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

1 Abijah became king over Judah in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam.

2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah; she was Uriel's daughter from Gibeah. When war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam,

3 Abijah went to fight with an army of four hundred thousand select troops against Jeroboam's select forces numbering eight hundred thousand, who were arrayed in battle formation.

4 Abijah stood on the heights of Mount Zemaraim in Ephraim's highlands and said: “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel!

5 Surely you know that the LORD, Israel's God, made an unbreakable covenant with David and his descendants that they would rule Israel forever.

6 It was Jeroboam, Nebat's son, the servant of Solomon, David's son, who rebelled against his master.

7 When some useless, worthless people joined his cause, they overpowered Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who was too young and timid to resist them.

8 And now do you intend to challenge the LORD's royal rule, entrusted to David's descendants? You may have a numerical advantage, as well as the gold calves Jeroboam made for you as gods.

9 But you've banished the LORD's priests, Aaron's sons, along with the Levites, so that you could appoint your own priests as other countries do. Now anyone who shows up with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these phony gods!

10 "But us? The LORD is our God, and we haven't abandoned him. Aaron's descendants serve as the LORD's priests, assisted in the work by the Levites.

11 Every morning and every evening they offer entirely burned offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD, and set out bread in stacks upon a clean table. At night they light the lamps on the gold lampstand. Yes, while you are abandoning the LORD our God, we are doing what he requires.

12 Listen! God is on our side, at our head, along with his priests, who are ready to sound the battle trumpets against you. So, Israelites, don't fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you won't succeed!"

13 Meanwhile, Jeroboam had sent troops around behind them for an ambush so that the main force was in front of Judah while the ambush was behind.

14 When Judah looked around and suddenly realized that they were surrounded, they cried out to the LORD while the priests sounded the trumpets

15 and raised the battle cry. When they raised the battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16 So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God gave Judah the victory.

17 Abijah and his people struck them severely: five hundred thousand select warriors were killed.

18 Israel was subdued on that occasion, and Judah succeeded because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took these cities away from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.

20 Jeroboam failed to regain power during the time of Abijah. The LORD finally struck him down, and he died.

21 Abijah, however, grew strong. He married fourteen wives; he had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

22 The rest of Abijah's deeds, what he did and what he said, are written in the account of the prophet Iddo.

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

2 Asa did what was right and good in the LORD his God's eyes.

3 He removed the foreign altars and shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles,

4 and urged Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, by doing what the Instruction and the commandments required.

5 He also removed the shrines and incense altars from all the cities of Judah so that the kingdom was at peace under him.

6 When the land was at peace, he built fortified cities in Judah; there was no war in those years because the LORD had given him rest.

7 "Let's build up these cities," Asa told Judah. "We'll surround them with walls, towers, gates, and crossbars while the land is still ours, because we sought the LORD our God and he sought us and surrounded us with rest." As a result, the people successfully completed their building projects.

8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand Judeans armed with body-sized shields and spears and another two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin armed with small shields and bows. All were brave warriors.

9 Zerah the Cushite marched against him with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. When he got as far as Mareshah,

10 Asa marched against him, setting up for battle in a valley north of Mareshah.

11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, "LORD, only you can help the weak against the powerful. Help us, LORD our God, because we rely on you and we have marched against this multitude in your name. You are the LORD our God. Don't let a mere human stand against you!"

12 So the LORD struck the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.

13 Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until there were no survivors. They were completely crushed by the LORD and his army, who carried off a huge amount of loot,

14 and attacked all the cities surrounding Gerar who were terrified of the LORD. They plundered all these cities as well because there was a great amount of loot in them.

15 They also attacked the herdsmen's camps, taking many sheep and camels before returning to Jerusalem.

1 Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

2 Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table.

3 Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus' feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.

4 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained,

5 "This perfume was worth a year's wages! Why wasn't it sold and the money given to the poor?" (

6 He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would take what was in it.)

7 Then Jesus said, "Leave her alone. This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it.

8 You will always have the poor among you, but you won't always have me."

9 Many Jews learned that he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

10 The chief priests decided that they would kill Lazarus too.

11 It was because of Lazarus that many of the Jews had deserted them and come to believe in Jesus.

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him. They shouted, "Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the king of Israel!"

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

15 Don't be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look! Your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.

16 His disciples didn't understand these things at first. After he was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

17 The crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were testifying about him.

18 That's why the crowd came to meet him, because they had heard about this miraculous sign that he had done.

19 Therefore, the Pharisees said to each other, "See! You've accomplished nothing! Look! The whole world is following him!"

20 Some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival.

21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and made a request: "Sir, we want to see Jesus."

22 Philip told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified.

24 I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

25 Those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives in this world will keep them forever.

26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Wherever I am, there my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves me.