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VERSES ABOUT FASTING
Fasting helps me grow closer to God and strengthens my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try not to see it as something I do for my own benefit, but as a way to improve my walk with God. It's a voluntary choice, a time when I set aside the physical need for food to nourish my spirit. It's a special time to seek God's presence, which is why I find it helpful to fast in a quiet place where I can talk with Him alone.
The Bible talks about this too. Daniel 9:31 says, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." It's really inspiring to see how people in the Bible sought God through fasting.
Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time. But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get.But when you fast for some time, you should wash your face. Make your hair look nice.Then other people will not know that you are doing a special thing. But God, your Father, will know. You do not see him but he sees what you do secretly. In return, he will give you good things.
This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people. Instead, share your food with hungry people. Give a place in your home to poor people who have no home. Give clothes to people who have nothing to wear. If people in your own family need help, do not refuse to help them.
The Lord says, ‘Even now it is not too late! Show that you are sorry and return to me. Fast, weep and cry to show that you are sad.Show me that you are really upset. Do not only tear your clothes. That is not enough.’ Return to the Lord your God. He is kind and he forgives people. He does not quickly become angry, and his faithful love is very great. He does not like to punish you.
Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.
So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I fasted. I wore clothes made of sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset.
One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’All of these things happened during about 450 years. After this, God gave to his people leaders who were called judges. They ruled Israel until the time when God's prophet Samuel was alive.Then the people of Israel asked Samuel to choose a king for them. So God gave Saul to them as their king. Saul was the son of Kish and he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled Israel for 40 years.Then God removed Saul as king. He caused David to be their king instead. God said this about David: “I have watched David, the son of Jesse. He does things that make me happy. I know that he will do everything that I want.” God promised to send to the people of Israel someone who would save us. Jesus is the man that God sent to save us. He is a descendant of King David.Before Jesus began his work in this world, John spoke a message to all the people of Israel. He told people to stop doing wrong things and to turn to God. Then he would baptize them.When John had almost finished his work, he said to the people, “Perhaps you think that I am the special man that God will send. I am not that man. But listen! That man will come soon. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him.” ’ Paul then said, ‘I speak to all you people here. Some of you, like us, have Abraham as your ancestor. Some of you are Gentiles who now worship our God. God has sent this message to all of us. It tells us how he will save us.The people who were living in Jerusalem, and their leaders, did not understand about Jesus. They did not know that he was God's special man. Every Jewish day of rest, someone reads aloud the messages of God's prophets. But the people in Jerusalem did not understand. Instead, they said that Jesus had done bad things. They said that he should die. In that way, they caused the message of the prophets to become true.The Jewish leaders could not find any reason to kill Jesus for what he had done. But they continued to say to Pilate, “Your soldiers must kill him.”When the soldiers did that, it happened just like the prophets had written about him long ago. After that, some of Jesus' disciples took him down from the cross where he had died. They took his body and they buried it.The believers continued to fast and to pray. Then the leaders put their hands on Barnabas and Saul and they prayed for them. They sent them away to start this new work.
We were all waiting by the Ahava River. I told the people not to eat any food, so that we could pray to God for help. We asked him to keep us safe on the journey, with our children and all our things.I was ashamed to ask the king to send his soldiers with us to keep us safe. He could have sent soldiers who rode on horses with us, or other soldiers. But we had said to the king, ‘Our God helps people who trust him and he keeps them safe. But he is very angry with people who turn away from him and he punishes them.’So we ate no food and we prayed to our God about this. He answered our prayers.
Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast.There was a time of peace in Jehoshaphat's kingdom. God kept them safe from the nations all around.So Jehoshaphat continued to rule Judah as king. He was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi.Jehoshaphat lived in the good way that his father Asa had lived. He only did things that the Lord says are right.But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. The people still did not want to be completely faithful to the God of their ancestors.The other things that happened while Jehoshaphat was king are written in a book. Hanani's son Jehu recorded all of them in his book, which is part of ‘The history of Israel's kings’.While Jehoshaphat was king, he became a friend of King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil things.They agreed to build big ships that would bring things from countries that were far away. They built the ships in Ezion-Geber.Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah warned Jehoshaphat with a message from the Lord. He said, ‘You should not have become a friend of Ahaziah. Because of that, the Lord will destroy the things that you have made.’ A storm destroyed the ships and they never went anywhere.Judah's people came together to ask the Lord for his help. They came from every town in Judah to pray to the Lord.
After they told me this, I sat down and I wept. I was very sad for many days. I did not eat or drink anything and I prayed to God.
Then Jesus returned from the Jordan River. He was full of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness.You know that the Bible says: “God will tell his angels to keep you safe.They will hold you safely in their hands. They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone.” ’ Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says, “Do not test the Lord your God, to see what he will do.” ’ In those ways, the devil tried to make Jesus do many wrong things. When he had finished this, he left Jesus alone. He waited for another chance.Then Jesus returned to Galilee. The Holy Spirit continued to give him power. Everyone who lived near there heard the news about him.He taught people in the Jewish meeting places. Everyone said good things about him. Jesus went to Nazareth, the town where he had grown up. On the Jewish day of rest, he went to their meeting place. This was what he usually did. He stood up to read aloud from the Bible. They gave him the scroll that had the messages of God's prophet Isaiah. Jesus opened the scroll. He found the place where Isaiah wrote:‘The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to poor people. He has sent me to tell people who are in prison, “You can go free!” He has sent me to tell blind people, “See again!” He has sent me to let people who are like slaves become free.He has sent me to say, “This is the year when the Lord God will be kind to his people.” ’ He stayed there for 40 days and he did not eat anything. During this time the devil tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. At the end of 40 days, Jesus was very hungry.
Moses was there on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. He did not eat anything or drink anything during that time. He wrote the words of God's covenant on the flat stones. Those were God's ten special commands.
Paul and Barnabas chose leaders for each group of believers in these places. They fasted and they prayed to God for some time about this. They asked the Lord Jesus to help these leaders who trusted in him.
When they were ill, I wore sackcloth and I stopped eating food. I bent down my head as I prayed for them.I wept as I prayed, as I would weep when a friend or my mother had died.
When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face. Then the Lord said to Elijah,‘You have surely seen that Ahab now respects me. Because he has become humble, I will not destroy his family while he is alive. I will wait until his son rules as king. Then I will bring great trouble on Ahab's descendants.’
Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’ Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’
At that time I, Daniel, was very sad for three weeks.Then the angel said to me, ‘I will tell you why I have come to you. I will explain to you what the words in the book of God's truth mean. But now I must return to fight a battle against the ruler of Persia. After I have won that battle, the ruler of Greece will appear. Only Michael will help me. He is the angel who keeps your own people safe. Nobody else will be there to help me fight against God's enemies.I did not eat any special food. I ate no meat and I drank no wine. I did not put any sweet oil on my skin or my hair until the three weeks had finished.
They say to me, “We have fasted to please you, but you do not see it. We make ourselves humble and you do not even look.” Listen to me! Yes, you fast, but you do it to please yourselves. At the same time as you are fasting, you are being cruel to the people who work for you.Yes! While you are fasting, you are also quarrelling and you are fighting. You hit each other with your fists. If you want your prayers to reach me in heaven, you cannot continue to fast in the way that you do today.The way that you fast does not please me at all: You make yourselves humble for a day. You bend down your head, like a piece of weak grass. You lie down on sackcloth and ashes. Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that? Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord?
On the 24th day of the same month, the Israelite people met together. They did not eat or drink. They wore sackcloth and they put dust on their heads. You did great miracles to show your power against Pharaoh, his officers and all his people. You knew that they were being cruel to your people. You showed everyone that you are a great God. And people still know that it is true.You divided the sea into two parts so that your people could go across it on a dry path. When Pharaoh's soldiers chased after them, you threw them into the sea. They drowned in the water, like a heavy stone.During the day, you led your people with a pillar of cloud. At night, you led them with a pillar of fire to give them light. You showed them the way that they should travel.At Mount Sinai, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true.You told them about the Sabbath and how to make it a special day. You gave all your laws to Moses so that he would teach them to your people.You gave your people bread from heaven when they were hungry. You gave them water from a rock to drink when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go to the land that you had promised to give them. You told them to take it for themselves.But our ancestors turned away from you. They would not agree to obey your commands.They refused to obey you. They forgot about all the miracles that you had done to help them. Instead, they turned against you. They chose a leader to take them back to Egypt, where they had been slaves. But you are a God who forgives people. You are kind to people. You are slow to get angry and your love for your people always continues. So you did not leave your people alone.Our ancestors made an image of a young cow to be their god. They said to each other, “This is our god who brought us out of Egypt.” They insulted you in that way, but you still did not turn away from your people. You were kind to them while they travelled in the desert. You continued to lead them with a pillar of cloud in the day. At night, you continued to show them the way with a pillar of fire. So they always knew which way to go.The Israelite people made themselves separate from foreign people. They stood up and they told God that they were sorry for their sins. They agreed that their ancestors had also done many bad things.
He said, ‘Speak to all the people in this land and to the priests. Tell them, “You were prisoners in another country for 70 years. At that time, you were sad and you fasted in the fifth month and in the seventh month of each year. But you did not really do this to give me honour.
So they all met together at Mizpah. They got water from a well and they poured it out for the Lord. They did not eat food that day. They prayed and they said, ‘We have done bad things against the Lord.’ Samuel became leader of the Israelite people at Mizpah.
Do not refuse to have sex with each other, unless both of you agree to stop for a short time. Then you will have more time to pray. But you should come together again soon, as husband and wife. If not, Satan may try to make you do something wrong. You may want too strongly to have sex with someone else.
[Jesus then said, ‘This kind of spirit will not leave a person unless you pray and you do not eat for a time.’]
David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food.
‘Tell all the Jews in Susa to meet together. Tell them to fast and to pray for me. They must not eat or drink for three days, during the day and the night. My female servants and I will also fast. After three days, I will go and speak to the king. I know that this is against the king's law. But if I must die, I agree to die.’
Tell people that they must fast. They must meet together to worship the Lord. Speak to the leaders and all the people who live in this country. Tell them all to come to the house of the Lord your God They must call to the Lord for help.
Then the whole Israelite army went back to Bethel to meet with the Lord. They sat there and they wept. They did not eat any food that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
So Elijah got up. He ate the food and he drank the water. The meal made him strong enough to travel for 40 days and 40 nights. He travelled to Sinai, the mountain of God.
Then Cornelius said, ‘Three days ago, I was in my house at this time of the day. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and I was praying to God. Suddenly, a man appeared and he stood in front of me. He was wearing bright clothes that shone.The man said to me, “Cornelius, you have prayed to God and you have often given money to poor people. Now God wants to answer you.
Then the king returned to his palace. He ate no food. Nobody brought anything to him to give him pleasure. He was unable to sleep.
The people who lived in Nineveh believed God's message. They told everyone that they must not eat any food for several days. Everyone had to wear sackcloth to show that they were sorry. The most important people and the ordinary people all did that.
Then other people will not know that you are doing a special thing. But God, your Father, will know. You do not see him but he sees what you do secretly. In return, he will give you good things.
Even if they fast, I will not listen when they ask me for help. I will not accept the burnt offerings or grain offerings that they offer to me. Instead, I will use war, famine and disease to destroy them.’
He said, ‘There are special times each year when you fast. Those times are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. Those times will now become happy feasts that the people of Judah should enjoy. So you must love truth and peace.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
When they were ill, I wore sackcloth and I stopped eating food. I bent down my head as I prayed for them.
Make a loud noise with a trumpet in Zion! Tell the people that they must fast. Tell them to meet to worship the Lord.Bring all the people together. Prepare them to worship the Lord. Bring the old people together, as well as the children and the babies. Even men who have just married must come from their rooms. And brides must also come from their rooms.
I make my body do what I want it to do. I make it like my slave. I have told God's message to other people. Now I do not want to lose the prize myself. So I try very hard to obey the rules of the race.
After they told me this, I sat down and I wept. I was very sad for many days. I did not eat or drink anything and I prayed to God.I prayed, ‘Lord, God of heaven, you are great and powerful. You always continue to love your people, as you have promised to do. You are kind to those people who love you and obey your commands.Please listen to my prayer. I am your servant. I am praying in the day and in the night on behalf of your servants, the Israelites. I agree that we have all done wrong things. That includes me and my family. We have not obeyed you.
This happened every year when they went to the Lord's house in Shiloh. Peninnah would cause Hannah to be upset. Then Hannah would weep. She would refuse to eat anything.Hannah's husband, Elkanah, said to her, ‘Why should you weep and refuse to eat? Do not be so sad. I love you, and that is better than ten sons.’
One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’
After that, she had lived alone until she was 84 years old. Now she never left the temple. She stayed there day and night to worship God. She fasted and she prayed.
This is what she wrote in those letters: ‘Choose a day for everyone to fast. Give Naboth a seat where the people can see him.
