“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” - Deuteronomy 32:4
Good morning. I hope that you have been enjoying our current sermon series, “The Divided Church: The Northern and Southern Kingdoms”. More importantly, I pray that God has been speaking to you through these sermons. At this point, we are roughly halfway through this particular series. In today’s message we will talk about Ahaziah and Jehu. Ahaziah ruled briefly in Judah and Jehu was God’s chosen instrument to bring judgment upon the house of Ahab. Buckle up… today’s sermon is filled with treachery and violence. Ready? Here we go!
I. AHAZIAH BECOMES KING OF JUDAH (2 Kings 8:25-27; 2 Chronicles 22:1-4)
After co-reigning with his wicked father for about a year, Ahaziah became the lone king of Judah when Jehoram (Jehoshaphat’s son) died from his debilitating bowel disease. Though he was the youngest son, all of Ahaziah’s brothers had been carried away and slain by the Philistines and Arabs leaving him alone to succeed his father. His brief 1-year reign in Jerusalem began in the 12th year of Jehoram’s (Ahab’s son) kingship in Israel. Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king and his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Following her counsel, he was an evil and corrupt king just as his father Jehoram had been.
II. ELISHA’S SERVANT ANOINTS JEHU (2 Kings 9:1-13)
Once again, hostilities broke out between the northern kingdom and Aram. Jehoram and the Israelite army went up to battle against the forces of Hazael, the new king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead, where they had dueled multiple times before. Ahaziah and the men of Judah fought as allies alongside Israel, just as they’d done in the days of Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
Prior to the battle, while the Israelites were camped at Ramoth-gilead preparing to engage, Elisha sent 1 of his servants to find Jehu, take him aside privately, and anoint him to be the new king of Israel (refer back to 1 Kings 19:16). Jehu was a captain in the Israelite army. After finding him, Elisha’s servant took Jehu alone into a house, poured oil upon his head anointing him as king, and instructed him to obey the word of the Lord. God commanded Jehu to strike the house of Ahab and completely wipe out all of his male descendants, so as to cut-off Omri’s royal dynasty, just as had been done to Jeroboam’s and Baasha’s previously. Elisha’s servant also stated that Jezebel would be killed and that her unburied body would be eaten by dogs in the territory of Jezreel. After anointing Jehu and delivering this message, the servant fled.
When Jehu came out of the house, his colleagues asked him what had happened and why this crazed messenger had come to see him. Jehu said, “You know why,” to which they answered, “No we don’t.” So Jehu told them what had happened and how God had chosen him to become the new king of Israel. His friends were delighted and they laid their garments on the steps before him, blew the trumpet, and cheerfully announced, “Jehu is king!”
III. JEHU ASSASSINATES BOTH KINGS (2 Kings 8:28-29; 9:14-29; 2 Chronicles 22:5-9)
Soon thereafter, the conflict between Israel and Aram began. During the fighting, King Jehoram was badly wounded and was taken away to Jezreel to rest and recover. While recuperating from his injuries, he became very sick. King Ahaziah, who was Jehoram’s nephew, went down to visit him.
Meanwhile, Jehu, who was still defending Ramoth-gilead from the Aramaens, asked his fellow soldiers if he might depart from the battlefield to go give a report to the ailing king at Jezreel. They agreed and Jehu departed with conspiracy on his mind. As he and his company approached Jezreel, Jehoram sent out a greeting party to meet them and ask if they had come in peace. However, the greeting party turned and joined forces with Jehu. So Jehoram sent another greeting party to inquire of Jehu’s intentions and it happened again.
Finally Jehoram and Ahaziah, who had come to see him, went out (each in their own chariots) to greet Jehu in person. They met each other in the property of Naboth, whose vineyard had been stolen by Ahab a generation earlier (1 Kings 21). When Jehoram realized that it was a coup he turned to flee, but Jehu shot him in the heart with an arrow and he died. Jehu then instructed his officer to cast Jehoram’s lifeless body onto the field of Naboth. He recalled an oracle of the Lord which he’d heard many years before stating that God would someday repay Ahab’s household for the murder of Naboth and his sons on this very property.
When Ahaziah saw what had happened, he frantically fled by way of the garden house. Jehu instructed his companions to shoot him, too. So they pursued and found Ahaziah, who had attempted to hide, and they shot him also. Nevertheless, Ahaziah’s chariot driver was able to escape to Meggido where King Ahaziah later died. His body was eventually returned to Jerusalem and buried. Meanwhile, word came to Jehu that Azahiah had been killed and buried.
