What about Jehu — by Keith Petersen

What about Jehu?

In recognizing Divine principles, the Old Testament “types” are of particular interest.  As we live in New Testament times, of course, we cannot necessarily make straight applications to our times from all that we see in the language and history of the OT.  A brother has well said that, in comparing the OT with the NT, the OT can be like a table where the legs are not entirely square to the floor.  Nevertheless, the principles are always applicable as God is unchanging—"Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and to-day, and to the ages [to come]” (Hebrews 13:8).

In this respect, the history of Jehu the son of Nimshi is of considerable interest.  We live in Christian times in which there is much that is taken up casually in our Christian testimony.  God shows, rather, that the Christian should “strive diligently to present thyself approved to God, a workman that has not to be ashamed, cutting in a straight line the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). 

We can see this trait in Jehu—a brother who was given the task of extirpating the evil of the house of King Ahab from Israel, and we see his history taken up in 2 Kings 9:  “Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, over Israel.  And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master; and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah at the hand of Jezebel.  And the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, and him that is shut up and left in Israel.  And I will make the house of Ahab as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.  And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the plot of Jizreel, and none shall bury her.”

This is rugged language.  What does it convey to us?  It immediately shows us, whatever the intervening grace may be of God our Savior, that God regards sin and evil in a most solemn way.  Whatever may be God’s mercy as a general attitude towards mankind (Exodus 34:6)—God never forgives sin and evil, as such.  The sinner, through God’s grace, can repent and be saved—and “I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more”; but, it does us well to remember that, while God is ready to forgive a repenting soul of their sins, God never forgives sin.  Jesus Christ was “made sin” on the Cross (2 Corinthians 5:21) so that God could entirely remove the first man who “in iniquity was …. brought forth, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5) and replace him with “the new man, which according to God is created in truthful righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

Jehu was not a particularly spiritual man (2 Kings 10:31); but, in addition to being thoroughly aware of all the prophecies and issues concerning the reign of Ahab, he also possessed a particular and substantial character trait—that of zeal.  He said to Jehonadab the son of Rechab, “Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said, It is.—If it be, give [me] thy hand.—And he gave [him] his hand; and [Jehu] took him up to him into the chariot, and said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah.”  We read in Jeremiah 48:10, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently.”

We see, in principle, the same type of language in Titus 2:  “Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works.  This word “zealous” is used in a similar way in any number of NT passages—the teaching is clear and direct:  God’s people are to be zealous in what is right.  The Lord’s final statement to Jehu was, “Because thou hast executed well that which is right in my sight, [and] hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy children of the fourth [generation] shall sit on the throne of Israel.”

It is of interest, then, to consider the Biblical teachings shown in this history of Jehu as he carried out the will of the Lord in the task assigned to him.

The first thing to note is that he did not delay.  Delay in following anything right and proscribed in Scripture as to any matters can be deadly—as Satan loves the hesitation.  Delay can lead to stagnation and Satan will work to produce double-mindedness.  We don’t want to be in a position of “should I/shouldn’t I”.  If the Divine lead is clear (after all, the Holy Spirit is here to “guide into all the truth”—John 16:13)—it is of all importance to follow it!

The second thing to recognize is that Jehu was thorough—meticulous, really.  We’ve already quoted that negligence in our Christian path is very narrowly regarded by God, and, in this respect, we see the Lord’s statements to the assembly in Laodicea in Revelation 3 to be very sobering:  “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot.  Thus because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spue thee out of my mouth.”  Solemn language indeed!

Jehu was a very capable man—what might even be referred to as a worldly-wise man.  He well understood the “mammon of unrighteousness” (see Luke 16:9).  He knew that Joram King of Israel—Ahab’s son—was in Jizreel recovering from wounds, and Jehu immediately set out for Jizreel.  He “drove furiously” in his chariot—there was no “peace” involved in his mission (2 Kings 9:18,19,22—“what peace?”)—it was, rather, a mission to “execute” God’s righteous judgment.  We’re not to “ride rough-shod” in this life; however, as Christians we understand that the Lord calls upon every Christian to “judge righteous judgment” (His own words to us in John 7:24).  Reflexive to that, we must move forward in a righteous way in respect to upholding the truth and denying the evil. 

