Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (162 page)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why do you refuse to help me or even to listen to my groans?
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Day and night I keep on weeping, crying for your help, but there is no reply—
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for
you are holy.
The praises of our fathers surrounded your throne; they trusted you and you delivered them.
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You heard their cries for help and saved them; they were never disappointed when they sought your aid.
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But I am a worm, not a man, scorned and despised by my own people and by all mankind.
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Everyone who sees me mocks and sneers and shrugs.
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“Is this the one who rolled his burden on the Lord?” they laugh. “Is this the one who claims the Lord delights in him? We’ll believe it when we see God rescue him!”
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Lord, how you have helped me before!
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You took me safely from my mother’s womb and brought me through the years of infancy. I have depended upon you since birth; you have always been my God. Don’t leave me now, for trouble is near and no one else can possibly help.
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I am surrounded by fearsome enemies, strong as the giant bulls from Bashan.
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They come at me with open jaws, like roaring lions attacking their prey.
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My strength has drained away like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart melts like wax;
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my strength has dried up like sun-baked clay; my tongue sticks to my mouth, for you have laid me in the dust of death.
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The enemy, this gang of evil men, circles me like a pack of dogs; they have pierced my hands and feet.
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I can count every bone in my body. See these men of evil gloat and stare;
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they divide my clothes among themselves by a toss of the dice.
It is a wonderful heritage to have an honest father.
July 29Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, from Beersheba.
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Joash tried hard to please the Lord all during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
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Jehoiada arranged two marriages for him, and he had sons and daughters.
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Later on Joash decided to repair and recondition the Temple.
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He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions:
“Go to all the cities of Judah and collect offerings for the building fund so that we can maintain the Temple in good repair. Get at it right away. Don’t delay.” But the Levites took their time.
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So the king called for Jehoiada the High Priest and asked him, “Why haven’t you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple taxes from the cities of Judah and from Jerusalem? The tax law enacted by Moses the servant of the Lord must be enforced so that the Temple can be repaired.”
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(The followers of wicked Athaliah had ravaged the Temple, and everything dedicated to the worship of God had been removed to the temple of Baalim.) So now the king instructed that a chest be made and set outside the Temple gate.
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Then a proclamation was sent to all the cities of Judah and throughout Jerusalem telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had assessed upon Israel.
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And all the leaders and the people were glad, and brought the money and placed it in the chest until it was full.
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Then the Levites carried the chest to the king’s accounting office, where the recording secretary and the representative of the High Priest counted the money and took the chest back to the Temple again. This went on day after day, and money continued to pour in.
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The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the building superintendents, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the Temple, and to foundrymen, who made articles of iron and brass.
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So the work went forward, and finally the Temple was in much better condition than before.
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When all was finished, the remaining money was brought to the king and Jehoiada, and it was agreed to use it for making the gold and silver spoons and bowls used for incense, and for making the instruments used in the sacrifices and offerings.
Burnt offerings were sacrificed continually during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
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He lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130.
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He was buried in the City of David among the kings because he had done so much good for Israel, for God, and for the Temple.
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But after his death, the leaders of Judah came to King Joash and induced him to abandon the Temple of the God of their ancestors and to worship shameful idols instead! So the wrath of God came down upon Judah and Jerusalem again.
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God sent prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but the people wouldn’t listen.
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Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. He called a meeting of all the people. Standing before them upon a platform, he said to them, “God wants to know why you are disobeying his commandments. For when you do, everything you try fails. You have forsaken the Lord, and now he has forsaken you.”
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Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and finally King Joash himself ordered him executed in the court of the Temple.
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That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his love and loyalty—by killing his son. Zechariah’s last words as he died were, “Lord, see what they are doing and pay them back.”
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A few months later the Syrian army arrived and conquered Judah and Jerusalem, killing all the leaders of the nation and sending back great quantities of booty to the king of Damascus.
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It was a great triumph for the tiny Syrian army, but the Lord let the great army of Judah be conquered by them because they had forsaken the Lord God of their ancestors. In that way God executed judgment upon Joash.
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When the Syrians left—leaving Joash severely wounded—his own officials decided to kill him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest. They assassinated him as he lay in bed, and buried him in the City of David, but not in the cemetery of the kings.
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The conspirators were Zabad, whose mother was Shimeath, a woman from Ammon; and Jehozabad, whose mother was Shimrith, a woman from Moab.
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If you want to read about the sons of Joash and the curses laid upon Joash, and about the restoration of the Temple, see
The Annals of the Kings.
When Joash died, his son Amaziah became the new king.
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Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan, a native of Jerusalem.
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He did what was right, but sometimes resented it!
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When he was well established as the new king, he executed the men who had assassinated his father.
