2 Kings 9

2 Kings 9:1

JEHU IS ANOINTED KING OVER ISRAELAs we begin this chapter, we need to keep in mind that Ahaziah, the king of Judah, went up to visit Joram at Jezreel because Joram was wounded in battle and was in Jezreel recovering. Apparently he was a very sick man. The young prophet did the thing Elisha commanded him to do. You will notice that Elisha is not spectacular in what he does. You would think he would not have sent a young prophet to anoint a king but that Elisha would have done it himself. Samuel, you remember, had anointed Saul as king, and he also came to David and anointed him king. You would naturally think that Elisha would want to be the one to anoint the king, but he did not. He sent a young prophet to anoint Jehu king, and he did it secretly and privately. This is probably the reason he sent a young man to do itno one would suspect the motives of a young prophet. So Jehu was anointed king. He was one of the bloodiest rascals you will meet on the pages of Scripture, and yet he did the will of God in many respects. God said that He would cut off from Ahab every male member and none would be left in Israel.

2 Kings 9:9

Jezebel will not escape God’s judgment for her wickedness.

2 Kings 9:11

When it was known that Jehu had been anointed king, it put everyone in a flurry, and they began to move. They blew the trumpets and said, “Jehu is king.” Joram is sick in Jezreel and Ahaziah is there visiting him. What is going to happen in Jezreel now?

2 Kings 9:20

JEHU EXECUTES JORAMNow Joram down there in Jezreel doesn’t know that God has removed him from his throne and has anointed Jehu king over Israel. As Joram and Ahaziah, king of Judah, are there visiting, the watchman reports that a company of horsemen is coming. Joram sends a messenger to meet them with the question: “Is it peace?“are you bringing good news or bad? Instead of answering his question, Jehu tells him to fall in line behind him. Now the second watchman reports to Joram. The messengers who were sent out to meet Jehu never came back to report to the king because Jehu is coming to exterminate this king. So Joram and Ahaziah themselves ride out to meet Jehu.

2 Kings 9:22

Obviously no loyal subject would dare make such a statement about the queen mother. Joram instantly recognizes that Jehu is leading a revolt.

2 Kings 9:23

As Joram was trying to escape, Jehu drew his bow and put an arrow through his heart. Notice that Joram is called Jehoram in this instance. Both names have the same meaning in Hebrew and are used interchangeably for both the king of Israel and the king of Judah.

2 Kings 9:27

JEHU EXECUTES AHAZIAHJehu had come to Jezreel to exterminate Joram. Ahaziah, as we have already seen, was visiting Joram. He was keeping bad company, by the way, with those of the house of Ahab. Ahaziah was in the wrong place at the wrong time! Jehu’s followers pursued and mortally wounded Ahaziah.

2 Kings 9:30

JEHU EXECUTES JEZEBELNow we come to the slaying of Jezebel, the queen mother, which was indeed a frightful thing. She was a bloody, mean, terrible woman. She was a member of a royal family, the beautiful daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon. Probably she had been one of the most beautiful women of her day and of all history. As a young woman I think Jezebel could compare with Helen of Troy, Salome, Cleopatra, and Catherine de Medici. When Ahab and Jezebel married, it was the society event of the year.

The best people of the two kingdoms were there. There was a surplus of royalty gathered. It was respectful and dignifiedeven Elijah could not find fault with the event. The common people of both realms celebrated. It should also be added that the demons of hell joined the festivities. They laughed with glee, and the Devil was glad.

However, crepe was on the gate of heaven and the angels wept. Instead of wedding bells, it was a funeral dirge. That was heaven’s view of this marriage. The world saw things differently, as it always does. Why is the world optimistic and heaven pessimistic? God looks on the heart.

