Daily Devotions · June 19
Reading for June 19
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
2 Kings 1–3 · Psalm 82 · 1 Timothy 1
2 Kings 1–3 · Psalm 82 · 1 Timothy 1, Berean Standard Bible
2 Kings 1
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’” So Elijah departed. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 6 They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’” 7 The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8 “He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king. 9 Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’” 10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. 11 So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’” 12 Again Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. 13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours please be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty, with all their men. But now may my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king. 16 And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.” 17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram succeeded him in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah. 18 As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
2 Kings 2
Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, 2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.” 4 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.” 6 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. 12 As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two. 13 Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over. 15 When the sons of the prophets who were watching him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16 “Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied. 17 But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” 19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” 20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him, 21 and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’” 22 And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha. 23 From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 3
In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them. 4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7 And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” “I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am as you are, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 8 Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?” “By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram. 9 So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals. 10 “Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!” 11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” 12 Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” 14 Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you. 15 But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha 16 and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’ 17 For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ 18 This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.” 20 The next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom and filled the land. 21 Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and it looked as red as blood to the Moabites across the way. 23 “This is blood!” they exclaimed. “The kings have clashed swords and slaughtered one another. Now to the plunder, Moab!” 24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled before them. So the Israelites invaded their land and struck down the Moabites. 25 They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail. 27 So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. And there was great fury against the Israelites, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.
Psalm 82
A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods: 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’ 7 But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.
1 Timothy 1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines 4 or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith. 5 The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. 6 Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert. 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching 11 that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. 13 I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18 Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
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.