2 Samuel 1, 1 Corinthians 12, Ezekiel 10, Psalm 49

2 Samuel 1,

1 After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
 
2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
 
3 "Where have you come from?" David asked him. He answered, "I have escaped from the Israelite camp."
 
4 "What happened?" David asked. "Tell me." He said, "The men fled from the battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."
 
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
 
6 "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him.
 
7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, 'What can I do?'
 
8 "He asked me, 'Who are you?' " 'An Amalekite,' I answered.
 
9 "Then he said to me, 'Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I'm still alive.'
 
10 "So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord."
 
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
 
12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
 
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, "Where are you from?" "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite," he answered.
 
14 David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?"
 
15 Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died.
 
16 For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the LORD's anointed.' "
 
17 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,
 
18 and ordered that the men of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
 
19 "Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
 
20 "Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
 
21 "O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields that yield offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul-no longer rubbed with oil.
 
22 From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
 
23 "Saul and Jonathan-in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
 
24 "O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
 
25 "How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
 
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
 
27 "How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!"
 

1 Corinthians 12,

1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
 
2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
 
3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
 
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
 
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
 
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
 
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
 
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
 
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
 
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
 
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
 
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
 
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
 
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
 
15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
 
16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
 
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
 
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
 
19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
 
20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
 
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"
 
22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
 
23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
 
24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,
 
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
 
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
 
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
 
28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
 
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
 
30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
 
31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

Ezekiel 10,

1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim.
 
2 The LORD said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city." And as I watched, he went in.
 
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.
 
4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.
 
5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
 
6 When the LORD commanded the man in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel.
 
7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.
 
8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like the hands of a man.)
 
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite.
 
10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
 
11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.
 
12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.
 
13 I heard the wheels being called "the whirling wheels."
 
14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
 
15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.
 
16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.
 
17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
 
18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.
 
19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
 
20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.
 
21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man.
 
22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
 

Psalm 49

1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,
 
2 both low and high, rich and poor alike:
 
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
 
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:
 
5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-
 
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?
 
7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-
 
8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-
 
9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.
 
10 For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.
 
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.
 
12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
 
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah
 
14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.
 
15 But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah
 
16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases;
 
17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.
 
18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-and men praise you when you prosper-
 
19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life.
 
20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.