The Daily Audio Bible

²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him to meet with the people and made him king of all Israel. Only the family of Judah followed the family of David.

²¹ When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered all the family of Judah and the family of Benjamin. He gathered together 180,000 chosen men of war to fight against the family of Israel and return the nation to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the Word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam king of Judah, and to all the family of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people. Tell them, ²⁴ ’This is what the Lord says. “You must not go up and fight against your brothers the sons of Israel. Every man return to his house. For I have let this thing happen.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned, as the Lord told them.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. ²⁶ Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the nation will return to the family of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to give gifts in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then their hearts will turn to their lord Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and follow Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king asked the leaders what he should do. And he made two calves of gold. Then he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ He put one in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became a sin. For the people went to worship in front of them, even as far as Dan. ³¹ Jeroboam made houses on high places. He made religious leaders from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

Worship of Calves at Bethel

³² He made a special supper on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the special supper which is in Judah. And he gave gifts on the altar. He did the same in Bethel, giving gifts to the calves he had made. And he placed in Bethel the religious leaders of the high places he had made. ³³ Then he went up to the altar he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day he chose in his own heart. He made a special supper for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn special perfume.

The Man of God from Judah

13 A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn special perfume. ² The man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says. ‘See, a son will be born to the family of David. His name will be Josiah. On you he will burn the religious leaders of the high places who burn special perfume on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ He gave a special thing to be seen the same day. He said, “This is what the Lord says will be seen. ‘See, the altar will be broken in two. And the ashes on it will be poured out.’” ⁴ When King Jeroboam heard the words the man of God cried against the altar in Bethel, he put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Take hold of him!” But his hand which he put out against him dried up. So he could not pull it back to himself. ⁵ The altar was broken in two and the ashes were poured out. It was the special thing to see that happened just as the man of God said it would by the word of the Lord. ⁶ The king said to the man of God, “I beg you, ask for the favor of the Lord your God. Pray for me, that my hand may be made well again.” So the man of God asked for the Lord’s favor. And the king’s hand was made well again. It became as it was before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and have something to eat to make yourself strong again. And I will pay you.” ⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “I would not go with you if you were to give me half your house. I would not eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For the word of the Lord said to me, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he went another way. He did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

The Death of the Man of God

¹¹ Now an old man who spoke for God was living in Bethel. His sons came and told him all the things which the man of God had done that day in Bethel. And they told their father the words which the man had spoken to the king. ¹² Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Get the donkey ready for me.” So they got the donkey ready for him, and he went away on it. ¹⁴ He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” ¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” ¹⁶ And he said, “I cannot return with you or go with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For I was told by the word of the Lord, ‘Do not eat bread or drink water there. Do not return by the way you came.’” ¹⁸ And he said to him, “I am a man who speaks for God like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he returned with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

²⁰ As they were sitting down at the table, the word of the Lord came to the man who spoke for God who had brought him back. ²¹ And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have not obeyed the word of the Lord. You have not done what the Lord your God told you to do. ²² You have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water.” So now your body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” ²³ And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he got the donkey ready for the man of God whom he had brought back. ²⁴ When he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it. The lion stood beside the body also. ²⁵ Then men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body. So they came and told about it in the city where the old man who spoke for God lived.

²⁶ When the man who spoke for God who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God. He did not obey the word of the Lord. So the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him. It was done as had been spoken to him by the word of the Lord.” ²⁷ Then he said to his sons, “Get the donkey ready for me.” And they got it ready. ²⁸ Then he went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. ²⁹ So the man who spoke for God picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey, and returned with it to the city. He had sorrow for him and buried him. ³⁰ He laid his body in his own grave, and they had sorrow for him, saying, “O, my brother!” ³¹ After he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. ³² For what he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria will happen for sure.”

Jeroboam’s Sinful Way

³³ After this, Jeroboam did not return from his sinful way. Again he made religious leaders of the high places from among all the people. He set apart any of them who were willing to be religious leaders of the high places. ³⁴ This became the sin of the family of Jeroboam, that caused it to be cut off and destroyed from the earth.

Saul Comes to Jerusalem

²⁶ When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were afraid of him. They did not believe he was a true follower of Jesus. ²⁷ Then Barnabas took him to the missionaries. He told them that Saul had seen the Lord on the road. He told them also how the Lord had spoken to Saul and how he had preached without fear in Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ After that he was with them going in and out of Jerusalem. ²⁹ He preached without fear in the name of the Lord. He talked and argued with the Jews who spoke the Greek language. They kept trying to kill him. ³⁰ When the followers heard this, they took him down to the city of Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.

³¹ Then the church through all the countries of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace for awhile. The church was made strong and it was given comfort by the Holy Spirit. It honored the Lord. More people were added to the church.

Aeneas Is Healed

³² When Peter was visiting all parts of the country, he came to the faithful followers who were living in the city of Lydda. ³³ A man there named Aeneas could not move his body. He had been in bed eight years. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your bed.” He got up at once. ³⁵ All the people who lived in Lydda and in the city of Sharon saw Aeneas and they turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Is Raised from the Dead

³⁶ A woman who was a follower lived in the city of Joppa. Her name was Tabitha, or Dorcas. She did many good things and many acts of kindness. ³⁷ One day she became sick and died. After they had washed her body, they laid her in a room on the second floor. ³⁸ The city of Lydda was near Joppa. The followers heard that Peter was at Lydda and sent two men to ask him to come at once. ³⁹ Peter went back with them. When he came, they took him to the room. All the women whose husbands had died were standing around crying. They were showing the clothes Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰ Peter made them all leave the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes and looked at Peter and sat up. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then he called in the faithful followers and the women whose husbands had died. He gave her to them, a living person.

⁴² News of this went through all Joppa. Many people put their trust in the Lord. ⁴³ After this, Peter stayed in Joppa many days in the house of Simon who worked with leather.

A Prayer for the House of God

132 O Lord, remember David and all of his suffering. ² Remember how he swore to the Lord, and how he made a promise to the Powerful One of Jacob: ³ “For sure I will not go into my house or lie on my bed, ⁴ or let sleep come and close my eyes, ⁵ until I find a place for the Lord, a house of worship for the Powerful One of Jacob.”

⁶ See, we heard about it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar. ⁷ Let us go into the House of God. Let us worship at His feet. ⁸ Rise up, O Lord. Go to the place where You can rest, You and the special box of the Way of Worship which is Your strength. ⁹ Let Your religious leaders be dressed with what is right and good. And let those who belong to You sing for joy.

¹⁰ Because of David Your servant, do not turn away from Your chosen one. ¹¹ The Lord has made a sure promise to David that He will never break: “I will set upon your throne your own children. ¹² If your sons will keep My Law and My Word which I will teach them, then their sons will sit upon your throne forever.”

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has wanted it for a place to live: ¹⁴ “This is the place where I can rest forever. Here I will live, for I have wanted it. ¹⁵ I will give her many good things. I will give her poor people much bread. ¹⁶ I will dress her religious leaders with saving power. And those in her that belong to Me will sing for joy. ¹⁷ There I will make the horn of David grow and will make a lamp ready for My chosen one. ¹⁸ I will dress those who hate him with shame. But the crown on him will shine.”

⁶ Grandchildren are the pride and joy of old men and a son is proud of his father.