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Bible Study Plan:     Bible Version     Starting Date

  1 Samuel 11-12


11:1 Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you."
11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel."
11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you."
11:4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud.
11:5 Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.
11:6 When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.
11:7 He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.
11:8 When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
11:9 They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, "By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered."" When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated.
11:10 They said to the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you."
11:11 The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
11:12 The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, "Shall Saul reign over us?" Bring these men to us and we will put them to death."
11:13 But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD has rescued Israel."
11:14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship."
11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.
12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
12:2 Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
12:3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
12:4 "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
12:5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.
12:6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.
12:7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
12:8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
12:9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
12:10 They cried out to the LORD and said, "We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you."
12:11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
12:12 "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, "No, we want a king to rule over us"-- even though the LORD your God was your king.
12:13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.
12:14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-- good!
12:15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
12:16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!
12:17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."
12:18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.
12:19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."
12:20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
12:21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
12:22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.
12:23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
12:24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
12:25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

  Luke 9


9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
9:2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
9:3 He told them
9:4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.
9:5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."
9:6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
9:8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
9:9 But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.
9:10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,
9:11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
9:12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."
9:13 He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish-- unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."
9:14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
9:15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.
9:16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
9:17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
9:18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
9:19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
9:20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
9:21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
9:22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
9:23 Then he said to them all
9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
9:25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
9:27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
9:28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
9:29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
9:30 Two men, Moses and Elijah,
9:31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
9:32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
9:33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
9:34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
9:35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
9:36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
9:37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
9:38 A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
9:39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.
9:40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."
9:41 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
9:42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
9:43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples,
9:44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you
9:45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
9:46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.
9:47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
9:48 Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all-- he is the greatest."
9:49 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
9:50 "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."
9:51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
9:52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;
9:53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.
9:54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
9:55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
9:56 and they went to another village.
9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
9:58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
9:59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
9:60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
9:61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
9:62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."