And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;
A prophet had just promised Jehu the throne, and now his plot against the reigning king breaks into the open. Behind it stands God's judgment on the house of Ahab — and a hard question: how can God use a man whose aims are not His own?
The verse leaves the army on guard at Ramoth-gilead against Hazael. One writer sets out where the king — Joram, also called Jehoram — was at that moment, and what the timing shows.
Jehoram of Israel was wounded in battle. He had just left Ramoth-Gilead, where Hazael had held him off, and had gone to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. Meanwhile the captains of his army stayed at Ramoth and held on to this important post, which the kings of Israel rightly claimed. Here we see how God has the upper hand over all events and all men when the moment comes to carry out His decrees.
The same writer then presses the point with a string of questions that have only one answer.
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who made Jehoram leave Ramoth, and leave Jehu and his captains behind? Who led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Ramoth-gilead has a history of its own. It was a city of refuge, fought over again and again, and the meeting point of an alliance between Judah and Israel that God hated.
Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah's grandfather, had made an alliance with Ahab to retake Ramoth-Gilead, which had fallen to the king of Syria. In the same way Ahaziah of Judah made an alliance with Jehoram of Israel, Ahab's son, to make war on Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth-Gilead, a city of refuge (Deut. 4:43)… This alliance with the kings of Israel was detestable to the Lord. Jehoram of Israel met the same fate at Ramoth as Ahab, whom the Syrians had wounded at that same place (1 Kings 22:34)… After opposing Hazael, God's rod against Israel, Ahaziah lays himself open to the blows of Jehu, God's second rod, raised against his ally.
The order matters. Jehu is made king first, and the plot follows. What he does next shows the kind of man he is.
Note that Jehu does not conspire against Jehoram until he has been proclaimed king. He then acts at once to stop any news of what had happened from reaching the king in Jezreel (v. 15)… He cleverly ties his accomplices into a shared responsibility, so that if the plan fails, the blame cannot all fall on him… But here we can also see his lack of piety and of dependence on God. We see his ambition too, using the word of the Lord to secure full power for himself.
Jehu believed the message and acted on it. What he lacked was any reverence in the doing of it.
When the prophet of the Lord tells him that the throne will soon be his, he listens. He may well have been sincere in believing that the Lord was God, and he was quite ready to honour Him when his own interest agreed with his convictions… Still, his vengeance has no fear of the Lord in it; it comes from the flesh (see Hosea 1:4).
His zeal went only as far as his own advantage went.
Jehu is full of zeal against evil when it suits his own purpose. He is indifferent to evil when he decides it is smart policy to leave it alone. So he avenges the sins of the house of Ahab without mercy, while leaving the sins of the house of Jeroboam untouched. He destroys the worship of Baal; he keeps the golden calves.
Being used by God is not the same as being approved by God, and this chapter's executioner later stands where Ahab stood.
When God has to deal in judgment, it is His strange work. When Jehu deals with evil, the task suits him well. So, even while God uses Jehu to carry out judgment on Jezreel, He says through the prophet Hosea, "I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel" (Hosea 1:4).
- Word — a prophet promised Jehu the throne, and Jehu listened; the plot begins with a word from God, which Jehu then turns to his own advantage.
- Circumstance — a battle wound, a king away at Jezreel, an army left at its post. Behind this ordinary-looking history is the hand of the Lord.
- Conspiracy — Jehu plots only after he is proclaimed king, then spreads the risk among his officers. He is shrewd, but he does not lean on God.
- Motive — he honoured the Lord where it matched his own interest, yet his vengeance came from the flesh: he struck down Baal and spared the golden calves.
- Reckoning — the man God used at Jezreel is later judged for Jezreel. Being useful in God's hand is never the same as fearing Him.
and king Joram had returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your will, let not a fugitive escape out of the city to go to tell [it] in Jizreel.
A wounded king lies recovering in Jezreel. Miles away at Ramoth-gilead, the army he left behind has just crowned another man. Jehu's first order as king is to seal the city so that no messenger reaches Jezreel. It raises the question that runs through the whole chapter: when God commissions a man, how much of what follows is God's plan, and how much is the man's own?
The first half of the verse says why Joram was away from his own army. He had gone back to Jezreel to heal from wounds taken fighting Hazael. One writer sees God's hand in the timing.
During this time the captains of his army were at Ramoth, still holding and guarding this important post, which the kings of Israel rightly claimed. We see here how God has the upper hand in all events and over all men when the time has come to carry out His decrees. Jehu had only just received the anointing oil when all the captains hailed him as king. No one had arranged anything beforehand, for they did not know what the prophet they call a fool had just done.
Jehu frames his order as a proposal, not a command. The ESV reads "if this is your decision"; older translations read "if this is your mind." One writer explains the sense of that word:
"Mind," in the sense of will or intention, not of the understanding: 1 Samuel 2:35, 2 Kings 9:15.
He asks for their will, not their opinion. One writer finds calculation in that request.
Note that Jehu does not conspire against Joram until after he has been proclaimed king. He then at once takes steps so that the king in Jezreel hears no news of what has happened. Jehu's character is worth studying closely: great impulsiveness joined with much caution, decisiveness, and an understanding of how people work… He draws his accomplices into shared responsibility with great skill, so that if the plan fails they cannot lay the whole blame on him.
Another writer reads the same words the same way, and links the habit to the man's whole temperament — bold to judge others, blind to himself.
He had no idea of what humility means, no spirit of self-judgment at all, but full of bold willingness to judge others, and he proceeded immediately to do such work.
Cutting the road to Jezreel is treason — unless the anointing at Ramoth-gilead counts for something. One writer says it does.
And Jehu begins to act then against his master: he had now God's authority for it. The God who had raised the king up had every right to cast him down. So Jehu was entirely right to act on the prophet's anointing. It is remarkable that many men, one after another, overturned the kingdom in Israel, and Jehu is the only one of them who was anointed… Jehu needed this extraordinary act of the prophet to move forward. It gave him confidence, and it gave confidence to the people around him.
Jehu seals the road to a city where an old debt of blood is still unpaid.