We can be reminded, in this respect, of what is said in Judges 5:  “In the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart! Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the bleating of the flocks? In the divisions of Reuben there were great deliberations of heart!”  The language is plain—when it was the time to go forth to uphold what was due to the Lord, there was, as the expression is commonly used, much talk but no action.

When Jehu comes to Jizreel he slays both Joram and, also, Joram’s visiting companion of the moment—Ahaziah, King of Judah.  Jehu reminds Bidkar his captain, “Take him up [and] cast him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jizreelite. For remember how, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, that Jehovah laid this burden upon him: Certainly I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith Jehovah; and I will requite thee in this plot, saith Jehovah. And now, take [and] cast him into the plot, according to the word of Jehovah.”

It is always of great import to be reminded that the Lord’s judgments against evil circumstances and evil men are righteous.  Dr. John Lennox—one of the leading Christian apologists of this century—often states to the effect that, “There is always to be, at the least, an ultimate and final judgment by the great Judge against all injustice ever done in this world.”  The gross injustice done just to Naboth alone was absolutely reprehensible—the judgments of God against the overwhelming amount of evil of Ahab and all his house—including Jezebel his wife—then being enacted by Jehu were righteous in every respect.  1 Kings 21:25 tells us—" Surely there was none like to Ahab, who did sell himself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah, Jezebel his wife urging him on.”

We should pause here for a moment to reiterate that, as Christians, not only do we not furiously drive through the environs of Christendom slaying others and cutting off heads; we are, rather, concerned with recovery at all times—and, never more so, in one sense, than in times of declension.  We should be thinking of saving and preserving other Christians (and, always, of salvation for men at large).  However, we are just now, taking up one, particular aspect of the truth—which is to say, that we are simply engaged in confirming the principles involving God’s judgment against sin and evil as highlighted in this account of Jehu.  We can see the same type of language in Exodus 32:  “And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, He that is for Jehovah, [let him come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered to him.  And he said to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his hip; go and return from gate to gate through the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbour.”  What language is this?  Is God ignoring evil?  We have in Romans 11:22 this statement:  “Behold then [the] goodness AND severity of God.”

There are and have been great declensions in Christendom in this dispensation.  Many have fallen by the wayside morally as a result of a lack of faithfulness to God and His divine principles.  Credit belongs to those who, in the tenor of what is seen in one example of David’s faithful men, “arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword”—2 Samuel 23:10).  This shows the side of individual movement in overcoming.  Again, these are moral teachings for us as Christians—they simply point to what is reiterated throughout the Bible; which is to say, God desires that His house (“whose house are we”—Hebrews 3:6) be kept holy and inviolate.  There will be no sin in Heaven—do any think that God is accepting of sin unhinderedly existing in His house even while yet here on earth?  Who is responsible to maintain the holiness of God’s house?  You and I!

Jehu next comes in at the gate of Jizreel and Jezebel attempts her artifices against him.  Jehu does not respond in any way to her and, instead, calls for any who would be on his side.  Two or three chamberlains respond to his command to “throw her down” from the window, and he tramples on her with his horse and then goes in to eat and drink.  This is almost brutal language; but, again, we must take the language of the type and properly and carefully apply it to NT times.  The teaching throughout this history of Jehu as we are taking it up is that he was moving throughout “in a straight line”—nothing was going to minimize or deflect his path.  In fulfilment of prophecy, the dogs then ate Jezebel—showing that the actions of Jehu are in alignment with what God had stated through the prophet Elijah all those years prior to this event.

