Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what he said by his servant Elijah.”
Jehu has just piled seventy severed heads at the gate of Jezreel, and now he turns to the crowd to explain them. He claims that Elijah's words against Ahab's family have come true to the letter, and commentators weigh both the claim and the man who makes it.
Delay Is Not Failure
Elijah spoke against Ahab's house long before Jehu drew a sword. One writer counts the years.
C KnappAt last, after more than fifteen years, the blood of Naboth was about to be repaid. Like Abel's blood, it had cried out from the ground for vengeance. God, when judging men, is never in haste. He let Jezebel outlive not only her husband, but his two successors.
A Word That Looked Impossible
Seventy sons looked like a family line no one could end. One writer moves from that fact to God's promises.
William KellyThink of seventy sons of one family! and the apparent moral certainty that that line must be carried on for ever! But no — it was put out in one day! Who could have thought of it beforehand? And this too in the royal city, and by the royal servants. Such is man; such is the world. The word of the Lord had said it. Oh, what foolishness is ours that could ever doubt a word of God! And what has God given us all this for, but that we may know that if that word stands in what is evil, how much more in what is good? If God accomplishes His threats to the letter, can His promises fail for an instant? I admit His promises often seem to fail. That is exactly the purpose: our faith should not rest on appearances, but on the word of God. All appearance is against it, but God is still watching.
True Words, Political Motives
What Jehu says is accurate. Why he says it is another matter. He had made the leading men of Samaria do the killing themselves.
C KnappIt was a crafty stroke of policy for Jehu to have the leading men of the capital kill the rest of Ahab's descendants. He calculated that their act would open a breach between them and anyone who still favoured the fallen dynasty, or their royal relatives across the border. That would destroy the last opposition to his course and to his hold on the throne. True, his motives were political and nothing more. Yet he gives his mass executions a religious colouring. He turns God's word to his own advantage, along with His principle of repaying Ahab and his house.
Beyond the Commission
Right after appealing to God's word, Jehu kills Ahab's officials, friends and priests too. One writer measures that against what God had said.
H. L. RossierHe appeals to the word of God, which cannot fail, to justify what he does. Then he kills all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, his close friends and his priests, until none were left. That was not strictly what the Lord had said. Jehu goes beyond his orders and his commission, but it was in the interest of his rule.
The overreach did not stop there. Jehu went on to kill relatives of Judah's king as well.
C KnappIt was no part of the Lord's commission to Jehu to kill these, or any of the descendants of king Jehoshaphat. God had not asked this of him. By this unjustified killing of Ahaziah's brothers he almost wiped out the house of David. He left the rule of the kingdom to the infamous Athaliah.
Used by God, Not Approved by God
God worked through Jehu, and Jehu knew his commission. That is not the same as saying his heart was right.
J. N. DarbyIn his conscience he had felt the power of Elijah's testimony. He knew it was madness to fight against the Lord, whose side he had taken. What he did for the Lord, he did well, with his usual energy. Still, his vengeance has no fear of the Lord in it; it is carnal.
The Bible itself says nothing about Jehu's heart here, and that silence has a purpose.
H. L. RossierWhen the Word shows us characters like this, remember one thing. God often does not tell us whether He approves or disapproves of the instruments that serve His purposes. He tells us where Jehu did his task well, and says no more. He leaves us to weigh his conduct spiritually, so that we may learn from it ourselves.
Summary
- Word delayed — more than fifteen years passed between Naboth's murder and this day. God is never in haste when He judges.
- Word performed — seventy sons looked like an unbreakable line, yet royal servants ended it in one day, in the royal city.
- Word trusted — if His threats land to the letter, His promises cannot fail for a moment.
- Word misused — Jehu's words were true, but his motive was political. He gave a religious colouring to a move that secured his throne.
- Word exceeded — he killed friends, officials and Judah's princes whom God never named. The Bible records the fulfilment and leaves us to weigh the man.