Okay, you can turn in your Bibles
to 2 Kings 9. 2 Kings 9, I'll begin reading in
verse 1. And Elisha the prophet called
one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, get yourself
ready, take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth
Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu
the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make
him rise up from among his associates and take him to an inner room.
Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say,
Thus says the Lord, I have anointed you king over Israel. Then open
the door and flee and do not delay. So the young man, the
servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he
arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting. And he said,
I have a message for you, commander. Jehu said, for which one of us?
And he said, for you, commander. Then he arose and went into the
house, and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him,
Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed you king over
the people of the Lord over Israel. You shall strike down the house
of Ahab, your master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants,
the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord
at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall
perish, and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel,
both bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab
like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house
of Basha, the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on
the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury
her.' And he opened the door and fled. Then Jehu came out
to the servants of his master, and one said to him, Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?
And he said to them, You know the man and his babble. And they
said, A lie. Tell us now. So he said, Thus
and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says the Lord, I have anointed
you king over Israel. Then each man hastened to take
his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps,
and they blew trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. So Jehu, the son
of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now,
Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against
Hazael, king of Syria. But King Joram had returned to
Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted
on him when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said,
if you are so minded, let no one leave or escape from the
city to go and tell it in Jezreel. So Jehu rode in a chariot and
went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there, and Ahaziah king
of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now a watchman stood on
the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he
came. And he said, I see a company of men. And Joram said, get a
horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, is it
peace? So the horseman went to meet
him and said, thus says the king, is it peace? And Jehu said, what
have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me. So
the watchman reported saying, the messenger went to them, but
is not coming back. Then he sent out a second horseman
who came to them and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And
Jehu answered, What have you to do with peace? Turn around
and follow me. So the watchman reported, saying,
He went up to them and is not coming back, and the driving
is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives
furiously. Then Joram said, Make ready.
And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and
Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot. And they
went out to meet Jehu, and met him on the property of Naboth
the Jezreelite. Now it happened when Joram saw
Jehu that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? So he answered, What peace,
as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft
are so many? Then Joram turned around and
fled, and said to Ahaziah, Treachery, Ahaziah! Then Jehu drew his bow
with full strength, and shot Jehoram between his arms. And
the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.
Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain, Pick him up and throw
him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For
remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his
father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him. Surely I saw
yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, says
the Lord. And I will repay you in this
plot, says the Lord. Therefore, take and throw him
on the plot of ground according to the word of the Lord. But
when Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw this, he fled by the road
to Beth Hagin. So Jehu pursued him and said,
shoot him also in the chariot. And they shot him at the ascent
of Ger, which is by Iblim. Then he fled to Megiddo and died
there. And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem
and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David. In the 11th year of Joram, the
son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah. And when Jehu
had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint
on her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked through a window.
Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, Is it peace Zimri,
murderer of your master? And he looked up at the window
and said, who is on my side? Who? So two or three eunuchs
looked out at him. Then he said, throw her down.
So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered
on the wall and on the horses. And he trampled her underfoot.
And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, go now. See to this accursed woman and
bury her, for she was a king's daughter. So they went to bury
her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet
and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and
told him, and he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he
spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, On the plot
of ground at Jezreel, dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel. And
the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the
field in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, here
lies Jezebel. Amen. Well, the chapter breaks
down into two sections. First, we see the instrument
of God's judgment, and that's in verses 1 to 13, the anointing
of Jehu. And then secondly, the execution
of God's judgment in verses 14 to 37. Now, there's a lot of
background material that is necessary for a proper understanding of
this particular chapter. So let's look back, first of
all, at 1 Kings chapter 16. Just looking at some background
to this particular chapter and the next, where we see the house
of Ahab brought under the judgment of God. In the first place, we
ought to consider the wickedness of Ahab in 1 Kings 16 at verse
29. In the 38th year of Asa king
of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel, and
Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel and Samaria 22 years.
Now Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord
more than all who were before him. Now that is a pretty big
statement because there were wicked persons before him. In
fact, Omri was no saint himself. It goes on to develop or expound
the sorts of wickedness that Ahab engaged in. Verse 31, it
says, "...it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial
thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
that he took as wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king
of the Sidonians, and he went and served Baal and worshipped
him." So Jeroboam institutionalized idolatry in Israel, vis-Ã -vis
calf worship. Ahab respected that practice,
but he added Baal worship. Here, specifically, he went and
he served Baal and worshiped him in the land of the Sidonians. But in verse 32, it goes on to
tell us, he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which
he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image.
Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than
all the kings of Israel who were before him. So he not only engages
in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, but he also institutionalizes
Baal worship in the confines of Israel. Now turn over to 1
Kings 19. Again, just looking at some background
to 2 Kings 9 and 10. In 1 Kings chapter 19, remember
the prophet Elijah is despondent. He's depressed. It's not a psychoanalytical
moment. He's not having a crisis of faith.
