2 Chronicles 13; 2 Chronicles 14; John 12:1-26

2 Chronicles 13

1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah began to rule Judah.

2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Micaiah, daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 Abijah prepared for battle with an army of 400,000 of the best soldiers, while Jeroboam arranged to oppose him with 800,000 of the best professional soldiers.

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the mountains of Ephraim. He called out, "Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me!

5 Don't you know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom of Israel to David and his descendants forever in a permanent promise?

6 But Jeroboam (Nebat's son) rebelled against his master. He had been the servant of David's son Solomon.

7 Worthless, good-for-nothing men gathered around him. They opposed Rehoboam, son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was too young and inexperienced to challenge them.

8 Do you now intend to challenge the LORD's kingdom, which has been placed in the hands of David's descendants? You are a large crowd, and you have the gold calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.

9 You forced out the LORD's priests who were Aaron's descendants, and you forced out the Levites so that you could appoint your own priests, as the people in foreign countries do. Anyone who has a young bull and seven rams can be ordained as a priest of nonexistent gods.

10 "However, the LORD is our God. We haven't abandoned him. The priests who serve the LORD are Aaron's descendants, and the Levites assist them.

11 They sacrifice burnt offerings to the LORD every morning and every evening. They offer sweet-smelling incense and rows of bread on the clean table. The lamps on the gold lamp stand burn every evening. We're following the instructions the LORD our God gave us, but you have abandoned him.

12 God is with us as our leader. His priests will sound their trumpets to call [the army] to fight you. Men of Israel, don't wage war against the LORD God of your ancestors. You won't succeed."

13 But Jeroboam had set an ambush to attack them from behind. So Jeroboam's army was in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

14 When Judah's soldiers looked around, the battle was in front of them and behind them. They cried out to the LORD, the priests blew the trumpets,

15 and the men of Judah shouted. When they shouted, God attacked Jeroboam and all Israel in front of Abijah and Judah.

16 The Israelites fled from Judah's [army], and God handed them over to Judah.

17 So Abijah and his men defeated them decisively, and 500,000 of the best men of Israel were killed.

18 So the Israelites were humbled at that time, and the men of Judah won because they trusted the LORD God of their ancestors.

19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some of his cities: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

20 Jeroboam never regained power during Abijah's time. The LORD caused Jeroboam to become sick, and Jeroboam died.

21 But Abijah became strong. He married 14 wives and fathered 22 sons and 16 daughters.

22 Everything else about Abijah--how he lived and what he said--is written in the history by the prophet Iddo.

2 Chronicles 14

1 Abijah lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king. In Asa's time the land had peace for ten years.

2 Asa did what the LORD his God considered good and right.

3 He got rid of the altars of foreign gods, broke down the sacred stones, and cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

4 He told the people of Judah to dedicate their lives to serving the LORD God of their ancestors and follow his teachings and commands.

5 He got rid of the illegal places of worship and the altars for incense in all the cities of Judah. The kingdom was at peace during his reign.

6 He built fortified cities in Judah because the land had peace. There was no war during those years because the LORD gave him a time of peace.

7 So Asa told Judah, "Let's build these cities and make walls around them with towers and doors that can be barred. The country is still ours because we have dedicated our lives to serving the LORD our God. We have dedicated our lives to him, and he has surrounded us with peace." So they built the cities, and everything went well.

8 Asa had an army of 300,000 Judeans who were armed with large shields and spears and 280,000 Benjaminites who were armed with small shields and bows. All of these men were good fighting men.

9 Then Zerah from Sudan came with 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots to attack Asa. Zerah got as far as Mareshah.

10 Asa went to confront him, and the two armies set up their battle lines in the Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.

11 Asa called on the LORD his God. He said, "LORD, there is no one except you who can help those who are not strong so that they can fight against a large [army]. Help us, LORD our God, because we are depending on you. In your name we go against this large crowd. You are the LORD our God. Don't let anyone successfully oppose you."

12 The LORD attacked the Sudanese army in front of Asa and Judah. The Sudanese army fled.

13 Asa and his troops pursued them as far as Gerar. Many of the Sudanese died in battle. As a result, the Sudanese army couldn't fight again. It was crushed in front of the LORD and his army. The LORD's army captured a lot of goods.

14 It attacked all the cities around Gerar because the cities were afraid of the LORD. The army looted all the cities because there were many things to take.

15 It also attacked those who were letting their cattle graze and captured many sheep and camels. Then it returned to Jerusalem.

John 12:1-26

1 Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life, lived there.

2 Dinner was prepared for Jesus in Bethany. Martha served the dinner, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus.

3 Mary took a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and poured it on Jesus' feet. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The fragrance of the perfume filled the house.

4 One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, asked,

5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold for a high price and the money given to the poor?"

6 (Judas didn't say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.)

7 Jesus said to Judas, "Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare me for the day I will be placed in a tomb.

8 You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you."

9 A large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there not only to see Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life.

10 The chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too.

11 Lazarus was the reason why many people were leaving the Jews and believing in Jesus.

12 On the next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

13 So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!"

14 Jesus obtained a donkey and sat on it, as Scripture says:

15 "Don't be afraid, people of Zion! Your king is coming. He is riding on a donkey's colt."

16 At first Jesus' disciples didn't know what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling the prophecies.

17 The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen.

18 Because the crowd heard that Jesus had performed this miracle, they came to meet him.

19 The Pharisees said to each other, "This is getting us nowhere. Look! The whole world is following him!"

20 Some Greeks were among those who came to worship during the Passover festival.

21 They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, "Sir, we would like to meet Jesus."

22 Philip told Andrew, and they told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied to them, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24 I can guarantee this truth: A single grain of wheat doesn't produce anything unless it is planted in the ground and dies. If it dies, it will produce a lot of grain.

25 Those who love their lives will destroy them, and those who hate their lives in this world will guard them for everlasting life.

26 Those who serve me must follow me. My servants will be with me wherever I will be. If people serve me, the Father will honor them.