On the other side of the land, in the kingdom of Israel, Ahab’s son Joram takes the throne over the people. Like his father, Joram follows other gods and neglects God’s commands.
2 Kings 8:18 says, “He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
During a series of battles including the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel against Edom and Aram, King Joram is severely wounded and must flee the battlefield to recover. King Ahaziah of Judah visits King Joram during his recovery.
After this, the Lord summons the young prophet Elisha to go anoint one of the commanders of the army of Israel as the next king. The Lord commands Jehu to destroy the whole lineage of Ahab, the previous king of Israel. After Elisha leaves, Jehu announces his new kingship to the remaining army members, and they bow down and blow their trumpets for him.
Jehu wastes no time in fulfilling the Lord’s command. He immediately gathers a group to find Joram, Ahab’s son, and end his life. When Jehu arrives at Joram’s tower, Joram sends messengers to check if the guests came in peace. Joram sends two horsemen to survey Jehu’s intentions, but neither of them return to the palace to report.
Finally, Jehu himself rides to meet Joram. 2 Kings 9:22 says, “When Joram saw Jehu he asked, ‘Have you come in peace, Jehu?’ ‘How can there be peace,’ Jehu replied,’“as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?’”
As Joram retreats, Jehu draws his bow and shoots Joram, ending his kingship over Israel. Jehu does not end his journey here. As mentioned in the Feb. 28 column, Jehu also ends the life of Ahaziah, king of Judah, for his transgressions against the Lord.
From there, Jehu travels to Jezreel to meet with Jezebel, Ahab’s evil wife. As Jezebel peers down from the window at Jehu, he commands her eunuchs to throw her from the balcony, where she falls to her death.
Next, Jehu writes letters to all of Ahab’s descendants, ordering them to send their best princes to the palace. Upon arrival, they are all slain to fulfill the project that the Lord would destroy Ahab’s house. 2 Kings 10:11 says, “So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.”
Jehu then lies to the prophets of Baal and claims that he honors and reveres Baal more than even Ahab did. He lays a trap by calling a meeting for all of the prophets of Baal to attend a mandatory assembly for Baal. Once Jehu has gathered all of the prophets into the temple, he orders his own men to end the lives of all of the prophets inside.
In all 28 years that Jehu reigns, he abolishes the workshop of Baal, ends Ahab’s lineage, and destroys Baal’s temple so it can be used as a latrine. Even in these righteous acts, Jehu neglects to worship the one true God and instead worships golden calves.
The story of Jehu shows us that God can use even flawed and idolatrous men like Jehu to accomplish his purposes. It also shows us that we must be careful to keep our minds focused on the Lord rather than on our successes or our to-do lists. Jehu was so caught up in the victories, that he forgot the source of the victories, who is the Lord.