Next, Jehu challenges those of Samaria as to King Ahab’s sons that were present with them, and they deliver the heads of King Ahab’s sons to him to Jizreel, and he puts them in two heaps at the gate of the city.  This is rather ghastly language; but, again, we have to keep in mind that the OT types do not necessarily fit squarely with NT times.  Nevertheless, with two heaps of, we can suppose, thirty-five heads each, we can recognize that the judgments of God as instituted through Jehu were plain to all to behold (2 Kings 10:9), and this principle obtains today.  We see this principle shown again in 1 Timothy 5:20—" Those that sin convict before all, that the rest also may have fear”.  We see this type of circumstance repeated, also, in Acts 5 in the sin of Ananias and Sapphira where it is said, “And great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things” (Acts 5:11).  Here is a question:  Do we have a proper fear of God in respect to all that we do and say?  Or, are we casual?  Philippians 2:12 shows us that we each must, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

We find then that “Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jizreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.”  Immediately subsequent to that Jehu departs for Samaria and on the way encounters “the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah.”  He asks them—"Who are ye? And they said, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and have come down to salute the children of the king, and the children of the queen.”  They are shown to be partisan, and Jehu slays them all—some forty-two men—he "slew them at the well of the meeting-place, forty-two men; and he left not one of them remaining.”

This is strong teaching; but, what is the teaching?  As already indicated, we are in the day of grace—we are seeking to preserve souls—to reconcile brethren.  Nevertheless, we have to take up this entire section with the understanding, already quoted, that the Lord commended Jehu—saying “thou hast executed well that which is right in my sight, [and] hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart.”  We are looking now at the other side of the truth—which is, simply, that right judgments maintain the holiness of God’s house—and, by extension, the blessing of His people.  Psalm 89 shows this:  “Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of thy throne; loving-kindness and truth go before thy face.  Blessed is the people that know the shout of joy”.  Righteousness and judgment are shown first—we cannot have the blessing and the joy without these foundational aspects of the truth.

What was the root of the issue regarding Ahab and the declension in Israel at that time?  2 Kings 10:28 says, “Thus Jehu extirpated Baal out of Israel.”  This, then, was at the root of this entire declension—it was this that the Lord was getting at in His instruction through the prophet to Jehu.  Who was behind Ahab’s and Jezebel’s evil?  Baal—which is to say, Satan.  The Lord knew all this—His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (Zechariah 4:10).

Here is a simple question:  What happens when evil and/or evil associations are allowed to continue among God’s people?  Continued declension, isn’t that so?  The apostle Paul shows this answer when he writes to the Corinthians in respect of the evil among them due to the continued allowance of the incestuous man—"Do ye not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Purge out the old leaven” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).  This is a simple, Biblical precept.  What is the antidote to what is unscriptural and wrong?  The antidote is easily understood—don’t allow the leaven, and, if it occurs, judge it as such and separate from it (see 2 Timothy 2).  We today cannot, of course, “Remove the wicked person from amongst yourselves”, since, when Paul wrote his letters to those at Corinth he addressed the letter, “Paul, [a] called apostle of Jesus Christ, by God's will, and Sosthenes the brother, to THE assembly of God which is in Corinth.”  Those Christians at that time in Corinth composed the ONLY assembly/fellowship in the city.  Today, with all the widespread declension and confusion there are possibly any number of Christian gatherings in any particular locale—thus, we cannot view any one assembly as being the ONE assembly and none, reflexively, can take the ground of being THE assembly in a locale.  So, we revert to the teaching, as provided by God for a day of breakdown and as referenced above, of 2 Timothy 2 where we withdraw from continuing, unjudged evil.  The end result of removing or separating from evil, of course, is the same—i.e., the evil is kept outside the fellowship—which, overall, pertains to the house of God.

