This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

2 Samuel 1-2

2 Samuel 1

David Learns of Saul’s Death

¹ After the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag; ² on the third day, a man came out of Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground, and showed respect.

³ David said to him, “Where do you come from?”
He said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴ David said to him, “How did it go? Please tell me.”
He answered, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead. Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

⁵ David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

⁶ The young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, Saul was leaning on his spear, and the chariots and the horsemen followed close behind him. ⁷ When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony is overwhelming me, yet the life in me lingers.’

¹⁰ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did likewise. ¹² They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the Lord’s people, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”
He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴ David said to him, “Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ David called one of the young men and said, “Go near and cut him down!” He struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slain the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

¹⁷ David mourned with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son ¹⁸ (and he commanded them to teach the descendants of Judah the song of the bow. It is written in the book of Jashar):

¹⁹ “Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰ Do not tell it in Gath.
Do not publish it in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

²¹ You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings.
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and cast away,
The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.

²² From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
Jonathan’s bow did not turn back.
Saul’s sword did not return empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives.
In their death, they were not divided.
They were swifter than eagles.
They were stronger than lions.

²⁴ You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you delicately in scarlet,
who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

²⁵ How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain on your high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan.
You have been very dear to me.
Your love to me was wonderful,
surpassing the love of women.

²⁷ How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war have perished!”

2 Samuel 2

David Anointed King of Judah

¹ After this, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord said to him, “Go up.”
David said, “Where shall I go up?”
He said, “To Hebron.”

² So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ David brought up his men who were with him, every man with his household. They lived in the cities of Hebron. ⁴ The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” ⁵ David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “Blessed are you by the Lord, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul and have buried him. ⁶ Now may the Lord show loving kindness and truth to you. I also will reward you for this kindness, because you have done this. ⁷ Now therefore let your hands be strong and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-Bosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, ⁹ and he made him king over Gilead and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Civil War at Gibeon

¹² Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³ Joab the son of Zeruiah and David’s soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon, and they sat, one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, “Please let the young men arise and compete before us!”

Joab said, “Let them arise!” ¹⁵ Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of David’s men. ¹⁶ They each caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim. ¹⁷ The battle was very severe that day, and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, by David’s soldiers.

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
He answered, “It is.”

²¹ Abner said to him, “Turn away to your right or to your left and grab one of the young men and take his armor.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him. ²² Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn away from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I look Joab your brother in the face?” ²³ However he refused to turn away. Therefore Abner with the back end of the spear struck him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there and died in the same place. And now everyone who comes to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stands still.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ The descendants of Benjamin gathered together after Abner and became one band and stood on the top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to return from following their brothers?”

²⁷ Joab said, “As the Lord lives, if you had not spoken, surely then the men would not have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning.” ²⁸ So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still and no longer pursued Israel, and they fought no more.

²⁹ Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah, and they passed over the Jordan and went through all Bithron and came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ Joab returned from following Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s men, including Asahel, were missing. ³¹ But David’s men had struck Benjamin and Abner’s men so that 360 men died.

³² They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.

John 12:20-50

Jesus Predicts His Death

²⁰ Now there were certain Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. ²¹ These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.

²³ Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls onto the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came out of the heavens, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

²⁹ Therefore the multitude who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has not come for my sake, but for yours. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die. ³⁴ The multitude answered him, “We have heard this from the law, that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness does not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.

The Unbelief of the People

³⁷ But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him, ³⁸ that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke,

“Lord, who has believed our report?
To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ^a

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
and he hardened their heart,
lest they should see with their eyes,
and perceive with their heart,
and would turn, and I would heal them.” ^b

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Some Believe in Jesus

⁴² Nevertheless many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, ⁴³ for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴ Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵  He who sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone listens to my sayings, and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me. He gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

^{a Isaiah 53:1
b Isaiah 6:10}

Psalm 118:19-29

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness.
I will enter into them.
I will give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous will enter into it.
²¹ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me,
and have become my salvation.
²² The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
²³ This is the Lord’s doing.
It is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it!
²⁵ Save us now, we beg you, Lord!
Lord, we beg you, send prosperity now.

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
²⁷ The Lord is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the sacrifice with cords, to the horns of the altar.
²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.
You are my God, I will exalt you.
²⁹ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.

Proverbs 15:27-28

²⁷ He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,
but he who hates bribes will live.
²⁸ The heart of the righteous weighs answers,
but the mouth of the wicked gushes out evil.

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