1 Kings 13

JUDGMENT ON JEROBOAM
Aman of God came, however, from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord while Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense.
2 The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’ ” 3 He gave a sign that day. He said, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘The altar will now be ripped apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.’ ”

4 When the king heard the message that the man of God had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Arrest him! ” But the hand he stretched out against him withered, and he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar was ripped apart, and the ashes poured from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

6 Then the king responded to the man of God, “Plead for the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me so that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God pleaded for the favor of the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it had been at first.

7 Then the king declared to the man of God, “Come home with me, refresh yourself, and I’ll give you a reward.”

8 But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your house, I still wouldn’t go with you, and I wouldn’t eat food or drink water in this place, 9 for this is what I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water or go back the way you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way; he did not go back by the way he had come to Bethel.

THE OLD PROPHET AND THE MAN OF GOD
11 Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. His son came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 Then their father asked them, “Which way did he go? ” His sons had seen the way taken by the man of God who had come from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him, and he got on it. 14 He followed the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah? ”

“I am,” he said.

15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.”

16 But he answered, “I cannot go back with you or accompany you; I will not eat food or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a message came to me by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’ ”

18 He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ ” The old prophet deceived him, 19 and the man of God went back with him, ate food in his house, and drank water.

20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back, 21 and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you rebelled against the Lord’s command and did not keep the command that the Lord your God commanded you ​— ​22 but you went back and ate food and drank water in the place that he said to you, “Do not eat food and do not drink water” — your corpse will never reach the grave of your ancestors.’ ”

23 So after he had eaten food and after he had drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. 24 When he left, a lion attacked him along the way and killed him. His corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it; the lion was standing beside the corpse too.

25 There were men passing by who saw the corpse thrown on the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and spoke about it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his way heard about it, he said, “He is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command. The Lord has given him to the lion, and it has mauled and killed him, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to him.”

27 Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” They saddled it, 28 and he went and found the corpse thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse or mauled the donkey. 29 So the prophet lifted the corpse of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back. The old prophet came into the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own grave, and they mourned over him, “Oh, my brother! ”

31 After he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones, 32 for the message that he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines of the high places in the cities of Samaria is certain to happen.”

33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil way but again made priests for the high places from the ranks of the people. He ordained whoever so desired it, and they became priests of the high places. 34 This was the sin that caused the house of Jeroboam to be cut off and obliterated from the face of the earth.

Ezekiel 43

RETURN OF THE LORD’S GLORY
He led me to the gate, the one that faces east,
2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent, and the earth shone with his glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the one I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal. I fell facedown. 4 The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east. 5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from the temple. 7 He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile my holy name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses of their kings at their high places. 8 Whenever they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the detestable acts they committed. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell among them forever.

10 “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure its pattern, 11 and they will be ashamed of all that they have done. Reveal the design of the temple to them ​— ​its layout with its exits and entrances ​— ​its complete design along with all its statutes, design specifications, and laws. Write it down in their sight so that they may observe its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out. 12 This is the law of the temple: All its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be especially holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.

THE ALTAR
13 “These are the measurements of the altar in units of length (each unit being the standard length plus three inches): The gutter is 21 inches deep and 21 inches wide, with a rim of nine inches around its edge. This is the base of the altar. 14 The distance from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge is 3 1/2 feet, and the width of the ledge is 21 inches. There are 7 feet from the small ledge to the large ledge, whose width is also 21 inches. 15 The altar hearth is 7 feet high, and four horns project upward from the hearth. 16 The hearth is square, 21 feet long by 21 feet wide. 17 The ledge is 24 1/2 feet long by 24 1/2 feet wide, with four equal sides. The rim all around it is 10 1/2 inches, and its gutter is 21 inches all around it. The altar’s steps face east.”

18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be splattered on it: 19 You are to give a bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who approach me in order to serve me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. 20 “You are to take some of its blood and apply it to the four horns of the altar, the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim. In this way you will purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 Then you are to take away the bull for the sin offering, and it must be burned outside the sanctuary in the place appointed for the temple.

22 “On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they did with the bull. 23 When you have finished the purification, you are to present a young, unblemished bull and an unblemished ram from the flock. 24 You are to present them before the Lord; the priests will throw salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25 You will offer a goat for a sin offering each day for seven days. A young bull and a ram from the flock, both unblemished, are also to be offered. 26 For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it. In this way they will consecrate it 27 and complete the days of purification. Then on the eighth day and afterward, the priests will offer your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar, and I will accept you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Psalm 34

THE LORD DELIVERS THE RIGHTEOUS
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.

Iwill bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3 Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
9 You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.
19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the Lord rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

— 1 Kings 13, Ezekiel 43, Psalm 34 (CSB)