We should say, again, that there is a scriptural process, as it were, for taking up evil in God’s house. This is seen in various places in the Bible; but, primarily so, in Matthew 18. In this chapter it is shown that there is to be, typically, an individual approach to adjusting sin—if there is no response to that; then, several others are to be brought into the matter—and, if there is still a refusal to judge the evil, the final necessity is to separate from the unrighteous person (or, persons). At the outset, all attempts are to be made, as shown in this chapter of Matthew, to contain and resolve the evil. If those attempts are refused, only then must separation take place.

We don’t, also, want to “make a man an offender for a word” (Isaiah 29:21)—no sensible Christian could consider that a particular fellowship while here on earth, if we can be permitted to use the phrase, can be “sterilized” of any inconsistencies.  But, the fellowship needs to be “constitutionally healthy”—in the same way that a healthy person might get a cold; but, is constitutionally healthy.  We all need to agree from the teachings of Scripture—and, in particular, in reference to this section we have been considering as to Jehu—that God has a constantly discerning eye and a pronounced judgment, in particular, against allowed and continuing evil.  We are shown in many places in Scripture that, if evil conditions arise, they are to be adjudicated according to Biblical teachings on the subject of the maintenance of God’s house.  The apostle Paul’s epistles are all to this effect of maintaining what is right and due to God in His house.  The apostle Jude writes in his epistle, “Beloved, using all diligence to write to you of our common salvation, I have been obliged to write to you exhorting [you] to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.”  Contend—and, earnestly.  This is simple and direct language.

Jehu then arrives at Samaria “and smote all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to Elijah.”  He then proceeds to finalize everything by slaying all the prophets of Baal, and breaking down the columns of and the house of Baal itself—and, we then have the language already quoted above:  “Thus Jehu extirpated Baal out of Israel.”

Can we take up the language and the teachings found in this entire section in 2 Kings in respect to the declension of Israel and, transferring it to our own time, entertain any thought that God is pleased with all the confusion and error that is extant in Christendom today?  I think not—and, I trust you agree.  The Lord’s countenance (eyes as a flame of fire) in the beginning chapters of Revelation and His judgments regarding the seven assemblies are evidence enough that He has something to say as to the conditions among His people. Here is the question:  If there is, or, there arose, circumstances in your particular fellowship that involved ongoing practices—and, acceptance of practices—that are clearly not in accordance with appropriate and important teachings of Scripture, and if those in the fellowship, when apprised of these untoward and unacceptable conditions, refused to acknowledge the necessity to apply scriptural precepts so as to properly adjudicate the issue(s)—are you prepared to leave your brethren so as to maintain righteousness in God’s house?  We ultimately only have two choices:  (1) remain and suffer the declension of all that is right and proper and spiritually healthy in the fellowship or (2) according to Scripture, to separate from those who are refuting appropriate Scripture and, yourself, “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Whatever your Christian circumstances, I hope that this paper has helped confirm two things applicable for each of us:  (1) it is wrong to go on with what is subversive to God and His teachings as shown in Scripture and (2) if we do what is right and follow His will He commends and supports us.  For myself, I cannot conceive of going on in any fellowship in which those in the fellowship, as with Laodicea, are only lukewarm as regards fidelity to the Lord and His precepts.  I shudder at that.  How much immeasurably more attractive is the language of Psalm 133:  “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  Like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, upon Aaron's beard, that ran down to the hem of his garments; As the dew of Hermon that descendeth on the mountains of Zion; for there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore.”

We must keep in mind that God provides each Christian with the power and the wherewithal to be overcomers.  Even if circumstances were to devolve down to only a few Christians anywhere in the world righteously coming together in fellowship, the word is—"Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in [the] heavens.  For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20).  The power for righteousness is provided through the presence and activity of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  The catalyst is through love and fidelity to the Lord.  This relates back to the first and great commandment—i.e., love the Lord with all the heart and strength and understanding. It is from the Bible that we get the template and barometer for our path here (reflexively, any right ministries are divinely given “helps”—available as aids which can serve to burnish the Divine Word)—so, we read in Psalm 119:  “From thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false path.  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”.  Amen.