NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Wholehearted Devotion vs. Halfhearted Compromise — April 16
2 Chronicles 15-18
2 Chronicles 15
1 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 365N 106.1
2 And he went out [a] to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 365N 106.2
3 For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; 365N 106.3
4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 365N 106.4
5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 365N 106.5
6 So nation was [b] destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 365N 106.6
7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” 365N 106.7
8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of [c] Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord . 365N 106.8
9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 365N 106.9
10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 365N 106.10
11 And they offered to the Lord [d] at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the [e] spoil they had brought. 365N 106.11
12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 365N 106.12
13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 365N 106.13
14 Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 365N 106.14
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around. 365N 106.15
16 Also he removed Maachah, the [f] mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of [g] Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 365N 106.16
17 But the [h] high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. 365N 106.17
18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. 365N 106.18
19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. 365N 106.19
2 Chronicles 16
1 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 365N 106.20
2 Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 365N 106.21
3 “ Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 365N 106.22
4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 365N 106.23
5 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. 365N 106.24
6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah. 365N 106.25
7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 365N 106.26
8 Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord , He delivered them into your hand. 365N 106.27
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 365N 106.28
10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time. 365N 106.29
11 Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 365N 106.30
12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord , but the physicians. 365N 106.31
13 So Asa [a] rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 365N 106.32
14 They buried him in his own tomb, which he had [b] made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him. 365N 106.33
2 Chronicles 17
1 Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. 365N 106.34
2 And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken. 365N 106.35
3 Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, 365N 106.36
4 but sought [a] the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. 365N 106.37
5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance. 365N 106.38
6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord ; moreover he removed the [b] high places and wooden images from Judah. 365N 106.39
7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. 365N 106.40
8 And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. 365N 106.41
9 So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people. 365N 106.42
10 And the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. 365N 106.43
11 Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats. 365N 106.44
12 So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. 365N 106.45
13 He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem. 365N 106.46
14 These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; 365N 106.47
15 and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; 365N 106.48
16 and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to the Lord , and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. 365N 106.49
17 Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; 365N 106.50
18 and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. 365N 106.51
19 These served the king, besides those the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah. 365N 106.52
2 Chronicles 18
1 Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. 365N 106.53
2 After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. 365N 106.54
3 So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.” 365N 106.55
4 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.” 365N 106.56
5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.” 365N 106.57
6 But Jehoshaphat said, “ Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?” [a] 365N 106.58
7 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “ There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord ; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!” 365N 106.59
8 Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!” 365N 106.60
9 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 365N 106.61
10 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord : ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ” 365N 106.62
11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.” 365N 106.63
12 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” 365N 106.64
13 And Micaiah said, “ As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.” 365N 106.65
14 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!” 365N 106.66
15 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord ?” 365N 106.67
16 Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ” 365N 106.68
17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 365N 106.69
18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. 365N 106.70
19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 365N 106.71
20 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord , and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ 365N 106.72
21 So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’ 365N 106.73
22 Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.” 365N 106.74
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?” 365N 106.75
24 And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!” 365N 106.76
25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 365N 106.77
26 and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ” 365N 106.78
27 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!” 365N 106.79
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 365N 106.80
29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 365N 106.81
30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 365N 106.82
31 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. 365N 106.83
32 For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 365N 106.84
33 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the [b] joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 365N 106.85
34 The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died. 365N 106.86