He is not sort of upset because his father didn't hug him when
he was a child. He's upset, according to verses
4 and 10, because of the covenantal unfaithfulness that was rampant
in Israel. It grieved him. It vexed his
spirit when he saw the nation of Israel, the people, that were
to serve the living and the true God, following and serving the
Lord. I'm sorry, it's not verse 4,
it's verse 10 for sure, and then in verse 14. And so we see that
his concern is for Israel and the purity of her worship. So
then God gives him a promise, a prediction, a prophecy concerning
the future, specifically at verse 15. Then the Lord said to him,
Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when
you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall
anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and Elisha
the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in
your place. It shall be that whoever escapes
the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. And whoever escapes the
sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. So God promises Elijah that there
will be judgment upon Ahab and upon his household. Ian Proven
says, of the players mentioned in 1 Kings 19, the passage I
just read, we await only Jehu. Right on cue, he now makes his
entrance. Israel will be purged at last
of Ahab's house and the worship of Baal it introduced. Judah
too will be cleansed. Even the Davidic line will seem
under threat. God's quiet ways are for the
moment at an end. Earthquake is the order of the
day. And Davis adds, Elisha has begun
his work in 1 Kings 19. Hazael begins his work in 2 Kings
8. So now there is no reason to
be surprised that Jehu begins his in chapter 9. And then one
other passage by way of background is in 1 Kings 21. Now this takes
place over the death of Naboth. Naboth was a man who lived in
Jezreel who owned a piece of property and Ahab wanted that
piece of property and Jezebel instigated him or told him that
he would get that property and the way that she orchestrated
that was by having false witnesses say that Naboth had indeed blasphemed
Yahweh. So he was summarily executed
for the crime of blasphemy. And so this property was seized
by the crown via an act of murder. It was cold-blooded. Now keep
Jezreel in your mind and the reference to Naboth's property
when we get back to 2 Kings 9. That's not an accident. It's
not a happy mistake. It is of God that these men are
executed or this man Jehoram dies in Jezreel. Notice specifically
the language of Elijah the prophet beginning in chapter 21 at verse
17. The word of the Lord came to
Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down and meet Ahab,
king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is in the vineyard
of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.
You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord. Have you
murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying,
Thus says the Lord, In the place where dogs lick the blood of
Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours. So Ahab said
to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered,
I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil
in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring calamity
on you, I will take away your posterity, I will cut off from
Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. I will make your
house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the
house of Basha, the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with
which you have provoked me to anger and made Israel sin. And
concerning Jezebel, the Lord also spoke, saying, The dog shall
eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. The dog shall eat whoever belongs
to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall
eat whoever dies in the field. So the judgment of God is pronounced
upon Ahab and upon his sons. Now it stayed for a generation.
Ahab dies on the field of battle, but it takes a while until the
whole household of Ahab is obliterated. Enter Jehu. We have a purge of
Israel through this man Jehu that we find here in 2 Kings
9. And remember last week we noted
how God had orchestrated that both Jehoram of the north and
Ahaziah of the south would be in Jezreel. They were gathered
there at the end of chapter 8 so that Jehu could find them and
execute them as judgment of God. So all of that background. Now
let's look specifically at chapter 9 and the instructions from Elisha
in verses 1 to 5. He tells a son of the prophet
to go to take this flask of oil to find Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat,
This Jehoshaphat is not the king of Judah. It's another Jehoshaphat,
but he is to identify Jehu. He's a military commander. He
is to take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say,
thus says the Lord, I have anointed you king over Israel, then open
the door and flee, and do not delay. Notice that God governs
and controls history. By me, king's reign according
to Christ speaking in Proverbs chapter 8 as well in Romans 13
there is no authority except from God and we see that very
directly here specifically thus says the Lord I have anointed
you king over Israel. So this young man complies with
Elijah. Some speculate Elisha was too
old to make the journey at this particular point in time. So
he sends this designee, he sends this son of the prophet to go
and do this. I find it somewhat amusing at
the end of verse three, he says, then open the door and flee and
do not delay. In other words, get out of Dodge.
You don't want to be around when Jehu is anointed and Jehu is
given his marching orders. Because when Jehu's in action,
it's best for you to just depart and not be caught anywhere near
there. I don't know if that is the particulars
of Elisha's instruction, but he does say, flee, do not delay. In other words, come back. You
don't want to be anywhere around the carnage that is going to
take place around that man who rides his chariot furiously and
is an ace marksman with the bow and arrow. Now note the anointing
of Jehu in verses 6 to 13. He's anointed in verse 6. He poured the oil on his head
and said to him, thus says the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed
you king over the people of the Lord over Israel. Now he states
his mission. And you'll notice that this son
of the prophet expands on what Elisha says. If you go back,
Elisha simply says, to take the flask, pour it on his head, and
say, thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel.
Some suggest the son of the prophet here is taking some liberty,
expanding the particular mission involved. No, it's just a matter
of narrative technique. Not every detail is repeated
every single time a particular incident is mentioned. It would
be somewhat heavy-laden if it continued to play out, verses
7 to 10, three times. Notice in verse 12, the way that
Jehu summarizes what has been told to him. Notice in verse
12, so he said, thus and thus he spoke to me saying. Now we
don't actually think Jehu said to them, thus and thus he spoke
to me. It's a technique, it's a literary
technique so that we're not bogged down in the same details of repetition. So what Elisha said certainly
included what this son of the prophet specifies in terms of
Jehu's specific mission. And that specific mission is
given to us here very clearly. Notice the instrumentality of
Jehu in verse 7, but the absolute sovereignty and the activity
and responsibility of God. Verse 7, you shall strike. But notice in verse 7, that I
may avenge. Notice in verse 8, and I will
cut off. And then again in verse 9, I
will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son
of Nebat. God is in control. God is sovereign. God is accomplishing His will.
