2 KINGS 10
Read 2 Kings 10:1-35 When we read this passage we see another chapter soaked in bloodshed and vengeance, and we might think to ourselves ‘This seems to be so far away from the love and grace that we see in the New Testament.
There are two main things going on in this chapter, both associated with the terrible rule of Ahab and Jezebel. When we look back into the closing chapters of 1 Kings, we see that King Ahab, under the influence of his wife Jezebel who seemed to be the power behind the throne, did his best to establish the worship of Baal (the idol that Jezebel and her people worshipped) at the expense of worship of the one true God. It got to the point where the prophet Elijah though that he was the only one left who was loyal to God and he was exiled and the Lord kept him alive by sending ravens to feed him (1 Kings 17). Ahab and Jezebel persecuted those who were loyal to God until God himself showed his power and Baal’s impotence on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Now, thanks to the new king, Jehu, Ahab and Jezebel had gone, but their legacy remained.
Firstly, Jehu made sure that there was nothing left of Ahab and Jezebel’s family and supporters by inciting the people to rise up against their family, friends and retainers (2 Kings 10:11 and 17). Jehu justified his actions by claiming that he was carrying out the word of the Lord as given to Elijah. In 1 Kings 21 the Lord did indeed say, through Elijah, that Ahab’s family would be destroyed. But one does question Jehu’s motives here. And yes, we know that the Lord uses non-believers and even wicked people to carry out his will. But was Jehu looking after the Lord’s interests or his own here? By killing of the family of Ahab and Jezebel and all their supporters then he made sure that opposition to his own rule was minimised – and this was not an unusual tactic in ancient warfare and politics). At best Jehu had mixed motives.
The second of Jehu’s actions was to get rid of the previous regime’s priesthood – the priests of Baal. The religious establishment could provide a rallying point for those who, because of Ahab and Jezebel, now saw this as the national religion. By destroying the priesthood, the worship of the false God Baal would be eliminated, and that would open the way for people to return to the worship of the Lord. And Jehu was successful, he destroyed Baal worship in Israel (v28), but the next verse is damning; ‘He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam (Jeroboam was the first king of the northern kingdom and who first instituted false religion, turning away from the one true God). We are then told that Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord with all his heart (v31).
Jehu served himself rather than the Lord, but thankfully, in God’s providence, the result was to do away with much false worship. Mixed motives can still be an issue today. Are people doing what they are doing to serve the Lord, or to serve themselves? And are we?