May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.’
But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.
‘Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They flung your law behind their backs and killed your prophets who warned them in order to turn them back to you. They committed terrible blasphemies.
‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
When he finished the address the Lord had commanded him to deliver to all the people, immediately the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, ‘You must surely die!
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man who can enquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.’ ‘The king shouldn’t say that! ’ Jehoshaphat replied.
Ahab said to Elijah, ‘So, my enemy, you’ve found me, have you? ’ He replied, ‘I have found you because you devoted yourself to do what is evil in the Lord’s sight.
So King Ahaziah sent a captain with his fifty men to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, ‘Man of God, the king declares, “Come down! ” ’
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow! ’
‘That’s a lie,’ Jeremiah replied. ‘I am not defecting to the Chaldeans! ’ Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.
For you sympathised with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession. ,