Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 169. We are reading from first Kings 22, second Chronicles 23, and the final chapter of the Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon, Chapter 8. As always, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the revised standard version, Second Catholic Edition. I am using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress. Com/bibleinayear. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe wherever podcasts are sold or wherever they're given away for free. As I said, today is day 169, and we are reading only three chapters today. First Kings, 22, the last chapter of first Kings, second Chronicles, 23, and the last chapter of the Song of Solomon, Chapter 8.

The first Book of Kings, Chapter 22. Judah and Israel join to fight the Syrians. For three years, Syria and Israel continued without war. But in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. And the King of Israel said to his servants, 'Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the King of Syria? And he said to Jehoshaphat, 'Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the King of Israel, 'I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. And Jehoshaphat said to the King of Israel, Enquire first for the word of the Lord. Then the King of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, Shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I forbear? And they said, 'Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here another prophet of the Lord, of whom we may inquire? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Miciah, the son of Imla, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

' And Jehoshaphat said, 'Let not the king say so. ' Then the King of Israel, summoned an officer and said, 'Bring quickly Miciah, the son of Imla. ' Now, the King of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, were sitting on their thrones, wearing their robes at the thrashing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chana'ana, made for himself horns of iron and said, 'thus says the Lord, with these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. ' And all the prophets prophesied so and said, 'Go up to Ramoth Gilead in triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the King. ' Micahia's prophecy. And the messenger who went to someone Micahias said to him, 'Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the King. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably. But Micahias said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micahiah, Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?

And he answered him, 'Go up and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. ' But the king said to him, 'How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? ' And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his home in peace. ' And the King of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? ' And Micahiah said, Therefore, Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him, on his right-hand and on his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? ' And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying, 'I will entice him. ' And the Lord said to him, 'by what means? ' And he said, 'I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.

' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed, go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets. The Lord has spoken evil concerning you. Then Zedekiah, the son of Chana Anna, came near and struck Micahiah on the cheek and said, How did the spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you? ' And Micahiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. ' And the King of Israel said, Seize Micahiah and take him back to Ammon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king's son, and say, ' thus says the king, 'Put this fellow in prison and feed him with scant fare of bread and water until I come in peace. ' And Micahia said, 'If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, 'Hear all you peoples. ' Defeat and death of Ahab. So the King of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the King of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.

' And the King of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now, the King of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his chariots, 'Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the King of Israel. ' And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, 'It is surely the King of Israel. ' So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariot saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man drew his bow by chance and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore, he said to the driver of his chariot, 'turn about and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded. ' And the battle grew hot that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, until that evening, He died, and the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. And about sunset, a cry went through the army, every man to his city and every man to his country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria, and they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the harlots washed themselves in it according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken.

Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he had built, and all the cities that he had built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his father's, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his stead. Jehoshaphat rains over Judah. Jehoshaphat, the son of Assa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. He walked in all the way of Assa, his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet, the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he wore, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Assa, he exterminated from the land.

There was no king in Edom. A deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ofer for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezean Geber. Then Ahasiah, the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat was not willing. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father. And Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead. Ahesiah reins over Israel. Ahesiah, the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done. The second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 23. But in the seventh year, Jehuida took courage and entered into a compact with the commanders of hundreds, Azriah, the son of Jehorem, Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, Azriah, the son of Obed, Maaseah, the son of Adaya, and Elisabeth, the son of Zikri.

And they went about through Judah, and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the assembly made a covenant with the King in the house of God, and Jehuida said to them, Behold the King's Son. Let him reign as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. This is the thing that you shall do. Of you priests and Levites who come off-duty on the Sabbath, one-third shall be gatekeepers, and one-third shall be at the King's house, and one third, at the gate of the foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. Let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ministering Levites. They may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the Lord. The Levites shall surround the King, each with his weapons in his hand, and whoever enters the house shall be slain. Be with the King when he comes in and when he goes out. Joash crowned the King of Judah. The Levites, in all, Judah did according to all that Jehuida the priest commanded.

They each brought his men who were to go off-duty on the Sabbath with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath. But Jehuida, the priest, did not dismiss the divisions. And Jehuida, the priest, delivered to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. And he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. Then he brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him the covenant. And they claimed him king, and Jehuida and his sons anointed him, and they said, 'Long live the king. ' Atalaya slain. When Atalaya heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains, and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration And Atalaya tore her clothes and cried, Treason, treason.

Then Jehuida, the priest, brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, 'Bring her out between the ranks. Anyone who follows her is to be slain with the sword. For the The priest said, 'Do not slay her in the house of the Lord. ' So they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the horse gate of the king's house, and they slew her there. Jehuida's covenant. And Jehuida made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord's people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down. His altars and his images, they broke in pieces, and they slew Matan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. And Jehuida posted watchmen for the house of the Lord under the direction of the Levitical priests and the Levites whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David. They stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.

