2 Kings 15
[17] In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem
the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
[18] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed
not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel to sin.
[19] And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave
Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm
the kingdom in his hand.
[20] And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of
wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria.
So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
[21] And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
[22] And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his
stead.
Pekahiah, King of Israel
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem
became king over Israel in Samaria for two years.
24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn aside from the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
[23] In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of
Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.
[24] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed
not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
25 But Pekah son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him
and struck him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob,
Arieh, and fifty men of the Gileadites with him. He killed him a
nd reigned in his place.
26 Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold,
they are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
[25] But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him,
and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob and
Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and
reigned in his room.
[26] And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they
are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Pekah, King of Israel
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah
became king over Israel in Samaria for twenty years.
28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn aside from the
sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came
and took Ijon, Abel of Beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee,
and all the land of Naphtali, and then exiled them to Assyria.
30 Then Hoshea son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah
and struck and killed him. Then he reigned in his place in the twentieth
year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
31 The rest of the deeds of Pekah and all that he did, behold,
they are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
[27] In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of
Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.
[28] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed
not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
[29] In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of
Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Jonoah, and Kedesh, and
Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them
captive to Assyria.
[30] And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son
of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead,
in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
[31] And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold,
they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
2 Chronicles 26:22-23
22 (Isa 1:1; 6:1) Now the remainder of the acts of Uzziah,
from beginning to end, Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, has written them.
23 (2Ch 21:20; 28:27) So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him
with his fathers in the burial field belonging to the kings because they said,
"He is a leper." And Jotham his son ruled in his place.
[22] Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
[23] So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers
in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said,
He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
2) Our Daily Bread for 8 July 2026
The Holy Grail
By Bill Crowder
Matthew 26:20-30
20 (Mk 14:17-21; Jn 13:21) When evening came, He sat down with the twelve.
21 (Jn 13:21; 6:70-71) And as they were eating, He said,
"Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me."
22 They were very sorrowful, and each of them began saying to Him,
"Lord, is it I?"
23 (Jn 13:18; Ps 41:9) He answered and said, "He who has dipped his hand
with Me in the dish will betray Me.
24 (Mk 9:12; Lk 24:46) The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."
25 (Mt 26:64; 27:11) Then Judas, who betrayed Him, answered, "Master,
is it I?"
He said to him, "You have said it."
[20] Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
[21] And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you
shall betray me.
[22] And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say
unto him, Lord, is it I?
[23] And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish,
the same shall betray me.
[24] The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by
whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not
been born.
[25] Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He
said unto him, Thou hast said.
The Lord's Supper
Mk 14:22-26; Lk 22:15-20; 1Co 11:23-25
26 (Mt 14:19) As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it
and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said,
"Take and eat. This is My body."
27 Then He took the cup, and after He gave thanks, He gave it to them, saying,
"Drink of it, all of you.
28 (Mt 20:28; Ex 24:7-8) For this is My blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 (Mt 13:43; Mk 14:25) I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit
of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you
in My Father's kingdom."
30 (Mt 21:1; Lk 22:39) And when they had sung a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
[26] And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake
it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
[27] And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it;
[28] For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for
the remission of sins.
[29] But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
[30] And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
For centuries, people have been fascinated by the Holy Grail - the cup Jesus
drank from at the Last Supper. The legends surrounding King Arthur and the
knights of the Round Table detail their obsession over the search for the cup.
They believed it had magical powers. In film, Indiana Jones and his father,
Henry, fulfilled Henry's lifelong pursuit of the Grail.
While this makes for fascinating storytelling, the truth is much more s
traightforward. The cup itself has no special powers. The real power is found
in what it represents. Matthew describes the scene in the upper room the night
before Jesus went to the cross: "Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had
given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins' " (26:27-28). The cup is a picture of the blood that Jesus would
shed on our behalf.
John the Baptist introduced Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin
of the world" (John 1:29). Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “Without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness." And Paul wrote that Christ himself is "our
Passover lamb" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
How thankful we are for the shed blood of our Savior, the Lamb!
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean for you to celebrate Communion?
How do you express your thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for you?
Loving Father, left to myself I would be forever lost.
Thank You for the provision of Your Son
and His willingness to go to the cross in my place.
3) From The Billy Graham Evangelical Ministry Association
Words in Season - Scripture Memory Tools
Week 3 - Saved Now and Forever - Day 4 - Daddy!
Romans 8:15
'For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have
received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father." '
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
"I've always been a Daddy's girl," Sandi said proudly, and her relationship
with her father proved it. She was never spoiled, but even as a grown woman,
Sandi maintained a closeness with her father, sharing intimately with him the
important issues of her life. And just her use of the name "Daddy" indicated
that he was, indeed a warm, approachable, affectionate man.
Many people are not so fortunate. Some fathers are stern and harsh;
others absent or uncaring, some even abusive. Few have the king of father
who presents a picture of the loving fatherhood of God.
But whatever our concept of fatherhood, God makes clear that he is everything
we always wanted our fathers to be - loving, forgiving, approachable,
totally accepting of us as we are, encouraging us to become all he has
created us to be.
In Romans 8, Paul calls God our "Abba Father". The Aramaic word for Father,
Abba, is an intimate term that might well be translated, Daddy.
God is our "Daddy," our "Abba" - not a distant, stern patriarch ready
to strike us down at the first sign of transgression, but a gentle,
loving Father who longs for us to climb into his lap and let him comfort us.
When we commit ourselves to Christ, Paul indicates, we do not receive a
"spirit of bondage to fear" but a "spirit of adoption." We are not called
to respond to God out of fear, but out of love and reverence.
We can relax and enjoy his presence, for we are his children,
and he is our loving Daddy.
Application
a) What concept of fatherhood do I have from my own experience with my father?
How does that correspond to Paul's description of God as "Daddy"?
b) How can this verse help change my perception of what it means to have
God as my Father?