Day 185, July 4: Bible reading & prayer

2 Kings 9-11 (chronological); Job 29-30, Acts 12 (OT/NT)

We are reading in 2 Kings in the era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel, and we have been reading a lot about the prophet Elisha, who the LORD had the prophet Elijah anoint as his replacement before he went to heaven in a whirlwind. Because he saw Elijah leave, this was confirmation that he received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, as he had requested. We read numerous miraculous stories regarding Elisha in the first four chapters of 2 Kings, and then more again yesterday.

The first story yesterday was about “Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram,” an enemy of Israel. Naaman was a leper, and his wife’s servant girl had been taken from Israel. She told her mistress about Elisha, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” The king of Aram sent Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter asking him to cure him of his leprosy. The king of Israel thought the king of Aram was just starting a fight, but Elisha heard and sent word to the king, “let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” He told Naaman, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” Naaman was at first furious over Elisha’s method, but his servants challenged him, “‘had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.” Naaman declared to Elisha, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel….your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.” Naaman tried to offer Elisha a gift, but he refused, but his servant Gehazi ran after him and lied, requesting gifts for the sons of the prophets but keeping them for himself. Elisha pronounced concerning Gehazi, “the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.”

Elisha moved locations with the sons of the prophets and an axe head that they were using for building fell into the Jordan, but Elisha was able to make it float so they could recover it.

The king of Aram was still warring against Israel, but Elisha would send “word to the king of Israel saying, ‘Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.’” His servants told an enraged king of Aram, “Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So, the king of Aram “sent horses and chariots and a great army [to where Elisha was staying], and they came by night and surrounded the city.” Elisha told his attendant,

“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.

When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” He answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

After this, “Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria,” and there was a great famine. The king of Israel blamed Elisha: “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.” When the king went to Elisha, Elisha told him, “‘Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’ The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, ‘Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?’ Then he said, ‘Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.’” That night, four leprous men decided to go to the camp of the Arameans and found that, “the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army….Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.” The men told the king of Israel, so “the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had said.”

Then,

Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field. Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” As he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Elisha went to Damascus. Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, was sick and he sent Hazael to inquire of Elisha. Elisha “fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. Hazael said, ‘Why does my lord weep?’ Then he answered, ‘Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up,’” saying to him, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” Hazael went back and killed Ben-hadad, and became king.

All of these accounts of Elisha that we read yesterday referring to the “king of Israel” were about Joram the son of Ahab, who became king while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah. Jehoshaphat’s son Joram married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, and reigned after his father died. Joram’s son Ahaziah succeeded him. Joram and Ahaziah went to war against Hazael, king of Aram, “and the Arameans wounded Joram. So King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.”

We will finally read the details of the fall of the house of Ahab today in 2 Kings.

The era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel is recounted in 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (I note the kings of Judah in bold and the kings of Israel in bold italics).

I include housekeeping details daily for those who have newly joined this study. I usually try to schedule the timing of each day’s post so there is consistency, but sometimes I fail due to my own schedule. If you are looking for the day’s reading earlier than the post is available, you can always search for the same day’s reading from last year.

An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all edited summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here. My challenge for us to read in wonder, recognizing the Bible is true and has consequence for our lives is here.

I use blueletterBible.org (NASB95) as my Bible study tool.

I do find typos in my writing after the fact. I schedule these posts early, but always re-read and edit them on the morning they’re posted. So, if you notice a lot of typos in an email version, just check back on Substack for an edited version (you can tell the timing of my editing by when I post the day’s reading and prayer on X: @KDMilhoanMD. If you found this study this way, praise God, and…welcome!)

July 4 chronological reading: 2 Kings 9-11

2 Kings 9

v1-3 “Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, ‘Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. When you arrive there, search out Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and bid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’” Then open the door and flee and do not wait.’

v4-10 “So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, ‘I have a word for you, O captain.’ And Jehu said, ‘For which one of us?’ And he said, ‘For you, O captain.’ He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.”’ Then he opened the door and fled.

v11-13 “Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, ‘Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?’ And he said to them, ‘You know very well the man and his talk.’ They said, ‘It is a lie, tell us now.’ And he said, ‘Thus and thus he said to me, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’”’ Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, ‘Jehu is king!’

v14-16 “So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram with all Israel was defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, ‘If this is your mind, then let no one escape or leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.’ Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

v17-20 “Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, ‘I see a company.’ And Joram said, ‘Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, “Is it peace?”’ So a horseman went to meet him and said, ‘Thus says the king, “Is it peace?”’ And Jehu said, ‘What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.’ And the watchman reported, ‘The messenger came to them, but he did not return.’ Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, ‘Thus says the king, “Is it peace?”’ And Jehu answered, ‘What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.’ The watchman reported, ‘He came even to them, and he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.’

v21-26 “Then Joram said, ‘Get ready.’ And they made his chariot ready. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he said, ‘Is it peace, Jehu?’ And he answered, ‘What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?’ So Joram reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, ‘There is treachery, O Ahaziah!’ And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between his arms; and the arrow went through his heart and he sank in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, ‘Take him up and cast him into the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the LORD laid this oracle against him: “Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,” says the LORD, “and I will repay you in this property,” says the LORD. Now then, take and cast him into the property, according to the word of the LORD.’

v27-28 “When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, ‘Shoot him too, in the chariot.’ So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

v29 “Now in the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

v30-32 “When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. As Jehu entered the gate, she said, ‘Is it well, Zimri, your master’s murderer?’ [Zimri was the chariot commander of Elah, son of Baasha, who killed him and the whole house of Baasha according to the word of the Lord through Jehu (Day 177).] Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, ‘Who is on my side? Who?’ And two or three officials looked down at him.

