king Jehu

Week 18  1 Kings 9-10

Jehu is the last member of the club that I’m calling the Big Four (I’ll come back to Ahab & Jehoram later).
Jehu’s story covers 73-verses – two full chapters – so it’s pretty thorough. It starts with Elisha forecasting that Jehu will be the linchpin in the destruction of the Ahab-family.
I’ve read the story of Jehu the Annihilator before and words like thug liar conspirator deceiver murderer & executioner come to mind. Jehu looks like an all-round Bad Guy.
But there are two contrary things going on:
First One. When the Ahab-family was gone and Baal-worship in Israel was eliminated the Lord’s verdict to Jehu was this: you have done well in following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Because of this I will cause your descendants to be kings of Israel. The Ahab-family had crossed the line and Jehu had become the Hammer of the Lord. Sure…he had something personal to gain from it. But he still got credit.
Second One. Subsequently however: Jehu did not obey the law of the Lord with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins of idolatry. So…he was discredited.
I think that Jehu – way more than any other king of Israel – did what he was told to do. But like all the others he latched onto things he was told not to do. And the not-to-dos outweighed the to-dos.

Note: quotes from 2 Kings 10:30 31 (NLT). End-of-month reading report: I’ve read 443 chapters. Reading is 37% completed in 33% of the year.