When Joram sustained injuries in the battle with the army of Hazael, the king of Aram, he sought refuge in his mother’s hometown of Jezreel to recuperate. Ahaziah, the king of Israel, who was aligned with the house of Ahab both through principle and marriage, had accompanied him into the battle against the Arameans. Subsequently, Ahaziah travelled to Jezreel to visit Joram, the son of Ahab, who had been wounded. It was during this time that Elisha called upon a man from the company of the prophets to anoint Jehu king over Israel and convey a message to him while he was still on the frontlines at Ramoth Gilead.
You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the LORD’s servants shed by Jezebel.
2 Kings 9:7 (NIV)
It is worth noting that God had instructed Elijah to anoint Jehu. However, it appears that Elijah either disregarded these instructions or was carried up to heaven before being able to fulfil the task. Nonetheless, it was his successor, Elisha, who proceeded to anoint both Hazael as the king of Aram and Jehu as the king of Israel, as per God’s will.
Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
1 Kings 19:17 (NIV)
God could have sent the destroyer to kill Ahab’s family, however, if he had died supernaturally, the people might not have attributed their deaths to the wrath of God. Although Elijah did not personally anoint Jehu, it is understood that God intended to employ Jehu as an instrument of judgment against the house of Ahab. When Jehu informed his fellow officers that he had been anointed king over Israel by the LORD, they quickly showed their respect by laying their cloaks on the bare steps and proclaiming him as king with trumpet blasts and shouts.
Witnessing their king injured, the officers likely assumed his demise or impending death. The thought of a feeble ruler presiding over them during wartime likely instilled fear. In contrast, the fit Jehu who seemingly garnered the approval of Elisha and the LORD looked like a suitable candidate to lead the men to battle. Perhaps they were weary of the old leadership and found solace in the prospect of Jehu, a commander like them, ascending to the throne. Alternatively, they might have aimed to avoid offending Jehu and starting their relationship with him on a hostile note. Ironically, though they initially dismissed the prophet as a madman, they swiftly embraced his proclamation and crowned Jehu as their king.
The Rampage in Jezreel
Jehu conspired against Joram while the latter was recovering in Jezreel, having been wounded in battle with Hazael king of Aram. Jehu urged the people not to let anyone escape to Jezreel to report the news, and then he rode to Jezreel, where Joram was resting, along with Ahaziah king of Judah.
When Joram received word of his commander’s imminent return from the battlefield, he promptly dispatched messengers to ascertain his intentions. However, Jehu managed to persuade the messengers to defect to his side. Then Joram and Ahaziah went to meet Jehu to see if he had come in peace.
How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
2 Kings 9:22-23 (NIV)
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu then proceeded to command his chariot officer to throw the dead body of Joram in the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite who had been unjustly killed by the king and the queen. He even quotes the prophecy of the LORD against Ahab and justifies their killing as direct revenge for the murderer of Naboth and his sons.
After witnessing the bloodshed carried out by Jehu, Ahaziah, the king of Judah, attempted to flee but was pursued by Jehu. Despite being wounded in his chariot, Ahaziah managed to escape to Megiddo where he eventually succumbed to his injuries. However, the book of Chronicles records that the men were captured and brought back in the presence of Jehu where he was put to death. His servants transported his body to Jerusalem for burial alongside his ancestors.
Even if God delegated the killing of Joram, and the house of Ahab to Jehu, we don’t see any clear instructions that would justify the murder of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. If God never told Jehu to kill the king of Judah, then Jehu had power gone to his head and wanted to eradicate everything. Jehu perhaps misunderstood the instructions and thought that killing the king of Judah was fair game as he was in alliance with the king of Israel. Though it seems like Jehu has gone rogue and is acting of his own accord, God was still in control as the promised judgement was being carried out for all who had rejected God.