Remember, though he was the king of Judah, Ahaziah and his slain brothers were still Ahab’s grandsons through their mother Athaliah and were therefore part of the extended household that God had charged Jehu to eliminate. Thus, Jehu also killed Ahaziah’s nephews, the sons of his fallen older brothers. It seems that, after killing all of these princes, Jehu believed that he’d completely wiped out Ahab’s male descendents in Judah. However, though Ahaziah was just 22 or 23 at the time of his death, he did have a few infant sons of his own that Jehu overlooked.
CONCLUSION
God commanded Jehu to eradicate Ahab’s royal line by killing all of his male descendents, both in Israel and Judah. We will discuss Jehu’s lethal assignment even further next week as we consider even more of his murderous actions. So far, we have read that he assassinated both Jehoram the king of Israel (Ahab’s son) and Ahaziah the king of Judah (Ahab’s grandson), along with all of Ahaziah’s nephews (Ahab’s great grandsons). And Jehu was just getting started…
Stories like this often cause critics and nonbelievers to question or even slander God’s character. How could a loving, compassionate God purposely execute such vengeance and wrath upon people, even bad people? Is this the type of God we should revere, love, and serve? (Absolutely yes!)
To address this issue, let us clarify that while God is loving, He is also equally just. While God loves His enemies and affords them an opportunity to repent, if they choose not to they will face His righteous judgment. Ahab and his descendants were bitter enemies of God and had been for decades. They worshiped Baal and led their kingdoms astray. The murder of Naboth was just 1 of countless evil things that they did. Sadly, through the marriage of his daughter, Ahab’s wicked influence spread from Israel into Judah as well. God used Jehu to bring justice upon those who had brazenly practiced evil.
Imagine that someone in your own family was being persecuted and abused. Would it be loving to allow such atrocities to continue without any type of intervention? Friend, you can’t “love” the oppressor at the expense of the oppressed. If you love someone you will hold them accountable for their actions. God loves His own, and His love from them is demonstrated in part by His judgment upon their tormentors. True love demands justice.
To be clear, God doesn’t give Christians blanket permission to act as vigilantes exacting His righteous vengeance upon unrepentant sinners. On the contrary, He teaches us to turn the other cheek and to practice forgiveness, knowing that the LORD Himself will make all things right in due time. We are to endure suffering patiently, as we peacefully contend and pray for His perfect justice. At the same time however, there are several examples in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, of God using a specific person or nation to bring about judgment upon His adversaries. Jehu is such a figure. This is God’s prerogative, not ours.
Here’s the bottom line… whether now or later, we can be certain that ultimately God’s justice will prevail.
Good morning. I hope that you have been enjoying our current sermon series, “The Divided Church: The Northern and Southern Kingdoms”. More importantly, I pray that God has been speaking to you through these sermons. At this point, we are roughly halfway through this particular series. In today’s message we will talk about Ahaziah and Jehu. Ahaziah ruled briefly in Judah and Jehu was God’s chosen instrument to bring judgment upon the house of Ahab. Buckle up… today’s sermon is filled with treachery and violence. Ready? Here we go!
I. AHAZIAH BECOMES KING OF JUDAH (2 Kings 8:25-27; 2 Chronicles 22:1-4)
After co-reigning with his wicked father for about a year, Ahaziah became the lone king of Judah when Jehoram (Jehoshaphat’s son) died from his debilitating bowel disease. Though he was the youngest son, all of Ahaziah’s brothers had been carried away and slain by the Philistines and Arabs leaving him alone to succeed his father. His brief 1-year reign in Jerusalem began in the 12th year of Jehoram’s (Ahab’s son) kingship in Israel. Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king and his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Following her counsel, he was an evil and corrupt king just as his father Jehoram had been.
II. ELISHA’S SERVANT ANOINTS JEHU (2 Kings 9:1-13)
Once again, hostilities broke out between the northern kingdom and Aram. Jehoram and the Israelite army went up to battle against the forces of Hazael, the new king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead, where they had dueled multiple times before. Ahaziah and the men of Judah fought as allies alongside Israel, just as they’d done in the days of Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
Prior to the battle, while the Israelites were camped at Ramoth-gilead preparing to engage, Elisha sent 1 of his servants to find Jehu, take him aside privately, and anoint him to be the new king of Israel (refer back to 1 Kings 19:16). Jehu was a captain in the Israelite army. After finding him, Elisha’s servant took Jehu alone into a house, poured oil upon his head anointing him as king, and instructed him to obey the word of the Lord. God commanded Jehu to strike the house of Ahab and completely wipe out all of his male descendants, so as to cut-off Omri’s royal dynasty, just as had been done to Jeroboam’s and Baasha’s previously. Elisha’s servant also stated that Jezebel would be killed and that her unburied body would be eaten by dogs in the territory of Jezreel. After anointing Jehu and delivering this message, the servant fled.