v33-37 “He said, ‘Throw her down.’ So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot. When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, ‘See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.’ They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, ‘This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”’”

2 Kings 10

v1-11 “Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying, ‘Now, when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, select the best and fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.’ But they feared greatly and said, ‘Behold, the two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?’ And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, ‘We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight.’ Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, ‘If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.’ Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel. When the messenger came and told him, saying, ‘They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,’ he said, ‘Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.’ Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, ‘You are innocent; behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah.’ So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

v12-14 “Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds, Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, ‘Who are you?’ And they answered, ‘We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.’ He said, ‘Take them alive.’ So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

v15-17 “Now when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, ‘Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?’ And Jehonadab answered, ‘It is.’ Jehu said, ‘If it is, give me your hand.’ And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. He said, ‘Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.’ So he made him ride in his chariot. When he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

v18-24a “Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, ‘Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now, summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.’ But Jehu did it in cunning, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. And Jehu said, ‘Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.’ And they proclaimed it. Then Jehu sent throughout Israel and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And when they went into the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. He said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, ‘Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.’ So he brought out garments for them. Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, ‘Search and see that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.’ Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

v24b “Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, ‘The one who permits any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange.’

v25-27 “Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, ‘Go in, kill them; let none come out.’ And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal. They brought out the sacred pillars of the house of Baal and burned them. They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.

v28-31 “Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

v32-33 “In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

v34-36 “Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.”

2 Kings 11

v1-3 “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.

v4-8 “Now in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him in the house of the LORD. Then he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. He commanded them, saying, ‘This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, who come in on the sabbath and keep watch over the king’s house (one third also shall be at the gate Sur, and one third at the gate behind the guards), shall keep watch over the house for defense. Two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king. Then you shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within the ranks shall be put to death. And be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.’

v9-12 “So the captains of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. The priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the LORD. The guards stood each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, ‘Long live the king!’

v13-16 “When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people in the house of the LORD. She looked and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, ‘Treason! Treason!’ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, ‘Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her put to death with the sword.’ For the priest said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the LORD.’ So they seized her, and when she arrived at the horses’ entrance of the king’s house, she was put to death there.

v17-20 “Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they would be the LORD’S people, also between the king and the people. All the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. He took the captains of hundreds and the Carites and the guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guards to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king’s house.

v21 “Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.”

July 4 OT/NT readings: Job 29-30, Acts 12

The text of Job 29-30 is available on Day 11 of the chronological reading plan.

The events in the book of Job took place around or before the time of Abraham, chronologically interrupting the book of Genesis, thus it was early in the chronology of history and the Bible that the LORD used Job to teach us so many things about the ways of God and Satan, the sovereignty of God, and the futility of questioning God.

God allowed Satan to challenge Him by taking Job’s children, wealth, and health, trusting that Job would not curse Him. Job was “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil,” and, in his misery, he had not sinned or blamed God. Job’s three friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) came to comfort Job in his misery, sitting quietly with him for seven days. But when Job opened his mouth in lament, his friends could not resist talking back to him. This began a series of conversations between Job and his friends, where the friends basically try to convince Job he is suffering because of sin. I have warned that the friends aren’t always correct in what they say, as evidenced by their getting reprimanded by God in the end.

We’ve read three rounds of Job’s friends talking to him, trying to convince him of his sin and to present evidence that the wicked receive punishment from God in life. In the first two rounds, Eliphaz then Bildad and then Zophar all spoke. In the third round, Eliphaz opened, but Job’s answers started to get longer. He maintained his innocence and God’s sovereignty, as well as the frustrating observation that not all wicked do receive punishment from God in life. Bildad only gave a short response, and we’ll find out that Zophar doesn’t even speak in this round. Yesterday we started reading Job’s six chapter response to his friends.

Job mocked his friends: “What a help you are to the weak! How you have saved the arm without strength! What counsel you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!” He was steadfast in his response: “As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils, My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit. Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.” He was confident in ultimate justice for the wicked: “what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, When God requires his life?” And he declared God as the source of wisdom, saying, “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding’” [see also Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, and Proverbs 9:10.]

We are reading the book of Acts in the New Testament plan. This account by Luke began after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension into heaven. Luke summarized about his Gospel account, “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” Remember Luke wrote about that first account to Theophilus, “having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, [I wrote] it out for you in consecutive order…so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

After Peter went to Caesarea and shared the gospel, as directed by the LORD, with the house of Cornelius the centurion, we read yesterday that he returned to Jerusalem and “those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.’” Peter explained all that had transpired “in orderly sequence.” When he explained, “‘as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?’ When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’”

Saul has been in Tarsus, but we read an update on him yesterday. Those “who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus….The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” The prophet Agabus visited Antioch and declared there would be a famine all over the world. The disciples in Antioch “determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.”

A summary of the book of Acts, which is really a summary of the rest of the New Testament, including when all the letters of the apostles were written, is here.

Acts 12

v1-5 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

v6-17 “On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’ And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, ‘It is his angel.’ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, ‘Report these things to James and the brethren.’ Then he left and went to another place.

v18-19 “Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

v20-23 “Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country. On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

v24 “But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

v25 “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.”

Dear Lord,

And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

Your purposes will prevail and justice will be done. Sometimes we observe it quickly and sometimes we have to be patient. Help us to persevere, trusting You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.