Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  Matthew 16:24-26 Watching events unfo...  Read More

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put Him!"So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running b...  Read More

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore...  Read More

Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there.  . . . Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam, king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam."After seeking advi...  Read More

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.  . . . And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said t...  Read More

Also, Jeroboam, son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials. . . .  Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king:Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shi...  Read More

Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army . . . had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there . . . until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served hi...  Read More

On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although He had forbidden...  Read More

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's  daughter -- Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after other gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three...  Read More

Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing nearly four pounds. The king placed these shields in...  Read More

When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan -- with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones . . . Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to  explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom...  Read More

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD . . . the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. The LORD said to him:"I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there."As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with...  Read More