai: ‘Don’t eat food or drink water, and don’t return by the road you took when you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the road by which he had come to Beit-El.
11 Now there lived an old prophet in Beit-El; and one of his sons came and told him all the things the man of God had done that day in Beit-El; also they told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen what road the man of God from Y’hudah had taken. 13 He then said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and, riding on it, 14 he went after the man of God. He found him sitting under a pistachio tree and said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Y’hudah?” He answered, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.” 16 He replied, “I cannot return with you or partake of your hospitality, nor will I eat food or drink water with you in this place; 17 because it was said to me by the word of Adonai, ‘You are not to eat food or drink water there, and you are not to go back by the way you came.’” 18 The other said to him, “I too am a prophet, just like you; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Adonai and said, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he can eat food and drink water.’” But he was lying to him. 19 So he went back with him and did eat food and drink water in his house. 20 As they were sitting at the table, the word of Adonaicame to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of God who had come from Y’hudah, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Since you rebelled against the word of Adonai and didn’t obey the mitzvah Adonai your God gave you, 22 but came back and ate food and drank water in the place where he warned you not to eat food or drink water, your corpse will not arrive at the tomb of your ancestors.” 23 After he had eaten food and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. 24 But after he had gone, a lion encountered the man of God on the road and killed him. His corpse lay there in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to it. 25 In time, people passed by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing next to it; and they came and told about it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who rebelled against the word of Adonai; this is why Adonai handed him over to the lion to tear him to pieces and kill him, in keeping with the word Adonai spoke to him.” 27 To his sons he said, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they saddled it. 28 He went and found his corpse lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing next to the corpse; the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. 29 The prophet picked up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city where he lived, to mourn and bury him. 30 He laid the corpse in his own burial cave, and they mourned him — “Oh! My brother!” 31 After burying him he said to his sons, “When I die, put me in the burial cave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones next to his bones. 32 For the thing he cried by the word of Adonai against the altar in Beit-El and against all the temples on the high places near the cities of Shomron will surely happen.”
33 After this, Yarov‘am did not turn back from his evil way but continued appointing cohanim for the high places from among all the people; he consecrated anyone who wanted to be a cohen of the high places. 34 This brought sin to the house of Yarov‘am that would eventually cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.
14:1 At this time, Aviyah the son of Yarov‘am fell ill. 2 Yarov‘am said to his wife, “Please come, and disguise yourself, so that you won’t be recognized as Yarov‘am’s wife, and go to Shiloh. Achiyah the prophet is there, the one who said that I would be king over these people. 3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes and a jug of honey; and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
4 Yarov‘am’s wife did this; she set out, went to Shiloh and arrived at the house of Achiyah. Now Achiyah could not see, because his eyes were dim with age. 5 Adonai had told Achiyah, “Yarov‘am’s wife is on her way to you to ask about her son, who is ill. You are to tell her thus and thus; moreover, when she comes, she will be pretending she is another woman.”
6 When Achiyah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the door, he said, “Enter, wife of Yarov‘am! Why pretend you are someone else? I’ve been given bad news for you. 7 Go, tell Yarov‘am that this is what Adonai says: ‘I raised you up from among the people, made you prince over my people Isra’el, 8 tore the kingdom away from the dynasty of David and gave it to you. In spite of this, you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my mitzvot and followed me with all his heart, so that he could do only what I regarded as right. 9 Rather, you have committed more evil than anyone before you! You went and made other gods for yourself and images of cast metal to make me angry, but me you shoved behind your back! 10 Therefore, I will now bring disaster on the house of Yarov‘am. I will cut off every male of Yarov‘am’s line, whether a slave or free in Isra’el; I will sweep away the house of Yarov‘am as completely as when someone sweeps away dung until it’s all gone. 11 If someone from the line of Yarov‘am dies in the city, the dogs will eat him; if he dies in the countryside, the vultures will eat him. For Adonaihas said it.’ 12 So get up and go home; when your feet enter the city, the boy will die. 13 All Isra’el will mourn him, and they will bury him; he is the only one of Yarov‘am’s line who will lie in a grave, because he alone in the house of Yarov‘am has in him an element of good toward Adonai the God of Isra’el. 14 Moreover, Adonai will raise up for himself a king over Isra’el who at that time will cut off the house of Yarov‘am. And what will God do now? 15 Adonai will strike Isra’el until it shakes like a reed in the water; he will uproot Isra’el from this good land, which he gave to their ancestors, and scatter them beyond the [Euphrates] River; because they made sacred poles for themselves, thus making Adonai angry. 16 He will give up on Isra’el because of the sins of Yarov‘am, which he committed himself, and with which he made Isra’el sin as well.”