I continued to pray and tell God about our sins. I agreed that I had done wrong things, and that my people, the Israelites, had also done wrong things. I asked the Lord my God to help Jerusalem, his holy mountain.While I was praying, Gabriel came towards me. He was the same man that I had seen in the first vision. He flew quickly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.He said to me, ‘Daniel, I have come to teach you, so that you can understand these things.As soon as you started to pray, God sent his message. I have come to tell you the message, because you are very important to God. Listen carefully, so that you understand the meaning of your vision.
They cried and they wept until the evening. They did not eat any food. They were very upset about Saul and Jonathan, and all the Lord's people. They were sad because so many Israelites had died in the battle.
Then the whole Israelite army went back to Bethel to meet with the Lord. They sat there and they wept. They did not eat any food that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.The Covenant Box was in Bethel at that time. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest who served the Lord there. The Israelites asked the Lord, ‘Should we march out to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin, again? Or should we leave them?’ The Lord said, ‘Attack them. Tomorrow I will put them under your power.’
Tell people that they must fast. They must meet together to worship the Lord. Speak to the leaders and all the people who live in this country. Tell them all to come to the house of the Lord your God They must call to the Lord for help.That will be a terrible day! The day of the Lord will soon come. It will be a day when God Almighty brings great trouble.
But there will be a time when people take that man away from his friends. Then they will decide to fast.’
It told them how to have the days of Purim as a holiday at the right time each year. This was a rule that had the authority of the Jewish man, Mordecai, and of Queen Esther. The message also said that the Jews and their descendants should remember the sad times, and they should fast.
The Lord says, ‘Shout out! Shout as loudly as you can! Make as much noise as a trumpet makes! Tell my people that they have not obeyed me. Tell the family of Jacob about their sins. If people are hungry, share your own food with them. Help those people who are in pain. Then your help to them will be like a light that shines in a dark place. You will no longer live in darkness, but you will have light as bright as the sun at noon.The Lord will always be your guide. He will give you plenty to eat, even when the ground is dry. He will make your bodies strong. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. You will be like a spring of water that never becomes dry.You will build again the cities which became heaps of stones a long time ago. You will build your houses on the old foundations. People will call you, “Builders who mend the walls and the streets.”Remember to obey the rules for the Sabbath day. That is my holy day, so do not just try to please yourselves. Enjoy the Sabbath day, and respect it as the Lord's holy day. Do not do your usual work on that day. Do not do things or speak about things, only to make yourself happy.If you do those things, you will be happy as you serve me, the Lord. I will give you all the things that you need. I will cause crops to grow on the land that I gave to your ancestor Jacob.’ That is the Lord's message.Every day my people come to worship me. It seems that they want to know my ways. They seem like a nation of people who are doing the right things. They seem to be obeying the Law of their God. They ask me to decide things fairly. Yes, they seem to want to be near to me.They say to me, “We have fasted to please you, but you do not see it. We make ourselves humble and you do not even look.” Listen to me! Yes, you fast, but you do it to please yourselves. At the same time as you are fasting, you are being cruel to the people who work for you.Yes! While you are fasting, you are also quarrelling and you are fighting. You hit each other with your fists. If you want your prayers to reach me in heaven, you cannot continue to fast in the way that you do today.The way that you fast does not please me at all: You make yourselves humble for a day. You bend down your head, like a piece of weak grass. You lie down on sackcloth and ashes. Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that? Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord?This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people. Instead, share your food with hungry people. Give a place in your home to poor people who have no home. Give clothes to people who have nothing to wear. If people in your own family need help, do not refuse to help them.Then God's light will shine on you, like the sun's light at dawn. Very soon, your troubles will go away. The good things that you do to help others will be clear for everyone to see. And the Lord will use his great power to keep you safe.Then you will ask the Lord for help and he will answer you. When you call out to him, he will say, “Here I am.” But you must stop being cruel to other people. Do not accuse people, and do not say bad things about them.
Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’ Then the devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.Then Jesus heard that Herod had put John the Baptist in prison. So Jesus returned to Galilee.But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, which is a town on the shore of Lake Galilee. It was in the part of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali. This caused God's message to become true. Long ago God had said through his prophet Isaiah:‘I am speaking to you people who live in Zebulun and Naphtali. Your land is on the way to Lake Galilee. It is across the Jordan River in Galilee, where people of other nations live.They are like people who are living in a dark place. They live in the shadow which death brings. Now God will send a light to shine on them.’ Then Jesus began to speak God's message to people. He said, ‘You must turn away from your sins and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men who were brothers. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. His brother's name was Andrew. Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish.Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’ Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.Simon and Andrew immediately put their nets down and they went with Jesus.They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two other men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’The brothers immediately left the boat and their father. They went with Jesus to be his disciples.Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.More and more people in all parts of Syria heard about Jesus. So they brought all the sick people to see him. These people had many different illnesses, and some of them had strong pains. Bad spirits were living inside some of them. Some people could not control their bodies, and some people could not walk properly. Jesus caused all these people to become well again.Because of this, large crowds of people followed him. They came from Galilee and from the region called ‘The ten cities’. Some of them came from Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea. And some came from the other side of the Jordan River.Then the devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’
If that happens, my people who belong to me should be humble and they should pray to me. They should turn away from their sins and try to please me. Then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will make their land successful again.
Now it was almost dawn. Paul said to everyone, ‘Please eat some food. You have now waited for 14 days for the storm to stop. You did not know what would happen. You have not eaten anything during all that time.You must eat some food now. Then you will be strong enough to stay alive. None of you will die. You will not even lose one hair from your head.’
Then the king returned to his palace. He ate no food. Nobody brought anything to him to give him pleasure. He was unable to sleep.The king got up very early in the morning, at sunrise. He hurried to the cave where the lions were.He also chose three other men to be his officers. He gave them authority over the 120 rulers. The king wanted to be sure that they were working well. Daniel was one of the three officers.When he got near to the cave, he was very upset. He shouted to Daniel, ‘Daniel, you have continued to worship the living God, as his servant. Was your God able to save you from the lions?’
Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’
That happened in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim ruled Judah as king. People from all Judah's towns had come to Jerusalem. They joined with the people of Jerusalem to fast and pray in the Lord's temple.
Make a loud noise with a trumpet in Zion! Tell the people that they must fast. Tell them to meet to worship the Lord.
The king of Nineveh heard about God's message. He got up from his throne and he removed his royal clothes. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he sat in ashes on the ground.Then the king sent this message to all the people in Nineveh. He said, ‘This command comes from the king and his officers. No person or any of your animals may eat any food or drink any water.Everyone must wear sackcloth. You must cover all your animals with sackcloth too. Everyone must pray to God with all their strength. You must all stop doing bad and cruel things.Then perhaps God may agree to forgive us. He may decide that he will not be angry with us. Then perhaps we will not all die.’
