ABSK Devotional Readings

Psalm 91:1-16 (Tue)

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ^[a]

² I will say ^[b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Footnotes:

Psalm 91:1 Hebrew Shaddai
Psalm 91:2 Or He says

1 Kings 1:1-10 (Wed)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

1 Kings 1

Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

¹ When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. ² So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm."

³ Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with her.

⁵ Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ^[a] ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

⁷ Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. ⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei ^[b] and David's special guard did not join Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials, ¹⁰ but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.

Footnotes:

1 Kings 1:5 Or charioteers
1 Kings 1:8 Or and his friends

1 Kings 1:11-27 (Thu)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's knowing it? ¹² Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' ¹⁴ While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and confirm what you have said."

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king.
"What is it you want?" the king asked.

¹⁷ She said to him, "My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals."

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³ And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

²⁴ Nathan said, "Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? ²⁵ Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!' ²⁶ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. ²⁷ Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"

1 Kings 1:28-39 (Fri)

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

David Makes Solomon King

²⁸ Then King David said, "Call in Bathsheba." So she came into the king's presence and stood before him.

²⁹ The king then took an oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, ³⁰ I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place."

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

³² King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah."

³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!"