17 Yarov‘am’s wife got up, left and went to Tirtzah. The moment she reached the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 All Isra’el buried him and mourned him, in keeping with the word of Adonaispoken through his servant Achiyah the prophet.
19 Other activities of Yarov‘am, how he fought and how he ruled are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 20 Yarov‘am’s reign lasted twenty-two years; then he slept with his ancestors, and Nadav his son became king in his place.
21 Rechav‘am the son of Shlomo was reigning in Y’hudah. Rechav‘am was forty-one years old when he began to rule; and he ruled seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city Adonai had chosen from all the tribes of Isra’el to bear his name; his mother’s name was Na‘amah the ‘Amonit.
22 Y’hudah did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; they made him angry because of their sins, which were worse than any their ancestors had committed. 23 For they erected high places, standing-stones and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 Also there were male and female cult-prostitutes in the land attached to these shrines, doing all the disgusting things which the nations did that Adonai had expelled ahead of the people of Isra’el.
25 In the fifth year of King Rechav‘am, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim. 26 He took the treasures in the house of Adonai and the treasures in the royal palace — he took everything, including all the gold shields Shlomo had made. 27 To replace them, King Rechav‘am made shields of bronze, which he entrusted to the commanders of the contingent guarding the gate to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the house of Adonai, the guard would get the shields; later they would return them to the guardroom.
29 Other activities of Rechav‘am and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah. 30 But there was continual war between Rechav‘am and Yarov‘am. 31 Rechav‘am slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David; his mother’s name was Na‘amah the ‘Amonit. Then Aviyam his son became king in his place.
15:1 It was in the eighteenth year of King Yarov‘am the son of N’vat that Aviyam began his reign over Y’hudah. 2 He ruled three years in Yerushalayim; his mother’s name was Ma‘akhah the daughter of Avishalom. 3 He committed all the sins his father had committed before him; he was not wholehearted with Adonai his God, as David his forefather had been. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake Adonai his God gave him a lamp burning in Yerushalayim by establishing his son after him and making Yerushalayim secure. 5 For David had done what was right from Adonai’s perspective; he had not turned away from anything he had ordered him to do, as long as he lived, except in the matter of Uriyah the Hitti.
6 There was war between Rechav‘am and Yarov‘am as long as he lived.
7 Other activities of Aviyam and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah. But there was war between Aviyam and Yarov‘am. 8 Aviyam slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son became king in his place.
9 It was in the twentieth year of Yarov‘am king of Isra’el that Asa began his reign over Y’hudah. 10 He ruled forty-one years in Yerushalayim; his [grand]mother’s name was Ma‘akhah the daughter of Avishalom. 11 Asa did what was right from the perspective of Adonai, as David his ancestor had done. 12 He rid the land of cult-prostitutes and removed all the idols his ancestors had made. 13 He also deposed Ma‘akhah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a disgusting image as an asherah. Asa cut down this image of hers and burned it in Vadi Kidron. 14 But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted with Adonai throughout his life. 15 He brought into the house of Adonai all the articles his father had consecrated, also the things he himself had consecrated — silver, gold and utensils.
