Reflections on 2 Kings 9

2 Kings 09 (Contemporary English Version)

1. One day, Elisha called for one of the other prophets and said: Take this bottle of olive oil and get ready to go to the town of Ramoth in Gilead.
   
2. When you get there, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a place where the two of you can be alone,
   
3. then pour olive oil on his head to show that he is the new king. Say to him, "The LORD has chosen you to be king of Israel." Then leave quickly--don't wait around for anything!
   
4. The young prophet left for Ramoth.
   
5. When he arrived, the army officers were meeting together. "Sir, I have a message for you," he said. "For which one of us?" Jehu asked. "You, sir," the prophet answered.
   
6. So Jehu got up and went inside. The prophet poured olive oil on Jehu's head and told him: The LORD God of Israel has this message for you: "I am the LORD, and I have chosen you to be king of my people Israel.
   
7. I want you to wipe out the family of Ahab, so Jezebel will be punished for killing the prophets and my other servants.
   
8. Every man and boy in Ahab's family must die, whether slave or free.
   
9. His whole family must be destroyed, just like the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah.
   
10. As for Jezebel, her body will be eaten by dogs in the town of Jezreel. There won't be enough left of her to bury." Then the young prophet opened the door and ran out.
    
11. Jehu went back to his officers, and one of them asked, "What did that crazy prophet want? Is everything all right?" "You know him and how he talks," Jehu answered.
    
12. "No, we don't. What did he say?" they asked. "He had a message from the LORD," Jehu replied. "He said that the LORD has chosen me to be the next king of Israel."
    
13. They quickly grabbed their coats and spread them out on the steps where Jehu was standing. Someone blew a trumpet, and everyone shouted, "Jehu is king!"
    
14. King Joram of Israel had been badly wounded in the battle at Ramoth, trying to defend it against King Hazael and the Syrian army. Joram was now recovering in Jezreel, and King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting him. Meanwhile, Jehu was in Ramoth, making plans to kill Joram. He said to his officers, "If you want me to be king, then don't let anyone leave this town. They might go to Jezreel and tell Joram." Then Jehu got in his chariot and rode to Jezreel.
    
15. (SEE 9:14)
    
16. (SEE 9:14)
    
17. When the guard in the watchtower at Jezreel saw Jehu and his men riding up, he shouted to the king, "I see a bunch of men coming this way." Joram ordered, "Send someone out to ask them if this is a friendly visit."
    
18. One of the soldiers rode out and said to Jehu, "King Joram wants to know if this is a friendly visit." "What's it to you?" Jehu asked. "Just stay behind me with the rest of my troops!" About the same time the guard in the watchtower said, "Your Majesty, the rider got there, but he isn't coming back."
    
19. So Joram sent out another rider, who rode up to Jehu and said, "The king wants to know if this is a friendly visit." "What's it to you?" Jehu asked. "Just get behind me with the rest of my troops!"
    
20. The guard in the watchtower said, "Your Majesty, the rider got there, but he isn't coming back either. Wait a minute! That one man is a reckless chariot driver--it must be Jehu!"
    
21. Joram commanded, "Get my chariot ready." Then he and Ahaziah got in their chariots and rode out to meet Jehu. They all met on the land that had belonged to Naboth.
    
22. Joram asked, "Jehu, is this a peaceful visit?" "How can there be peace?" Jehu asked. "Your mother Jezebel has caused everyone to worship idols and practice witchcraft."
    
23. "Ahaziah, let's get out of here!" Joram yelled. "It's a trap!" As Joram tried to escape,
    
24. Jehu shot an arrow. It hit Joram between his shoulders, then it went through his heart and came out his chest. He fell over dead in his chariot.
    
25. Jehu commanded his assistant Bidkar, "Get Joram's body and throw it in the field that Naboth once owned. Do you remember when you and I used to ride side by side behind Joram's father Ahab? It was then that the LORD swore to Ahab that he would be punished in the same field where he had killed Naboth and his sons. So throw Joram's body there, just as the LORD said."
    
26. (SEE 9:25)
    
27. Ahaziah saw all of this happen and tried to escape to the town of Beth-Haggan, but Jehu caught up with him and shouted, "Kill him too!" So his troops shot Ahaziah with an arrow while he was on the road to Gur near Ibleam. He went as far as Megiddo, where he died.
    
28. Ahaziah's officers put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried him beside his ancestors.
    
29. Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year of the rule of Ahab's son Joram.
    
30. Jehu headed toward Jezreel, and when Jezebel heard he was coming, she put on eye shadow and brushed her hair. Then she stood at the window, waiting for him to arrive.
    
31. As he walked through the city gate, she shouted down to him, "Why did you come here, you murderer? To kill the king? You're no better than Zimri!"
    
