The Lord's Anointed
2 Kings 9
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why God allows persecution of his servants? Why doesn’t he immediately exercise his omnipotent power over his opposition? Why does he wait? I know that I am not the only one who wrestles with these questions. We hear the psalmist cry out in chapter 35, “Lord how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions.” And again in chapter 94, “O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth render recompense to the proud. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph?”
Today we hear the stories of missionaries being shot down out of their airplanes, some taken captive by extremists only to be shot dead by bullets and taken from their wives and children. Maybe the more pertinent question is, “Is God in control of all these events?” And if so, “Why don’t we trust him to carry out his plan in his time?”
Today we come to a story that shows how the Lord appoints and anoints his instruments in avenging the blood of his faithful servants. This is the story of Jehu, king of Israel. Before we dive in, however, let’s turn to the Author and Illuminator of the Scriptures as we seek the meaning of His Word.
Background
At this point in history, the nation of Israel exists in the form of two kingdoms: Israel and Judah, the north and south respectively. Whereas Judah was blessed to have at least a handful of kings who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Israel was not. The northern kingdom of Israel suffered at the hands of evil kings throughout its existence. We come to Jehu. In my notes I have labeled him “The King Who Was Almost Good.” We will see why this is as the story unfolds.
Jehu was the commander in Joram’s army, the present king of Israel as well as Ahab’s military. As stated in our text, the northern kingdom had been engaged in battle in Ramoth-Gilead. Joram was injured, however, and returned to Jezreel to recover from his injuries. Jezreel was located west of Ramoth-Gilead and west of the Jordan River. Jehu was left in Ramoth-Gilead to maintain the city. Elisha, the successor to Elijah is the prophet in Israel.
I have entitled this sermon, “The Lord’s Anointed”. We will see first that God appoints people to fulfill His plans, God avenges the persecution of the faithful, and God always prevails.
Here we pick up the story beginning in verse 1 of chapter 9.
*Read vv. 1-4*
Elisha sends servant to go and seek out this commander Jehu, to pull him away from the crowd, pour oil on his head and declare him the king of Israel. This action would fulfill that last commission to Elijah mentioned in 1 Kings 19. Verses 15 and 16 state, “…you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram, and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place”. For whatever reason, Elisha is left with the task of seeing Jehu anointed as king over Israel.
The text tells us that the man sent was a young man. As I envisioned this, I pictured it as this guy’s first assignment. He was ready to go. He received these rather curious directives and I can’t help but imagine him thinking, “Is this guy for real?” “He wants me to do what?” But he didn’t question the assignment. Moses, the great leader of Israel, was directly approached by God to do an assignment. Moses questioned God and tried to get out of it. Gideon laid down his fleece a number of times to confirm God’s will in his assignment. This young man did not receive direct revelation from God, but second hand from Elisha. He did not say “Are you sure God told you this?” The text simply says, “he went”.
Application
How many times do we “hear” God telling us to do something and we question him? We may not hear him audibly but I would venture to say that we all know of times that we sense the Spirit of God prompting us to act and we either question “the assignment” or brush it aside because we are too busy. I think there is application here for us in the response of the young man to his task, and the trust he demonstrates in Elisha and his God.
*Read vv. 5-10*
We see the young man seek out Jehu, pull him aside from the other captains, pour oil on his head, and declare him king over the people of God, or Israel. The directive to Jehu: “You shall strike the house of Ahab your master”. No small task. The language here seems to convey a complete annihilation. The “whole house” and “every male person”. And as for Jezebel, a pretty gory prophecy. But before we think this severe, we must remember that Ahab (along with Jezebel) introduced the worship of Baal to the nation of Israel and murdered servants of the Lord. These were serious offenses. The prophet Elijah first pronounced this oracle against Ahab.
*Read 1 Kings 21:21-23* Almost verbatim.
As a side note, the text indicates that the young man opened the door and fled as he was ordered (cf. v.3). I find that interesting. One commentator states, Having accomplished his task, the prophet was immediately to hasten from the house so as to avoid any diminishing of the act itself. God's work is often best done and left to have its own impact. Place yourself in Jehu’s position for a minute. This young prophet anoints you as king of Israel, instructs you to wipe out the house of Ahab, including Jezebel, and then splits. I would have been standing with my jaw to the ground!