At last, after more than fifteen years' delay, the blood of Naboth, crying like Abel's for vengeance from the ground, was about to be repaid. God, when judging men, is never in haste. He allowed Jezebel to outlive not only her husband but his two successors.
God's commission and Jehu's ambition pointed the same way. That is what makes him hard to read.
Reaching the throne fitted Jehu's own ambitions exactly. Striking down the house of Ahab looked to him like a sound way to make himself secure as king. So he carries out the Lord's directions with the greatest possible energy and zeal. However, God's motives were not Jehu's. God was dealing with evil, avenging the blood of His servants, and maintaining His own glory. Jehu was getting rid of all those who could oppose his ambitions… He is very zealous in dealing with evil when it suits his own purpose, but quite indifferent to evil when he decides it is good policy to leave it alone. He destroys the worship of Baal; he preserves the golden calves.
One writer puts the warning bluntly: God using a man does not mean God approves him.
God's employment of a man is by no means the seal of God's approval of his person… Whatever his zeal, and however right his action was, up to a point, according to the sovereign will of God, he had no brokenness of spirit.
- Timing. Joram's wound took the king away from his own camp just as the oil was poured. God has the upper hand over all events when His moment arrives.
- Authority. Of all the men who seized Israel's throne, only Jehu received the anointing — and the God who raises a king up has the right to cast him down.
- Wording. The word behind "if this is your decision" means will or intention — Jehu asks for the officers' will, and so ties them to the risk with him.
- Patience. Naboth's blood had waited more than fifteen years for payment. God is never in haste when He judges.
- Warning. Energy in God's errand is not proof of God's approval — Jehu had zeal and no brokenness of spirit.
And Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jizreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
Fresh from his anointing as king, Jehu drives for Jezreel, where the wounded king of Israel is resting and the king of Judah happens to be visiting. Why does the verse mention who else was in town, and what does a friendly visit have to do with the judgment about to fall?
Nothing in the verse reads like a plan. A wounded king is resting at home; a relative drops in; a soldier sets out from the camp. Joram is also called Jehoram, and Jizreel is another spelling of Jezreel. One writer asks who arranged it all:
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to depart from Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jizreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Ahaziah's trip needs no sinister explanation. A brother king and relative had been hurt in a shared war, and he came to see him. That is what makes it so serious:
Joram went back to Jizreel to be healed of his wounds. There his ally Ahaziah, king of Judah, came to him to express his sympathy. By the world's standards this was an act of simple courtesy. But Ahaziah had opposed Hazael, God's rod against Israel, and now he puts himself under the blows of Jehu, the second of God's rods against his ally.
Ahaziah did not invent this closeness with the house of Ahab. He inherited it:
Sadly, the sinful alliance of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, with the wicked murderer Ahab, king of Israel (1 Kings 22), led to the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son to Athaliah, the wicked daughter of a wicked father. Athaliah dragged down Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son, and she ruined her own son Ahaziah. A dreadful harvest!
The king of Judah should have stood on the side of righteousness. Instead he was in Jezreel at Joram's side. One writer draws out a principle of God's government:
At this very time, sad to say, the king of Judah was there too. Here we find a very solemn fact in God's government. If someone who ought to be on the side of righteousness turns away from it into a sinful alliance with evil, he suffers according to the character of the evil he joins, and not according to the righteousness he may once have had.
God sent Jehu against one house only. Ahaziah was no part of that commission, yet he shared its fate:
Killing the king of Judah was no part of Jehu's commission. But he was found among those doomed to destruction, so he shared their fate. And in that system of evil, where the spiritual Jezebel teaches and seduces His servants, God's call to His own is this: "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).
Jehu drives hard for Jezreel. One writer takes that speed as a window into his heart:
He was impatient to hold the kingdom in fact and in name. Without a thought of waiting on God, even for the shortest time, Jehu is off with Bidkar his captain on his thirty-five mile journey to Jezreel… He was eager to be at his work of extermination, so the newly anointed executioner-king makes all speed. He treated the solemn, fearful work of destruction given to him as an exciting pleasure, instead of a painful task of stern necessity. Painful it must have been, had he been in true fellowship with God in his work of overthrow and retributive judgment upon the house of Ahab. God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
Another writer names the self-interest under that zeal:
He carries out judgment to make sure of benefits for himself, and he covers all this selfishness with a cloak he calls "zeal for Jehovah."
- Alliance. The trouble did not start with Ahaziah. A grandfather's marriage tie to Ahab's house grew into "a dreadful harvest" one generation later.
- Visit. Simple courtesy put the king of Judah right in the path of Jehu, God's second rod of judgment.
- Company. If a man who should stand for righteousness joins evil instead, God deals with him by the evil he joined, not the righteousness he once held.
- Commission. God never sent Jehu for Ahaziah. Being found among the doomed was enough. So God calls His own to come out.
- Haste. Jehu's furious pace showed a man enjoying work that should have been painful. God takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
And the watchman stood on the tower in Jizreel, and saw Jehu's company as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
Joram lay wounded in Jezreel while Jehu, his army commander and newly anointed king, closed the thirty-five miles between them. The watchman on the tower saw only "a company", so the king sent out a rider with one question — is it peace? — and the whole chapter turns on the answer.
The dust the watchman spotted belonged to a man in a hurry. One writer reads Jehu's speed as a sign of his heart:
Eager to be at his work of wiping out Ahab's house, the newly anointed executioner-king makes all speed. He acts as if the solemn, fearful work of destruction God had commissioned him to do were an exciting pleasure, and not a painful task of stern necessity. It would have been such a task to him, had he been in true fellowship with God in his work of overthrow and retributive judgment on the house of Ahab. God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
The king's question is not a greeting. He does not know what is riding toward him:
Jehu goes to Jezreel. "Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. What use to him are his messengers and the precautions he takes? None of his servants returned to warn him and advise him to be on his guard.
The messengers never come back. Jehu's reply, when it comes, names the reason:
When the messengers did not return, the king set out himself to meet Jehu with the anxious question in our text. "Is it peace?" Note the reply. "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?" No peace was possible while so much sin in the land went unjudged.
