Daily Devotions · May 17
Reading for May 17
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
1 Kings 2 · 1 Chronicles 29 · Psalm 95 · 2 Thessalonians 1
1 Kings 2 · 1 Chronicles 29 · Psalm 95 · 2 Thessalonians 1, Berean Standard Bible
1 Kings 2
As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, 4 and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom. 8 Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” 10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 11 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established. 13 Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied. 14 Then he said, “I have something to tell you.” “Say it,” she answered. 15 “You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD. 16 So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him. 17 Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.” 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand. 20 “I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.” 21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life. 24 And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died. 26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.” 27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli. 28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!” 30 And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.” 31 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33 Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.” 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness. 35 And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place. 36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.” 38 “The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 39 After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.” 40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath. 41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’ 43 So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?” 44 The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
1 Chronicles 29
Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. 2 Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God—gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and slabs of marble—all in abundance. 3 Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold (the gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who is willing to consecrate himself to the LORD today?” 6 Then the leaders of the families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 Toward the service of God’s house they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly. 10 Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You. 15 For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy Name, and all of it belongs to You. 17 I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You. 19 And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.” 20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. 21 The next day they offered sacrifices and presented burnt offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the LORD as ruler, and Zadok as the priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officials and mighty men, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been bestowed on any king in Israel before him. 26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are indeed written in the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, the Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and the Chronicles of Gad the Seer, 30 together with all the details of his reign, his might, and the circumstances that came upon him and Israel and all the kingdoms of the lands.
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! 2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song. 3 For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4 In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. 5 The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways.” 11 So I swore on oath in My anger, “They shall never enter My rest.”
2 Thessalonians 1
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing. 4 That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring. 5 All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, 10 on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony. 11 To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
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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.