Then Jehu comes out. Can he pull off the poker face? Nope. Somebody asks, “Is all well?” And then asks, “Why did this mad fellow come to you?” A commentator notes that the term “madman” betrays the low spiritual condition of the soldiers and carries with it their contempt for God's prophets. Jehu tries to quickly dismiss the occurrence: “You know these prophets, always preaching doom, and they dress funny, too! The officers must have sensed something because they pursued it further. “That’s a lie, tell us!” Of hearing these words of being anointed king, perhaps the men quickly remembered David and Solomon being anointed king by a prophet. They then recognized that this was true. For they placed their garments on the steps and proclaimed, “Jehu is King!”
God Appoints People to Fulfill His Plans
God Avenges the Persecution of the Faithful
Jehu set out to the task at hand. The text reminds us that Joram was in Jezreel attending to his wounds. Jehu then pronounces his first command as king. He desires secrecy in Jezreel until he assassinates Joram. Ironically, the king of Judah was with Joram at the time. Upon seeing Jehu and his troops riding into town, the watchman in the tower quickly informs Joram. Joram dispatches a rider to inquire of their business – perhaps anticipating news of the situation in Ramoth-Gilead. Commentators suggest that if news had been favorable, the riders would have returned quickly to report to the king. The riders, however, fell in behind Jehu and his company. After the second rider, the watchman informed Joram that the leader drives like Jehu, for he drives furiously. Kind of like our brother, Tim. This prompted Joram to inquire personally. The context suggests that Joram did not suspect anything hostile. After all Jehu was in his military.
It is significant that they met at the property of Naboth. If you remember, King Ahab so desired the land that Naboth owned that he had him set up and stoned to death so that he could acquire his property. That was the context in which Elijah pronounced the cursing of God upon Ahab that we read earlier.
Joram greets Jehu with the usual inquiry, “Is it peace?” and receives a response he wasn’t expecting. Jehu spits on the ground at Joram’s feet and says, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” Joram says, “Uh-oh! This doesn’t look good. I’m outta here!” That’s from the Hebrew. He warns Ahaziah of the treachery and attempts to escape, unsuccessfully. At this point Jehu remembers the oracle pronounced against Ahab and his descendants for he orders Bidkar his officer to cast Joram in the field of Naboth.
Ahaziah didn’t fare much better. For he was also shot and killed. Jehu’s next target - Jezebel. She heard that he was coming. The text states that she painted her eyes and adorned her head. Now, I don’t think that this older woman was trying to seduce Jehu. A more favorable suggestion is that she was preparing to die with dignity, as a queen. She greats Jehu with an insult by calling him Zimri, your master’s murderer. Zimri was a previous king of Israel who usurped the throne by assassinating Elah. His reign, however, lasted but seven days – perhaps Jezebel was suggesting that Jehu would fall victim to the same fate.
Jehu looked to the window and simply asked, “Who is with me?” After a couple of knowing glances, Jehu commanded them to throw her down to the street where her blood was spilt on the wall and the horses. Jehu walked over her and got a bite to eat. What a man!
Jehu must have momentarily forgotten the oracle pronounced against Jezebel for he ordered that she be granted a queen’s burial. His memory quickly returned as the report was brought back that dogs had eaten her body.
God Appoints People to Fulfill His Plans
God Avenges the Persecution of the Faithful
God Always Prevails
We see how God prevailed in this instance of justice carried out on wicked rulers. What may not be as apparent is the fact that this vengeance occurred many years after Elijah’s pronouncement.
God appointed a king, Jehu, to fulfill His plans. His plan was to avenge the blood of the prophets. You may ask, “What does that mean to us today? We don’t have kings in our day and age.” I beg to differ. For there was a King who came to earth 2000 years ago and is coming again to judge the wicked. Whereas Jehu was an imperfect instrument in carrying out God’s plan, Jesus was God Himself – the perfect and ultimate King come to earth.
Look back with me in verse 6. “I have anointed you king over the people of God, even over Israel.” Let me read to you from the Gospel of Matthew. “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” says Herod. “Are you the King of the Jews?” asked Pilate. And Jesus responded, “It is as you say.” Even the ritual the soldiers performed foreshadows the reign of Christ. Luke 19: 36, 38 “As He (Jesus) was going, they were spreading their coats on the road…shouting ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”.
My brothers and sisters, we may not face martyrdom or persecution to the extent that others have. The persecution may take other forms: ridicule, verbal abuse, or being viewed as a “madman”. Now I’m not suggesting that we pray that dogs eat the flesh of our persecutors, but take comfort in knowing that God is in control of all events and will judge as He sees fit, in His time. Our King and Judge is returning.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!”
God Always Prevails