Then Ezra went away from the front of God's temple. He went to the room of Eliashib's son, Jehohanan. While Ezra stayed there, he did not eat any food or drink any water. He was still very sad because the people had not been faithful to God.
Then they took the bones and they buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh Gilead. The men did not eat any food for seven days because they were so sad.
On the 24th day of the same month, the Israelite people met together. They did not eat or drink. They wore sackcloth and they put dust on their heads. You did great miracles to show your power against Pharaoh, his officers and all his people. You knew that they were being cruel to your people. You showed everyone that you are a great God. And people still know that it is true.You divided the sea into two parts so that your people could go across it on a dry path. When Pharaoh's soldiers chased after them, you threw them into the sea. They drowned in the water, like a heavy stone.During the day, you led your people with a pillar of cloud. At night, you led them with a pillar of fire to give them light. You showed them the way that they should travel.At Mount Sinai, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true.You told them about the Sabbath and how to make it a special day. You gave all your laws to Moses so that he would teach them to your people.You gave your people bread from heaven when they were hungry. You gave them water from a rock to drink when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go to the land that you had promised to give them. You told them to take it for themselves.But our ancestors turned away from you. They would not agree to obey your commands.They refused to obey you. They forgot about all the miracles that you had done to help them. Instead, they turned against you. They chose a leader to take them back to Egypt, where they had been slaves. But you are a God who forgives people. You are kind to people. You are slow to get angry and your love for your people always continues. So you did not leave your people alone.Our ancestors made an image of a young cow to be their god. They said to each other, “This is our god who brought us out of Egypt.” They insulted you in that way, but you still did not turn away from your people. You were kind to them while they travelled in the desert. You continued to lead them with a pillar of cloud in the day. At night, you continued to show them the way with a pillar of fire. So they always knew which way to go.The Israelite people made themselves separate from foreign people. They stood up and they told God that they were sorry for their sins. They agreed that their ancestors had also done many bad things.You gave them your good Spirit to teach them what to do. You continued to give them manna from heaven to eat. You gave them water from a rock to drink.During 40 years you took care of them in the desert. Their clothes did not spoil. Their feet did not become big with pain.You gave kingdoms and nations to your people. The borders of their land reached a long way. The land of King Sihon of Heshbon became their own land. So did the land of King Og of Bashan.You caused your people to have many descendants, as many as the stars in the sky. You brought them to the land that you had promised to their ancestors. You had told them to go and live in it.Their descendants went there and they took the land for themselves. You gave them power over the Canaanites and the other kings and nations who lived there. They could do whatever they wanted with those people.They took their strong cities and their good land for themselves. The houses of those people were full of many good things. Your people could use the things that were already there. They had their wells, their vineyards, their olive trees and other fruit trees. They had as much food as they could eat, so they became fat. The many good things that you gave them made them very happy.But your people did not obey you. They turned against you. They stopped obeying your laws. You sent your prophets to warn your people to return to you. But they killed the prophets that you sent to them. Your people insulted you in many bad ways.So you put them under the power of their enemies. And their enemies were cruel to them. Then your people called to you for help because they were in trouble. You heard them from your home in heaven. Because you are so kind, you gave them strong leaders. And those leaders saved them from their enemies.But when your people were living safely again, they did evil things again. So you left them to the power of their enemies. Your people called to you again for help. You heard them again from your home in heaven. Because you are so kind, you rescued them like that many times.You warned them to obey your laws. But they refused to listen to you. They did not obey your commands. You had given them rules which would help them to have true life if they obeyed them. But they would not obey your laws. They turned away from you and they continued to do bad things.While the Israelites stood there, they read from the book of God's Law during a quarter of the day. During another quarter of the day they told the Lord their God about their sins and they worshipped him.
I have worked very hard, and I have been in pain. Many times I have not slept. I have often been hungry and thirsty. Many times I have had no food. I have often been cold and without enough clothes.
For three days, Saul could not see anything. During that time, he did not eat any food or drink anything.
I climbed the mountain to meet with the Lord. I received the two flat stones with the covenant that he had made with you. I stayed there for 40 days and nights. During that time, I did not eat or drink anything.
Then the whole Israelite army went back to Bethel to meet with the Lord. They sat there and they wept. They did not eat any food that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.The Covenant Box was in Bethel at that time. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest who served the Lord there. The Israelites asked the Lord, ‘Should we march out to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin, again? Or should we leave them?’ The Lord said, ‘Attack them. Tomorrow I will put them under your power.’
The Israelite soldiers became very weak and hungry that day. Saul had told his army to agree to this promise: ‘Nobody may eat any food before this evening. By then I will have won against my enemies. If anyone eats anything before then, may God curse him!’ So no soldier in Saul's army ate any food.
Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time. But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get.
I did not eat any special food. I ate no meat and I drank no wine. I did not put any sweet oil on my skin or my hair until the three weeks had finished.
You, Almighty Lord, must help me! Show that your name is great. Rescue me, because your faithful love is good.I am weak and helpless. My heart beats fast inside me.I will soon be gone, like a shadow that disappears in the evening. I am like an insect that the wind blows away.I am so hungry that my knees shake. I am so thin that my bones show.
We were all waiting by the Ahava River. I told the people not to eat any food, so that we could pray to God for help. We asked him to keep us safe on the journey, with our children and all our things.
Everyone must wear sackcloth. You must cover all your animals with sackcloth too. Everyone must pray to God with all their strength. You must all stop doing bad and cruel things.
Moses went up the mountain and he went into the cloud. He stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.
They chose a day for the people to fast. They put Naboth in a seat where the people could see him.
Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’ Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will be useless. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’
Jews who lived in all the regions of Xerxes' kingdom heard the king's command. So they were very sad. They were weeping and they were fasting. Many of them lay on sackcloth and ashes.
Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast.
He said, ‘Please sir, watch us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
So they all met together at Mizpah. They got water from a well and they poured it out for the Lord. They did not eat food that day. They prayed and they said, ‘We have done bad things against the Lord.’ Samuel became leader of the Israelite people at Mizpah.The Philistines heard the news that the Israelites had met together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers led their people to attack the Israelites. When the Israelites heard about this, they became very afraid of the Philistines.They said to Samuel, ‘Pray to the Lord our God. Do not stop. Ask him to help us. Ask him to save us from the Philistines.’
