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2 Chronicles 31 20-2 Chronicles 31 21
Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the Lord his God.He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God’s temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered.
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Isaiah 60:5-16
Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and rejoice, because the riches of the sea will become yours and the wealth of the nations will come to you.Caravans of camels will cover your land— young camels of Midian and Ephah— all of them will come from Sheba. They will carry gold and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the Lord.All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will serve you and go up on My altar as an acceptable sacrifice. I will glorify My beautiful house.Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their shelters?Yes, the islands will wait for Me with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in My wrath, yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.Your gates will always be open; they will never be shut day or night so that the wealth of the nations may be brought into you, with their kings being led in procession.For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you will perish; those nations will be annihilated.The glory of Lebanon will come to you— its pine, fir, and cypress together— to beautify the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify My dwelling place.The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet. They will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.Instead of your being deserted and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you an object of eternal pride, a joy from age to age.You will nurse on the milk of nations, and nurse at the breast of kings; you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
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Isaiah 23:18
But her profits and wages will be dedicated to the Lord. They will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live in the Lord’s presence, to provide them with ample food and sacred clothing.
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1 Corinthians 9 16-1 Corinthians 9 23
For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my authority in the gospel.Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law— though I myself am not under the law— to win those under the law.To those who are without that law, like one without the law— not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law— to win those without the law.To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.
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Philemon 1:6-7
I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
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2 Chronicles 34 1-2 Chronicles 34 33
Josiah was eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.So they went to Hilkiah the high priest, and gave him the money brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected money from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.They put it into the hands of those doing the work— those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the Lord’s temple, to repair and restore the temple;they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers— for joining and making beams— for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed.The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord written by the hand of Moses.Consequently, Hilkiah told Shaphan the court secretary,“ I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported,“ Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands.They have emptied out the money that was found in the Lord’s temple and have put it into the hand of the overseers and the hand of those doing the work.”Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king,“ Hilkiah the priest gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah,“ Go. Ask Yahweh for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord in order to do everything written in this book.”So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.She said to them,“ This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to Me,‘ This is what Yahweh says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to ask Yahweh,‘ This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard’— this is the Lord’s declaration.‘ I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.’” Then they reported to the king.So the king sent messengers and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.The king went up to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites— all the people from great to small. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s temple.Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.
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1 Chronicles 13 1-1 Chronicles 13 3
David consulted with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands.Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel,“ If it seems good to you, and if this is from the Lord our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of Him in Saul’s days.”
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1 Chronicles 22 1-1 Chronicles 22 19
Then David said,“ This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”So David gave orders to gather the foreigners that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God’s house.David supplied a great deal of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with an immeasurable quantity of bronze,and innumerable cedar logs because the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David.David said,“ My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands. Therefore, I must make provision for it.” So David made lavish preparations for it before his death.Then he summoned his son Solomon and instructed him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.“ My son,” David said to Solomon,“ It was in my heart to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God,but the word of the Lord came to me:‘ You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me.But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.He is the one who will build a house for My name. He will be My son, and I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’“ Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He said about you.Above all, may the Lord give you insight and understanding when He puts you in charge of Israel so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.Then you will succeed if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.“ Notice I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord— 3,775 tons of gold, 37,750 tons of silver, and bronze and iron that can’t be weighed because there is so much of it. I have also provided timber and stone, but you will need to add more to them.You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of workin gold, silver, bronze, and iron— beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon:“ The Lord your God is with you, isn’t He? And hasn’t He given you rest on every side? For He has handed the land’s inhabitants over to me, and the land has been subdued before the Lord and His people.Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Get started building the Lord God’s sanctuary so that you may bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy articles of God to the temple that is to be built for the name of Yahweh.”
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1 Corinthians 15 10
But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me.
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2 Chronicles 15 8-2 Chronicles 15 15
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought.Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart.Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.They took an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns.All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.
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Romans 15:18-19
For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the good news about the Messiah from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.
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Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground, and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; those who put their hope in Me will not be put to shame.
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2 Samuel 7 1-2 Samuel 7 3
When the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,the king said to Nathan the prophet,“ Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.”So Nathan told the king,“ Go and do all that is on your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
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Acts 13:36
For David, after serving his own generation in God’s plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed.
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2 Chronicles 1 9-2 Chronicles 1 10
Lord God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”
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3 John 1 5-3 John 1 8
(niv)
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2 Timothy 4 5-2 Timothy 4 8
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (niv)
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1 Timothy 6 17-1 Timothy 6 18
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (niv)
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2 Timothy 2 6
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. (niv)
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1 Chronicles 28 2-1 Chronicles 29 17
King David rose to his feet and said:“ Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.But God said to me,‘ You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’“ Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.Of all my sons— and the Lord has given me many— he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.He said to me:‘ Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.’“ So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.“ And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service.He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service:the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables;the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish;and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and overshadow the ark of the covenant of the Lord.“ All this,” David said,“ I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.”David also said to Solomon his son,“ Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”Then King David said to the whole assembly:“ My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God.With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God— gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble— all of these in large quantities.Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:three thousand talents of gold( gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,“ Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.“ But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. (niv)
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2 Chronicles 33 15-2 Chronicles 33 16
He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city.Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. (niv)
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2 Chronicles 17 3-2 Chronicles 17 9
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baalsbut sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah.With them were certain Levites— Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah— and the priests Elishama and Jehoram.They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. (niv)
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2 Chronicles 19 4-2 Chronicles 19 10
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.He told them,“ Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.He gave them these orders:“ You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities— whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations— you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin. (niv)
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Nehemiah 5:14-19
Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year— twelve years— neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.But the earlier governors— those preceding me— placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations.Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people. (niv)