God is fulfilling His purpose and His plan. through the instrumentality
of this servant Jehu. Now note the specific details,
the vengeance of God for the murder of the prophets. Verse
7, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and
the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel. We have seen in our studies in
1st and 2nd Kings, that Jezebel was no friend to Yahweh's prophets. She did kill them. She did murder
them. She did exterminate them, and
God is now going to bring vengeance upon her. In fact, go back to
chapter 19 in 1st Kings. Chapter 19, 1 Kings chapter 19. I read 15 to 17, but back up
for just a moment to verse 14. And he said, I have been very
zealous for the Lord God of hosts because the children of Israel
have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars and killed
your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and they seek
to take my life. Davis says that Yahweh remembers
every last one of his servants who was done to death by this
godless Saul. And I think Davis is absolutely
right. God knows each and every one
of the prophets that this godless Saul had executed in the name
of her God, Baal. Matthew Henry makes this observation. Nothing fills the measure of
the iniquity of any prince or people as this does, nor brings
a surer or a sorer ruin. This was the sin that brought
on Jerusalem its first destruction." 2 Chronicles 36, 16. and its final one, Matthew 23,
37 to 38. In other words, it was God's
vengeance on those who had, in fact, murdered His prophets. Notice in terms of specific details
going on in verse 8. For the whole house of Ahab shall
perish, and I will cut off from Ahab all the males, and the king
James, those who pisseth against the wall, all the males in Israel,
both bond and free. This language is used with reference
to the house of Jeroboam in 1 Kings 14. It's used with reference
to the house of Basha in 1 Kings 16, and then with reference to
the house of Ahab, 1 Kings 21, and then it's carried out in
2nd Kings chapter 10. He says through the prophet to
Jehu the minister or instrument of his judgment upon the house
of Ahab that all the males will be decimated. In other words,
this particular dynasty will come to an end. It will not survive. The sin of Ahab is such that
liquidation of the entirety of his house is what is needful. And then it goes on to specify
Jezebel's fate. Notice in verse 10, the dog shall
eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be
none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
So the son of the prophet took Elisha, the prophet's word, and
he ran, went back to wherever he came from, visited Elisha,
told him that he had delivered the message. Now notice the coronation
of Jehu. Verse 11, he comes out to the
servants of his master, and one said to him, is all well. Why
did this madman come to you? Now it wasn't uncommon for them
to be viewed as madmen. There were times when they went
into sort of an ecstatic frenzy, when they ministered the word
of truth. They used musical instruments,
and we have no reason to believe that these particular men were
God-fearing Israelites. So God-fearing prophets would
appear to them to be madmen. And so Jehu simply tries to evade
this. He says, you know the man and
his babble. And they said, a lie, tell us now. They knew he was
lying, most likely because they saw the oil dripping off of his
head. I mean, it wasn't the case that he went and had a quick
shower and got everything fixed up. And then he was standing
back in front of these guys. They knew that something had
happened. They knew that something had transpired. Again, most likely
the oil is dripping down his head. So they say, a lie, tell
us now. So he said, thus and thus he
spoke to me saying, thus says the Lord, I have anointed you
king over Israel. These men gladly accept him as
a leader. And this is an interesting thing.
By way of a sideline observation, a decisive man, a man that's
going to get the job done is a man that people want to follow.
I mean, it's pretty obvious. Probably Jehoram and his bad
military endeavors. I mean, he got injured on the
field of battle. That doesn't instill confidence
in the men that you were leading. Jehoram didn't display or distinguish
himself as a man of military savvy and ability. So perhaps
these servants of the master were already ripe for this sort
of a coup or this sort of a takeover. But it is intriguing that every
step of the way, everybody follows Jehu. I know God's sovereign,
I know it's His providence, I know He's unfolding this plan so that
He can bring this judgment to bear upon Ahab, but people are
looking for a leader that they can follow, and these men willingly
do this. They take the garment, they put
it under him on the top of the steps. They are exalting him,
they are elevating him, they are putting him in a position
of esteem and prestige, and they blew trumpets saying, Jehu is
king. When he comes to Jezreel, the
two messengers that are sent out to sort of vet him and see
what he's about actually join with him. When he's gazing at
Jezebel, when she's all made up in her eyeliner, and her rosy
cheeks, and her mascara, and her lipstick, and her hair is
done, and she's all gussied up, What does Jehu say? Is there
anybody up there for me? Well, the eunuchs toss her right
off of the top of the place there. I mean, Jehu was a man that people
wanted to follow because he was a man of decisive leadership. He was a man that had mad chariot
skills, as we learned from verse 20. He rides furiously. He's
a fearless man. That's the kind of leaders that
people are looking for, men that are going to get the job done
for the God who enlists them into His particular service. It's a beautiful thing. Now notice
the execution of God's judgment, verses 14 to 37. We see the plan
initiated. in verses 14 to 20, and then the execution of the
plan in verses 21 to 37. Verse 14, we see that he conspires. The son, or Jehu, the son of
Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now
we, the reader, know that he's operating according to the plan
and purpose of God. He is fulfilling prophecy. So
this idea of conspiracy here ought not to be taken in some
negative sense. It ought not to be a YouTube
sort of a documentary on just how wicked and bad Jehu is. We've
already seen the background information. Judgment is coming upon the house
of Ahab. Jehu is God's selected instrument.
and Jehu is going to bring the edge of the sword upon them.
So there is this conspiracy. And then verses 15 essentially
reminds us of the providence of God. Notice in verse 14 and
15. Now Joram, this is Joram of the
north, had been defending Ramoth Gilead,
he and all Israel, against Hazael, king of Syria. But King Joram
had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians
had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria."