When the time came for the evening sacrifice, I stood up. I still wore my shirt and coat that I had torn because I was so sad. Then I went down on my knees. I held out my hands and I prayed to the Lord, my God.
Then Cornelius said, ‘Three days ago, I was in my house at this time of the day. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and I was praying to God. Suddenly, a man appeared and he stood in front of me. He was wearing bright clothes that shone.
But God's servant said to the king, ‘I could never go with you, even if you gave me half of your riches. I could not eat or drink anything while I am here.The Lord commanded me, “You must not eat or drink anything there. You must not return home on the same road that you came on.” ’
Then he said to me, ‘Daniel, do not be afraid. God has listened to your prayers since the time that you first turned to him. You wanted to understand about God. You put yourself under his authority. So I have come to bring the answer to your prayers.But the ruler of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for 21 days. Then Michael came to help me. He is one of God's most important angels. He helped me because the ruler of Persia was keeping me there.
God, I need you so much! I look for you, as a thirsty deer looks for streams of water.My enemies laugh at me all the time. It is like they are breaking all my bones. They are always saying, ‘Where is your God?’I ask myself again, ‘Why am I so sad and upset?’ I must wait patiently for God to help me. Then I will praise my God once again, because he is the one who saves me.Deep down inside me, I am very thirsty! You are the God who lives for ever, and I need life from you! When will I be able to come near to you and see you face to face?
I told all the people to come together at the river that runs towards Ahava. We stayed there for three days. I saw that there were Jewish people and priests, but I did not see any Levites.So I asked them to send some of their leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam. I also asked for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise teachers.I sent them all to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. Iddo and his family were servants in the temple who were living in Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo. I wanted them to bring people who would serve God in his house.God was kind to us and he helped us. So they brought Sherebiah to us. He was a worker who had special skills to make things. He was a descendant of Israel's son Levi. He belonged to the clan of Levi's son, Mahli. Sherebiah came with his sons and brothers. Together they were 18 men.Hashabiah and Jeshaiah also came. They belonged to the clan of Levi's son, Merari. 20 men from their family came with them.Gershom, from Phinehas's clan. Daniel, from Ithamar's clan.220 temple servants also came. King David had first chosen this group to help the Levites with their work. We made a list of all their names.We were all waiting by the Ahava River. I told the people not to eat any food, so that we could pray to God for help. We asked him to keep us safe on the journey, with our children and all our things.I was ashamed to ask the king to send his soldiers with us to keep us safe. He could have sent soldiers who rode on horses with us, or other soldiers. But we had said to the king, ‘Our God helps people who trust him and he keeps them safe. But he is very angry with people who turn away from him and he punishes them.’So we ate no food and we prayed to our God about this. He answered our prayers.
Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’ Then the devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.
Then the Jewish leaders said to Jesus: ‘The disciples of John the Baptist often choose to fast for a time. Then they can pray to God a lot. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. But your disciples never do that. They continue to eat and drink every day.’Jesus answered them, ‘When a man marries a wife, you cannot stop his friends from eating. They will continue to eat while he is with them.But there will be a time when people take that man away from his friends. Then they will decide to fast.’
The Covenant Box was in Bethel at that time. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest who served the Lord there. The Israelites asked the Lord, ‘Should we march out to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin, again? Or should we leave them?’ The Lord said, ‘Attack them. Tomorrow I will put them under your power.’
This is what happened in the first year that Darius ruled Babylonia. He was the son of Xerxes, a descendant of the Medes. He became the king of Babylonia.We have not obeyed the Lord our God. You sent your servants, the prophets, to give us your laws. But we have not lived in the way that your laws taught us.All the people of Israel have turned away from your laws. We have refused to obey you. Your servant Moses gave us your laws. He warned us about your punishments. Now you have punished us in the way that he said. We have turned away from you.So you have done what you promised to do to us and to our rulers. You have caused us to have terrible trouble. You have punished Jerusalem with more trouble than has ever happened to any other city.All this trouble has come to us in the way that Moses wrote in the book of your laws. But we have still not tried to please you, the Lord our God. We have not turned away from our sins. We have not learned your true teaching.So you were ready to punish us with this trouble. You are always right in everything that you do. You are right to punish us because we have not obeyed you.Our Lord God, you used your great power to bring your people safely out of Egypt. You are still famous today because of what you did then. We know that we have done things that are wrong and wicked.Our Lord, please stop being angry with us. Stop punishing your own city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the evil things that our ancestors did, other people insult us. All the people who live near us laugh at Jerusalem and your people. So please do what is right, as you always do.Our God, please accept my prayer. Please do what I have asked for. Your temple is now a heap of stones. Please bless it again, so that people will know that you are great.Listen to us, my God. Our towns have become heaps of stones. See what has happened to the city that belongs to you. We do not ask you to do this because we are righteous people. We ask you because you are very kind.Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us. Lord, please do what we have asked you to do. My God, please do it quickly, so that people give you honour. Help your city and your people who belong to you.’In the first year that Darius was king, I, Daniel, was reading God's book. I read the message that the Lord had given to his prophet, Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah that Jerusalem would continue to be a heap of stones for 70 years.I continued to pray and tell God about our sins. I agreed that I had done wrong things, and that my people, the Israelites, had also done wrong things. I asked the Lord my God to help Jerusalem, his holy mountain.While I was praying, Gabriel came towards me. He was the same man that I had seen in the first vision. He flew quickly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.He said to me, ‘Daniel, I have come to teach you, so that you can understand these things.As soon as you started to pray, God sent his message. I have come to tell you the message, because you are very important to God. Listen carefully, so that you understand the meaning of your vision.God has decided the time of punishment for your people and your holy city. It will continue for 70 weeks. That will finish the punishment for their sins. The people will no longer turn against God. They will have paid the price for their sins. God will cause them to live for ever in a way that is right. God will show that the visions and messages of the prophets are true. The Most Holy Place will belong to God again. I want you, Daniel, to understand this properly. There will be a command to build Jerusalem again. Then 7 weeks will pass, and 62 weeks will also pass. After that, a ruler that God has chosen will arrive. People will build the city of Jerusalem again. It will have streets and a strong wall around it. But there will be a lot of trouble at that time.After the 62 weeks, people will kill the ruler that God had chosen. He will have nothing. Then a foreign ruler and his army will attack the city and the temple. He will destroy them quickly, like a flood of water. War and terrible trouble will continue until the end that God has decided.The foreign ruler will make an agreement with many people. That agreement will continue for one week. In the middle of that week, he will stop the sacrifices and offerings in the temple. Instead, he will put a disgusting thing there that causes trouble. It will remain there until God finally destroys the ruler who destroys. His end will happen at the time that God has decided.’So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I fasted. I wore clothes made of sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset.