16 There was war between Asa and Ba‘sha king of Isra’el as long as they both lived. 17 Ba‘sha attacked Y’hudah, and he fortified Ramah to prevent anyone’s leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Y’hudah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold left among the treasures of the house of Adonai and among the treasures of the royal palace; and, entrusting them to his servants, King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tavrimmon, the son of Hezyon, king of Aram, who lived in Dammesek, with this message: 19 “There is a covenant between me and you, which existed already between my father and your father. Here, I am sending you a present of silver and gold; go, and break your covenant with Ba‘sha king of Isra’el, so that he will leave me alone.” 20 Ben-Hadad did as King Asa asked — he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Isra’el, attacking ‘Iyon, Dan, Avel-Beit-Ma‘akhah, all of Kinn’rot and all the land of Naftali. 21 As soon as Ba‘sha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and stayed in Tirtzah. 22 King Asa then issued a proclamation requiring every man in Y’hudah, with no exception, to come and carry off the stones and timber Ba‘sha had used to fortify Ramah. With them King Asa fortified Geva of Binyamin and Mitzpah.
23 The other activities of Asa, all his power, all his accomplishments and the cities he fortified are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah. But in his old age he suffered from a disease in his legs. 24 Asa slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David his ancestor. Then Y’hoshafat his son became king in his place.
25 It was in the second year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Nadav the son of Yarov‘am began his reign over Isra’el, and he ruled Isra’el two years. 26 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, following the example of his father and the sin through which he had made Isra’el sin.
27 Ba‘sha the son of Achiyah, from the descendants of Yissakhar, conspired against him; and Ba‘sha attacked him at Gib’ton, which belonged to the P’lishtim; for at the time Nadav and all Isra’el were besieging Gib’ton. 28 It was in the third year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Ba‘sha killed Nadav and became king in his place.
29 As soon as he had become king he killed off the entire house of Yarov‘am, destroying every living soul and leaving not one survivor. This was in keeping with what Adonai had said through his servant Achiyah from Shiloh; 30 it was the punishment for the sins Yarov‘am had committed and through which he had made Isra’el sin, thereby angering Adonai the God of Isra’el.
31 Other activities of Nadav and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 32 There was war between Asa and Ba‘sha king of Isra’el as long as they both lived.
33 It was in the third year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Ba‘sha the son of Achiyah began his reign over all Isra’el in Tirtzah, and his rule lasted twenty-four years. 34 He did what was wrong from Adonai’s perspective, following the example of Yarov‘am and committing the sin through which he had made Isra’el sin.
16:1 The word of Adonai came to Yehu the son of Hanani against Ba‘sha: 2 “I raised you up out of the dust and made you prince over my people Isra’el. But you have lived in the same way as Yarov‘am and caused my people Isra’el to sin, so that their sinning has made me angry. 3 Therefore I will sweep away Ba‘sha and his house completely; I will make your house like the house of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat. 4 If someone from the line of Ba‘sha dies in the city, the dogs will eat him; if he dies in the countryside, the vultures will eat him.”
5 Other activities of Ba‘sha, his accomplishments and his power are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 6 Ba‘sha slept with his ancestors, and Elah his son became king in his place. 7 Through the prophet Yehu the son of Hanani the word of Adonaiwas proclaimed against Ba‘sha and his house both because he did so much evil from Adonai’s perspective, angering him with his actions and becoming like the house of Yarov‘am, and because he killed [Nadav].
8 It was in the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Elah the son of Ba‘sha began his reign over all Isra’el in Tirtzah, and he ruled for two years. 9 His servant Zimri, commander of half of his chariots, plotted against him. Finally, one time when Elah was in Tirtzah, drinking himself senseless in the house of Artza, administrator of the palace in Tirtzah, 10 Zimri entered, struck him down and killed him. This was in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Y’hudah; Zimri then took Elah’s place as king.
11 At the beginning of his reign, as soon as he took over the throne, he killed off the entire house of Ba‘sha; he left not a single male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. 12 Thus Zimri eliminated all the house of Ba‘sha, in keeping with the word of Adonai spoken against Ba‘sha through Yehu the prophet. This word had been spoken 13 because of all of Ba‘sha’s sins and the sins of Elah his son, which they committed and with which they made Isra’el sin, thereby angering Adonai the God of Isra’el with their worthless idols. 14 Other activities of Elah and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el.