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However, he didn’t kill their children but followed the command of the Lord written in the law of Moses, that the fathers shall not die for the children’s sins, nor the children for the father’s sins. No, everyone must pay for his own sins.
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Another thing Amaziah did was to organize the army, assigning leaders to each clan from Judah and Benjamin. Then he took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 men twenty years old and older, all trained and highly skilled in the use of spear and sword. He also paid $200,000 to hire 100,000 experienced mercenaries from Israel.
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But a prophet arrived with this message from the Lord: “Sir, do not hire troops from Israel, for the Lord is not with them.
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If you let them go with your troops to battle, you will be defeated no matter how well you fight; for God has power to help or to frustrate.”
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“But the money!” Amaziah whined. “What shall I do about that?”
And the prophet replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!”
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So Amaziah sent them home again to Ephraim, which made them very angry and insulted.
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Then Amaziah took courage and led his army to Salt Valley and there killed 10,000 men from Seir.
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Another 10,000 were taken alive to the top of a cliff and thrown over so that they were crushed upon the rocks below.
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Meanwhile, the army of Israel that had been sent home raided several of the cities of Judah in the vicinity of Beth-horon toward Samaria, killing 3,000 people and carrying off great quantities of booty.
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When King Amaziah returned from this slaughter of the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir, set them up as gods, bowed before them, and burned incense to them!
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This made the Lord very angry, and he sent a prophet to demand, “Why have you worshiped gods who couldn’t even save their own people from you?”
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“Since when have I asked your advice?” the king retorted. “Be quiet now before I have you killed.”
The prophet left with this parting warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have worshiped these idols and have not accepted my counsel.”
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King Amaziah of Judah now took the advice of his counselors and declared war on King Joash of Israel (son of Jehoahaz, grandson of Jehu).
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King Joash replied with this parable: “Out in the Lebanon mountains a thistle demanded of a cedar tree, ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ Just then a wild animal came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it!
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You are very proud about your conquest of Edom, but my advice is to stay home and don’t meddle with me, lest you and all Judah get badly hurt.”
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But Amaziah wouldn’t listen for God was arranging to destroy him for worshiping the gods of Edom.
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The armies met at Beth-shemesh in Judah,
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and Judah was defeated and its army fled home.
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King Joash of Israel captured the defeated King Amaziah of Judah and took him as a prisoner to Jerusalem. Then King Joash ordered 200 yards of the walls of Jerusalem dismantled, from the gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate.
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He carried off all the treasures and gold bowls from the Temple, as well as the treasures from the palace; and he took hostages, including Obed-edom, and returned to Samaria.
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However, King Amaziah of Judah lived on for fifteen years after the death of King Joash of Israel.
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The complete biography of King Amaziah is written in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
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This account includes a report of Amaziah’s turning away from God, how his people conspired against him in Jerusalem, and how he fled to Lachish—but they went after him and killed him there.
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And they brought him back on horses to Jerusalem and buried him in the royal cemetery.
And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy—the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
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Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.
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As God’s messenger I give each of you God’s warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.
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Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others.
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God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can—as often as your faith is strong enough to receive a message from God.
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If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.
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If you are a preacher, see to it that your sermons are strong and helpful. If God has given you money, be generous in helping others with it. If God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take the responsibility seriously. Those who offer comfort to the sorrowing should do so with Christian cheer.
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Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good.
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Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other.
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Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
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Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always.
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When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
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If someone mistreats you because you are a Christian, don’t curse him; pray that God will bless him.
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When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.
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Work happily together. Don’t try to act big. Don’t try to get into the good graces of important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folks. And don’t think you know it all!
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Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest clear through.
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Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible.
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Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands.
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Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you.
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Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.
O Lord, don’t stay away. O God my Strength, hurry to my aid.
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Rescue me from death; spare my precious life from all these evil men.
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Save me from these lions’ jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. Yes, God will answer me and rescue me.
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I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done.
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“Praise the Lord, each one of you who fears him,” I will say. “Each of you
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must fear and reverence his name. Let all Israel sing his praises,
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for he has not despised my cries of deep despair; he has not turned and walked away. When I cried to him, he heard and came.”
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Yes, I will stand and praise you
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before all the people. I will publicly fulfill my vows in the presence of all who reverence your name.
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The poor
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shall eat and be satisfied; all who seek the Lord shall find him and shall praise his name. Their hearts shall rejoice with everlasting joy.
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The whole earth shall see it and return to the Lord; the people of every nation shall worship him.
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For the Lord is King and rules the nations.
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Both proud and humble together, all who are mortal—born to die—shall worship him.
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Our children too shall serve him, for they shall hear from us about the wonders of the Lord;
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generations yet unborn shall hear of all the miracles he did for us.