Man has only a limited view of things. Jezebel is one of the most remarkable women in history. She was capable, she was influential, and she had a dominant personality. Her evil influence was felt in three kingdoms and extended beyond her lifetime. Her notorious life became a proverb. She poured a stream of poison into history. Scripture never mentions her again until you come to the Book of Revelation at the conclusion of the Bible. Her name is suggestive. It means “unmarried, chaste.” You have here a veiled suggestion of an abnormality and a perversion. She was probably cold and sexless, yet she was beautiful and alluring. Strong men yielded to her seductive charms. No one resisted her, not even Ahab. She dominated him and ruled the northern kingdom. She introduced the worship of Baal. She imported 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Astarte. She was reckless, violent, rapacious, and ferocious. She killed God’s prophets. God’s people went underground. She engineered the marriage of her daughter to the house of David. During her long reign as the consort of Ahab, her will was supreme; no person dared to oppose herexcept Elijah. She is the Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare and the Clytemnestra of Greek tragedy. Her crimes were many. Blood flowed freely from her influence. None resisted her. For a time it seemed as if God was in hiding and doing nothing. Finally Jezebel committed her crowning crime. She arranged the death of Naboth so that Ahab might possess his vineyard. Her deed was high-handed, cold-blooded murder. It was a dastardly deed, and heaven could no longer remain silent. God’s patience was exhausted, and He sent Elijah to announce His judgment. The day of reckoning came.

First Ahab was killed, and the dogs licked up his blood just as the prophet had said they would. Now it is Jezebel’s turn. She will be trodden underfoot, and the dogs will eat her to the point that there will not even be enough left for a decent burial. Fourteen years had elapsed since the death of Ahab and undoubtedly Jezebel did not believe that God’s word would ever be fulfilled in her case. She was unmoved. She defied God.

She stayed on in Jezreel, thinking perhaps that the death of Ahab was just a coincidence. She felt that she could get by and nothing would happen to her. But, you know, there is a law of God written in neon lights in every sphere on the crossroads of life: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal_6:7). “…For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luk_6:38). This is one of the most sordid and sadistic chapters in history. It is gruesome, it is ghastly, and it is a gory sight. Added to that, it is grizzly. It is one of the most revolting and repulsive scenes on the pages of Scripture. Jezebel is the queen mother. She has been living in luxury in the palace at Jezreel.

The terrible prophecy of that horrible man Elijah has not been fulfilled. Suddenly out of the north came a swift chariot. It was Jehu driving furiously. He had just slain two kings, the king of Judah and the king of Israelher own son, Joram. What does she do? She paints her eyes and arranges her hair, and looks out of a window.

This proud queen still thinks she can seduce her captorcaptivate him with her charms. She had a grandson twenty-three years old. She is no longer young; she is an old woman. No secret formulas for lotions, powders, sprays, and creams can make this faded queen look attractive. As she looks from an upstairs window at Jehu, she begins with flattery.

2 Kings 9:31

Her inference is, “Can’t we get together and talk this over? Come up and see me sometime.”

2 Kings 9:32

Jehu is unmoved and untouched by Jezebel’s words. He is without pity or mercy. Jezebel did not awe Jehu. She had no appeal for him. He did not even respect her. He said, “Throw her down!” And the eunuchs threw her down and she broke open like a ripe watermelon. This is the most frightful, terrible, and vivid picture in all of the annals of tragedy. Hammond says that history presents no parallel to such an indignity. It is truly unprecedented. A queen mother was customarily treated with respect.

2 Kings 9:34

How could Jehu enjoy a hearty meal after he had done this awful thing? As someone has said, he was “a fiend in human form.” He was a rough soldier with no courtesy and certainly no chivalry. All he had was crude ambition. He did not shrink from any crime. He was depraved and degraded.

2 Kings 9:35

When Jehu sent servants out to bury Jezebel, the dogs had already devoured her. The dogs had a big gourmet meal. But, my friend, there was no laughter in heaven because of this. There was no mourning, either. Perhaps in heaven it was being saidas the Book of Revelation tells us that it will be said in the future"For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand” (Rev_19:2). The horrible death of Jezebel illustrates again the truth of Gal_6:7: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Chapter 10 continues the judgment on the house of Ahab through the murderous heart of Jehu.