2Ki 10:11-17 | KingComments | STEP | In this chapter we see several sides of Jehu. On the one hand he goes too far by killing people whom God has not instructed him to kill, and on the other, he did not go far enough. He eradicated the Baal worship, but not the golden calves, which he continued to serve. He often did the work of God, but actually pursued his own interests. It seems that he was more of an instrument than a servant. He knew how to handle the sword excellently when it came to judging evil. What he had not learned, however, was to apply the sword, applied in a spiritual sense, to himself. He was a useful instrument as long as God’s interests corresponded to his own. If God’s interests were not in line with his own interests, he went his own way. The events followed each other in quick succession. Jehu acted energetically. After Jezreel, he also wanted Samaria on his side. Seventy sons of Ahab lived in Samaria. This meant all his male offspring which he had conceived with his many wives, and also his grandsons. All these sons were a danger to Jehu’s kingdom. It was therefore imperative for them to be eliminated. He devised a clever plan for this. He sent letters to Samaria, to the city council. The content of his letter was very challenging, there was bravado in it. It was the language of a confident man who knows his own power and also knows the weak spot of his opponent. He spoke to them as people who still saw Ahab as their “lord”. He also pointed out their military strength to them. As they have the capital, they have access to “the chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons”. His proposal was that they should only put the best of Ahab’s sons on the throne and under his leadership fight with him. He told them to appoint a kind of counter king and then, in a fight with him, decide who the real king is. The fact that Jehu dared to say and present all this, shows that he was certain of his case. He knew the sons of Ahab. They were weak guys, just like the leaders of the city. The leaders were men similar to the kind of elders and distinguished men of Jezreel who had danced to the tune of Jezebel and killed Naboth in response to her letter ( ). The language of the letter is such that Jehu presented himself as the undisputed king and that whoever dared to dispute it should go ahead. As far as he was concerned, the result was sure. The choice was up to the leaders of Samaria. Like Jehoram, they would know what kind of man Jehu was, known by all as a “furious” rider ( ), a man who was afraid of nothing and no one, and who steps aside for nothing and no one. It is possible that the messengers also told how Jehu raced in Jezreel and what fate Jehoram, Ahaziah and Jezebel underwent. In any case, they referred to his acts as those that cause terror. Would they dare to take the sword against such a man? They reasoned they shouldn’t do that. It was much wiser to join Jehu. That was what they did. They let him know that they would join him. They did so in words that implied total submission to him. This was exactly what he wanted, to use them to exterminate the offspring of Ahab without getting dirty hands himself. When Jehu had received news from the leaders of Samaria, promising him their support, he wrote them a second letter ( ). He gave them a command to prove that they meant what they said. Jehu began his letter with words similar to those he had said to the officials of Jezebel: “If you are on my side” (cf. ). He was only interested in who was for him . When they are for him, they will listen to his voice. Listening to the voice of the LORD was not a consideration. He has made these elders allies and instructed them to kill the sons of Ahab. The question remains how his command in this second letter was to be understood. His writing was somewhat ambiguous. That is, “the heads of the men, your master’s sons” did not mean the literal heads, but the most important sons, the most influential. They were to take the men from the city and meet Jehu at the same time the next day. The men of the city take a literal interpretation of what the letter said, and Jehu may have meant it that way. When the heads are cut off, they were sent to Jezreel. The elders did not bring the heads themselves to offer them personally. They wanted to remain at a distance. When Jehu received the message that the heads were delivered, he ordered the heads to be placed in two heaps near the city gate. When the people of the city went out of the town to work, they saw the heads. But Jehu was already there to explain this sinister sight. In the words he used, he was diplomatic and insincere. He was straightforward when it came to the sword, but he was not straightforward in his language. He declared the people innocent. As for himself, he denied any involvement in the murder of these men. Certainly, he killed Jehoram, but that was because he had to do so because the LORD ordered it, although he did not pronounce it here clearly. Who has been working in this case? No, he wouldn’t be able to say that. He played the innocent, the ignorant. Although he was directly responsible for the murder, his question designated others as murderers. He said nothing about the instruction he had given. To camouflage his innocence and ignorance even more, he gave a pious twist to his story ( ). They should not be too concerned about who did this. It all fell under the administration of the LORD. After all, the LORD’s revenge has been carried out, hasn’t it? What he in fact did was to blame the LORD. is a kind of conclusion. Jehu killed all who were left of the house of Ahab. But he has also gone further. He also killed “all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests”. He was not commissioned to do so. We must never go further than what the Lord tells us, no matter how justified certain things may seem. Jehu wanted to confirm his kingship, and so, cleared away everything that would hinder him. What was the power of his actions? The flesh, he acted for himself. The power of the flesh can work in spiritual things, but then more is always done than the Lord’s command.

