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JUNE 2
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raised him from the dead, bore witness. For 20 Now there were certain Greeks among
this reason the people also met Him, because those who came up to worship at the feast.
they heard that He had done this sign. The 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from
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Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying,
“You see that you are accomplishing nothing. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Look, the world has gone after Him!” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn
Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The
hour has come that the Son of Man should be
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glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
12:19 the world has gone after Him. The a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
world means the people in general,as opposed it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces
to everyone in particular. Clearly, most people much grain. He who loves his life will lose it,
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in the world did not even know of Him at that and he who hates his life in this world will
time,and many in Israel did not believe in Him. keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me,
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Often,world is used in this general sense (v.47; let him follow Me; and where I am, there My
1:29; 3:17; 4:42; 14:22; 17:9,21).
servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him
My Father will honor.
Day 1:What was Solomon’s main downfall?
“But King Solomon loved many foreign women” (1 Kin. 11:1). Many of Solomon’s marriages
were for the purpose of ratifying treaties with other nations,a common practice in the ancient Near
East.The practice of multiplying royal wives,prohibited in Deuteronomy 17:17 because the practice
would turn the king’s heart away from the Lord, proved to be accurate in the experience of
Solomon.His love for his wives (vv.1,2) led him to abandon his loyalty to the Lord and worship other
gods (vv.3–6).No sadder picture can be imagined than the ugly apostasy of his later years (over 50),
which can be traced back to his sins with foreign wives.Polygamy was tolerated among the ancient
Hebrews, though most in the East had only one wife. A number of wives was seen as a sign of
wealth and importance. The king desired to have a larger harem than any of his subjects, and
Solomon resorted to this form of state magnificence. But it was a sin directly violating God’s law,
and the very result which that law was designed to prevent happened.
“Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD”(v. 6).The particular evil of Solomon was his toler-
ance of and personal practice of idolatry. These same words were used throughout the Book of
Kings to describe the rulers who promoted and practiced idolatry (15:26,34; 16:19,25,30; 22:52;
2Kin. 3:2; 8:18,27; 13:2,11; 14:24; 15:9,18,24,28; 17:2; 21:2,20; 23:32; 24:9,19). Solomon became an
open idolater, worshiping images of wood and stone in the sight of the temple which, in his early
years, he had erected to the one true God.
The Lord appeared to him twice (vv.9,10).Once was at Gibeon (3:5),the next at Jerusalem (9:2).
On both occasions, God had warned Solomon, so he had no excuses. “Because you have done
this,…I will surely tear the kingdom away from you”(v. 11). Solomon failed to obey the command-
ments to honor God (Ex. 20:3–6), which were part of the Mosaic Covenant. Obedience to that
Covenant was necessary for receiving the blessings of the Davidic Covenant (2:3,4).The Lord’s tear-
ing of the kingdom from Solomon was announced in Ahijah’s symbolic action of tearing his gar-
ment in vv. 29–39.

Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of
JUNE 2 David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests
of the high places who burn incense on you,
and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying,
1 Kings 13:1–14:31
“This is the sign which the LORD has spoken:
And behold, a man of God went from Ju- Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes
13 dah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, on it shall be poured out.”
and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn 4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam
incense. Then he cried out against the altar heard the saying of the man of God, who cried
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by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, out against the altar in Bethel, that he
altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, stretched out his hand from the altar, saying,

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