Click to read 2 Kings 10
Synopsis
In this chapter, Jehu declared his zeal for God and killed all of Ahab's family and also all the ministers of Baal. It fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah about Ahab's family. The punishment seemed to be what God had instructed. But in carrying out the execution, Jehu went beyond what was needed and killed many others along the way. While God was pleased with Jehu for meting out punishment on Ahab's family, the extended killing of Ahab's chief men, friends and priests of Jezreel brought punishment upon Jehu's dynasty.
Major Verses
V 1-7 - The elimination of Ahab's male descendants fulfilled Elisha's prophesy (1 Kings 1:17-24). Jehu used clever coercion to lead the chief men guarding Ahab's seventy sons into submission and the eventual killing of all the princes.
What I learn
Sin has a price. It demands payment. In the case of Ahab, his sin led to the death of him and all his household.
V 9-11 - Jehu's zeal was unconstrained. He went far beyond what the Lord had commanded as he killed the rest of the men in Jezreel. It was a unnecessary bloodbath which led to the punishment on Jehu's household eventually. He made use of Ahab's men to kill the seventy princes and then executed them for murder. Jehu did this possibly to show his power and cause fear in the people. The prophet Hosea proclaimed judgment for this act in Hosea 1:4-5 .
What I learn
We must be careful not to mix faith with self ambition, power or cruelty. Using God's word to condone oppression is not right. God is love and we must love too.
V 20-23 - Ahab had led Israel into deep sin by turning them away from God and to worshiping Baal. This led to the downfall of the nation.
What I learn
We must be absolutely intolerant of sin and remove it from our lives. A little tolerance will lead to more tolerance and eventually to indifference. And that will lead us to stray altogether from the true God.
V 30-33 - While the Lord was pleased that Jehu had carried out His punishment upon Ahab's dynasty, Jehu did not totally eliminate the problem. He did not remove the worship of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam to prevent Israelites from worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem which was part of the the southern kingdom of Judah. Why was that? It was probably because of Jehu's political concerns as the golden calves had a longer history than Baal and thus had the support of many political factions.
What I learn
While Jehu was the instrument that God used to mete out punishment upon Ahab's kingdom, unfortunately he did not become God's servant. He cared more for his own political position than for God's decree by not removing the worship of the golden calves. Be careful to note that it is very easy to denounce the sins of others while excusing our own sins. Let's ask God to help us to have a clean heart that goes after Him always.
Summary
Jehu was God's instrument but not His servant. While he carried out the punishment upon Ahab, he did not offer his heart to God. His zeal went far beyond what God had intended for and many innocent men of Jezreel were killed.
Up next.....
More to learn as we discuss Athaliah's killing of her royal household after Ahaziah, her son, was killed by Jehu. Coming up on 2 Jun..
Comment and vote ....
Synopsis
In this chapter, Jehu declared his zeal for God and killed all of Ahab's family and also all the ministers of Baal. It fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah about Ahab's family. The punishment seemed to be what God had instructed. But in carrying out the execution, Jehu went beyond what was needed and killed many others along the way. While God was pleased with Jehu for meting out punishment on Ahab's family, the extended killing of Ahab's chief men, friends and priests of Jezreel brought punishment upon Jehu's dynasty.
Major Verses
V 1-7 - The elimination of Ahab's male descendants fulfilled Elisha's prophesy (1 Kings 1:17-24). Jehu used clever coercion to lead the chief men guarding Ahab's seventy sons into submission and the eventual killing of all the princes.
What I learn
Sin has a price. It demands payment. In the case of Ahab, his sin led to the death of him and all his household.
V 9-11 - Jehu's zeal was unconstrained. He went far beyond what the Lord had commanded as he killed the rest of the men in Jezreel. It was a unnecessary bloodbath which led to the punishment on Jehu's household eventually. He made use of Ahab's men to kill the seventy princes and then executed them for murder. Jehu did this possibly to show his power and cause fear in the people. The prophet Hosea proclaimed judgment for this act in Hosea 1:4-5 .
What I learn
We must be careful not to mix faith with self ambition, power or cruelty. Using God's word to condone oppression is not right. God is love and we must love too.
V 20-23 - Ahab had led Israel into deep sin by turning them away from God and to worshiping Baal. This led to the downfall of the nation.
What I learn
We must be absolutely intolerant of sin and remove it from our lives. A little tolerance will lead to more tolerance and eventually to indifference. And that will lead us to stray altogether from the true God.
V 30-33 - While the Lord was pleased that Jehu had carried out His punishment upon Ahab's dynasty, Jehu did not totally eliminate the problem. He did not remove the worship of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam to prevent Israelites from worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem which was part of the the southern kingdom of Judah. Why was that? It was probably because of Jehu's political concerns as the golden calves had a longer history than Baal and thus had the support of many political factions.
What I learn
While Jehu was the instrument that God used to mete out punishment upon Ahab's kingdom, unfortunately he did not become God's servant. He cared more for his own political position than for God's decree by not removing the worship of the golden calves. Be careful to note that it is very easy to denounce the sins of others while excusing our own sins. Let's ask God to help us to have a clean heart that goes after Him always.
Summary
Jehu was God's instrument but not His servant. While he carried out the punishment upon Ahab, he did not offer his heart to God. His zeal went far beyond what God had intended for and many innocent men of Jezreel were killed.
Up next.....
More to learn as we discuss Athaliah's killing of her royal household after Ahaziah, her son, was killed by Jehu. Coming up on 2 Jun..
Comment and vote ....
I was quite surprised to read about Jehu's punishment in Hosea 1:4 ". . . I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel . . ." It shows that God's silence on a matter does not mean that He approves of it. There are times when we continue to do what we know is wrong because God does not say anything to us about it and we don't experience any judgment. In fact, sometimes we experience blessings in spite of our sinning! I think about what you shared to "Be careful to note that it is very easy to denounce the sins of others while excusing our own sins." We can always say that because others are sinning more than us that our sin is OK. This excusing of our sins can as you said: "lead us to stray altogether from the true God."
ReplyDeleteI think of friends of mine in Australia who have stopped attending church. As Jesus said "offenses will come" (Luke 17:1) so we must not use this fact of people offending us to excuse ourselves from honoring God by gathering in Church together. Of course some stop going to church due to guilt and unwillingness to give up sin. What I learn as I read the Old Testament is that a person's sin will find them out so it makes me more strict on myself to not excuse sin in my sin. Thanks for your sharing Steven, it is a timely challenge.
Blessings Pastor Peter