15 It was in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Zimri ruled for seven days in Tirtzah. At that time, the army was besieging Gib’ton, which belonged to the P’lishtim. 16 The troops in their camp heard it said that Zimri had plotted and killed the king, whereupon that same day, there in the camp, all Isra’el made ‘Omri, the commander of the army, king over Isra’el. 17 ‘Omri and all Isra’el with him withdrew from Gib’ton and besieged Tirtzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and burned down the royal palace over him, so that he died. 19 This came about because of the sins he committed in doing what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, in living as Yarov‘am had lived, and in sinning by making Isra’el sin. 20 Other activities of Zimri and his conspiracy are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el.
21 At this point the people of Isra’el divided into two factions. Half of the people went after Tivni the son of Ginat to make him king, while the other half followed ‘Omri. 22 But the faction supporting ‘Omri won out over that of Tivni the son of Ginat; so Tivni died, and ‘Omri became king.
23 It was in the thirty-first year of Asa king of Y’hudah that ‘Omri began his reign over Isra’el, and he ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirtzah. 24 He bought Mount Shomron from Shemer for 132 pounds of silver. On the mountain he built a city, which he named Shomron after Shemer, who had owned the mountain.
25 ‘Omri did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, outdoing all his predecessors in wickedness; 26 for he lived entirely in the manner of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, committing the sins with which he made Isra’el sin, thereby angering Adonai the God of Isra’el with their worthless idols. 27 Other activities of ‘Omri and the power he demonstrated are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 28 Then ‘Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Shomron, and Ach’av his son became king in his place.
29 It was in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Y’hudah that Ach’av the son of ‘Omri began his rule over Isra’el; Ach’av the son of ‘Omri ruled twenty-two years over Isra’el in Shomron. 30 Ach’av the son of ‘Omri did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, outdoing all his predecessors [in wickedness]. 31 But then, as if it had been a trifling thing for him to commit the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, he took as his wife Izevel the daughter of Etba‘al king of the Tzidonim, and went and served Ba‘al and worshipped him. 32 He erected an altar for Ba‘al in the house of Ba‘al, which he had built in Shomron. 33 Ach’av also set up the asherah; indeed, Ach’av did more to anger Adonai the God of Isra’el, than all the kings of Isra’el preceding him. 34 It was during his time that Hi’el of Beit-El rebuilt Yericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of his firstborn son Aviram and erected its gates at the cost of his youngest son S’guv. This was in keeping with the word of Adonaispoken through Y’hoshua the son of Nun.
17:1 Eliyahu from Tishbe, an inhabitant of Gil‘ad, said to Ach’av, “As Adonai the God of Isra’el lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew in the years ahead unless I say so.” 2 Then the word of Adonai came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn to the east, and hide in Vadi K’rit near the Yarden. 4 You are to drink from the stream, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and acted according to the word of Adonai — he went and lived in Vadi K’rit near the Yarden. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the stream. 7 After a while the stream dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then this word of Adonai came to him: 9 “Get up; go to Tzarfat, a village in Tzidon; and live there. I have ordered a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he set out and went to Tzarfat. On reaching the gate of the city, he saw a widow there gathering sticks. He called out to her, “Please bring a little water in a container for me to drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called after her, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 She answered, “As Adonai your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a pot and a little oil in the jug. Here I am, gathering a couple sticks of wood, so that I can go and cook it for myself and my son. After we have eaten that, we will die.” 13 Eliyahu said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go; and do what you said; but first, use a little of it to make me a small loaf of bread; and bring it out to me. After that, make food for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what Adonai the God of Isra’el, says: ‘The pot of meal will not get used up, nor will there fail to be oil in the jug, until the day Adonaisends rain down on the land.’” 15 She went and acted according to what Eliyahu had said; and she, he and her household had food to eat for a long time. 16 The pot of meal did not get used up, nor did there fail to be oil in the jug, in fulfillment of the word of Adonaispoken through Eliyahu.