See, I think our author is doing something here because he knows
the sluggishness of our hearts. He knows the hardness of our
heads. He knows that providence and God's absolute sovereignty
and God's absolute sovereign governance over the universe
sometimes escapes us. And so we need these constant
and frequent reminders. We've already had it in chapter
8. Chapter 8 specifically at verse 29 puts Joram of the north
and puts Ahaziah of the south in Jezreel. And so the author
here is reminding us. God is moving the pieces, the
players, all into their specific places to execute the judgment
that had been long ago prophesied, specifically promised by God
in 1 Kings 19, prophesied by Elijah in 1 Kings 21, and the
stage was set in 2 Kings 8, and now it's coming to pass.
We, the reader, are not to neglect the sovereignty of God. We're
not to neglect the providence of God. We're never to operate
as if this is a godless universe and things just happen randomly
or haphazardly. The author won't let us do that. He puts this before us conspicuously. Now, notice that he gets the
participation of others. At the end of verse 15, Jehu
said, if you are soul-minded, let no one leave or escape from
the city to go and tell it in Jezreel. I believe he is involving
or securing their involvement, and the secrecy of the mission
is maintained. He didn't want anybody to escape
from Ramoth-Gilead and go to Jezreel and sort of alert them
as to what was going to happen. Hey, by the way, Jehu's coming.
He's a crack shot with a bow and arrow, so make sure you're
hiding behind a wall when that happens. Keep everybody here
in Ramoth Gilead. I don't want anybody to go ahead
to Jezreel and alert them as to what is happening. You see,
this conspiracy is moving forward. This revolution is moving forward
and Jehu is God's chosen instrument to bring judgment to bear upon
the wicked house of Israel. Now note his journey to Jezreel. The reminder of Jehoram and Ahaziah's
presence in Jezreel once again. Verse 16, Jehu rode in a chariot,
went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there. Ahaziah king of
Judah had come down to see Joram. Repeats 8.29. Again, we need
829 repeated because we get to passages and we forget that there's
a contextual bearing. We forget that there is a connection. We forget that it goes all the
way back to 1 Kings chapter 16 when we see how wicked Ahab is.
and 1 Kings 19, when we see that God comforts Elijah with a promise
of the downfall of Ahab, and when we get to 1 Kings chapter
21. I think in many respects that connection is one of the
beautiful things in this chapter. Naboth was brutalized by the
crown. Naboth was treated like a piece
of human garbage. And some watching from the sidelines
might have thought, well, Naboth didn't get justice. Naboth was
never avenged. And Naboth was never taken care
of. In fact, it's this narrative which tells us specifically that
it was also the sons of Naboth. Notice in verse 26. Surely I
saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. 1 Kings 21 doesn't tell us about
his sons, but it makes sense. Because if Ahab is trying to
seize the field and he's trying to take the property away from
Naboth, he's got to eliminate all rightful inheritors. He's
got to get rid of all the sons because they would be entitled
to that piece of land. And so what we find in this particular
chapter is God's vindication of his elect. This is a Luke
18 moment. In many respects, as we've moved
our way through 2 Kings, especially that block of narrative dealing
with the miracles of Elisha, we've seen New Testament themes
in Old Testament context. The reality that God does exceedingly
and abundantly above all that we could ask or think when He
supplies the widow. with the oil to tend to her two
sons. When God raises that Shunammite
woman's son from the dead, he goes above and beyond. When the
food that the prophet has is multiplied to feed the other
prophets, there's a bunch of leftovers. God goes exceedingly
and abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Well, this
is a shall not God avenge his own elect moment. Those who cry
to him day or night, We ought never to forget this is a moral
universe governed by a sovereign God who is just, who is holy,
and who is righteous. And if somebody takes out Naboth,
God is going to take out him. It's just the way God operates,
it's the way God functions, it's the way God has demonstrated
himself throughout scripture. So Jehu arrives at Jezreel in
verses 17 to 20. Now the question, thus says the
king from the messenger, is it peace? Maybe something like,
is everything okay? Is everything all right in Ramoth
Gilead? You see, Jehoram is laid up with
an injury in Jezreel, and now Jehu, one of his commanders,
comes to the city gate. I'm not sure at this particular
point Jehoram has any fear that Jehu is there to slaughter Jehoram. And so when he says he's at peace
via the messengers, and I'll submit later, when he says it
himself, that Jehu is at peace, it's probably something like,
is everything okay? Is everything all right in the
battle at Ramoth Gilead? Is everything going according
to plan? So messenger number one asks him that, and Jehu says,
you need to follow me. I mean, I don't know if he's
a Christ-like figure, but he certainly has this going for
him. When Jesus says to Matthew, follow me, Matthew follows him.
When Jehu says to these messengers, follow me, they follow him. Now,
it might have been his military entourage, it might have been
his massive guns, it might have been his bow and arrow, it might
have been a whole number of things, but these two messengers follow
him, and then we see the watchman's report in verse 20. The watchman
reported saying, he went up to them and is not coming back.
Messengers number 1 and 2. And the driving is like the driving
of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously. He was identified
in this particular way. He had sort of distinguished
himself as a charioteer. He was one who drove furiously. Now that brings us into the execution
of the plan. Note this meeting with Jehu,
with Joram. and Ahaziah. Verse 21, Joram
said, Make ready, and his chariot was ready. Now, just before we
move on, let's consider the posture of Joram. There's quite a contrast
here. We've got Jehu riding furiously,
and no doubt at this point, Joram's wandering curiously. He's probably
anxious with what is happening. Your messengers haven't returned.
