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. 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. Later on: 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.