One Year Bible.

Rebellion against Rehoboam

¹Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ²When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. ³So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, ⁴“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed.

⁶Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.

⁷They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

⁸But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him. ⁹He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹²After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.” ¹³And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders ¹⁴and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”

¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What portion do we have in David,

and what inheritance in the son of Jesse?

To your tents, O Israel!

Look now to your own house, O David!”

So the Israelites went home, ¹⁷but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. ¹⁹So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.

Shemaiah’s Prophecy

²⁰When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

²¹And when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin — 180,000 chosen warriors — to fight against the house of Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²²But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: ²³“Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people ²⁴that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’”

So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

²⁵Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.

²⁶Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. ²⁷If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

²⁸After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

²⁹One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.

³¹Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. ³²And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.

³³On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

One in Christ

¹Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The Mind of Christ

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

⁷but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death —

even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name above all names,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world ¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing. ²⁰I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs. ²¹For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel. ²³So I hope to send him as soon as I see what happens with me. ²⁴And I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs. ²⁶For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. ²⁷He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious. ²⁹Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, ³⁰because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them. ³The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them ⁴and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?”

⁶They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.

⁷When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” ⁸And again He bent down and wrote on the ground.

⁹When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there. ¹⁰Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹“No one, Lord,” she answered.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”

Jesus the Light of the World

¹²Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. ¹⁸I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.”

¹⁹“Where is Your Father?” they asked Him.

“You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”

²⁰He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

²¹Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

²²So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

²³Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵“Who are You?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”

²⁷They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father. ²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me. ²⁹He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”

The Truth Will Set You Free

³⁰As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him. ³¹So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”

³⁴Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵A slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

³⁷I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you. ³⁸I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹“Abraham is our father,” they replied.

“If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.

⁴³Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!

⁴⁶Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Before Abraham Was Born, I Am

⁴⁸The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”

⁴⁹“I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge. ⁵¹Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”

⁵²“Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death. ⁵³Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

⁵⁹At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.