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.