17 A while later, the son of the woman whose house it was fell ill; his illness grew increasingly serious until his breathing stopped. 18 She said to Eliyahu, “What do you have against me, you man of God? Did you come to me just to remind me how sinful I am by killing my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” he said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him into the room upstairs where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to Adonai: “Adonai my God! Have you brought also this misery on the widow I’m staying with by killing her son?” 21 He stretched himself out on the child three times and cried out to Adonai: “Adonai my God, please! Let this child’s soul come back into him!” 22 Adonai heard Eliyahu’s cry, the child’s soul came back into him, and he revived. 23 Eliyahu took the child, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Eliyahu said, “See? Your son is alive.” 24 The woman replied to Eliyahu, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of Adonai that you speak is the truth.”
18:1 A long time passed. Then, in the third year, the word of Adonai came to Eliyahu: “Go, present yourself to Ach’av, and I will send rain down on the land.” 2 When Eliyahu went to present himself to Ach’av, the famine in Shomron had become severe. 3 Ach’av called ‘Ovadyah, who was in charge of the palace. Now ‘Ovadyah greatly revered Adonai; 4 for example, when Izevel was murdering Adonai’s prophets, ‘Ovadyah took a hundred prophets, hid them in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 5 Ach’av said to ‘Ovadyah, “Go throughout the land, and check all the springs and vadis; maybe we can find grass somewhere, so that we can keep the horses and mules alive and not lose all the animals.” 6 So they divided between them the territory to be visited; Ach’av went one way by himself, and ‘Ovadyah went another way by himself.
7 ‘Ovadyah was on the road when suddenly Eliyahu encountered him. ‘Ovadyah recognized him, fell on his face and said, “Is it really you, my lord Eliyahu?” 8 He answered, “Yes, it is I; go, tell your master, ‘Eliyahu is here.’” 9 ‘Ovadyah replied, “How have I sinned, that you would hand your servant over to Ach’av to kill me? 10 As Adonai your God lives, there can’t be a single nation or kingdom where my master hasn’t sent to search you out; and in each kingdom or nation where they said, ‘He isn’t here,’ he made them take an oath that they hadn’t found you. 11 Now you say, ‘Go tell your master, “Eliyahu is here.”’ 12 But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of Adonai will carry you off to I don’t know where; so that when I come and tell Ach’av, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have revered Adonai from my youth — 13 wasn’t my lord told what I did when Izevel killed Adonai’s prophets, how I hid a hundred of Adonai’s prophets by fifties in caves and supplied their food and water? 14 Now you say, ‘Go tell your master, “Look, Eliyahu is here.”’ Why, he’ll kill me!” 15 Eliyahu said, “As Adonai-Tzva’ot lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to him today.”
16 So ‘Ovadyah went, found Ach’av and told him; and Ach’av went to meet Eliyahu. 17 When Ach’av saw Eliyahu, Ach’av said to him, “Is it really you, you troubler of Isra’el?” 18 He answered, “I haven’t troubled Isra’el, you have, you and your father’s house, by abandoning Adonai’s mitzvot and following the ba‘alim. 19 Now order all Isra’el to assemble before me on Mount Karmel, along with the 450 prophets of Ba‘al and the 400 prophets of the asherah who eat at Izevel’s table.”
20 Ach’av sent word to all the people of Isra’el and assembled the prophets together on Mount Karmel. 21 Eliyahu stepped forward before all the people and said, “How long are you going to jump back and forth between two positions? If Adonai is God, follow him; but if it’s Ba‘al, follow him!” The people answered him not a word. 22 Then Eliyahu said to the people, “I, I alone, am the only prophet of Adonai who is left, while Ba‘al’s prophets number 450. 23 Let them give us two young bulls, and they can choose the bull they want for themselves. Then let them cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire under it. I will prepare the other bull, lay it on the wood and put no fire under it. 24 Then, you, call on the name of your god; and I will call on the name of Adonai; and the God who answers with fire, let him be God!” All the people answered, “Good idea! Agreed!”