When Jehu came out of the house, his colleagues asked him what had happened and why this crazed messenger had come to see him. Jehu said, “You know why,” to which they answered, “No we don’t.” So Jehu told them what had happened and how God had chosen him to become the new king of Israel. His friends were delighted and they laid their garments on the steps before him, blew the trumpet, and cheerfully announced, “Jehu is king!”
III. JEHU ASSASSINATES BOTH KINGS (2 Kings 8:28-29; 9:14-29; 2 Chronicles 22:5-9)
Soon thereafter, the conflict between Israel and Aram began. During the fighting, King Jehoram was badly wounded and was taken away to Jezreel to rest and recover. While recuperating from his injuries, he became very sick. King Ahaziah, who was Jehoram’s nephew, went down to visit him.
Meanwhile, Jehu, who was still defending Ramoth-gilead from the Aramaens, asked his fellow soldiers if he might depart from the battlefield to go give a report to the ailing king at Jezreel. They agreed and Jehu departed with conspiracy on his mind. As he and his company approached Jezreel, Jehoram sent out a greeting party to meet them and ask if they had come in peace. However, the greeting party turned and joined forces with Jehu. So Jehoram sent another greeting party to inquire of Jehu’s intentions and it happened again.
Finally Jehoram and Ahaziah, who had come to see him, went out (each in their own chariots) to greet Jehu in person. They met each other in the property of Naboth, whose vineyard had been stolen by Ahab a generation earlier (1 Kings 21). When Jehoram realized that it was a coup he turned to flee, but Jehu shot him in the heart with an arrow and he died. Jehu then instructed his officer to cast Jehoram’s lifeless body onto the field of Naboth. He recalled an oracle of the Lord which he’d heard many years before stating that God would someday repay Ahab’s household for the murder of Naboth and his sons on this very property.
When Ahaziah saw what had happened, he frantically fled by way of the garden house. Jehu instructed his companions to shoot him, too. So they pursued and found Ahaziah, who had attempted to hide, and they shot him also. Nevertheless, Ahaziah’s chariot driver was able to escape to Meggido where King Ahaziah later died. His body was eventually returned to Jerusalem and buried. Meanwhile, word came to Jehu that Azahiah had been killed and buried.
Remember, though he was the king of Judah, Ahaziah and his slain brothers were still Ahab’s grandsons through their mother Athaliah and were therefore part of the extended household that God had charged Jehu to eliminate. Thus, Jehu also killed Ahaziah’s nephews, the sons of his fallen older brothers. It seems that, after killing all of these princes, Jehu believed that he’d completely wiped out Ahab’s male descendents in Judah. However, though Ahaziah was just 22 or 23 at the time of his death, he did have a few infant sons of his own that Jehu overlooked.
CONCLUSION
God commanded Jehu to eradicate Ahab’s royal line by killing all of his male descendents, both in Israel and Judah. We will discuss Jehu’s lethal assignment even further next week as we consider even more of his murderous actions. So far, we have read that he assassinated both Jehoram the king of Israel (Ahab’s son) and Ahaziah the king of Judah (Ahab’s grandson), along with all of Ahaziah’s nephews (Ahab’s great grandsons). And Jehu was just getting started…
Stories like this often cause critics and nonbelievers to question or even slander God’s character. How could a loving, compassionate God purposely execute such vengeance and wrath upon people, even bad people? Is this the type of God we should revere, love, and serve? (Absolutely yes!)
To address this issue, let us clarify that while God is loving, He is also equally just. While God loves His enemies and affords them an opportunity to repent, if they choose not to they will face His righteous judgment. Ahab and his descendants were bitter enemies of God and had been for decades. They worshiped Baal and led their kingdoms astray. The murder of Naboth was just 1 of countless evil things that they did. Sadly, through the marriage of his daughter, Ahab’s wicked influence spread from Israel into Judah as well. God used Jehu to bring justice upon those who had brazenly practiced evil.
Imagine that someone in your own family was being persecuted and abused. Would it be loving to allow such atrocities to continue without any type of intervention? Friend, you can’t “love” the oppressor at the expense of the oppressed. If you love someone you will hold them accountable for their actions. God loves His own, and His love from them is demonstrated in part by His judgment upon their tormentors. True love demands justice.
To be clear, God doesn’t give Christians blanket permission to act as vigilantes exacting His righteous vengeance upon unrepentant sinners. On the contrary, He teaches us to turn the other cheek and to practice forgiveness, knowing that the LORD Himself will make all things right in due time. We are to endure suffering patiently, as we peacefully contend and pray for His perfect justice. At the same time however, there are several examples in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, of God using a specific person or nation to bring about judgment upon His adversaries. Jehu is such a figure. This is God’s prerogative, not ours.
Here’s the bottom line… whether now or later, we can be certain that ultimately God’s justice will prevail.