Jehu's at the gates and he looks like he's on a mission. Jehoram,
we think you need to probably go out and talk to him. Paul
House says, Joram waits anxiously as Jehu drives furiously. Another
man says, the reader knows of Jehu's resolve. naturally infers
hostile intent, and thus reads these signals, the riders who
do not return, and the wild rush of a man like Jehu, far less
ambiguously. In other words, we don't have
any question about what's happening. Jehoram does. Jehoram really
does. He has no clue what's happening
at this particular time. Jehoram faces a gathering epiphany
of judgment. He has no idea what's waiting
for him when he meets Jehu at this particular point. And then
note, the two kings meet Jehu on the property of Naboth the
Jezreelite, a very fitting place for Joram, a son of Ahab, to
meet his aunt. Notice in verse 21, Then Joram
king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his
chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him on the
property of Naboth the Jezreelite. Now it happened when Joram saw
Jehu that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? Now we really know that
Jehu means business. I mean, look at what he says
here. I'm going to quote it from the King James because it's just
a whole lot better. What peace, verse 22b, so long
as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are
so many. Talk about saying a mean thing
to a guy. Somebody came up to you and said,
your mother's engaged in whoredoms and witchcraft. Would you say,
thank you. I appreciate your kindness and
your love and your encouragement. Jehu's throwing down. He is not
messing around. The reference is no doubt spiritual
harlotry. I mean, the scripture oftentimes
uses whoredoms or harlotry or adultery to sort of metaphorically
depict idolatry. In other words, when somebody
goes after Baal, they go a-whoring after Baal, because they've left
Yahweh, they have left their husband, and they have gone to
another. But remember that within Baalism,
a means by which Baal was worshipped was through sexual immorality. So while it is probably a metaphor
for spiritual idolatry, there's probably a hint that the physical
reality also took place. Baal was worshipped through the
glands. Baal was worshipped through copulation. Baal was worshipped through all
forms of sexual immorality. So it would not be an outlandish
suggestion that Jezebel had engaged not only in spiritual whoredoms,
in turning away from Yahweh to the Baals, she had always been
with Baal, but as well to engage in the physical act of infidelity
in the physical sphere. Again, House says, the reference
to adulteries repeats the standard biblical metaphor for abandoning
Yahweh to take up the ways of foreign gods. Baalism's sexual
content makes this metaphor an apt one. And witchcraft refers
to false cults or to idolatrous cults and their use of evil arts. You see these things all throughout
the Old Testament. So this particular charge that
he levels here is accurate with reference to Jezebel. He's not
just engaged in name-calling, he is actually legit. I mean,
if somebody said that to you or me, they would be, you know,
out to lunch. But if you said this to Jehoram
of the north, you are barking up the right tree. I mean, his
mom was Jezebel. She is paradigmatic for wicked
women in the Bible. I mean, it's used today even
outside of the church. Oh, she's a wicked Jezebel. I
mean, that's just shorthand for a godless, terrible sow of a
woman. I mean, it's a bad thing. So
Jehu essentially tells him that his mother is a whore and she
practices witchcraft. So perhaps at this point Jehoram
realizes, well he does, that things are not going in a manner
in which he would wish. I mean here's this, you know,
one of his commanders, he's rogue furiously to meet with them.
He doesn't know what the meeting's about. He asks him, What peace,
as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft
are so many? Now Joram knows what's happening.
He turns around, he flees, and he says to Ahaziah, Treachery,
Ahaziah. In other words, Jehu's not here
on a mission of peace. Jehu's not here to encourage
us with good news about what's happening in Ramoth Gilead. Jehu
is here with treachery. Jehu is here with big problems. So Jehu draws his bow with full
strength and shot Jehoram between his arms and the arrow came out
at his heart and he sank down in his chariot. Now in just a
brief place, it really is quite descriptive. I mean, that's a
very descriptive scene of how Jehoram meets his end. Jehu draws
his bow with full strength and shoots Jehoram between his arms.
The arrow came out in his heart and he sank down in his chariot.
There's no doubt whatsoever what has transpired in this particular
place. Now Jehu's instruction to Bidkar
indicates that Jehu is well aware of the prophetic fulfillment
involved in what is transpiring in this execution of Jehoram. Verse 25, Then Jehu said to Bidkar
his captain, Pick him up, throw him into the tract of the field
of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I
were riding together behind Ahab his father, that the Lord laid
this burden on him. So Robert Alter says, this is
a piece of delayed exposition that sharpens our sense of Jehu's
animus toward Jehoram. He and Bidkar were actually present
when Ahab expropriated the field of Naboth after his judicial
murder. So, you see, Jehu was involved. I mean, not, you know, the one
that pulled the cord and let the arrow fly into Naboth, but
he was familiar with what had transpired in Naboth's field. And here now he has leveled Jehoram.
Jehoram is dead in his chariot, and he tells Bidkar to throw
him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember when you and I were
riding together behind Ahab his father, that the Lord laid this
burden upon him. Now note the beautiful sentiment
related in verse 26. Surely, this is God's word, I
saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, says
the Lord. It sort of harkens back to the
book of Exodus. What does God see when He sees
Israel in their distress? He sees that. He sees that they're
in distress. He sees that they're in sorrow.
He sees that they are needy. He sees that they are tried.
He sees that they are suffering. The Lord God doesn't turn a blind
eye to the sufferings of His people. The New Testament everywhere
sort of flashes this out. And I think that, as I've mentioned
many times, we jip ourselves if we're not running through
Old Testament narrative to see these lessons fleshed out in
real life history. Again, what the New Testament
offers us is glowing, wonderful, propositional truth. But more
often than not, it's not located in the lives of the common folk
where we find that very thing. Naboth is murdered so someone
can increase his property holdings. God saw this. I saw yesterday
the blood of Naboth and the blood of his son, says the Lord, and
I will repay you in this plot, says the Lord. Now, therefore,
take and throw him on the plot of ground according to the word
of the Lord. Good thing that Jehu's a literalist.