The same writer looks back over how God had already dealt with this king:
Joram, who rode out to his death, had been a very privileged person. Jehovah had taken great pains with him. In 2 Kings 3 this king and two other kings turned to the prophet in dire distress, and God in His goodness met their need for water. In 2 Kings 5 he saw Jehovah's wonderful healing power in the healing of Naaman's leprosy. In the next chapter God warns him several times of plots against his life, and so keeps him safe. In these various ways Jehovah spoke to this man's heart and conscience, in the hope that he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these divine privileges, Joram perished. How often has God spoken to us? Let us ask ourselves how many privileges He has mercifully granted us.
The next word from the tower is that the driver drives furiously. One writer hears thunder in it:
"Jehu... drives furiously." The rumbling of thunder announces the storm to everyone except Jehoram, as deaf to the approach of the tempest as he had been to the approach of the grace so often set before him. He does nothing to ward off his fate. He comes with Ahaziah to take shelter at the foot of the tree the blow is about to fall on. Alas! Such is the lot of men. They look for peace outside the peace that God offers to all, and find nothing but agitation, anguish, and finally the judgment of God.
One writer asks who arranged each step: the king's move from Ramoth, the road to Jezreel, the ride into Naboth's vineyard.
And who made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to leave Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him in his chariot to Naboth's vineyard? Who left him lying there outside the city, on the very ground where the blood of that righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Joram's question is still asked today, and one writer answers it:
Christ has "made peace by the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). Here we have the settlement of the sin question, a matter of greater importance to you personally than any political or industrial question in the world. The atoning blood has met God's claims as to sin.
- Watchman — He saw a company coming, but he could not tell the king what it meant.
- Question — "Is it peace?" The king asks it without knowing whether peace or wrath is riding toward him.
- Answer — No peace was possible while sin stood unjudged. Neither rider sent out came back.
- Deafness — God had dealt with Joram for years. A man deaf to grace is deaf to the storm.
- Hand — God set the place, the timing and the ground. And the peace He offers comes by the blood of the cross.
So there went one on horseback to meet him; and he said, Thus saith the king Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told saying, The messenger came to them, and he does not return.
A watchman has seen a company riding toward Jezreel. King Joram sends out one horseman with a single question, and the rider never comes back. Jehu turns the king's question back on him.
One commentator weighs the question and shows why the king's precautions were useless:
"Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. What use to him are his messengers and the precautions he takes? None of his servants returned to warn him and advise him to be on his guard. Jehu's shrewdness had provided for that. "Turn around and ride behind me," he tells them — an excellent way to reach his ends without waking his king's suspicion too soon. But God is controlling all things, even those that are contrary to His character. He is a God of truth; His ways are straight and never crooked. He has said, "There is no peace … for the wicked," and His sentence must be carried out.
Jehu's refusal was not rudeness. It rested on something that has not changed:
"Is it peace?" is the anxious question today, as in the time of Joram. The answer to men now must be along the same lines as the answer to him so long ago. Peace is impossible with sin unjudged.
One writer weighs what Jehu's haste showed about him:
The newly anointed executioner-king was eager to get to his work of destruction, and he hurried. He acted as if the solemn, fearful work God had commissioned him to do were an exciting pleasure to him. It was really a painful task of stern necessity. He would have felt that, had he been in true fellowship with God in this work of overthrow and judgment on the house of Ahab. God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
God can use a man and still judge him. Notice what God said later about this very campaign:
God, in His righteous judgment, used Jehu to deal with the wicked house of Ahab. But He did not overlook the mixed motives that drove Jehu. In carrying out the vengeance of the Lord, Jehu was simply indulging his own cruel heart for his own ends. If God has to deal in judgment, it is His strange work. If Jehu undertakes to deal with evil, it is a task he enjoys. So God uses Jehu to execute judgment on Jezreel. Yet through the prophet Hosea He still says, "I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel" (Hosea 1:4).
Joram's problem was not ignorance. The earlier chapters record how often God had spoken to him:
Joram, who rode out to his death like this, had been a very privileged person. The Lord had taken great pains with him. In 2 Kings 3 this king turned to the prophet with two other kings in dire distress, and God in His goodness gave their armies the water they needed. In 2 Kings 5 he saw the Lord's wonderful healing power in the matter of Naaman's leprosy. In the next chapter God warns him several times about plots against his life, and so keeps him safe… In these various ways the Lord spoke to this man's heart and conscience, hoping he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these divine privileges, Joram perished. How often has God spoken to us?
Jehu's words are not God's last word on peace. One writer follows the same question through to the cross:
Peace! Who can measure its blessing? But "What do you have to do with peace?" said Jehu to wicked Joram's messenger… We had nothing to do with it once, for "the way of peace they have not known" (Rom. 3:17). That was no surprise while we were in unbelief, for "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." But God has now sent the word "preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)" (Acts 10:36). And Christ "came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near" (Eph. 2:17). So even when everything around us is unsettled, we know peace is ours. Why? Because "He made peace by the blood of His cross."
- Question. "Is it peace?" is the cry of a man who feels judgment coming but does not know it is already settled against him.
- Answer. Peace is impossible while sin stays unjudged. That is why the messenger carries no comfort home.
- Silence. Jehu makes the messenger fall in behind him, so no news reaches the palace. The king's own precautions leave him more in the dark.
- Instrument. God used Jehu's energy, then judged the cruelty in it. Being useful to God is not the same as being right with Him.
- Hope. Joram died after years of hearing God speak. Today the same question meets a different answer, because Christ made peace by the blood of His cross.
And he sent out a second on horseback; and he came to them and said, Thus saith the king Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
The king sends a second rider with the same question as the first. He gets the same answer, and the same order to ride behind Jehu. Again no word comes back to the waiting king. Everything turns on one word: peace. A wounded king wants to hear that all is well, and the man riding toward him will not say it.