25 Then Eliyahu said to the prophets of Ba‘al, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and prepare it first; because there are many of you. Then call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 They took the bull that was given to them, prepared it and called on the name of Ba‘al from morning till noon — “Ba‘al! Answer us!” But no voice was heard; and no one answered, as they jumped around on the altar they had made. 27 Around noon Eliyahu began ridiculing them: “Shout louder! After all, he’s a god, isn’t he? Maybe he’s daydreaming, or he’s on the potty, or he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s asleep, and you have to wake him up.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and knives, as their custom was, until blood gushed out all over them. 29 By now it was afternoon, and they went on ranting and raving until it was time for the evening offering. But no voice came, no one answered, no one paid any attention.
30 Then Eliyahu said to all the people, “Come here to me.” All the people came up to him, as he set about repairing the altar of Adonai that had been broken down. 31 Eliyahu took twelve stones, in keeping with the number of tribes of the sons of Ya‘akov, to whom the word of Adonai had come, saying, “Your name is to be Isra’el.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of Adonai. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough for half a bushel of grain. 33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull and laid it on the wood. 34 Then he said, “Fill four pots with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” They did it. “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. 35 By now the water was flowing around the altar, and it had filled the trench. 36 Then, when it came time for offering the evening offering, Eliyahu the prophet approached and said, “Adonai, God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Isra’el, let it be known today that you are God in Isra’el, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Hear me, Adonai, hear me, so that this people may know that you, Adonai, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back to you.”
38 Then the fire of Adonai fell. It consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “Adonai is God! Adonai is God!” 40 Eliyahu said to them, “Seize the prophets of Ba‘al! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Eliyahu brought them down to Vadi Kishon and killed them there.
41 Then Eliyahu said to Ach’av, “Get up, eat, and drink, because I hear the sound of heavy rain.” 42 Ach’av went up to eat and drink, while Eliyahu went up to the top of the Karmel. He bowed down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 “Now,” he said to his servant, “go up, and look out toward the sea.” He went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing there.” Seven times he said, “Go again.” 44 The seventh time, the servant said, “Now there’s a cloud coming up out of the sea, no bigger than a man’s hand.” Eliyahu said, “Go up, and say to Ach’av, ‘Prepare your chariot, and get down the mountain before the rain stops you!” 45 A little later, the sky grew black with clouds and wind; and heavy rain began falling; as Ach’av, riding in his chariot, made for Yizre‘el. 46 The hand of Adonai was on Eliyahu; he tucked up his clothing and ran ahead of Ach’av to the entrance of Yizre‘el.
19:1 Ach’av told Izevel everything Eliyahu had done and how he had put all the prophets to the sword. 2 Then Izevel sent a messenger to say to Eliyahu, “May the gods do terrible things to me and worse ones besides if by this time tomorrow I haven’t taken your life, just as you took theirs!” 3 On seeing that, he got up and fled for his life.
When he arrived in Be’er-Sheva, in Y’hudah, he left his servant there; 4 but he himself went a day farther into the desert, until he came to a broom tree. He sat down under it and prayed for his own death. “Enough!” he said. “Now, Adonai, take my life. I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and went to sleep. Suddenly, an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on the hot stones and a jug of water. He ate and drank, then lay down again. 7 The angel came again, a second time, touched him and said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, ate and drank, and, on the strength of that meal, traveled forty days and nights until he reached Horev the mountain of God.
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. Then the word of Adonai came to him; he said to him, “What are you doing here, Eliyahu?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for Adonaithe God of armies, because the people of Isra’el have abandoned your covenant, broken down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. Now I’m the only one left, and they’re coming after me to kill me too.” 11 He said, “Go outside, and stand on the mountain before Adonai”; and right then and there, Adonai went past. A mighty blast of wind tore the mountains apart and broke the rocks in pieces before Adonai, but Adonai was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, but Adonai was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, fire broke out; but Adonaiwas not in the fire. And after the fire came a quiet, subdued voice. 13 When Eliyahu heard it, he covered his face with his cloak, stepped out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Eliyahu?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for Adonai the God of armies; because the people of Isra’el have abandoned your covenant, broken down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. Now I’m the only one left, and they’re after me to kill me too.”
