Worship Must Be Orderly

1 Corinthians 14²⁶My friends, when you meet to worship, you must do everything for the good of everyone there. That's how it should be when someone sings or teaches or tells what God has said or speaks an unknown language or explains what the language means. ²⁷No more than two or three of you should speak unknown languages during the meeting. You must take turns, and someone should always be there to explain what you mean. ²⁸If no one can explain, you must keep silent in church and speak only to yourself and to God.
²⁹Two or three persons may prophesy, and everyone else must listen carefully. ³⁰If someone sitting there receives a message from God, the speaker must stop and let the other person speak. ³¹Let only one person speak at a time, then all of you will learn something and be encouraged. ³²A prophet should be willing to stop and let someone else speak. ³³God wants everything to be done peacefully and in order.
When God's people meet in church, ³⁴the women must not be allowed to speak. They must keep quiet and listen, as the Law of Moses teaches. ³⁵If there is something they want to know, they can ask their husbands when they get home. It is disgraceful for women to speak in church. ³⁶God's message did not start with you people, and you are not the only ones it has reached.
³⁷If you think of yourself as a prophet or a spiritual person, you will know that I am writing only what the Lord has commanded. ³⁸So don't pay attention to anyone who ignores what I am writing. ³⁹My friends, be eager to prophesy and don't stop anyone from speaking languages that others don't know. ⁴⁰But do everything properly and in order.

Jehu Becomes King of Israel

2 Kings 9 One day, Elisha called for one of the other prophets and said:

Take this bottle of olive oil and get ready to go to the town of Ramoth in Gilead. ²When you get there, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a place where the two of you can be alone, ³then pour olive oil on his head to show that he is the new king. Say to him, "The LORD has chosen you to be king of Israel." Then leave quickly--don't wait around for anything!

⁴The young prophet left for Ramoth. ⁵When he arrived, the army officers were meeting together. "Sir, I have a message for you," he said.
"For which one of us?" Jehu asked.
"You, sir," the prophet answered. ⁶So Jehu got up and went inside. The prophet poured olive oil on Jehu's head and told him:

The LORD God of Israel has this message for you: "I am the LORD, and I have chosen you to be king of my people Israel. ⁷I want you to wipe out the family of Ahab, so Jezebel will be punished for killing the prophets and my other servants. ⁸Every man and boy in Ahab's family must die, whether slave or free. ⁹His whole family must be destroyed, just like the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. ¹⁰As for Jezebel, her body will be eaten by dogs in the town of Jezreel. There won't be enough left of her to bury."

Then the young prophet opened the door and ran out.
¹¹Jehu went back to his officers, and one of them asked, "What did that crazy prophet want? Is everything all right?"
"You know him and how he talks," Jehu answered.
¹²"No, we don't. What did he say?" they asked.
"He had a message from the LORD," Jehu replied. "He said that the LORD has chosen me to be the next king of Israel."
¹³They quickly grabbed their coats and spread them out on the steps where Jehu was standing. Someone blew a trumpet, and everyone shouted, "Jehu is king!"

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

^14-16King Joram of Israel had been badly wounded in the battle at Ramoth, trying to defend it against King Hazael and the Syrian army. Joram was now recovering in Jezreel, and King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting him.
Meanwhile, Jehu was in Ramoth, making plans to kill Joram. He said to his officers, "If you want me to be king, then don't let anyone leave this town. They might go to Jezreel and tell Joram." Then Jehu got in his chariot and rode to Jezreel.
¹⁷When the guard in the watchtower at Jezreel saw Jehu and his men riding up, he shouted to the king, "I see a bunch of men coming this way."
Joram ordered, "Send someone out to ask them if this is a friendly visit."
¹⁸One of the soldiers rode out and said to Jehu, "King Joram wants to know if this is a friendly visit."
"What's it to you?" Jehu asked. "Just stay behind me with the rest of my troops!"
About the same time the guard in the watchtower said, "Your Majesty, the rider got there, but he isn't coming back."
¹⁹So Joram sent out another rider, who rode up to Jehu and said, "The king wants to know if this is a friendly visit."
"What's it to you?" Jehu asked. "Just get behind me with the rest of my troops!"
²⁰The guard in the watchtower said, "Your Majesty, the rider got there, but he isn't coming back either. Wait a minute! That one man is a reckless chariot driver--it must be Jehu!"
²¹Joram commanded, "Get my chariot ready." Then he and Ahaziah got in their chariots and rode out to meet Jehu. They all met on the land that had belonged to Naboth. ²²Joram asked, "Jehu, is this a peaceful visit?"
"How can there be peace?" Jehu asked. "Your mother Jezebel has caused everyone to worship idols and practice witchcraft."
²³"Ahaziah, let's get out of here!" Joram yelled. "It's a trap!" As Joram tried to escape, ²⁴Jehu shot an arrow. It hit Joram between his shoulders, then it went through his heart and came out his chest. He fell over dead in his chariot.
^25-26Jehu commanded his assistant Bidkar, "Get Joram's body and throw it in the field that Naboth once owned. Do you remember when you and I used to ride side by side behind Joram's father Ahab? It was then that the LORD swore to Ahab that he would be punished in the same field where he had killed Naboth and his sons. So throw Joram's body there, just as the LORD said."
²⁷Ahaziah saw all of this happen and tried to escape to the town of Beth-Haggan, but Jehu caught up with him and shouted, "Kill him too!" So his troops shot Ahaziah with an arrow while he was on the road to Gur near Ibleam. He went as far as Megiddo, where he died. ²⁸Ahaziah's officers put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried him beside his ancestors.
²⁹Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year of the rule of Ahab's son Joram.

Jehu Kills Jezebel

³⁰Jehu headed toward Jezreel, and when Jezebel heard he was coming, she put on eye shadow and brushed her hair. Then she stood at the window, waiting for him to arrive. ³¹As he walked through the city gate, she shouted down to him, "Why did you come here, you murderer? To kill the king? You're no better than Zimri!"
³²He looked up toward the window and asked, "Is anyone up there on my side?" A few palace workers stuck their heads out of a window, ³³and Jehu shouted, "Throw her out the window!" They threw her down, and her blood splattered on the walls and on the horses that trampled her body.
³⁴Jehu left to get something to eat and drink. Then he told some workers, "Even though she was evil, she was a king's daughter, so make sure she has a proper burial."
³⁵But when they went out to bury her body, they found only her skull, her hands, and her feet. ³⁶They reported this to Jehu, and he said, "The LORD told Elijah the prophet that Jezebel's body would be eaten by dogs right here in Jezreel. ³⁷And he warned that her bones would be spread all over the ground like manure, so that no one could tell who it was."

Jonah Gets Angry at the LORD

Jonah 4 Jonah was really upset and angry. ²So he prayed:

Our LORD, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn't destroy Nineveh. That's why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don't like to punish anyone, not even foreigners.

³Now let me die! I'd be better off dead.

⁴The LORD replied, "What right do you have to be angry?"
⁵Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.
⁶The LORD made a vine grow up to shade Jonah's head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, ⁷but early the next morning the LORD sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. ⁸During the day the LORD sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, "I wish I were dead!"
⁹But the LORD asked, "Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?"
"Yes, I do," he answered, "and I'm angry enough to die."
¹⁰But the LORD said:

You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. ¹¹In that city of Nineveh there are more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don't you think I should be concerned about that big city?