Jehu's order to the riders was strategy. Behind that strategy, one writer sees God moving to a settled end:
Jehu goes to Jezreel. "Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. What use are his messengers and the precautions he takes? None of his servants returned to warn him and advise him to be on his guard. The prudence of Jehu had provided for this. "Turn behind me," he tells them — an excellent way to reach his ends without waking his king's distrust too soon. But God is controlling all things, even those that are contrary to His character. He is a God of truth; His ways are straight and never crooked. He has said: "There is no peace… for the wicked," and His sentence must be executed.
The refusal was not rudeness. When the king rode out and asked in person, Jehu answered by naming Jezebel's evils. One commentator explains what that reply means:
When the messengers did not return, the King set out himself to meet Jehu with the anxious question in our text. "Is it peace?" Note the reply. "What peace, so long as the immoralities and sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?" The meaning is that no peace could be expected with so much unjudged sin in the land.
The king had received plenty of warning before this day. The same writer lists how God had spoken to him:
Joram, who rode out to his death, had been a very privileged person. The Lord had taken great pains with him… In 2 Kings 5 he learned of the Lord's wonderful healing power in the matter of Naaman's leprosy. In the next chapter God warns him several times of plots against his life, and so keeps him safe… In these various ways the Lord spoke to this man's heart and conscience, in the hope that he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these divine privileges, Joram perished. How often has God spoken to us?
The man riding toward Jezreel is in a hurry. One writer reads that haste as evidence about the rider himself:
Impatient to hold the kingdom in full and acknowledged possession, and without a thought of waiting on God, Jehu is off on his thirty-five mile journey to Jezreel… The newly anointed executioner-king makes all speed, eager to stamp out the house of Ahab. He acts as if this solemn, fearful work of destruction was an exciting pleasure to him, instead of a painful task of stern necessity. It would have been painful, had he been in true fellowship with God in this work of judgment. God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
Jehu carries out a real commission, and carries it out with zeal. The gap lies between God's reason for the task and Jehu's:
To reach the throne was entirely in line with the ambitions of Jehu… So he carries out the directions of the Lord with the greatest possible energy and zeal. However, God's motives were not Jehu's. God was dealing with evil, avenging the blood of His servants, and maintaining His own glory. Jehu was getting rid of all those who could oppose his ambitions. Jehu is very zealous against evil when it suits his own purpose. He is quite indifferent to evil when he decides it suits him better to leave it alone.
Peace must begin where sin has been dealt with. One writer takes the king's question there:
Christ has "made peace by the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). Here we have the settlement of the sin question. For you personally, it matters more than any political or industrial question in the world. God's claims as to sin have been met by the atoning blood. So peace is preached to those who were far off and to those who were near (Eph. 2:17)… The believer in Jesus is justified by faith, and has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
- The question — "Is it peace?" is the great question of the chapter. The king who asks it does not know whether peace or wrath is coming to him.
- The silence — Jehu's "ride behind me" kept both riders from returning. No servant came back to warn the king, and his precautions bought him nothing.
- The reason — there could be no peace with so much unjudged sin in the land. God has said there is no peace for the wicked.
- The instrument — Jehu made all speed and treated a work of judgment as an exciting pleasure. God's motive was His own glory; Jehu's was his own throne.
- The remedy — peace comes where the blood of the cross has settled the sin question. Whoever believes in Jesus has peace with God.
And the watchman told saying, He came to them, and does not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.
King Joram of Israel, also called Jehoram, has already sent two riders to meet the company approaching Jezreel. Neither came back. Now the watchman on the tower names the man leading them by the way he drives. Everything turns on the question the king keeps sending out: is this peace, or is it judgment?
Jehu was newly anointed king, with orders to destroy the house of Ahab. One writer sees the man himself in the way he covered the thirty-five miles to Jezreel.
Jehu is impatient to hold the kingdom in fact and in name. He will not wait on God for even the briefest moment. So he is off with Bidkar his captain on his thirty-five mile journey to Jezreel… A second messenger goes out to meet the advancing column, with the same result. This time the watchman adds to his report, "the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously." He is eager to be at his work of destruction. The newly anointed executioner-king makes all speed. He acts as if the solemn, fearful work he was commissioned to do was an exciting pleasure to him. It was no painful task of stern necessity to him. Yet that is what it would have been, had he been in true fellowship with God.
The king sent the riders to bring back an answer. Jehu kept them with him instead. One writer sees both a shrewd tactic and God's hand above it.
Jehu goes to Jezreel. "Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. What use to him are his messengers and the precautions he takes? None of his servants returned to warn him and advise him to be on his guard. Jehu's shrewdness had provided for this. "Turn behind me," he tells them — an excellent way to reach his ends without waking the king's distrust too soon. But God is controlling all things, even those that are contrary to His character. He is a God of truth; His ways are straight and never crooked. He has said: "There is no peace… to the wicked", and His sentence must be executed.
The watchman knows the driver. The king does not know what the driving means. He goes out to meet the very thing coming for him.
"Jehu… drives furiously." The rumble of thunder announces the storm to everyone except Jehoram. He is as deaf to the approaching storm as he had been to the grace so often set before him. He does nothing to ward off his fate. He comes with Ahaziah to seek shelter under the tree on which the blow is about to fall. Such is the lot of men. They look for peace outside the peace God offers to all. They find nothing but agitation, anguish, and in the end the judgment of God.
Jehu carried out his commission to the full. One writer looks at what was missing behind that obedience.
The hand of this captain is used, but there is no communion between him and the Lord. He goes through his service. He carries out his commission to the full. But there is no expression whatever of a soul exercised toward God. He takes up and lays down the most solemn and important matters. He does it all in the name and at the command of the Lord. But there is no exercise of heart such as comes from being in the presence of God.
Another writer explains the haste. God's command and Jehu's own ambition ran in the same direction.
Reaching the throne fitted Jehu's ambitions exactly. Striking down the house of Ahab would look to Jehu like sound policy. It would establish him as king. So he carries out the Lord's directions with the greatest possible energy and zeal. But God's motives were not Jehu's. God was dealing with evil, avenging the blood of His servants, and maintaining His own glory. Jehu was getting rid of everyone who could oppose his ambitions.
