March 28, 2023 - 2 Kings 9-14

Elisha anointed Jehu as king of Israel with these words: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord’” (9:6,7). You know, the Lord had said he would do this, and the announcement of it meant that it was as good as done. And so, Jehu struck down the entire house of Ahab along with Jezebel and the Baal prophets.

The take on the destruction of the Baal prophets: “And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day” (10:27). And so, Jehu almost wiped out Baalism from Israel, but not quite. And he continued to keep in place the idols of Jeroboam. Evil is hard to root out! Things were ugly in the south, also, with Athaliah killing the royal family and setting herself up on the throne in Jerusalem. And there was this king and that king, and there was the death of Elisha (ch. 13). And then, there were more kings and more crises. Amazing that God could work his plans out in the midst of all that mess. But he did! And he does! He accomplishes what he pleases! Out of all this mess will come the Davidic King, the Redeemer, the Messiah. And let the world do what it might, the promise of heaven is ours!

Come let us ascend,

My companion and friend,

To a taste of the banquet above!

If thy heart be as mine,

If for Jesus it pine,

Come up in the chariot of love.

The Lamb on the throne,

Lo! he dwells with his own,

And to rivers of pleasure he leads;

With his mercy’s full blaze,

With the sight of his face,

Our beatify’d spirits he feeds. ---Charles Wesley (1783)