Reading: 1 Kings 16, Galatians 4

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,² Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;³ Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.⁴ Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?⁶ So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.⁷ And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.⁸ In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.⁹ And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.¹⁰ And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.¹¹ And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.¹² Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,¹³ For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.¹⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?¹⁵ In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.¹⁶ And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.¹⁷ And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.¹⁸ And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,¹⁹ For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.²⁰ Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?²¹ Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.²² But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.²³ In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.²⁴ And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.²⁵ But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.²⁹ And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.³⁰ And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.³¹ And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.³² And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.³³ And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.³⁴ In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

¹ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;² But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.⁶ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.⁸ Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.⁹ But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?¹⁰ Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.¹¹ I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.¹² Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.¹³ Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.¹⁴ And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.¹⁵ Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.¹⁶ Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?¹⁷ They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.¹⁸ But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.¹⁹ My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,²⁰ I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.²¹ Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?²² For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.²⁴ Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.²⁵ For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.²⁶ But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.²⁷ For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.²⁸ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.²⁹ But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.³⁰ Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.³¹ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.