Daily Devotions · August 2
Reading for August 2
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
2 Kings 21 · 2 Chronicles 33 · John 4
2 Kings 21 · 2 Chronicles 33 · John 4, Berean Standard Bible
2 Kings 21
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven. 4 Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” 5 In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. 6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. 7 Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. 8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole Law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites. 10 And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, 12 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it. 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. And they will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt until this day.’” 16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place. 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served. 22 He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 24 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place. 25 As for the rest of the acts of Amon, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 33
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven. 4 Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. 6 He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. 7 Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. 8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to leave the land that I assigned to your fathers, if only they are careful to do all that I have commanded them through Moses—all the laws, statutes, and judgments.” 9 So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites. 10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they did not listen. 11 So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. 12 And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to Him, the LORD received his plea and heard his petition. So He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God. 14 After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, along with all the altars he had built on the temple mount and in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and he told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God. 18 As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 His prayer and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself, they are indeed written in the Records of the Seers. 20 And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried at his palace. And his son Amon reigned in his place. 21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon served and sacrificed to all the idols that his father Manasseh had made, 23 but he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done; instead, Amon increased his guilt. 24 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed him in his palace. 25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
John 4
When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 Now He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 “You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband. 18 In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.” 27 Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus. 31 Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 So the disciples asked one another, “Could someone have brought Him food?” 34 Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest. 36 Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.” 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. 41 And many more believed because of His message. 42 They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.” 43 After two days, Jesus left for Galilee. 44 Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown. 45 Yet when He arrived, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all the great things He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, for they had gone there as well. 46 So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 48 Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” 49 “Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.” 50 “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed. 51 And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. 52 So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” 53 Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.