The king's question outlives him. One writer puts it to people today.
"Is it peace?" is the anxious question today, as in the time of Joram. The answer to men now must be along the same lines as the answer given to him so long ago. Peace is impossible while sin is unjudged.
- Recognised — The watchman on the tower names Jehu from his driving alone. The pace of a man tells you what is driving him.
- Absorbed — Both riders sent to ask about peace never came back. Jehu told each one to fall in behind him, and the king got no warning.
- Deaf — Everyone heard the thunder but Jehoram. He went out to meet the storm instead of away from it.
- Hollow — Jehu obeyed to the letter, but his heart never met with God. God's aim was to deal with evil. Jehu's was to clear rivals from his path.
- Unanswered — "Is it peace?" is still the question. The answer has not changed: there is no peace while sin goes unjudged.
Then Joram said, Make ready! And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the plot of Naboth the Jizreelite.
Two kings ride out from Jezreel to greet an approaching commander. They meet him in Naboth's field — the ground Ahab took after killing him — and everything turns on the question Joram is about to ask.
Joram has already sent two riders to ask whether Jehu comes in peace, and neither came back. Now he goes himself. One writer weighs Joram's precautions against what is actually coming:
Jehu goes to Jezreel. "Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. What use are his messengers and the precautions he takes? None of his servants returned to warn him and advise him to be on his guard. The prudence of Jehu had provided for this. "Turn and ride behind me," he tells them — an excellent way to reach his goal without waking his king's suspicion too soon. But God is controlling all things, even those that are contrary to His character. He is a God of truth; His ways are straight and never crooked. He has said: "There is no peace … for the wicked." His sentence must be executed.
Joram's response to the alarm is to harness his chariot and drive toward the danger. The same writer sees here what people everywhere do:
"Jehu … drives furiously." The rumbling of thunder announces the storm to everyone except Jehoram. He is as deaf to the coming storm as he had been to the grace so often set before him. He does nothing to ward off his fate. He comes with Ahaziah to seek shelter at the foot of the tree on which the blow is about to fall. Such is the lot of men. They look for peace outside the peace that God offers to all. They find nothing but agitation, anguish, and in the end the judgment of God. "Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the LORD, and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt."
Of all the ground around Jezreel, the two chariots halt in the plot taken from a murdered man. One writer asks who arranged each step:
And who made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to leave Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him in his chariot to Naboth's vineyard? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? There can be no mistake about it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Naboth had been dead for years, and the land had changed hands. The blood shed there is why God sent Elijah to the vineyard:
So Naboth dies, but his blood was watched by the Lord, and because of it the word also comes out through Elijah. "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel … he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Have you killed and also taken possession?"'"
The reckoning is not only for Israel:
But God will remember all that has been done in Israel and in Christendom in the coming day of recompense. Innocent blood will yet be avenged.
Ahaziah of Judah has no quarrel with Jehu. He came only to express sympathy to an ally — and he rides into the same field.
This alliance with the kings of Israel was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. … It was there that his ally Ahaziah, king of Judah, came to him to express his sympathy. By the world's standards this was an act of simple courtesy. But Ahaziah had opposed Hazael, God's rod against Israel. Now he exposes himself to the blows of Jehu, the second of God's rods against his ally.
Jehu carries out exactly what God said. One writer notes what he still lacked:
Jehu could carry out the word of the Lord in judgment against others, though he knew nothing of the grace of God.
- The question. "Is it peace?" runs through the whole scene. God had already answered it: there is no peace for the wicked.
- The place. They meet in the stolen field. Every step that brought Joram there traces back to the hand of the Lord.
- The blood. Naboth died years earlier, but the Lord watched his blood. Innocent blood will yet be avenged.
- The company. Ahaziah came along out of ordinary courtesy to an ally. He stood under the same rod that fell on the house he had joined.
- The instrument. Jehu carried out the word of the Lord exactly, yet knew nothing of the grace of God. Judging evil rightly is not the same as knowing Him.
And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said, What peace, so long as the fornications of thy mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?
Joram rides out from Jezreel to meet Jehu, who is driving hard toward the city. His greeting is a nervous hope for peace, and the answer he gets names the reason peace was never on offer.
Joram had already sent messengers to ask the same thing, and none came back. His question shows a man who cannot read what is bearing down on him.
Jehu goes to Jezreel. "Is it peace?" This is the great question raised. Judgment is at the door, and Jehoram does not yet know whether it is peace or wrath that has come to him. None of his servants returned to warn him and put him on his guard. But God is controlling all things. He is a God of truth. His ways are straight and never crooked. He has said, "There is no peace … for the wicked," and His sentence must be executed.
Jehu does not answer yes or no. He points to what is still unjudged in the land.
Note the reply to the King's anxious question. "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?" The meaning is that no one could expect peace with so much unjudged sin in the land.
Jehu names Joram's mother, not Joram himself. Her record explains why one name was enough.
She was the "daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians" and her father had been a priest of Astarte, and the family was famous for intense devotion to Baal. She fed 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah at her table and killed the prophets of the Lord. King Jehu says her whorings and sorceries are "so many." God used him to carry out judgment on her and on the whole house of Ahab. We are also told that she pushed her husband Ahab into all the evil he did.
Neither king chose the meeting place. See how many details had to line up for them to meet on that spot.
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to depart from Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Jehu spoke the truth about Jezebel. But a man can carry out God's judgment and still know nothing of God Himself.
Joram called this treachery, but in fact his own army officers had rebelled. It was the judgment of God against the house of Ahab. So Jehu could carry out the word of the Lord in judgment against others, though he knew nothing of the grace of God.
The king who rode out asking about peace was not left in the dark. God had already spoken to him again and again.
See this King in 2 Kings 3. He and two other rulers turn to the prophet in terrible distress. Their armies had no water. God in His goodness met their need. Then we have him in 2 Kings 5 made aware of the Lord's wonderful healing power in the matter of Naaman's leprosy. In the following chapter we find God warning him several times of plots against his life, keeping him safe. In these ways the Lord spoke to this man's heart and conscience, hoping he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these divine privileges, Joram perished.