‏ 2 Kings 10:11-17

Introduction

In this chapter we see several sides of Jehu. On the one hand he goes too far by killing people whom God has not instructed him to kill, and on the other, he did not go far enough. He eradicated the Baal worship, but not the golden calves, which he continued to serve. He often did the work of God, but actually pursued his own interests. It seems that he was more of an instrument than a servant. He knew how to handle the sword excellently when it came to judging evil. What he had not learned, however, was to apply the sword, applied in a spiritual sense, to himself.

He was a useful instrument as long as God’s interests corresponded to his own. If God’s interests were not in line with his own interests, he went his own way.

Ahab’s Offspring Killed

The events followed each other in quick succession. Jehu acted energetically. After Jezreel, he also wanted Samaria on his side. Seventy sons of Ahab lived in Samaria. This meant all his male offspring which he had conceived with his many wives, and also his grandsons. All these sons were a danger to Jehu’s kingdom. It was therefore imperative for them to be eliminated. He devised a clever plan for this. He sent letters to Samaria, to the city council. The content of his letter was very challenging, there was bravado in it. It was the language of a confident man who knows his own power and also knows the weak spot of his opponent.

He spoke to them as people who still saw Ahab as their “lord”. He also pointed out their military strength to them. As they have the capital, they have access to “the chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons”. His proposal was that they should only put the best of Ahab’s sons on the throne and under his leadership fight with him. He told them to appoint a kind of counter king and then, in a fight with him, decide who the real king is.

The fact that Jehu dared to say and present all this, shows that he was certain of his case. He knew the sons of Ahab. They were weak guys, just like the leaders of the city. The leaders were men similar to the kind of elders and distinguished men of Jezreel who had danced to the tune of Jezebel and killed Naboth in response to her letter (1Kgs 21:8-14).

The language of the letter is such that Jehu presented himself as the undisputed king and that whoever dared to dispute it should go ahead. As far as he was concerned, the result was sure. The choice was up to the leaders of Samaria. Like Jehoram, they would know what kind of man Jehu was, known by all as a “furious” rider (2Kgs 9:20), a man who was afraid of nothing and no one, and who steps aside for nothing and no one. It is possible that the messengers also told how Jehu raced in Jezreel and what fate Jehoram, Ahaziah and Jezebel underwent. In any case, they referred to his acts as those that cause terror.

Would they dare to take the sword against such a man? They reasoned they shouldn’t do that. It was much wiser to join Jehu. That was what they did. They let him know that they would join him. They did so in words that implied total submission to him. This was exactly what he wanted, to use them to exterminate the offspring of Ahab without getting dirty hands himself.

When Jehu had received news from the leaders of Samaria, promising him their support, he wrote them a second letter (2Kgs 10:6). He gave them a command to prove that they meant what they said. Jehu began his letter with words similar to those he had said to the officials of Jezebel: “If you are on my side” (cf. 2Kgs 9:32). He was only interested in who was for him. When they are for him, they will listen to his voice. Listening to the voice of the LORD was not a consideration. He has made these elders allies and instructed them to kill the sons of Ahab.

The question remains how his command in this second letter was to be understood. His writing was somewhat ambiguous. That is, “the heads of the men, your master’s sons” did not mean the literal heads, but the most important sons, the most influential. They were to take the men from the city and meet Jehu at the same time the next day. The men of the city take a literal interpretation of what the letter said, and Jehu may have meant it that way. When the heads are cut off, they were sent to Jezreel. The elders did not bring the heads themselves to offer them personally. They wanted to remain at a distance.

When Jehu received the message that the heads were delivered, he ordered the heads to be placed in two heaps near the city gate. When the people of the city went out of the town to work, they saw the heads. But Jehu was already there to explain this sinister sight. In the words he used, he was diplomatic and insincere. He was straightforward when it came to the sword, but he was not straightforward in his language.

He declared the people innocent. As for himself, he denied any involvement in the murder of these men. Certainly, he killed Jehoram, but that was because he had to do so because the LORD ordered it, although he did not pronounce it here clearly. Who has been working in this case? No, he wouldn’t be able to say that. He played the innocent, the ignorant. Although he was directly responsible for the murder, his question designated others as murderers. He said nothing about the instruction he had given.

To camouflage his innocence and ignorance even more, he gave a pious twist to his story (2Kgs 10:10). They should not be too concerned about who did this. It all fell under the administration of the LORD. After all, the LORD’s revenge has been carried out, hasn’t it? What he in fact did was to blame the LORD.