He doesn't mess around with the fulfillment of God's word. Now, the death of Ahaziah, the
southern king, Ahaziah from the south, the Judah. The reason
for his death, it's not amplified. It just says, when Ahaziah, king
of Judah, saw this, he fled by the road to Beth Hagin. So Jehu
pursued him and said, shoot him also in the chariot. And they
shot him at the ascent of Ger, which is by Iblim. Then he fled
to Megiddo and died there. and his servants carried him
in the chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his
fathers in the city of David. So Ahaziah meets his end as well. So while the text doesn't specify,
it's most likely because he's an ally of Jehoram and he is
connected to the house of Ahab. So what we find here is God's
judgment not only upon Jehoram but Ahaziah. Now I should say
that the parallel in 2 Chronicles 22 verse 9 reads a bit differently
than what we have here in 2 Kings chapter 9. I'm going to just
quote Dale Ralph Davis here. He says, there are no direct
contradictions between the two reports, but I am not smart enough
to reconcile them satisfactorily. If Davis is not smart enough,
I am certainly not smart enough, but there are commentators that
give explanations. 2 Chronicles 22, verse 9, with
reference to the disposition of this Ahaziah, the Judean king,
it does differ in terms of the way it's reported than what we
have here in 2 Kings 9. I would suggest John Gill, he
always does a champion job at reconciling otherwise difficult
passages. I didn't see a lot of detail
there in 2 Kings 9, so I would imagine that when you get to
2 Chronicles 22 in John Gill, he would deal with it. A couple
of the commentators that I read today did explain it, but I'm
not smart enough to satisfactorily explain it. Now let's look finally
at the death of Everybody's favorite girl, Jezebel. Verses 30 to 37. Note her actions. She knows Jehu
is coming. She knows Jehu is coming. Verse
30. Now, when Jehu had come to Jezreel,
Jezebel heard of it. And she gussies herself up. She
put paint on her eyes and adorned her head and looked through a
window. Now, it's most likely defiance,
not seduction. Some suggest that she gussies
up so that she can seduce Jehu and broker a deal with him and
sort of get him into her pocket and they can rule the kingdom
together. But I don't think the text bears that out. I mean, verse 31, her words when
she says, Is it peace, Zimri? That's an insult. That probably
wouldn't make Jehu physically attracted to her. Typically men
aren't attracted to women that insult them in such nasty ways. So she is not trying to seduce
him. She is defying him. Notice, as I said, she insults
him. Verse 31, as Jehu entered at
the gate, she said, Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master? Now, devotees who have been here
at our Wednesday night studies will remember the name Zimri. He lasted for a week. How did he claim the crown? It
was by usurpation. He killed Ela, the king, prior
to him. So this is a real dig at Jehu. I mean, it's a real stab at him
in terms of insult. There's no, you know, when you're
reading through this, you're going to say, I thought his name
was Jehu, not Zimri. Oh, no, she knows exactly what
she's saying. And it is calculated to try and
make him feel bad. But that just doesn't work with
Jehu. He doesn't need a safe space.
He doesn't have triggers. He's not going to go home and
cry and say, somebody call me Zimri. No, he's going to tell
the eunuchs to throw her down and let her blood splatter all
over the earth. House explains. He says Jezebel
will be killed next. But she will not die quietly. She puts on makeup, fixes her
hair, and waits for Jehu by her window. This is no attempt to
seduce Jehu. Rather, she does these things
to look like and die like a queen. When Jehu arrives, she sarcastically
asks if he is come in peace. She knows he hasn't come in peace. She knows things are not well
with Jehu. She's heard the reports. He goes
on to say, she then insults him by calling him Zimri, the ineffectual,
short-lived usurper of Elah's throne. Just by way of an aside,
the wicked can go out with a bang, but they go out to judgment just
like everybody else. I mean, she gussied up, but there
is a great contrast between her gussying up and what the dogs
did to her. And that's not a mistake. We've
had times to comment many times. The author here is wonderful. I mean, the way that he writes
is quite Quite amazing. One commentator says, the narrative
is at pains to exhibit the humiliation of Jezebel in an instant transformed
from a narcissistic queen to a piece of rubbish in the street.
Again, this is not a happy accident. It just worked out that way.
No. I mean, she gussies herself up and in the next scene the
dogs have left nothing of her. She's just about all gone. So
all of your gussying up and all of your preparation to die well
and all of your external preparation, it does not avail you at all. The importance is the soul of
a man. What shall it profit a man if
he gains the whole world, but he loses his soul? What shall
it profit a man if he gussies himself up for his funeral, if
he's not ready to meet his maker? I mean, that's the emphasis throughout
scripture. It's not what your hair looks
like. It's not how you applied your makeup. It's not what color,
you know, blush you've got on that particular day. You may
go out with a flare, as did Jezebel, but when you go out, Then comes
judgment. That's the important thing that
persons need to be aware of. So then Jehu looks up at the
window and said, who is on my side? Who? So two or three eunuchs
looked out at him. Then he said, throw her down.
So they threw her down. Now, I'm just going to share
this because I think Provan makes a good point. She meets her end,
fittingly enough, at the hands of those least able to benefit
from the cult she has introduced. Right? I mean, if this is a fertility
cult, if that's the draw with reference to Baalism, eunuchs
are the least interested in that sort of thing. Again, it's no
accident that these two or three eunuchs happen to be standing
up there and Jehu says, who's with me? We are. And they just
toss her. There's no deliberation. There's
no banding about. They don't say to Jezebel, will
you make us an offer that we can't refuse? There is none whatsoever. Then he said, throw her down.