Then Nathan went home. After that, the Lord caused the child of Uriah's wife to become very ill.David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food.His palace officers stood around him. They tried to help him to get up from the ground. But he refused and he would not eat anything with them.On the seventh day, the child died. David's officers were afraid to tell him. They thought, ‘Even when the child was alive, David refused to listen to us. So what will happen if we tell him that the child is dead? He might try to hurt himself.’But David saw that his officers were speaking secretly to each other. So he realized that the child had died. He asked them, ‘Is the child dead?’ They replied, ‘Yes, he is dead.’The rich man had very many sheep, goats and cows.Then David got up from the ground and he washed himself. He put special oil on his body and he dressed himself in clean clothes. Then he went into the Lord's house to worship him. After that, he went back to his palace. He asked his servants to bring some food and he ate it.His officers said to him, ‘We do not understand what you are doing. While the child was still alive, you refused to eat food and you wept. But now that the child is dead you are no longer weeping. You are moving around and you are eating. Why?’David replied, ‘While the child was still alive, I wept and I did not eat anything. I thought that perhaps the Lord would be kind to me. I thought that he might let the child live.But now the child is dead. Even if I fast and I pray, I cannot bring him back to me. One day, I will go to the place where he is. But he will never come back here to me.’
You priests, dress yourselves in funeral clothes! Weep as you serve the Lord at his altar. You servants of my God, wear sackcloth every night. Weep, because no one brings offerings to the temple of your God. There is no more grain or wine for people to bring as offerings.Tell people that they must fast. They must meet together to worship the Lord. Speak to the leaders and all the people who live in this country. Tell them all to come to the house of the Lord your God They must call to the Lord for help.
When I weep and I stop eating food, it causes people to insult me.When I wear sackcloth to show that I am sad, people laugh at me.
If people are hungry, share your own food with them. Help those people who are in pain. Then your help to them will be like a light that shines in a dark place. You will no longer live in darkness, but you will have light as bright as the sun at noon.The Lord will always be your guide. He will give you plenty to eat, even when the ground is dry. He will make your bodies strong. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. You will be like a spring of water that never becomes dry.
But this is how you should pray. Go to a place in your house where you can be alone. You can shut the door and you can pray to God your Father. He is in that secret place. He sees what you do there. In return, he will give you good things.
I told all the people to come together at the river that runs towards Ahava. We stayed there for three days. I saw that there were Jewish people and priests, but I did not see any Levites.
Then David spoke to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son. David said to him, ‘Bring the priests' ephod to me.’ So Abiathar took the ephod to David.David asked the Lord, ‘Should I chase after the men who attacked our town? Will I catch them?’ The Lord answered, ‘Yes, chase after them and you will certainly catch them. You will rescue your families.’
God, you are my God. I want to be near to you. I need you to give me life, like a thirsty person in a dry desert. As a person needs water to live, that is how I need you.Soldiers will kill them with swords. Wild dogs will eat their dead bodies.But the king will sing songs to praise God. Everybody who promises to serve God will speak aloud to praise him. But everyone who tells lies will not be able to say anything!When I have gone into your temple, I have seen what you are like. I have seen your great power and your glory.Your faithful love for me is better than life itself. So I will speak aloud to praise you.Yes, I will thank you for as long as I live. I will lift up my hands and I will pray to you.You make me very happy, better than a feast of good food. I will sing happy songs to praise you.
He prayed to the Lord. He said, ‘Lord, this is what I thought would happen when I was still at home. So I decided to run away to Tarshish, so that you could not be kind to the people of Nineveh. I know that you are a God who is very kind. I know that you forgive people. You do not become angry quickly. You always show your faithful love for people. Even when you have said that you will punish people, you decide that you will not do it.
I want very much to go to the Lord's temple. I very much want to be in the temple yards. With all that I am, and with great joy, I sing to you, the God who lives for ever!
So God's people should thank the Lord because of his faithful love. They should thank him for the great things that he does for people.He gives drink to people who are thirsty. He gives plenty of good things to hungry people.
A very old woman called Anna was also there in the temple. She spoke messages that the Holy Spirit gave to her. Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She had lived with her husband for seven years and then he had died.After that, she had lived alone until she was 84 years old. Now she never left the temple. She stayed there day and night to worship God. She fasted and she prayed.
Nehemiah said to the people, ‘Go to your homes and eat some good food. Drink sweet drinks. Share your food and your drink with people who do not have enough for themselves. This is a holy day for our Lord, so do not be sad. The Lord will give you joy so that you can be strong.’
Then the Lord showed that he loved his land. He chose to be kind to his people.He answered them, ‘Listen! I will now give you plenty of grain, new wine and olive oil. You will have as much as you need. I will never again allow people of foreign nations to laugh at you.
Mordecai wrote down all these events. He sent letters to all the Jews who were living in all the regions of King Xerxes' kingdom.He told them that they should have a holiday on the 14th and 15th days of Adar every year.They should do that to remember the time when they became safe from their enemies. That was the month when their trouble finished and they could be happy again. They should enjoy a feast together. They should send gifts of food to each other to show their joy. They should also give gifts to poor people.
