Through the Bible – Day 133

₁Ahab still had seventy descendants living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote a letter to each of the important leaders and officials of the town, and to those who supported Ahab. In the letters he wrote:

₄The officials and leaders read the letters and were very frightened. They said to each other, “Jehu has already killed King Joram and King Ahaziah! We have to do what he says.” ₅The prime minister, the mayor of the city, as well as the other leaders and Ahab's supporters, sent this answer to Jehu, “We are your servants, Your Majesty, and we will do whatever you tell us. But it's not our place to choose someone to be king. You do what you think is best.”

₆Jehu then wrote another letter which said, “If you are on my side and will obey me, then prove it. Bring me the heads of the descendants of Ahab! And be here in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”

The seventy descendants of King Ahab were living with some of the most important people of the city. ₇And when these people read Jehu's second letter, they called together all seventy of Ahab's descendants. They killed them, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel.

₈When Jehu was told what had happened, he said, “Put the heads in two piles at the city gate, and leave them there until morning.”

₉The next morning, Jehu went out and stood where everyone could hear him, and he said, “You people are not guilty of anything. I'm the one who plotted against Joram and had him killed. But who killed all these men? ₁₀Listen to me. Everything the LORD's servant Elijah promised about Ahab's family will come true.”

₁₁Then Jehu killed the rest of Ahab's relatives living in Jezreel, as well as his highest officials, his priests, and his closest friends. No one in Ahab's family was left alive in Jezreel.

_12-13Jehu left for Samaria, and along the way, he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah at a place where shepherds meet. He asked, “Who are you?”

“We are relatives of Ahaziah,” they answered. “We're going to visit his family.”

₁₄“Take them alive!” Jehu said to his officers. So they grabbed them and led them to the well near the shepherds' meeting place, where they killed all forty-two of them.

₁₅As Jehu went on, he saw Jehonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him, then said, “Jehonadab, I'm on your side. Are you on mine?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then give me your hand,” Jehu answered. He helped Jehonadab into his chariot ₁₆and said, “Come with me and see how faithful I am to the LORD.”

They rode together in Jehu's chariot ₁₇to Samaria. Jehu killed everyone there who belonged to Ahab's family, as well as all his officials. Everyone in his family was now dead, just as the LORD had promised Elijah.

₁₈Jehu called together the people in Samaria and said:

But this was a trick—Jehu was really planning to kill the worshippers of Baal. ₂₀He said, “Announce a day of worship for Baal!” After the day had been announced, ₂₁Jehu sent an invitation to everyone in Israel. All the worshippers of Baal came, and the temple was filled from one end to the other. ₂₂Jehu told the official in charge of the sacred robes to make sure that everyone had a robe to wear.

₂₃Jehu and Jehonadab went into the temple, and Jehu said to the crowd, “Look around and make sure that only the worshippers of Baal are here. No one who worships the LORD is allowed in.” ₂₄Then they began to offer sacrifices to Baal.

Earlier, Jehu had ordered eighty soldiers to wait outside the temple. He had warned them, “I will get all these worshippers here, and if any of you let even one of them escape, you will be killed instead!”

₂₅As soon as Jehu finished offering the sacrifice, he told the guards and soldiers, “Come in and kill them! Don't let anyone escape.” They slaughtered everyone in the crowd and threw the bodies outside. Then they went back into the temple ₂₆and carried out the image of Baal. They burnt it ₂₇and broke it into pieces, then they completely destroyed Baal's temple. And since that time, it's been nothing but a public toilet.

₂₈That's how Jehu stopped the worship of Baal in Israel. ₂₉But he did not stop the worship of the gold statues of calves at Dan and Bethel that Jeroboam had made for the people to worship.

₃₀Later the LORD said, “Jehu, you have done right by destroying Ahab's entire family, just as I had planned. So I will make sure that the next four kings of Israel will come from your own family.”