So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the
wall and on the horses, and he trampled her underfoot. Now,
what does a man like this do after he dispatches Joram and
Ahaziah and Jezebel? Well, he gets a sandwich. That's
what he does. That's what verse 34 says. I mean, isn't this why we're
drawn to characters like Jehu? They're real guys. They're real
men. You know, killing pagans and
idolaters is hard work. Verse 34, when he had gone in,
he ate and he drank. Then he said, I mean, I thought
of that scene in 1 Kings 21. After Jezebel makes the deal
that Naboth is going to pay with his life for the crime of blasphemy,
which by the way, he had never done. How does Jezebel comfort
Ahab? Go eat and drink. You just go
eat and drink, and mama will take care of everything. I wonder
if this is sort of the juxtaposition here. And when he had gone in,
he ate and drank. There was eating and drinking
after that killing as well, but it was by a man who was doing
the will of God. Then he said, go now, see to
this accursed woman and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.
This was in contrast to 910. In 910, he was told specifically,
the dog shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel,
and there shall be none to bury her. He wasn't to give the order
to bury. Now, we realize there's nothing
going to be to bury, but notice he refers to her as the king's
daughter. She was the king of the daughter
of Sidon. She was married to Ahab, but
it's almost as if he doesn't dignify King Ahab. It's almost
as if he doesn't want to say the king's wife. He shows respect
for her, not in any other quantifiable way that we should bury her because
she was a king's daughter. I mean, I don't know what kind
of respect that was after he trampled her underfoot with his
chariot. But there was a modicum of respect
here. He says, go now, see to this
accursed woman and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.
And this after he called her a whore and accused her of witchcraft. So I guess the respect wasn't
too high in terms of Jehu with reference to Jezebel, nor should
it have been. But there was a modicum. Go ahead
and bury her. So they went to bury her, but
they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the
palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and
told him, and he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he
spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, On the plot
of ground at Jezreel, dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and
the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the
field in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, Here
lies Jezebel. So the one that was all gussied
up is now basically all gone because the dogs had eaten whatever
the chariot hadn't completely obliterated. So that's the end
of Jehoram or Joram of the north, Ahaziah of the south, and then
Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. House summarizes, Jehu recognizes
that Elijah's predictions about Ahab and Jezebel have finally
all come true. Naboth's death has been avenged. The only remaining prediction
of Elijah regards the fate of Ahab's descendants. And that's
what chapter 10 will take up. All those who pisseth against
the wall are going to meet their end. All of them are going to
fall prey to Jehu's sword. They're all going to die as God
had promised. Now, in conclusion, just a few
quick lessons. In the first place, we ought
to appreciate the ministry of Elisha. He basically vanishes
after the anointing of Jehu. He'll come back in chapter 13,
but it's to die. House, again, says, for now Elisha
fades from the scene. He will emerge again later, but
the bulk of his work the author chooses to describe is over.
Elisha has protected the company of the prophets, the widow and
her family, and even the nation itself. He has modeled the Lord's
grace by healing Naaman and has convinced Naaman that there are
no other gods. Elisha has demonstrated the Lord's
sovereignty over political affairs in Judah, Israel, and Syria. I mean, again, God is comprehensively
sovereign. It's not just the northern and
the southern kingdoms of Israel. He's also responsible for Hazael
in Syria. Howe says he has concluded the
ministry of his mentor Elijah. Without question, he has proved
a more than worthy successor to his master. I think we would
all agree with that. that block of narrative, dealing
with his miracles. I mean, the guy was incredible.
He went about doing good. Many respects. He was typological
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He showed the grace of God. He
showed the mercy of God. He showed the kindness of God.
He healed. He fed. He helped. He ministered.
He raised from the dead. All these things at the hand
of Elisha. And I think House is right. He
showed himself as a more than worthy successor to his master. So Elijah and Elisha, in the
books of 1st and 2nd Kings, are two towering prophets of biblical
history that deserve and demand our respect. These are the kinds
of guys we want to encourage our sons to have as heroes. I
mean, if they say, this hockey player, or that football player,
or that policeman, or that, you know, policeman better than those
other guys, but their heroes ought to be men like Elijah and
Elisha. Their heroes ought to be men
like those who fear and serve the living and true God. I know
they'll never be able to go out and duplicate the miracles of
an Elisha. They'll probably never have the opportunity of an Elijah
on Mount Carmel to call down the fire of God upon a sacrifice. But to be those kinds of men,
faithful to Yahweh, those are the heroes we ought to promote
with reference to our children. Secondly, we ought to appreciate
the sovereignty of God. As I pointed out, the author
conspicuously sets it before us over and over again in terms
of the providence of God. Sovereign providence in bringing
Jehoram and Ahaziah to Ramoth-Gilead and then to Jezreel. Every step
of the way, brethren, and that's why I spent a little time in
the background. Do you see how it's all put together just consistently
and tightly and cogently? This isn't a random throw together
of a bunch of things and a bunch of random thoughts that some
guys put together and bound together and, you know, fools 2,000 years
later said, hey, this is the Word of God. No, it demonstrates
its consistency. It demonstrates a consent of
all the parts. It demonstrates a consistent testimony to the
one true and living God. We see the promises of God in
terms of His sovereignty fleshed out in 2 Kings 9 and Jehu recognizes
that and Jehu won't let us forget it either. This is what the Lord
said. This is a fulfillment of His
promise to Elijah. This is a time of rejoicing in
Israel's history because God has made good on His promises
to bring judgment, and then the political authority of God under
the heading of His sovereignty. God is sovereign over who rules
and over who reigns. Thirdly, the vengeance of God.