And he took the captains, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the upper gate to the king's house, and they set the king upon the royal throne. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Atalaya had been slain with the sword. The Song of Solomon, Chapter 8, Metaphors of Love. Oh, that you were like a brother to me that nursed at my mother's breast. If I met you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me. I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranates. Oh, that his left hand were under my head, and that his right-hand embraced me. I injure you, oh daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up nor awake love until it please. Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in travail with you.

There she bore you who was in travail. Well, set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned. We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for. If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver. But if she is a door, we will enclosed her with the boards of cedar. I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers. Then I was in his eyes as one who brings peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon. He led out the vineyard to keepers. Each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, my very own, is for myself. You, O Solomon, may have a thousand, and the keepers of the fruit 200. O you who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice.

Let me hear it. Make hast, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountain of spices. Father, we know that it's true. Stern as death is love. Love is as strong as death. His relentless Devotion is relentless as the Nether world. And so we recognize that not only is love as strong as death, but love led you, God, to death for us, for our sake, in pursuit of us, so that you could draw us near to your heart, so that you could make us your children, so that you could love us in the way that you desire to love us. Love is as strong as death. And so we pray, Set me as a seal. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. Help us live every day as as your beloved. In Jesus' name we pray, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit. Amen. Okay, so here we are. We have a remake here today. We have first Kings 22, which is a throwback to what we read in second Chronicles already of how Judah and Israel joined to fight the Syrians.

We have Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, right in the south, and we have Ahab, the king of Israel, in the north. And what's happening? They're going to go fight against the Syrians. And so what do they do? Jehoshaphat, who's a pretty legit guy, And he says, Hey, let's inquire of the Lord first about this. Ahab gets all the prophets who are agreeing with him. Yeah, they're all saying, legit, let's go for it. But Jehoshaphat basically asks, Okay, this is all unanimous. Are we sure? Are we really sure that these are all the prophets of God, that this is what God has said. And Ahab, being Ahab, says, Well, there's one guy, and I don't like what he says because his name is Micahiah, and he always prophesies bad against me. We already heard this story. Micahiah comes up and says, No, go He said, You'll have the victory. And Ahab knows that he's lying to him. So he says, No, tell me the truth. Micahiah basically says, Yeah, you're going to die. And so there's this. And that's what happens. We have the death and defeat of Ahab. And the end of the Book, first Book of Kings, Chapter 22, we have the death and defeat of Ahab.

And yes, just like the prophecy had said that dogs would lick up his blood and that harlets would bathe in his blood because he blood out into the chariot and they rinsed the chariot out in that water. Dogs drank and harlots bathed. And then we also have Jehoshaphat reigning over Judah, his death, and Ahimehzeia, coming into power at the very last chapter of first Kings, Chapter 22. Remember, Jehoshaphat, good king, just like Assa, his father. Then what we have done is Ahaziah, who is going to be a bad king. Then all the way in 2 Chronicles 23, we have this story of Atalaya. Atalaya, remember, she is the daughter of Ahab. She was the wife of Jehoram, and she was the mom of Ahaziah. After Ahaziah died, what did Atalaya do? Atalaya killed the rest of the royal family of Judah, wanting to eliminate any claim that Judah had to the throne. It made herself essentially the queen. For six years, she reigned as queen, but she didn't know that one of her daughters, at least one of the daughters of Ahesiah, had hidden away her son, Joash. Here we are in 23, Chapter 23, where Joash has been hidden away for six years.

All of the The rulers of Israel, they basically know that Atalaya is not a good egg, that she is not someone they want to be the queen forever. They also know that so importantly, even more importantly, is that Joash is in the line of King David in the line of Abraham. This is just massively, massively important. It's from the line of Judah that the ultimate king is going to come, that this promise was David and his successors forever. They gather around, all the priests gather around, and Joash is crowned king of at a tender age, young, young boy, and Atalaya is slain. Jehuida, right? Jehuida, the priest, makes a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord's people. And this is so important. There's a bit of restoration. Joash is only seven years old when he begins to reign, but he has some good people around him, at least at first, some good people around him. And so there is a great start to Joash's reign. Jehuida, the priest, making a covenant between himself and the people and the King that they should be the lords. And this is a restoration because under Atalaya, remember, the daughter of Ahab, that there's no faithfulness to the Lord.

So this is how the life is up in the north, just constant unfaithfulness. The prophets are going to be sent to the north many, many times saying, If you don't repent, the Lord is going to allow you to disappear from the face of the earth. In the south, we have good kings, we have bad kings. We just had one of the bad kings, a Hesiah, followed by a bad queen, Atalaya, and now a good king, Joash. We're going to follow this up and down journey, but all the while we're following God's promise. God's promise is he is going to be faithful even when his people are not faithful. That is true for every one of us, that God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful followers of him. We're not faithful sons or daughters. He is a faithful dad. We pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.