15 Adonai said to him, “Go back by way of the Dammesek Desert. When you get there, anoint Haza’el to be king over Aram. 16 Also anoint Yehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Isra’el, and anoint Elisha the son of Shafat of Avel-M’cholah to be prophet after you. 17 Yehu will kill whoever escapes the sword of Haza’el, and Elisha will kill whoever escapes the sword of Yehu. 18 Still, I will spare seven thousand in Isra’el, every knee that hasn’t bent down before Ba‘al and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
19 So he left and found Elisha the son of Shafat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he himself was behind the twelfth. Eliyahu went over to him and threw his cloak on him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Eliyahu and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother good-bye; then I will follow you.” He answered, “Go; but return, because of what I did to you.” 21 Elisha stopped following him. Then he took the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, cooked their meat over the wooden yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people to eat. Then he got up, went after Eliyahu and became his servant.
20:1 Now Ben-Hadad the king of Aram rallied his whole army; with him were thirty-two kings, besides horses and chariots. Then he marched on Shomron and laid siege to it. 2 He sent messengers inside the city to Ach’av king of Isra’el 3 to say to him, “Here is the message from Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, also your wives and your best children are mine.’” 4 The king of Isra’el answered, “Just as you say, my lord, king; I am yours, along with everything I own.”
5 The messengers returned and said, “Here is Ben-Hadad’s response: ‘I sent you a message to hand over your silver, gold, wives and children to me. 6 But I am going to send my servants to you tomorrow around this time; they will ransack your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever they see that they like they will seize and remove.’” 7 Then the king of Isra’el summoned all the leaders of the land and said, “Please take notice! Do you see how this man is trying to make trouble? First he demanded my wives, children, silver and gold; and I denied him nothing.” 8 All the leaders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen, and don’t agree.” 9 So he said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘I will do all that you asked of me the first time, but this I cannot do.” The messengers left and brought word back to him.
10 Ben-Hadad then sent this message to him: “May the gods do terrible things to me and worse ones as well if there’s enough dust in Shomron to give each of my followers a handful!” 11 The king of Isra’el answered, “Tell him: ‘He who is putting on his armor shouldn’t boast as if he were taking it off!’” 12 It happened that Ben-Hadad received this message when he was drinking, he and his kings, in the field-barracks. He ordered his servants: “Take up your battle positions!” So they got ready to attack the city.
13 At that moment a prophet approached Ach’av king of Isra’el and said, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Have you seen this vast army? I am going to give you victory over them today. Then you will know that I am Adonai!’” 14 Ach’av asked, “Who will defeat them?” He answered, “This is what Adonai says: ‘The young men who serve the district governors.’” He asked, “Who will start the fighting?” and he answered, “You will.” 15 He counted the district governors’ young men; there were 232. After that, he counted all the people, all the people of Isra’el; there were 7,000.
16 They set out at noon. Ben-Hadad was drinking himself senseless in the field-barracks, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who were his allies. 17 The district governors’ men went out first. Ben-Hadad sent for information, and they reported, “Men have come out from Shomron.” 18 He said, “Whether they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive.” 19 So the district governors’ men left the city, followed by the army; 20 and each one killed his man. Aram fled, and Isra’el pursued them. Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of the cavalry. 21 The king of Isra’el went out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a massive defeat on Aram.
22 Afterwards, the prophet approached the king of Isra’el and said to him, “Go, regroup your forces, and think carefully what to do, for next year at this time the king of Aram will renew his attack.” 23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their God is a God of the hills; that’s why they were stronger than we were. But if we fight them on level ground, we will certainly be stronger than they are. 24 Also do this: remove all the kings from their commands, and put professional officers in their place. 25 Then recruit an army as big as the army you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. We will attack them on level ground, and we will certainly be stronger than they.” He heeded what they said and acted accordingly.
