Kings 10:28 – 36 “Thus Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel, but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”
Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.
As for the rest of the acts of Jehu, along with all his accomplishments and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place. So the duration of Jehu’s reign over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
Remember Jehu, the successful army commander, the man who wiped out Baal worship in Israel, fulfilling God’s word? Even though Jehu made all kinds of references to the God of Israel, he did not follow God whole – heartedly. For reasons known only to himself, Jehu combined worship of God with worship of the golden calf idols established by Jeroboam at Dan and Bethel.
Why would anyone make such a foolish choice? The problem was that although Jehu spoke a lot about God, his knowledge was all second – hand. Jehu was relying on things he had heard Elisha and other say; however, Jehu himself was not a true God – worshiper. In addition, Jehu never really had an experience of God’s presence. Perhaps Jehu viewed himself as a rough tough military commander who had no use for anything that he could not see or touch. Perhaps Jehu had been raised as a worshiper of the golden calf from his youth. The golden calf was an Egyptian idol that represented several things including fertility, but those altars had been there for a long time. Perhaps Jehu was afraid to worship God for fear that people would then want to travel to Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah. At any rate, Jehu did not worship the God of Israel, even though he claimed to have carried out God’s will.
Jehu’s apostasy had terrible results. It was that during Jehu’s reign that God began to reduce Israel’s territory as Hazael of Syria took back all the land east of the Jordan. In other ways, Israel continued to slide downhill spiritually.
APPLICATION: One of the first things we learned when we came to Ghana a long time ago was to ask a pertinent question. When people would tell us that they loved God, we learned to ask “which god are we talking about?” This question was not an idle one. We soon learned that there were those who were masquerading as Christians; however, once we got through the thin veneer of Christianity, we soon learned that they were following other gods. One denominational leader was actually practicing an Eastern religion and had set up an altar with fruit and flowers in a room with black walls that he kept locked. It was only when this man stepped down and others entered the headquarters that they discovered this place. There were those church members whose families worshiped fetishes and who made regular trips to the shrine and sacrificed animals and white cocks.
Jehu is really a tragic figure because he had so much potential and he wound up wasting it. In the beginning, Jehu was doing the work of God. But when Jehu assumed the throne, suddenly the God of Israel wasn’t enough for him. When the pressure was on, Jehu reverted to the same mistakes Jeroboam had made, even though God’s prophets repeatedly criticized Jeroboam and warned rulers not to follow the same course that he did.
Perhaps part of Jehu’s problem was a desire to maintain power. As a military commander, Jehu had a great deal of control. But as a king, Jehu needed a means of rallying people to himself. Perhaps Jehu turned to the worship of the golden calves much as Jeroboam had, to keep people in Israel rather than encouraging them to go to Judah.
Because Jehu did the work of the Lord at one point, God allowed him to have four generations who would rule after him. But what might have happened had Jehu truly worshiped God? At that point, God might have established Jehu’s throne for centuries, rather than for generations.
What do we really worship? In what do we trust? Do we rely on our jobs to give us significance? Do we rely on leadership positions in the community? If those things that make us feel important were to suddenly disappear, what would we trust in then?
God is the only One in whom we can safely trust. Psalm 46:1 – 3 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
Don’t make the mistake that Jehu made! Jehu did God’s work for awhile but then wandered off into idolatry. Trust God and follow Him whole – heartedly! You will never regret that decision.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to continue to follow You, even when we are tempted to do something else to maintain control. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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