Even though God had delegated the task of killing Joram and the house of Ahab to Jehu, there were no explicit instructions to justify the assassination of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. If God did not command Jehu to kill the king of Judah, then Jehu may have acted based on his own ambitions and desire to eliminate all potential threats. It is possible that Jehu misunderstood the instructions and believed that killing the king of Judah was permissible due to his alliance with the king of Israel. Even though it seems like Jehu had gone rogue and was acting of his own accord, it is evident that God was still in control, ensuring that the promised judgment was carried out against those who had rejected Him including the king of Judah.
After having killed the two ings, Jehu embarked on a journey to Jezreel with the intent of locating Jezebel, the queen mother of Israel. Despite her attempts to beguile him and secure his favour, Jehu remained steadfast in his mission to obliterate the lineage of Ahab. He convinced Jezebel’s personal attendants, instructing them to cast her down, thereby leading to her demise in a particularly gruesome way.
The Massacre Continues
To establish his reign and ensure no future claims to the throne arise, Jehu has the seventy sons of Ahab murdered. Jehu wrote to the guardians of Ahab’s children, challenging them to a battle asking them to bring the best and the most worthy sons who were the heir to Ahab’s throne. The guardians were terrified and did not want to fight Jehu as part of the opposing army. So Jehu asked them to prove their loyalty by bringing the heads of all of Ahab’s sons and grandsons to which they gladly obliged. In this way, Jehu got what he wanted as there was no heir left to claim Ahab’s throne without getting his hands dirty.
The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?
2 Kings 10:9 (NIV)
Jehu masterminded a scheme that implicated everyone in the assassination of Ahab’s offspring. He cunningly coerced the populace into executing Ahab’s sons, leaving them with no alternative but to endorse him due to their vulnerability. His spree of violence continued unabated as he annihilated forty-two relatives of Ahaziah who had arrived to pay homage to the king and queen mother. Further, he formed an alliance with Jehonadab, journeyed to Samaria, and eradicated all remaining members of Ahab’s lineage. Consequently, the prophecy delivered by the LORD through the prophet Elijah was fulfilled through the actions of a madman.
Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
2 Kings 10:18-19 (NIV)
Subsequently, Jehu assembled the populace and professed to be a fervent devotee of baal, surpassing even his predecessor, Ahab, in devotion. He decreed that everyone’s presence was obligatory at the grand sacrifice he intended to conduct for baal, warning them not to miss this congregation. All baal’s worshippers congregated, unsuspecting of any malevolent intentions. As soon as Jehu concluded the sacrificial offering to baal, he commanded his guards and officers to slay the assembled worshippers. Thus, his reign of terror persisted with the brutal extermination of all baal’s worshippers. They even extracted the hallowed stone of baal and incinerated it.
Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2 Kings 10:31 (NIV)
Despite Jehu’s apparent fervour for God, which led him to commit the heinous act, his heart was not truly with God. He may have eradicated the worship of baal from his land, but he succumbed to idolatrous practices, much like his forefathers. His ultimate act of slaying baal’s prophets involved deceit, leading him to participate in idolatrous rituals. He overstepped his bounds by neglecting God’s commands and becoming complacent with the world’s pagan practices. God, regardless of the task He assigns us, never desires us to deceive others to fulfil His will. Our deceptive actions stem from evil when we attempt to reconcile God’s will with worldly matters. If God summons us to execute His will, He will empower us to do so without relying on worldly methods.
Nevertheless, the LORD began to diminish Israel’s population and employed Hazael, the king of Aram, to enact His judgment and devastation upon His people. Jehu ruled over Israel for a substantial twenty-eight years, under the impression that he was serving God. However, it’s likely that he spent those twenty-eight years distancing himself from God by adopting worldly customs. We must avoid this pitfall and not squander our lives pretending to do God’s work while our hearts scarcely comprehend God’s will.
Discussion Questions
- Why is God using a mortal to carry out his judgement on the house of Ahab?
- How are the fellow officers so easily convinced and accept Jehu as their new king?
- Did God authorise the killing of the king of Judah by Jehu?
- Why has Jehu made everyone culpable with the murder of Ahab’s sons?
- Is it okay to be deceptive in our ways if we are doing God’s work?
The Jordan Valley 
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