There's two things that we ought to see here. First, as Davis
says, sometimes it seems that throughout their blood-red history,
God's worshipers have been bludgeoned into oblivion. I mean, there
are times and seasons, brethren, where it looks like it's all
bad in the life of the Church. In fact, the 20th century was
one of the bloodiest, I think the bloodiest. Take all the 19th
centuries prior. The 20th century, in terms of
Christian martyrdom, exceeded it. Because not everything's
like in America and Canada. We don't have a whole lot of
persecution here. We get upset if somebody says,
I can't believe you're a Christian. You know, that just offends us.
Me? You talking to me? We get triggered.
We get, you know, we need safe space. Brothers and sisters are
dying for the cause of Jesus. Davis goes on, but the text says
that there is an eye that sees and a judge who takes note. Verse 26, surely I saw yesterday
the blood of Naboth and the blood of his son, says the Lord, and
I will repay you in this plot, says the Lord. And then with
reference to the vengeance of God, the righteous ought to rejoice
in it. The righteous ought to rejoice
in it. I doubt that the faithful in
Israel go, oh no, Jezebel's dead. What a shame. No, ding dong,
the witch is dead. They were rejoicing on that day
when that brazen whore was gone. They were rejoicing to see that
the house of Ahab is collapsed. I'm talking about the faithful.
I'm not talking about the unfaithful. Remember in 1 Kings 19 verse
18, didn't read that, where God says, there will be 7,000 knees
that will not bow the knee to Baal. Narcissim on the mouth.
God had his faithful remnant, and when Jehoram meets his end,
there's rejoicing. When Jezebel meets her end, there's
rejoicing. The wicked or the righteous ought
to rejoice. In fact, look at Proverbs 11
for just a moment. This is a theme that I think
Christians miss. I remember when a notorious bad
guy got killed. It might have been Osama bin
Laden. I forget which guy it was in
the last several years, but it was a notorious bad guy. And
you saw some Facebook discussion. Some people said, praise God,
he's dead. And other Christians said, well,
how can you say that? You know, I had one person in
the church call, and, is it okay to rejoice in the death of the
wicked? I said, absolutely. Proverbs
11.10, and I realized that would go over like a, you know, lead
balloon in some other evangelical context. But brethren, this is
not an isolated theme in Scripture. Proverbs 11.10, when it goes
well with the righteous, the city rejoices. And when the wicked
perish, there is misery? No, there's jubilation. It's
a good thing when Jezebel meets her end. It's a good thing when
Jezebel's splattered, and the chariot runs her over, and then
the dogs eat what's left. I mean, that is a cause for rejoicing. Now, some will say, well, that's
the Old Testament. Turn to Revelation 19, and there are several texts
in the New Testament we could go to, but I'll just take Revelation
19 as a sort of a typical or specimen passage. It's after
the destruction of Babylon, And in 19.1, after these things I
heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Alleluia,
salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord
our God. For true and righteous are his judgments, because he
has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her
fornication. And notice, he has avenged on her the blood of his
servants shed by her. Not precisely what the prophet
said was the mission of Jehu. Because she was responsible for
the death of the prophets, I will avenge them on her. And that's this fourfold Alleluia
in heaven. If the spirits of just men made
perfect in heaven celebrate the destruction of the wicked, then
I think it's okay to say that the not-as-perfect spirits of
just men on earth, just in Christ, can celebrate as well. Again,
I don't think we need to be unkind or untoward or in a mocking sort
of way, but a rejoicing. I just want to end with a quote
from Davis. He says, the demise of the wicked
should be the joy of the righteous. Now, this will probably offend
some of you. If it does, you can email Pastor Porter later
and complain to him. But I think what Davis says is
true. I alluded to this recently. Modern
hymnody, and even the hymnody that we sing in our hymn book,
really doesn't give us this clear demarcation between the righteous
and the wicked. It does, but there's no imprecatory
hymns. You know, there's no Psalm 94
in, you know, CCM, which is not going to sing, you know, with
a guitar and a harmonica about God's vengeance shining forth.
It's just not going to happen. So if you're going to be offended,
as I said, email Pastor Cam. Or you can email Dr. Davis, I
can give you his email address. He says, the demise of the wicked
should be the joy of the righteous. It may sound crude to put it
that way, but that's only because the church has stopped living
in, for example, Psalms 83 and 94, and has been sucking up the
bland milk of tolerance from the breasts of an anemic culture
for far too long. And this is the cutting statement. You say, well, that wasn't it?
There is no biblical spine in our theology. He's right. There's no Revelation 19 in our
theology. I'm speaking, you know, generally.
I'm not saying you guys are all messed up. I'm saying that the
church in many respects is anemic because we won't sing Psalm 94,
because we get uncomfortable thinking about Psalm 11. We get
uncomfortable when it comes to those imprecations. We don't
have a biblical understanding of the clear demarcation between
the good and the wicked, and the fact that the wicked deserve
the judgment of Almighty God. Well, let us close in a word
of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word, we thank you
for your just judgments. God, they are horrifying and
terrifying on the one hand, and how we praise you and thank you
on the other hand, that you have sent your Son, the Lord Jesus,
who lived, who died, who was raised the third day, so that
all who look to him in faith will have everlasting life. We
thank you for that protection. We thank you for that sure refuge.
We thank you for that safe haven in and through his blood. I ask
that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us
and help us to be a faithful people who serve you, who love
you, who fear you, and who honor you. And we ask these things
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