32. He looked up toward the window and asked, "Is anyone up there on my side?" A few palace workers stuck their heads out of a window,
    
33. and Jehu shouted, "Throw her out the window!" They threw her down, and her blood splattered on the walls and on the horses that trampled her body.
    
34. Jehu left to get something to eat and drink. Then he told some workers, "Even though she was evil, she was a king's daughter, so make sure she has a proper burial."
    
35. But when they went out to bury her body, they found only her skull, her hands, and her feet.
    
36. They reported this to Jehu, and he said, "The LORD told Elijah the prophet that Jezebel's body would be eaten by dogs right here in Jezreel.
    
37. And he warned that her bones would be spread all over the ground like manure, so that no one could tell who it was."
    

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Events of this chapter were set in motion years earlier while Elijah was still alive. Following Elijah's showdown with the prophets of Baal he had to run for his life because Jezebel sought to kill him. While he was in exile, the Lord told Elijah, "You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. (1 Kings 19:16-17) The Lord's instructions to Elijah were that he would anoint Jehu as king over Israel. Sometime later, when Elijah told Ahab of the judgment against him and his dynasty, Ahab humbled himself and repented for a time. During this time the Lord told Elijah, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before Me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son's lifetime." (1 Kings 21:29)

As we arrive at 2 Kings chapter 9, the time had come for the fulfillment of God's judgment on the house of Ahab. Elijah was gone by this time and the anointing of Jehu, the king's commander, to be king over Israel and to be God's instrument of judgment on the household of Ahab now fell on Elisha. Ahab's son, Joram, was the current king in Israel. The last verses of chapter 8 brought us up-to-date on the ruling kings in Judah during Joram's reign in Israel and at the time of this judgment, Joram's nephew, Ahaziah, was the king in Judah. Ahaziah was the son of Joram's sister, Athaliah, who was married to Jehoram, king of Judah, and son of Jehoshaphat.

The narrative for chapter 9 begins in verse 28 of chapter 8. Ahaziah, who was now king of Judah, joined his uncle Joram, who was king of Israel, and went to "fight against Hazael king of Aram in Ramoth-gilead." (8:28) In this battle, Joram was wounded and returned to Jezreel, the capitol of Israel, to recuperate. Meanwhile, Joram's army and officers remained in Ramoth-gilead keeping an eye on the movements of the king of Aram and his army. During this interlude, Elisha sent one of the sons of the prophets on a mission to anoint Jehu as king over Israel. Furthermore, he was to commission Jehu to "strike down the house of your master Ahab" so the Lord could "avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel." (9:7) When all of this was relayed to Jehu, he seemed to take his assignment seriously, not only to sieze the opportunity to be king, but to rid Israel of the influences of Jezebel. When Jehu went to carry out his mission to kill Joram, Joram asked if he came in peace. Jehu answered, "What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and witchcraft from your mother Jezebel?"

We get the impression from this statement that while Jehu had commanded the king's army through the reigns of Ahab and two of his sons, he had not been sympathetic to the religious influences of their reigns. This statement also informs us that Jezebel not only brought Baal worship to Israel but also witchcraft. The word translated witchcraft refers to sorceries which suggests the seeking of information from demonic forces. From this we better understand the devastating influence Jezebel had in Israel.

At Jehu's reply to him, Joram realized Jehu's mission was one of treachery, and he turned his chariot to flee. But Jehu "drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders" piercing his heart. Jehu then instructed his aide to throw Joram's body "on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite." Jehu reminded his aide of the oracle the Lord spoke against Joram's father Ahab which they had both heard when riding with Ahab. The oracle was now being fulfilled against Ahab's son. When Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw what was happening he tried to escape, but Jehu killed him also. As Joram's nephew, he was also a part of the household of Ahab.

The first wave of Jehu's house-cleaning of the house of Ahab was not yet complete. He rode on into Jezreel and as he entered the gate Jezebel looked down on him from an upper window of the palace. She called down to him, "Do you come in peace, Zimri, killer of your master?" This was seemingly an effort by Jezebel to keep the upper hand when she clearly did not have it. In referring to Jehu as Zimri, Jezebel was reminding him of a man who had also killed his master and was himself killed seven days later. Jehu simply called up to those who were with Jezebel and asked, "Who is on my side?" Some eunuchs stood near the window with Jezebel and Jehu told them to "Throw her down." which they did, killing her in the street outside the palace. Jehu then rode his chariot over her body and went to get something to eat. When he sent someone to bury her they returned reporting that nothing was left of the body except "her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands." (9:35) At this report Jehu said, "This fulfills the LORD's word that He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, the dogs will eat Jezebel's flesh." (9:36)