Jehu Destroys Baal

2 Kings 10


In this chapter we learn that King Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Elisha had just instructed one of the sons of the prophets to go down to Ramoth-gilead and anoint Jehu to be King over Israel. Shortly after this, Jehu wrote letters to the rulers and elders in Samaria and told them to get one of the best of Ahab’s sons to sit on his throne and fight for them. Old Jehu was going to be paying them a visit pretty soon. The reason why they had to get one of Ahab’s son’s to sit on the throne is because Jehu had just killed the king of Israel, and the King of Judah in battle.
The rulers were afraid, because they knew that God was on Jehu’s side. . They said to themselves, “Two other Kings couldn’t stand against Jehu, how can we?”

So they sent word back to Jehu, saying that they would be his servants, and do what ever he told them to do. They told him that he could do what ever he pleased. So Jehu told them that he wanted the heads of all of Ahab’s sons.

They killed all of Ahab’s sons, and took their heads right off. They did exactly what Jehu wanted, but that wasn’t good enough for Jehu. Jehu wanted all of Ahab’s great men, and all of his kinfolk. That meant aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers , and sisters. Everyone that was related to Ahab had to be killed. Even Ahab’s priest had to be killed as well. Jehu had to finish the job. He didn’t want to leave one alive.

That’s what we should do with the sin in our lives. We should kill all of it. As soon as we see one little sin pop up, we need to take the sword of the Lord and chop it’s head right off. Jehu did not even leave one person in Ahab’s life alive. I’m sure he could have found someone in Ahab’s family that wasn’t too bad. I’m sure there were some that looked innocent, a niece or nephew maybe.

We might think to ourselves , “Hey, this little sin isn’t too bad. Looks pretty innocent to me. This little sin never killed anybody, or harmed anyone. This little sin can’t do much damage at all. I’ll just keep it for a while. It seems cruel to squash and stomp it out now.”
Jehu didn’t let his emotions or feelings get in his way. We should never let our feelings or emotions get in our way either when it comes to the sin in our lives.
Well, on Jehu’s way to Samaria he met his friend , Jehonadab. And he asked Jonadab, “Is your heart Right, as mine is Right?”

You see, it’s is always very important to see if your friend’s heart is right before you take them in and spend a lot of time in fellowship with them. As soon as Jehu found out that Jonadabs heart was right, he asked for his hand and helped him up into his chariot and said, “Come on then, and see how I want to serve my God, and please him.” And they both went off together with a zeal to do God’s will.

That’s how we should be with a friend. Check and see if their heart is right with God before you let them in the chariot with you, and then you can ride down the path together and do something for the Lord.
J
ehu went on to finish the job of destroying Ahab’s house, with his friend Jehonadab at his side. It’s great to have a friend that wants to do right and help you out and stand beside you in the spiritual battle. Even if they don’t do anything but just be there for you and help support you. Someone that’s in the saddle with you , just to ride with you. That’s what the Bible says Jehonadab did. The Bible didn’t mention that he did anything but just ride in the chariot with Jehu. Maybe while riding he did something simple like look out for Jehu’s back and let him know when someone was coming up on him. Or maybe he told him when to duck from a flying arrow.
The Bible goes on to tell us in verse 17 that Jehu wasn’t satisfied until he destroyed Ahab according to the word of the Lord. You know, we should never be satisfied with just destroying the big, important sin in our lives that everyone can see. We also need to destroy the simple, little tiny sins that no one else can see. Maybe you don’t even think they matter to God because they are so minor. But we should learn from Jehu, and not rest until all is destroyed.

Destroy sins such as:
“Me first!”
Being proud of how we look.
Disobeying mom and dad
Gossiping about another friend
Lying
Bad thoughts

The Bible states that God hates a proud look, a lying tongue, gossip, and wicked imaginations. Proverbs 6: 16-19.

Well, Jehu did not stop short. He went on to kill all the worshipers of Baal. And his good buddy Jehonadab was still with him. Jehu told the men that were helping him kill all the Baal worshipers, that if they let any of them slip out of their hands, even if it were an accident, they would have to die for it.

Boy, Jehu didn’t treat those Baal worshipers lightly, and we shouldn’t treat our sins lightly either. A sin might seem like it’s gone for a little while, but it can always come back.
Also the Bible says that Jehu slew them all with the edge of a sword. That’s how we should kill the sin in our lives, with God’s word, our two edged sword.

This story doesn’t have a good ending, because Jehu did not continue to walk in the ways of the Lord. He let the sin of someone else, Jeraboam, keep him from doing right. That is mostly how it goes too. The Bible says “No man lives unto himself, and no man dies unto himself.” Don’t let the sins of someone else drag you down. Watch your walk as well, because your sin will not only hurt you, but others too.