26 At the same time the following year, Ben-Hadad mustered the army of Aram and went up to Afek to attack Isra’el. 27 The army of Isra’el, already mobilized and supplied, went to meet them; but the army of Isra’el, encamped opposite them, looked like two herds of goats; while Aram filled the land.
28 At this point, a man of God approached and said to the king of Isra’el, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Because Aram said thatAdonai is a God of the hills but not a God of the valleys, I will hand over to you this entire huge army. Then you will know that I am Adonai.’”
29 They remained in camp opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle began; and the people of Isra’el killed 100,000 soldiers of Aram in a single day. 30 The rest fled to Afek, into the city; and the wall fell on 27,000 of the men who were left. Ben-Hadad fled into the city and took refuge in an inside room. 31 His servants said to him, “Here now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Isra’el are merciful kings. If it’s all right with you, let’s put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Isra’el. Maybe he will spare your life.” 32 So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads, went to the king of Isra’el and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And he answered, “He’s still alive? He is my brother.” 33 The men took this as a promising indication and seized on it to say, “Yes, Ben-Hadad is your brother.” Then Ach’av said, “Go, and bring him here.” Ben-Hadad went out to him, and Ach’av had him climb up into his chariot. 34 Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will return the cities my father took from your father. Also you can set up markets for trade in Dammesek, as my father did in Shomron.” “If you put this covenant in writing,” said Ach’av, “I will set you free.” So he made a covenant with him and set him free.35 One of the members of the prophets’ guild said to another one, by the word of Adonai, “Hit me!” But the man refused to hit him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you didn’t listen to the voice of Adonai, the moment you leave me, a lion will kill you.” No sooner had he left him than a lion found him and killed him. 37 The prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me!” The man struck him a blow and wounded him. 38 The prophet left and waited for the king by the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he called out to the king and said, “Your servant was on his way into the thick of the fighting when someone turned, brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is missing, you will pay for his life with yours; or else you will pay sixty-six pounds of silver.’ 40 But while your servant was busy with one thing and another, he disappeared.” The king of Isra’el said to him, “So that is your sentence; you have pronounced it on yourself.” 41 Quickly he removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Isra’el recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then he said to the king, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Because you have let escape the man I had given over to be destroyed, you will pay with your life for his life and with your people for his people.’” 43 The king of Isra’el returned home to Shomron resentful and depressed. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Join us at the Paseo Campus Wednesdays from 11a-11:30a for light to moderate exercise done from the comfort of a chair! A trained fitness expert will guide you through exercises that help strengthen your body. Then, stay for Bible Study from 11:30a -12:30p and get strengthened in the spirit! Feel free to bring a dish and join us for the potluck lunch following our study time.
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Acknowledgments were received from the family of George Vaughn, husband of Betty Vaughn and brother-in-law of Iriciel (Cookie) Gadson.
GriefShare. The GriefShare Support Group Session will begin its next session on August 23, 2018. For additional information or to express a desire to participate in the upcoming session, you may contact Rosalyn Wilson at (816) 753-5998. We look forward to your participation.
Prayer Time. Join us on the Prayer Line every Tuesday and Thursday from 12p-1p Dial: (530)881-1212, code 293680996.
Compassionate Care. When you experience illness, the death of a loved one or if you would like prayer, we want to know so that we may provide compassion, encouragement, and comfort during life's challenges. Please call the church office at 816-444-5588 or, after hours, the Care on Call phone at (816)286-6048.
WORSHIP MINISTRIES
Ushers, Van Driver, Parking Lot Greeters, Welcome Station, and Children and Youth Ministries.
Contact the church office (816)444-5588.
Acolytes Needed. Children ages 4-10 are invited to "sing and serve" as light celebrants during our 9a worship celebration. Contact Angela Baker at abswac@gmail.com for more information.
NEXT GENERATION MINISTRIES
COMMUNITY NEWS
Upon completion of all 5 classes, participates will receive $100.00!
Saint James United Methodist Church
(816)444-5588
Saint James United Methodist Churc
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