The Berean Pursuit
In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam's reign over Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.
Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
And the LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
As for the rest of the acts of Azariah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
And Azariah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in the City of David. And his son Jotham reigned in his place.
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah's reign over Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria six months. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: "Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel."
In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah's reign over Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king, and he reigned in Samaria one full month.
Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Shallum, along with the conspiracy he led, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah's reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and throughout his reign he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom. Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel-fifty shekels of silver from each man-to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.
As for the rest of the acts of Menahem, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
And Menahem rested with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah reigned in his place.
In the fiftieth year of Azariah's reign over Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel and reigned in Samaria two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king's palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
In the fifty-second year of Azariah's reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Pekah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done.
Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD.
As for the rest of the acts of Jotham, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.)
And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David his father. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day.
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me."
Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction. And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it by the time King Ahaz had returned.
When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar.
Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, "Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king's burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance."
So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.
King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base. And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.
As for the rest of the acts of Ahaz, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your King comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"
So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting:
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
The crowds replied, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And He declared to them, "It is written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"
The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked.
"Yes," Jesus answered. "Have you never read:
'From the mouths of children and infants
You have ordained praise'"
Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. "May you never bear fruit again!" He said. And immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?"
"Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. "By what authority are You doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave You this authority?"
"I will also ask you one question," Jesus replied, "and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. What was the source of John's baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?"
They deliberated among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will ask, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet." So they answered, "We do not know."
And Jesus replied, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
'I will not,' he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.
Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing.
'I will, sir,' he said. But he did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?"
"The first," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.
Finally, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.' So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?"
"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is from the Lord,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them. Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.