If unjudged sin blocks peace, then peace must come from sin being dealt with somewhere else.
Christ has "made peace by the blood of his cross." Here is the settlement of the sin question. That matters more to you than any political or industrial question in the world. The atoning blood has met God's claims about sin. So the message goes out: "peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near." Empires and kingdoms may crash. Even then, the man who is right with God through the cross of Calvary can still be in perfect peace.
- Unjudged. Jehu's answer states a principle, not just a fact about Jezebel: sin left unjudged blocks peace.
- Named. Jehu names Jezebel's sin: Baal worship, hundreds of false prophets at her table, prophets of the Lord killed, and a husband she pushed into every evil.
- Arranged. The trip to Jezreel, the ride out, the field of Naboth: every circumstance led to the spot where Naboth's blood was shed. This is the hand of the Lord.
- Warned. Joram had water for his army, news of Naaman's healing, and warnings that kept him safe. He still perished, with all those privileges behind him.
- Settled. Jehu could carry out judgment while knowing nothing of grace. Real peace comes where the blood of the cross has met God's claims about sin.
Then Joram turned his hand, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, Treachery, Ahaziah!
Joram, wounded, rides out from Jezreel to meet Jehu, the officer he had left in command of the army, and asks whether he comes in peace. Jehu answers by naming the sins of Joram's mother Jezebel, and this verse is the king's reaction.
Joram gave the event a name. Writers note that the name was wrong twice over.
Joram called this treachery, but it was actually rebellion of his own army officers, and it was the judgment of God against the house of Ahab. Turning to flee, Joram received from Jehu an arrow in his back that pierced his heart.
His cry accused Jehu. But another word, spoken long before to Elijah about who would escape whose sword, was being carried out exactly.
Jehoram cries while fleeing, "Treachery, Ahaziah!" Not treachery, but judgment! The word of God to Elijah is fulfilled to the letter. "And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death" (1 Kings 19:17). Jehu himself strikes down king Jehoram. Then Jehu recalls the prophecy of Elijah to Ahab (1 Kings 21:19-24), not in the identical words, but with the same meaning. Miserable king! In what was he trusting? In his title and his royal dignity, as we see in the ride that leads to his ruin.
Joram was not ambushed by accident. One hand stood behind every step that brought him to that field: the wound, the journey home, the chariot ride out.
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to depart from Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jizreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Naboth was the righteous man whose blood was shed in that vineyard.
Once he turned to flee, he had no time left to bargain, repent, or escape. The king riding with him fared no better.
It was only the sudden beginning of a quick end. When God calls men to account for turning away from Him and for shedding blood, He makes only "a short work" of it. ... They killed Ahaziah king of Judah too, as he was trying to escape.
Jehu's reply sounds like a dodge. It was not. He pointed at something in the land that had to be dealt with first.
When the messengers did not return, the king went out himself to meet Jehu with the anxious question in our text: "Is it peace?" Note the reply: "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?" The meaning is that no one could expect peace with so much unjudged sin in the land.
This was not a king who had never heard from God. Warnings had reached him again and again.
Joram, who rode out to his death like this, had been a very privileged man. Jehovah had taken great pains with him... We find God warning him several times about plots against his life, and so keeping him safe... In these various ways Jehovah spoke to this man's heart and conscience, in the hope that he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these divine privileges, Joram perished. How often has God spoken to us?
Joram asked about peace and never found it. There is an answer to his question, and it came at the cross.
Christ "made peace by the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). Here the sin question is settled, and that matters more to you than any political or industrial question in the world. The atoning blood has met God's claims about sin. So peace is preached "to you who were far off and peace to those who were near" (Eph. 2:17)... The believer in Jesus is justified by faith, and has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
- Question — Joram asked for peace; Jehu told him none was possible while the sin in the land stood unjudged.
- Misnaming — He called it treachery; it was his own officers in revolt, and behind them the judgment of God on Ahab's house.
- Precision — Elijah's word came true to the letter, and the wound, the journey and the very field he died in were all the hand of the Lord.
- Warning — God had spoken to Joram again and again; he still rode out to his death.
- Peace — What Joram never found is offered now: sin settled at the cross, and peace with God through Jesus Christ.
And Jehu took his bow in his hand, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out through his heart; and he sank down in his chariot.
Jehu's arrow finds Joram between the shoulders, and the king sinks down in his chariot. It happens in one exact spot: the field where Naboth's blood had flowed years before. Two questions follow. Was this a coup by army officers, or God's own sentence? And why does the account point so plainly to the place?
Joram shouted one word as he turned to flee: treachery. One commentator corrects him, and ties the arrow to words God had spoken to Elijah years before:
Joram cries out as he flees, "Treachery, Ahaziah!" Not treachery, but judgment! God's word to Elijah comes true to the letter: "The one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death" (1 Kings 19:17). Jehu himself strikes King Joram.
The place was no accident. One writer traces the steps that brought the king to that exact patch of ground:
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to depart from Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
The sentence that falls on Joram was first spoken to his father Ahab in that same vineyard. Ahab's answer to the prophet bought time. The reason God gave it matters:
God sends Elijah to meet the king, and the prophet goes ahead of him into the vineyard that Ahab had gone down to take. The king's heart bows before the word of Jehovah, and God delays the judgment until the days of his son. This is fresh proof of the patience of a God who is always ready to accept and answer any movement of a man's heart towards Himself.
Joram had reigned for years under a suspended sentence. One commentator shows how little time God takes once He begins:
The arrow was only the sudden beginning of a quick end. God makes just "a short work" with men when He calls them to account for turning away from Him and for shedding blood.
God's instrument here is not a godly man. Writers note the gap between what Jehu accomplished and what Jehu was:
Joram called this treachery, but it was a revolt by his own army officers, and it was the judgment of God against the house of Ahab. Joram turned to flee, and Jehu's arrow struck him in the back and pierced his heart (v. 24)… So Jehu could carry out the word of the Lord in judgment against others, though he knew nothing of the grace of God.
