One Year Bible.

Israel Demands a King

¹When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

⁴So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

⁶But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

⁷And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. ⁸Just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹Now listen to their voice; but you must solemnly warn them and show them the manner of the king who will reign over them.”

Samuel’s Warning

¹⁰So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots.

¹²He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

¹³And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants. ¹⁶And he will take your menservants and maidservants and your best cattle and donkeys and put them to his own use.

¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When that day comes, you will beg for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”

God Grants the Request

¹⁹Nevertheless , the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. ²⁰Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”

²¹Samuel listened to all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.

²²“Listen to their voice,” the LORD said to Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Everyone must go back to his city.”

Saul Chosen as King

¹Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. ²And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites — a head taller than any of the people.

³One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.”

⁴So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.

⁵When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

⁶“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.”

⁷“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”

⁹(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)

¹⁰“Good,” said Saul to his servant. “Come, let us go.” So they set out for the city where the man of God was. ¹¹And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?”

¹²“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place. ¹³As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”

¹⁴So Saul and his servant went up toward the city, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel, ¹⁶“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”

¹⁸Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”

¹⁹“I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And when I send you off in the morning, I will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”

²¹Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”

²²Then Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them in the place of honor among those who were invited — about thirty in all. ²³And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside.”

²⁴So the cook picked up the leg and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Here is what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for it has been kept for you for this occasion, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul dined with Samuel that day.

²⁵And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house.

²⁶They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way!” So Saul got ready, and both he and Samuel went outside together.

²⁷As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on.

The Choosing of the Seven

¹In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

²So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them ⁴and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.

The Arrest of Stephen

⁸Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They disputed with Stephen, ¹⁰but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

¹¹Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

¹²So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin, ¹³where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

¹Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

²And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ³and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’ ⁴So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

⁵He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child. ⁶God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. ⁷‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’

⁸Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

¹¹Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. ¹²When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. ¹³On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

¹⁵So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. ¹⁶Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

¹⁷As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number. ¹⁸Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt. ¹⁹He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

The Birth and Adoption of Moses

²⁰At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house. ²¹When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. ²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

²³When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. ²⁴And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him. ²⁵He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.

²⁶The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’

²⁷But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? ²⁸Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.

The Call of Moses

³⁰After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him: ³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

³⁵This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.

³⁷This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ³⁸He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.

The Rebellion of Israel

³⁹But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. ⁴⁰They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

⁴¹At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands. ⁴²But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings

forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech

and the star of your god Rephan,

the idols you made to worship.

Therefore I will send you into exile

beyond Babylon.’

The Tabernacle of the Testimony

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. ⁴⁵And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David, ⁴⁶who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.

⁴⁸However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

⁴⁹‘Heaven is My throne

and the earth is My footstool.

What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord,

or where will My place of repose be?

⁵⁰Has not My hand made all these things?’

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. ⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers — ⁵³you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him. ⁵⁸They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.