There happened to be in Gilgal a worthless character named Sheba son of Bikri, of the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and called out, "Down with David! We won't follow him! Men of Israel, let's go home!"

When the people saw that the king would not listen to them, they shouted, "Down with David and his family! What have they ever done for us? People of Israel, let's go home! Let Rehoboam look out for himself !" So the people of Israel rebelled,

leaving Rehoboam as king only of the people who lived in the territory of Judah.

On the following day, the day after the New Moon Festival, David's place was still empty, and Saul asked Jonathan, "Why didn't David come to the meal either yesterday or today?"

Saul became furious with Jonathan and said to him, "How rebellious and faithless your mother was! Now I know you are taking sides with David and are disgracing yourself and that mother of yours!

Don't you realize that as long as David is alive, you will never be king of this country? Now go and bring him here---he must die!"

and he said to his officers, "Listen, men of Benjamin! Do you think that David will give fields and vineyards to all of you, and make you officers in his army?

Doeg was standing there with Saul's officers, and he said, "I saw David when he went to Ahimelech son of Ahitub in Nob.

Saul asked him, "Why are you and David plotting against me? Why did you give him some food and a sword, and consult God for him? Now he has turned against me and is waiting for a chance to kill me!"

But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.

You will always have descendants, and I will make your kingdom last forever. Your dynasty will never end.' "

And I will not take the whole kingdom away from him; instead, I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have made my own."

But I will not take the whole kingdom away from Solomon, and I will keep him in power as long as he lives. This I will do for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose and who obeyed my laws and commands.

but I will let Solomon's son keep one tribe, so that I will always have a descendant of my servant David ruling in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as the place where I am worshiped.

If you obey me completely, live by my laws, and win my approval by doing what I command, as my servant David did, I will always be with you. I will make you king of Israel and will make sure that your descendants rule after you, just as I have done for David.

I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.' "

Why do the nations plan rebellion? Why do people make their useless plots?

"Let us free ourselves from their rule," they say; "let us throw off their control."

Then he warns them in anger and terrifies them with his fury.

Human anger only results in more praise for you; those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.

His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky; a descendant of his will always be king.

if they disregard my instructions and do not keep my commandments,

But I will not stop loving David or fail to keep my promise to him.

"Once and for all I have promised by my holy name: I will never lie to David.

It will be as permanent as the moon, that faithful witness in the sky."

Here I will make one of David's descendants a great king; here I will preserve the rule of my chosen king.

A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace."

His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.

The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.

"I have made a covenant with the day and with the night, so that they always come at their proper times; and that covenant can never be broken.

In the same way I have made a covenant with my servant David that he would always have a descendant to be king, and I have made a covenant with the priests from the tribe of Levi that they would always serve me; and those covenants can never be broken.

But I, the LORD, have a covenant with day and night, and I have made the laws that control earth and sky.

And just as surely as I have done this, so I will maintain my covenant with Jacob's descendants and with my servant David. I will choose one of David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will be merciful to my people and make them prosperous again."

A king like my servant David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully.

They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever.

The LORD says, "A day is coming when I will restore the kingdom of David, which is like a house fallen into ruins. I will repair its walls and restore it. I will rebuild it and make it as it was long ago.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was,

and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end!"

Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

Now, as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and kill them in my presence!' "

He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was.

For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star."

Ever since that time the people of the northern kingdom of Israel have been in rebellion against the dynasty of David.

They were not grateful to the family of Gideon for all the good that he had done for Israel.

A messenger reported to David, "The Israelites are pledging their loyalty to Absalom."

And David said to Abishai and to all his officials, "My own son is trying to kill me; so why should you be surprised at this Benjaminite? The LORD told him to curse; so leave him alone and let him do it.

Because of this, many of Jesus' followers turned back and would not go with him any more.

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