God does not overlook that gap. He later requires the blood Jehu avenged from Jehu's own family:
God judges righteously. He uses Jehu to deal with the wicked house of Ahab, but He does not forget the mixed motives that drove Jehu. In carrying out the vengeance of the Lord, Jehu was only indulging his own cruel heart for his own ends. If God has to deal in judgment, it is His strange work. If Jehu undertakes to deal with evil, it is a task he enjoys. So God uses Jehu to execute judgment on Jezreel, yet He says, through the prophet Hosea, "I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel."
Joram had reasons to feel safe. One commentator lists them and weighs them:
Miserable king! What was he trusting in? In his title and his royal dignity, as we see by the ride that leads to his ruin. In the twelve long years of his reign, no doubt — and who would dream of treachery after such a long reign? In the loyalty of his subjects and of those around him. Useless supports!
Joram was not a stranger to God's kindness. One writer sums up what God had already done for him, then turns it on the reader:
Joram, who rode out to his death, had been a very privileged person. Jehovah had taken great pains with him… In these various ways Jehovah spoke to this man's heart and conscience, hoping he would turn from his evil ways and live. But with all these privileges from God, Joram perished. How often has God spoken to us? Let us ask ourselves how many privileges He has given us in mercy.
- Word — The arrow carries out a sentence God had already spoken. It fulfils His word to Elijah "to the letter."
- Delay — Because Ahab's heart bowed, God held the judgment back until his son's days. Delay was patience, not pardon.
- Place — Every turn of events steered Joram to Naboth's own ground. The writers read one hand behind the whole chain.
- Speed — Years of patience, then "a short work." A sentence held back for a generation ended in a moment.
- Reckoning — Jehu did God's work without God's heart. God later required the blood of Jezreel from Jehu's own house. Being God's instrument is not the same as being right with Him.
And he said to Bidkar his captain, Take him up [and] cast him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jizreelite. For remember how, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, that Jehovah laid this burden upon him
Joram's body lies in his chariot, and Jehu's first order is to throw it onto the land Ahab had once seized from a murdered man. He tells his officer Bidkar to remember the day they rode behind Ahab and heard God pass sentence on him.
A man had already died over this field rather than hand it over. Why would he not sell?
Though it was to please the king, he would not depart from the law of the Lord and sell his inheritance. He knew the decree of the God of Israel. Inheritances were not to pass from tribe to tribe. Everyone in Israel was to keep to the inheritance of his fathers. But for his righteousness' sake he is called to suffer. Jezebel schemed, worthless men carried it out, and his blood was shed in Jezreel. Ahab then seized his inheritance, the inheritance of his fathers.
Jehu is reaching back a long way when he tells Bidkar to remember. How long had God's word been waiting?
At last the blood of Naboth was about to be repaid, after more than fifteen years' delay. Like Abel's blood, it had been crying out from the ground for vengeance. God, when judging men, is never in a hurry. He allowed Jezebel to outlive not only her husband but his two successors.
Jehu can quote God's threat accurately and act on it exactly. That ability tells us less about him than we might assume.
Then Jehu gave orders that Joram's body was to be thrown into the field that belonged to Naboth, for Jehu remembered that the Lord had told Ahab He would repay him in that plot of land. So Jehu could carry out the word of the Lord in judgment against others, though he knew nothing of the grace of God.
So what does God's choice of Jehu tell us about Jehu himself?
A time of evil may be one when God is pleased to use the rough instrument in His government. This is one principle of God's ways in government that we do well to consider. God's use of a man is in no way the seal of God's approval of his person. We see it in the case before us. Jehu was a man in whom God had no delight, nor could He have.
Jehu and God were doing the same thing on that field. Were they doing it for the same reason?
God's motives were not Jehu's. God was dealing with evil, avenging the blood of His servants, and maintaining His own glory. Jehu was getting rid of everyone who could oppose his ambitions. Jehu is very zealous in dealing with evil when it suits his own purpose. He is quite indifferent to evil when he decides it is convenient to leave it alone.
Naboth's field settles Ahab's account. Does it settle Jehu's too?
In all this Jehu had himself in view. He pretended zeal for the Lord, but he was satisfying his own desire. Ahab had coveted the vineyard of Naboth in Jezreel, close by his palace, and for its sake he had shed the blood of a righteous man. In the same way Jehu loved power. For its sake, and not in the spirit of service to the Lord, he carried out God's judgment on the house of Ahab. And so, like Ahab, he must answer in his turn for the blood of Jezreel. The Lord says through Hosea: "I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel."
- Ground. The plot was Naboth's family inheritance, protected by God's law. He would not sell it, so Ahab had him killed and took it.
- Word. Jehu is not inventing a punishment. He is carrying out a sentence God had already spoken against Ahab.
- Delay. More than fifteen years passed between God's threat and the payment. Slow is not the same as forgotten — God is never in a hurry when He judges.
- Instrument. God used Jehu; God did not approve Jehu. A commission from God is no proof of standing with God.
- Reckoning. God measures the avenger by the same rule as the guilty. Jehu did God's work for Jehu's reasons, and God charged the blood of Jezreel to his house in turn.
Certainly I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith Jehovah; and I will requite thee in this plot, saith Jehovah. And now, take [and] cast him into the plot, according to the word of Jehovah.
Jehu has just shot Joram, the son of Ahab, who is also called Jehoram. Now he tells his officer to throw the body onto the field Ahab stole from Naboth, where God had promised to repay that blood.
Nothing about the place was accidental. One writer asks who arranged each step that brought the wounded king to that exact field:
And who has made all these circumstances work together to this result? Who caused Jehoram to depart from Ramoth, leaving Jehu and his captains there? Who had led him to Jezreel, the scene of Ahab's sin? Who led him to Naboth's vineyard in his chariot? Who left him lying there outside the city in the very place where the blood of this righteous man had flowed? One cannot mistake it; it is the hand of the Lord.
Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard and shed the blood of a righteous man to get it. The verse counts Naboth's sons among the victims, and God speaks of their blood as something He saw "yesterday." The long delay was not forgetfulness:
At last, after more than fifteen years' delay, the blood of Naboth was about to be repaid. Like Abel's blood, it had been crying out from the ground for vengeance. God, when judging men, is never in haste.
But patience is not softness. The same writer sees how fast the end came once it started:
It was only the sudden beginning of a quick end. When God calls apostasy and bloodshed to account, He makes only "a short work" with men.
Jehu appeals to a day when he and his officer rode behind Ahab and heard the prophet speak. One writer notes that Jehu does not repeat Elijah's exact words:
Jehoram cries while he flees, "Treachery, Ahaziah!" Not treachery, but judgment! God's word to Elijah is fulfilled to the letter: "And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death" (1 Kings 19:17). Jehu himself strikes down king Jehoram. Then he recalls Elijah's prophecy to Ahab (1 Kings 21:19-24), not in the identical words, but with the same meaning.
Jehu's memory of God's word is accurate. His relationship to the God who spoke it is another matter:
Then Jehu ordered his men to throw Joram's body into the field that belonged to Naboth. He remembered that the Lord had told Ahab He would repay him in that plot of land. So Jehu could carry out the word of the Lord in judgment against others, though he knew nothing of the grace of God.
The pattern repeats one generation on. Ahab killed to get a vineyard. Jehu killed to get power, and the same blood is later charged against his own house:
In all this Jehu had himself in view. He pretended to be zealous for the Lord, but he was really satisfying his own lust. Ahab had coveted Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, right beside his palace, and he shed the blood of a righteous man to get it. In the same way Jehu loved power. For the sake of that power, and not in a spirit of service to the Lord, he carried out God's judgment on the house of Ahab. So in his turn, like Ahab, he must answer for the blood of Jezreel. The Lord says through Hosea, "I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel."
Follow the blood through five stages:
- Blood seen. God saw the murder of Naboth and his sons. His sentence on it stood unchanged for more than fifteen years — "God, when judging men, is never in haste."
- Blood placed. The spot mattered. A march, a wound, a visit, a chariot ride all worked together so that Joram fell on the stolen field — "the hand of the Lord."
- Blood repaid. Once repayment began, it moved fast. God makes only "a short work" with men when He calls apostasy and bloodshed to account.
- Blood quoted. Jehu repeats Elijah's warning "not in the identical words, but with the same meaning," and God's word "is fulfilled to the letter."
- Blood still owed. Jehu carried out the sentence for his own ends. He knew nothing of God's grace, and he answered in his turn for the blood of Jezreel.
When Ahaziah king of Judah saw [that], he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in his chariot. It was on the ascent of Gur, which is by Jibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
Jehu has just shot Joram, king of Israel, through the heart. Ahaziah, king of Judah, is visiting Jezreel. He is no son of Ahab, yet he turns his chariot, runs, and dies at Megiddo. Why did a king of David's line fall under a judgment meant for someone else?
Ahaziah's death was not bad luck. It followed a choice.
The king of Judah should have been as the lamp of God in the darkness of that night. Instead he had chosen an evil association. Sadly, the holy seed was polluted, and the royal house had now formed an alliance that promised evil. The king of Judah was in the company of the king of Israel. God allowed them to be found together when the solemn moment came for judgment. Those who had sinned together must share the judgment. So the blow was not meant for Joram only, and it did not fall on him only. It fell on the king of Judah too.
Blood did not tie Ahaziah to Ahab. Choice did.
By fleeing, Ahaziah delayed his death a short time. But they shot him in his chariot. He escaped to Megiddo and died there. He was not Ahab's descendant, yet he had identified himself with Ahab's son, so he suffered the same fate as Joram... He had reigned only one year.
The road to Megiddo began two generations earlier, with a wedding. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, tied his family to Ahab's, and his grandson paid for it.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, made an unholy alliance with the wicked murderer Ahab, king of Israel (1 Kings 22). It led to the marriage of his son to Athaliah, the wicked daughter of a wicked father. She dragged down Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son, and she became the ruin of her son Ahaziah. A dreadful harvest!
That harvest was not over quickly: "evil bears fruit which continues long to reproduce itself" (J. N. Darby).
Jehu's orders covered one house only. Standing with that house was enough.
Ahaziah was the seventh from Solomon, and the first king of Judah to die a violent death. His name is the first of the royal line left out of the genealogy in Matthew 1. He died at the early age of twenty-three... Killing the king of Judah was no part of Jehu's commission. But there he was, among those doomed to destruction, so he shared their fate. In that system of wickedness the spiritual Jezebel teaches and seduces His servants. God's call to His own there is, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). May all His own take this call to heart even now, and separate themselves from what is fast shaping itself for its final apostasy and doom!
2 Chronicles 22 says Ahaziah hid in Samaria before Jehu's men reached him. At first that looks like a different story. Commentators differ on how the two accounts fit together. One reading runs like this:
Compare 2 Kings 9:27-29 with 2 Chronicles 22:7-9. Before he was struck down near Megiddo, Ahaziah had fled to Samaria for refuge... His brothers were wiped out first. Only then was Ahaziah brought to Jehu. At the ascent of Gur he suffered "from God" this "complete ruin". He fled to Megiddo to die there, and was then carried to Jerusalem and buried.
The same writer draws the lesson out for today.
Divine wrath hangs over this world. To ally yourself with it, as Ahaziah did, is to expose yourself to the sudden ruin that will overtake it. And those who go to that same world only to strengthen ties of friendship, with no thought for the holiness of God, suffer a similar fate.
- Company — Ahaziah was not of Ahab's family. He took Ahab's side, and that put him where the blow fell.
- Consequence — those found together when judgment falls share it. Sin together, suffer together.
- Inheritance — the ruin began with Jehoshaphat's alliance and the marriage it produced. Evil keeps bearing fruit long after the one who sowed it is gone.
- Sentence — Jehu was never sent against Judah's king. Ahaziah still died. Being off the list does not save you if you stand with those on it.
- Separation — God's call is to come out. Then you share neither the sins nor the plagues of a system already under sentence.