There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.) There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul. ‘You are a servant of the devil! You are against everything that is right. Your mind is full of lies and other bad things. You try to change the true message of the Lord and make it into lies. You must stop doing that!The Lord will now punish you. You will become blind for a time. You will not even see the light of the sun.’ When Paul said that, immediately something like a dark cloud covered Elymas's eyes. He could not find his own way. He needed someone to lead him by the hand.Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas. He was very surprised about the things that Barnabas and Paul taught him about the Lord Jesus. And so he believed in Jesus.Paul and the two other men got in a ship and they sailed away from Paphos. They arrived at a town called Perga, which is in the region called Pamphylia. John Mark left them there and he returned to Jerusalem.Paul and Barnabas left Perga, and they went to a town called Antioch in Pisidia. On the Jewish day of rest, they went into the meeting place and they sat down.Someone read aloud some words from the Bible. They read from God's Law and from the messages of God's prophets. After this, the leaders of the Jewish meeting place passed a note to Paul and Barnabas. The note said, ‘Friends, do you have a message that will help the people? If you do, please speak now.’So Paul stood up. He raised his hand towards the people so that they would listen to him. Then he said to them, ‘Some of you are Jews, like us. Some of you are Gentiles who now worship our God. All of you, listen carefully to me.The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors to be his people. While they lived in Egypt, God caused his people to become a very large group. They lived as foreign people in Egypt. But God used his great power to bring them out from that country.The people of Israel did not obey God. But God took care of them in the wilderness for 40 years.He destroyed seven nations of people who lived in the land of Canaan. God gave their land to his own people so that they could live there.One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’All of these things happened during about 450 years. After this, God gave to his people leaders who were called judges. They ruled Israel until the time when God's prophet Samuel was alive.Then the people of Israel asked Samuel to choose a king for them. So God gave Saul to them as their king. Saul was the son of Kish and he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled Israel for 40 years.Then God removed Saul as king. He caused David to be their king instead. God said this about David: “I have watched David, the son of Jesse. He does things that make me happy. I know that he will do everything that I want.” God promised to send to the people of Israel someone who would save us. Jesus is the man that God sent to save us. He is a descendant of King David.Before Jesus began his work in this world, John spoke a message to all the people of Israel. He told people to stop doing wrong things and to turn to God. Then he would baptize them.When John had almost finished his work, he said to the people, “Perhaps you think that I am the special man that God will send. I am not that man. But listen! That man will come soon. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him.” ’ Paul then said, ‘I speak to all you people here. Some of you, like us, have Abraham as your ancestor. Some of you are Gentiles who now worship our God. God has sent this message to all of us. It tells us how he will save us.The people who were living in Jerusalem, and their leaders, did not understand about Jesus. They did not know that he was God's special man. Every Jewish day of rest, someone reads aloud the messages of God's prophets. But the people in Jerusalem did not understand. Instead, they said that Jesus had done bad things. They said that he should die. In that way, they caused the message of the prophets to become true.The Jewish leaders could not find any reason to kill Jesus for what he had done. But they continued to say to Pilate, “Your soldiers must kill him.”When the soldiers did that, it happened just like the prophets had written about him long ago. After that, some of Jesus' disciples took him down from the cross where he had died. They took his body and they buried it.The believers continued to fast and to pray. Then the leaders put their hands on Barnabas and Saul and they prayed for them. They sent them away to start this new work.
Remember to obey the rules for the Sabbath day. That is my holy day, so do not just try to please yourselves. Enjoy the Sabbath day, and respect it as the Lord's holy day. Do not do your usual work on that day. Do not do things or speak about things, only to make yourself happy.If you do those things, you will be happy as you serve me, the Lord. I will give you all the things that you need. I will cause crops to grow on the land that I gave to your ancestor Jacob.’ That is the Lord's message.
After that, armies from Moab and Ammon, as well as some Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat. But now soldiers from Ammon, Moab and Edom are coming to attack us. When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, you would not allow them to attack those lands. So our people turned away and they did not destroy those people.But now those people want to destroy us! They are coming to chase us out of the land that you gave to us as our home.So, our God, please punish these people! We are not strong enough to fight against this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do. But we are asking you to help us.’As King Jehoshaphat prayed, all the men of Judah were standing there at the temple. They had their babies, their wives and their children with them.Then the Lord's Spirit came with power to Jahaziel as he stood among the people. Jahaziel was a Levite, a descendant of Asaph. He was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of Benaiah, who was the son of Jeiel, who was the son of Mattaniah.Jahaziel said, ‘Listen to me all you people of Judah. That includes you people who live in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat too. The Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid because this large army is coming to attack you. You must be brave! This is God's battle, not your battle.Tomorrow, you must march out of here to attack them. They will be coming up the road through the hills at Ziz. You will meet them at the end of the narrow valley that is on the east side of the Jeruel desert.You will not have to fight in this battle. Go to your places and stand still. Then you will see the Lord rescue you. People of Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Be brave! Tomorrow you must march out of here towards the enemy army. The Lord is with you!” ’Then Jehoshaphat bent down with his face towards the ground. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem also bent down to worship the Lord.Then some Levites stood up. They praised the Lord, Israel's God, with loud voices. They belonged to the clans of Kohath and Korah.Some men brought this news to Jehoshaphat: ‘A large army is coming from the other side of the Salt Sea to attack you. They came from Edom and they are already in Hazezon Tamar.’ (That is another name for En Gedi.)Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat prepared to leave with his army. They started to march to the Tekoa desert. When they were ready to leave, Jehoshaphat stood up and he said, ‘Listen to me, people of Judah and people who live in Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God. Then you will be safe. Believe the message that his prophets have spoken. Then you will win the battle.’Jehoshaphat spoke with the people. He chose some musicians to march in front of his army. They sang songs to worship the Lord and to praise him for his holy power. As they marched, they sang, ‘We thank the Lord! His faithful love continues for ever!’As the musicians began to sing, the Lord suddenly made the soldiers of Judah's enemies confused.The soldiers from Ammon and Moab started to attack the soldiers from Edom. They destroyed Edom's army. When they had done that, they started to fight against each other. So they all destroyed one another.Judah's soldiers came to a tower from where they could see the desert. They looked at the large army of their enemies. But they could not see any soldier who was still alive! They only saw dead bodies that were lying on the ground.So Jehoshaphat and his men went to take things from the dead soldiers. They found a lot of weapons, clothes and other valuable things. They took as many things as they could carry. There were so many things that it took them three days to take them all away.On the fourth day they all met together in Berakah Valley. There they praised the Lord. That is why that place is still called Berakah Valley. Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat marched in front of them. They were very happy because the Lord had helped them. He had caused them to win the fight against their enemies.As they went into Jerusalem, they made music with harps, lyres and trumpets. They went to the Lord's temple.People in all the kingdoms around Judah heard that the Lord had fought against Israel's enemies. So they became afraid of God's power.Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast.There was a time of peace in Jehoshaphat's kingdom. God kept them safe from the nations all around.
The officer had chosen a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So Daniel spoke to this man.He said, ‘Please sir, watch us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face.