2Kgs 10:11 is a kind of conclusion. Jehu killed all who were left of the house of Ahab. But he has also gone further. He also killed “all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests”. He was not commissioned to do so. We must never go further than what the Lord tells us, no matter how justified certain things may seem. Jehu wanted to confirm his kingship, and so, cleared away everything that would hinder him. What was the power of his actions? The flesh, he acted for himself. The power of the flesh can work in spiritual things, but then more is always done than the Lord’s command.

The Brothers of Ahaziah Killed

Nor did Jehu receive a command from the LORD to kill the princes of Judah. Ahaziah was a son of the evil Jehoram and Athaliah and therefore a grandson of Ahab and rightly killed. The brothers of Ahaziah are not literal brothers, because Ahaziah did not have any (2Chr 21:16-17). They may have been his cousins. The fact that the men were killed was justified in God’s governmental ways, because they deserved to be killed. They were friends of the house of Ahab.

Jehonadab

As Jehu continued, there was a sudden meeting with Jehonadab. In response to Jehu’s question about the rightness of his heart, Jehonadab answered that his heart was indeed right. He had a right heart in relation to God, but not so much in relation to Jehu. What the rightness of Jehu’s heart was worth, showed in his performance, especially in the way he would soon eradicate the worshippers of Baal.

Jehonadab was a remarkable man. He was of the family of Rechab, of the people of Kenites. So he was not from a tribe of God’s people, but is descended from a Canaanite people (Gen 15:18-19), one whom God had said should be eradicated. Now not all Kenites lived in Canaan and therefore not all Kenites fell under the judgement. Several of them lived among God’s people (Jdg 1:16 ; Jdg 4:17; 1Sam 15:6; 1Chr 2:55).

In Jeremiah 35 we read extensively about Jehonadab and his descendants and God’s appreciation for him and his family. In that passage it turns out that Jehonadab was a faithful servant of the LORD and that his faithfulness was rewarded by the LORD. We have seen before that the period of Jehu can be compared with the period of Sardis in Revelation 3 (Rev 3:1-6). It is remarkable that we not only find Jehu, but also Jehonadab in Sardis.

In Sardis we recognize Jehu in those who say they have the name to live (Rev 3:1b). Jehu testified of himself that he lived before the LORD when he said to Jehonadab “see my zeal for the LORD”. Israel is said to be “zealous for God, but not in accordance with knowledge” (Rom 10:2). That also applied to Jehu. It manifested pride, not faith, when he pointed to himself to declare his zeal for the LORD.

It must therefore be said of Jehu that his deeds have not been found completed in the sight of God (Rev 3:2b). Jehu may have eradicated the Baal worship, but the golden calves still existed. Jehu returned, so to speak, to Jeroboam and not to David. Thus, the period of Sardis is in a sense a relief after the period of Thyatira – although Sardis and Thyatira coexist in church history – but Sardis does not return to the word of the apostles and prophets. Sardis remains, so to speak, ‘hanging’ in Pergamus, that is to say, the time in which the church takes in the world.

Jehonadab we recognize in the “few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments” (Rev 3:4a). They receive a promise (Rev 3:4b), just as Jehonadab also received a promise from the LORD (Jer 35:18-19). Jehonadab was not in Judah, in Jerusalem, or near the temple, the dwelling-place of God; but he was one of the faithful among the ten apostate tribes. Jehu also liked to ensure himself of his company. Jehonadab was an influential man because of his consistent attitude to life and lifestyle. This would have appealed to the conservative subjects in his empire.

Jehu made Jehonadab his friend because of the political advantage this gave him. He used Jehonadab to strengthen his own position. When Jehu said “give your hand”, it meant more than just helping him climb into his car. It was also symbolic for the call for his help in his acquisition of kingship.

Jehonadab was standing by Jehu’s side; he climbed up into the chariot with him. Yet he took a clear place of separation from the ten tribes. This is clear from Jeremiah 35. He did not drink wine, which indicates that he had no part in the joys of the apostate people. He didn’t even plant a vineyard, because he didn’t want to be tempted to drink wine either. He didn’t even have a house or a field, but lived in tents. He did not want to be connected to the land in any way. For this whole behavior, this consistent attitude, which could also be seen in his descendants, he received God’s appreciation and reward (Jer 35:12-19).

We see something similar in Protestantism. New churches are formed there, which are separated from the evil in Sardis. They arise as a protest against the prevailing evil. We recognize that in our days, for example, in the restored reformed church. It is a place of separation, although within the boundaries of Sardis, of the ten tribes.

Jehu Completes His Commission

In this verse the historian tells us that Jehu arrived in Samaria and completed his commission there. There he killed all those who “remained to Ahab”. With this he fulfilled “the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah” (cf. 1Kgs 21:21).