₃₁But Jehu did not completely obey the commands of the LORD God of Israel. Instead, he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam had caused the Israelites to do.

₃₂In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel's territory. King Hazael of Syria defeated the Israelites and took control ₃₃of the regions of Gilead and Bashan east of the River Jordan and north of the town of Aroer near the River Arnon. This was the land where the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh had once lived.

₃₄Everything else Jehu did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₃₅Jehu died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz became king. ₃₆Jehu had ruled Israel twenty-eight years from Samaria.

₁As soon as Athaliah heard that her son King Ahaziah was dead, she decided to kill any relative who could possibly become king. She would have done that, ₂but Jehosheba rescued Joash son of Ahaziah just as he was about to be murdered. Jehosheba, who was Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's half-sister, hid her nephew Joash and his personal servant in a bedroom in the LORD's temple where he was safe from Athaliah. ₃Joash hid in the temple with Jehosheba for six years while Athaliah ruled as queen of Judah.

₄Joash son of Ahaziah had hidden in the LORD's temple six years. Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest sent for the commanders of the king's special bodyguards and the commanders of the palace guards. They met him at the temple, and he asked them to make a promise in the name of the LORD. Then he brought out Joash ₅and said to them:

₉The commanders followed Jehoiada's orders. Each one called together his guards—those coming on duty and those going off duty. ₁₀Jehoiada brought out the swords and shields that had belonged to King David and gave them to the commanders. ₁₁Then they gave the weapons to their guards, who took their positions around the temple and the altar to protect Joash on every side.

₁₂Jehoiada brought Joash outside, where he placed the crown on his head and gave him a copy of instructions for ruling the nation. Olive oil was poured on his head to show that he was now king, while the crowd clapped and shouted, “Long live the king!”

₁₃Queen Athaliah heard the crowd and went to the temple. ₁₄There she saw Joash standing by one of the columns, which was the usual place for the king. The singers and the trumpet players were standing next to him, and the people were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes in anger and shouted, “You betrayed me, you traitors!”

₁₅Straight away, Jehoiada said to the army commanders, “Kill her! But don't do it anywhere near the LORD's temple. Take her out in front of the troops and kill anyone who is with her!” ₁₆So the commanders dragged her to the gate where horses are led into the palace, and they killed her there.

₁₇Jehoiada the priest asked King Joash and the people to promise that they would be faithful to each other and to the LORD. ₁₈Then the crowd went to the temple built to honour Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

After Jehoiada had placed guards around the LORD's temple, ₁₉he called together all the commanders, the king's special bodyguards, the palace guards, and the people. They led Joash from the temple, through the Guards' Gate, and into the palace. He took his place on the throne and became king of Judah. ₂₀Everyone celebrated because Athaliah had been killed and Jerusalem was peaceful again. ₂₁Joash was only seven years old when this happened.

₁Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. ₂Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there.

₃When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, “They don't have any more wine.”

₄Jesus replied, “Mother, my time hasn't yet come! You must not tell me what to do.”

₅Mary then said to the servants, “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”

₆At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they must. Each jar held about a hundred litres. ₇Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water. Then after the jars had been filled, ₈he said, “Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast.”

The servants did as Jesus told them, ₉and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over ₁₀and said, “The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!”

₁₁This was Jesus' first miracle, and he did it in the village of Cana in Galilee. There Jesus showed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. ₁₂After this, he went with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples to the town of Capernaum, where they stayed for a few days.

₁₃Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ₁₄There he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. ₁₅So he took some rope and made a whip. Then he chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.

₁₆Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, “Get those doves out of here! Don't make my Father's house a market place.”

₁₇The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, “My love for your house burns in me like a fire.”

₁₈The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, “What miracle will you perform to show us why you have done this?”

₁₉“Destroy this temple,” Jesus answered, “and in three days I will build it again!”

₂₀The leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?”

₂₁But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. ₂₂And when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.

₂₃In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him perform miracles. ₂₄But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. ₂₅No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.