They went to Bethel. They asked God which tribe should go first to attack Benjamin's army. The Lord replied, ‘Judah must go first.’ The next morning, the Israelites got up and they prepared to attack Gibeah.The leaders of all Israel's tribes stood there with the people of God. There were 400,000 Israelite men who had their weapons, ready to fight.The Israelite army marched forward to fight against Benjamin's army. They stood in their places around the city.Benjamin's soldiers came out of Gibeah to attack. They killed 22,000 Israelites in the battle that day.The Israelite soldiers told each other to be brave. They went to meet with the Lord and they wept until the evening. They asked the Lord, ‘Should we march out again to fight against our relatives, the men of Benjamin?’ The Lord said, ‘Yes, attack them.’ So they went to stand in the same places around the city as they had done the day before.The Israelites went to fight against Benjamin's army on the second day.This time, when the soldiers of Benjamin came out of Gibeah to attack them, they killed another 18,000 Israelite soldiers in the battle.Then the whole Israelite army went back to Bethel to meet with the Lord. They sat there and they wept. They did not eat any food that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.Simon and Andrew immediately put their nets down and they went with Jesus.They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two other men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’The brothers immediately left the boat and their father. They went with Jesus to be his disciples.Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.More and more people in all parts of Syria heard about Jesus. So they brought all the sick people to see him. These people had many different illnesses, and some of them had strong pains. Bad spirits were living inside some of them. Some people could not control their bodies, and some people could not walk properly. Jesus caused all these people to become well again.Because of this, large crowds of people followed him. They came from Galilee and from the region called ‘The ten cities’. Some of them came from Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea. And some came from the other side of the Jordan River.Then the devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’
Tell people that they must fast. They must meet together to worship the Lord. Speak to the leaders and all the people who live in this country. Tell them all to come to the house of the Lord your God They must call to the Lord for help.That will be a terrible day! The day of the Lord will soon come. It will be a day when God Almighty brings great trouble.We stand and we watch as all our food has disappeared! The temple of our God is no longer a place where we are happy.
While the Israelites stood there, they read from the book of God's Law during a quarter of the day. During another quarter of the day they told the Lord their God about their sins and they worshipped him.
Then Nathan went home. After that, the Lord caused the child of Uriah's wife to become very ill.David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food.
Then the king returned to his palace. He ate no food. Nobody brought anything to him to give him pleasure. He was unable to sleep.The king got up very early in the morning, at sunrise. He hurried to the cave where the lions were.He also chose three other men to be his officers. He gave them authority over the 120 rulers. The king wanted to be sure that they were working well. Daniel was one of the three officers.When he got near to the cave, he was very upset. He shouted to Daniel, ‘Daniel, you have continued to worship the living God, as his servant. Was your God able to save you from the lions?’Then Daniel said to the king, ‘King, live for ever!My God sent his angel, and he shut the lions' mouths. So the lions have not hurt me. God knows that I have done no wrong thing. I have not done anything to hurt you, the king, either.’The king was very happy when he heard Daniel's voice. He told his servants that they must pull Daniel up out of the lions' cave. So they lifted him out. When they looked at him, they saw that the lions had not hurt him at all. Daniel had trusted in his God, so God had kept him safe.Then the king gave a command to his servants. They brought the jealous men who had said bad things against Daniel. They threw them into the lions' cave, together with their wives and their children. Before they reached the floor of the cave, the lions attacked them. They broke all their bones into pieces.
He stayed there for 40 days and he did not eat anything. During this time the devil tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. At the end of 40 days, Jesus was very hungry.
When Ananias said that, immediately something like bits of fish skin fell from Saul's eyes. Then Saul could see again. So he stood up and Ananias baptized him.Then Saul ate some food and he became strong again. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.
Then Ezra went away from the front of God's temple. He went to the room of Eliashib's son, Jehohanan. While Ezra stayed there, he did not eat any food or drink any water. He was still very sad because the people had not been faithful to God.They wrote a message and they sent it to all the people in Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah. It said that all the Jews who had returned from exile in Babylon must come to Jerusalem.If they did not arrive in three days, they would lose everything that belonged to them. They would no longer be part of the Israelite people. That is what the leaders and officers had decided should happen.
The Lord says, ‘Even now it is not too late! Show that you are sorry and return to me. Fast, weep and cry to show that you are sad.
In the third year that King Cyrus ruled Persia, God gave a message to Daniel. (Daniel's other name was Belteshazzar.) The message was true. It was about a great war. Daniel had a vision which helped him to understand the message. Then a hand touched me. It helped me to get up on my hands and knees.The man said, ‘Daniel, God loves you very much. Listen carefully to what I say to you. Stand up now, because God has sent me to you.’ When he said this, I stood up. But my body was still shaking.Then he said to me, ‘Daniel, do not be afraid. God has listened to your prayers since the time that you first turned to him. You wanted to understand about God. You put yourself under his authority. So I have come to bring the answer to your prayers.But the ruler of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for 21 days. Then Michael came to help me. He is one of God's most important angels. He helped me because the ruler of Persia was keeping me there.Now I have come to explain what will happen to your people in the future. The vision is about a future time.’While he was saying this to me, I was looking down at the ground. I could not speak.Then someone who looked like a man touched my lips. I opened my mouth and I was able to speak again. So I said to the person who stood in front of me, ‘Sir, the vision makes me very afraid. My strength has disappeared.I am your servant, sir. I am too weak to speak with you. It is difficult for me to breathe.’The angel who looked like a man touched me again. That made me stronger.He said to me, ‘Do not be afraid. God loves you very much. Have peace in your mind. Now be strong and brave!’ When he said this, I felt stronger. I said, ‘Sir, please speak to me now. You have made me strong again.’At that time I, Daniel, was very sad for three weeks.Then the angel said to me, ‘I will tell you why I have come to you. I will explain to you what the words in the book of God's truth mean. But now I must return to fight a battle against the ruler of Persia. After I have won that battle, the ruler of Greece will appear. Only Michael will help me. He is the angel who keeps your own people safe. Nobody else will be there to help me fight against God's enemies.I did not eat any special food. I ate no meat and I drank no wine. I did not put any sweet oil on my skin or my hair until the three weeks had finished.
People who run in races prepare their bodies well. They make themselves work very hard. They do this so that they will win a prize that will quickly become spoiled. But we work hard to receive a prize that will never become spoiled.Because of that, I do not run without any purpose. I do not fight like someone who only hits the air.I make my body do what I want it to do. I make it like my slave. I have told God's message to other people. Now I do not want to lose the prize myself. So I try very hard to obey the rules of the race.
Taste and see that the Lord is good! God blesses people who turn to him to keep them safe.
God, you are my God. I want to be near to you. I need you to give me life, like a thirsty person in a dry desert. As a person needs water to live, that is how I need you.
I prayed to the Lord my God. I agreed that we were guilty and I prayed this prayer: ‘Our Lord, you are a great God and we give you honour. In your covenant, you have promised to love your people. You continue to be faithful to those people who love you and obey your commands.We have done bad things that are wicked and evil. We have turned against you. We have not obeyed your laws and your teaching.We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke your message to our kings, to our rulers and to our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of our nation.
Then the Jewish leaders said to Jesus: ‘The disciples of John the Baptist often choose to fast for a time. Then they can pray to God a lot. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. But your disciples never do that. They continue to eat and drink every day.’