2 Kings 9:14-20 Is It Peace?

 “So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria. But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, “If you are so minded, let no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.” So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there; and Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company of men.” And Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ” So the horseman went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” So the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger went to them, but is not coming back.” Then he sent out a second horseman who came to them, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” So the watchman reported, saying, “He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!”” II Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭14‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Is it peace: Upon seeing the company of Jehu approach, King Joram wanted to know if this mysterious group came in peace. As he waited to recover full strength in Jezreel, Joram was fundamentally insecure in his hold on the throne and easily suspected threats.

b. What have you to do with peace: Jehu meant that the soldier should not regard this as a time of peace, but a time of conflict – a time to violently overthrow the throne of Joram and the dynasty he came from.

i. When two messengers did not return but instead joined the company of Jehu, it showed that he enjoyed popular support among the troops of Israel, and King Joram did not.

c. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously: Jehu was such an intense man that his personality could be easily seen in the way he drove a chariot. (Guzik)

Is It Peace?

I am reminded what Jesus said! How do we know Jesus said it? Because it’s in red letters in the bible!

““Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭34‬-‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Following Jesus will have consequences as it can divide families. I recall a friend’s comment, he said his father said to him, you always went overboard on things and you are going overboard on this Jesus stuff too! 

Are you all in on Jesus?

Blessings 

2 Kings 9:11-13 Man and His Babble!

 “Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!””

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Why did this madman come to you… You know the man and his babble: It was easy to dismiss this prophet as a crazed, babbling madman. It was easy for both Jehu and his associates to think of any God-honoring man as demented. Yet Jehu knew – and the others soon did also – that the man was a true prophet of God.

i. Yet when Jehu emerged from the tent with his head drenched with oil, it was easier to think that the man who did it was a madman. “So God’s prophets were ever counted and called by the mad world.” (Trapp)

b. Jehu is king: A moment before, these men regarded the prophet as a madman; now they took his word seriously and proclaimed the reluctant Jehu as the king of Israel. This shows the sense of dissatisfaction they had with Joram.

i. “The act of spreading out the garment was one of recognition, loyalty and promise of support.” (Wiseman)

(Guzik)

Man and His Babble!

Have you ever tried to share the gospel and had the same reaction as this prophet did with these people?

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

But Jesus also said,

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If someone considers you a babbler when you share the gospel, shake off the dust from your feet and move on and share it with someone else!

Blessings 

2 Kings 9:4-10 Spirit of God!

“So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’ ” And he opened the door and fled.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭4‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. There were the captains of the army sitting: Jehu was a commander in the army of Israel, under King Ahab and his son, King Joram. Jehu was previously anointed as a future king of Israel, who would overthrow the dynasty of Omri and Ahab (1 Kings 19:16-18). Yet that was a long time previous to this, and now he was anointed again to show that the time of fulfillment of the previous prophecy was now at hand.

b. And he poured the oil on his head: He was anointed, but was not to take the throne immediately. Both Saul and David were anointed as king over Israel before they actually possessed the throne.

i. “Elisha’s insistence that the anointing ceremony be secret would allow the new king to choose the right time to raise the standard of his revolt without alerting Jehoram. The surprise would prevent the king from making preparation to oppose it.” (Dilday)

ii. “Jehu is the only king of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) to have been anointed, perhaps to indicate that he should follow in the Davidic tradition, as Saul had been anointed by Samuel; David by Samuel, to mark the Spirit of God endowing him for the task.” (Wiseman)

iii. “The anointing of the king over Israel was not an established custom, or rule. It was done when the circumstances were out of the ordinary, or when there might be some question as to his title to the crown.” (Knapp)

c. That you may strike down the house of Ahab your master: This was more than we were told Elisha told this man from the school of prophets to say (2 Kings 9:1-3). Either Elisha told him to say this and it was not recorded previously, or he came under the inspiration of the Spirit when he did what Elisha told him to do, and spoke this in spontaneous prophecy to Jehu.

d. The whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel… dogs shall eat Jezebel: Clearly, God intended to use Jehu as a tool of judgment against the royal house of Ahab.

i. The King James Version translates this line from 2 Kings 9:8: And I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall. Dilday says of this translation, “The graphic and explicit language used by the King James Version in verse 8 is the literal translation of the Hebrew word for ‘male.’ ” (Guzik)

Spirit of God!

“to mark the Spirit of God endowing him (Jehu) for the task.” (Wiseman)

I am reminded that,

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you are you led by the Spirit of God, you are a child of God!

Blessings 

Child of God?

2 Kings 9:1-3 Flee!

“And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.”” II Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Called one of the sons of the prophets: This was a young man from the association for training prophets in Israel. We might imagine that Elisha gave him this duty as a class assignment.

i. “This unnamed young prophet is identified in Jewish tradition (Seder Olam) with Jonah (2 Kings 14:25).” (Wiseman)

b. I have anointed you king over Israel: At this time, Joram the son of Ahab was the king of Israel (also called Jehoram in 2 Kings 3). This was the dynasty of Omri, but this dynasty was about to come to an end. The next king would be Jehu, who would begin a new – albeit a brief – dynasty.

i. Though Israel had abandoned God, God had not abandoned Israel. He still had the right to interfere among them. He would appoint and allow kings as He chose, either to bless an obedient Israel or to curse a disobedient nation, according to the terms of His covenant with them at Mount Sinai.

ii. “Jehu is mentioned twice in the cuneiform inscriptions on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III…. The Shalmaneser inscriptions also give us an objective date for this period in Hebrew chronology, 841 b.c.” (Dilday)

(Guzik)

Flee!

“Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” 

The Lord can also tell us that to in order to protect us. One such time happened to me as I was walking along a store front a man confronted me who was intoxicated and belligerent. The Lord put on my heart to turn immediately to my left and open the door and flee through a drugstore door. When I did and the door closed behind me he did a flying kick on the glass door and everyone turned to see him running away.

Have you ever had a divine intervention to flee?

Blessings 

2 Kings 8:25-29 His Brief Reign!

 “In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. Then King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭25‬-‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign: The short life and reign of Jehoram (he reigned only eight years and died at 40 years of age) should have warned Ahaziah. His brief reign (one year) shows he was even less blessed than his father Jehoram.

i. “Ahaziah succeeded his father, Jehoram, in the critical year 841 b.c. He was not to survive the momentous waves of the political events that were to inundate the ancient Near East in that year. Indeed, in 841 b.c. Shalmaneser III of Assyria (859-824 b.c.) at last was able to break the coalition of western allies with whom he had previously fought a long series of battles (853, 848, 845).” (Patterson and Austel)

ii. Twenty-two years old: This is at odds with 2 Chronicles 22:2, which says that Ahaziah took the throne when 42 years old. “I am satisfied the reading in 2 Chronicles 22:2, is a mistake; and that we should read there, as here, twenty-two instead of forty-two years… “Is there a single ancient author of any kind, but particularly those who have written on matters of history and chronology, whose works have been transmitted to us free of similar errors, owing to the negligence of transcribers?” (Clarke)

b. Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria: His close association with the wicked house of Ahab developed into a war alliance with Israel against Syria. His connection with his mother’s family (she was a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, 2 Kings 8:18) was so strong and sympathetic that he paid a visit to the injured and sick king of Israel (Joram).

(Guzik)

His brief reign!

I have noticed from studying the Bible that during the period of the kings of Israel or Judah the more wicked the kings became the shorter their reign.

Is this a coincidence or is it judgment from the Lord?

I am reminded of this prophecy concerning the request for a king.

“So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.””

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be careful what you wish for! 

It’s better to pray like Jesus did, “saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Father not my will but Yours, be done.

Blessings 

2 Kings 8:16-24 Rested With His Father’s!

 “Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever. In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. So Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents. Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. And Libnah revolted at that time. Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Joram rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.” II Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭16‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah: The story of the kings of Judah really paused at 1 Kings 22:50, where Jehoshaphat the son of Asa ended his 25-year reign and his son Jehoram came to the throne. Now we pick up the story of Jehoram again.

i. This King Jehoram of Judah should not be confused with the King Jehoram of Israel mentioned in 2 Kings 3. That Jehoram is called Joram in this passage and following.

b. He walked in the way of the kings of Israel: This was not a compliment. While the Southern Kingdom of Judah had a mixture of godly and wicked kings, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had nothing but evil, God-rejecting kings.

i. The Chronicler adds that Jehoram made all Judah to sin according to the religion of the Canaanites (2 Chronicles 21:11).

c. For the daughter of Ahab was his wife: The wickedness of Jehoram was not a surprise, considering how much he allowed himself to be influenced by the house of Ahab. Perhaps this marriage made sense politically or socially, but it was a spiritual calamity for Judah.

i. Arranged by his father, Jehoram married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel – her name was Athaliah. In order to consolidate his throne, he murdered his many brothers and many other leaders (2 Chronicles 21:4-6). “Josephus expands on this, indicating that he committed the murders at the prompting of Athaliah.” (Dilday)

ii. Perhaps some people thought that the marriage between the royal families of the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel would lift up the kingdom of Israel spiritually. It didn’t work that way. Instead, it brought the kingdom of Judah down spiritually.

iii. “It was all the result of his ill-advised alliance with the ungodly house of Ahab, and what he sowed he, by dread anticipation at least, reaped. And his posterity were made to reap it actually, in a most terrible way.” (Knapp)

d. Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David: The implication is that Jehoram’s evil was great enough to justify such judgment, but God withheld it out of faithfulness to his ancestor David.

i. “The lamp was more than a symbol of life and of testimony; it reminded the hearer of the covenant (Psalm 132:17, c.f.2 Chronicles 21:7).” (Wiseman)

e. In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority: This is evidence of the weakness of Jehoram. He thought that the marriage alliance with Ahab and the kingdom of Israel would make Judah stronger, but this act of disobedience only made them weaker.

f. So Joram rested with his fathers: It is easy to get confused with the variation between Jehoram and Joram, but they are two variant names for the same king of Judah. He died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the honored tombs of his ancestors (2 Chronicles 21:20).

i. According to 2 Chronicles 21:12-15, Elijah wrote Jehoram a letter, condemning him for his sins and predicting that judgment would come upon him and disaster upon the nation. At the age of 40, Jehoram was struck with a fatal intestinal disease and he died in terrible pain (2 Chronicles 21:19).

ii. “He is one of the most unlovely of all the kings of Judah. ‘Exalted by Jehovah,’ he was for his wickedness thrust down to a dishonoured grave.” (Knapp)

(Guzik)

Rested With His Father’s!

It is said one out of one person dies and the phrase “rested with his father’s” is a way of saying he died and was buried. But look at his legacy, “for his wickedness thrust down to a dishonoured grave.”

I have often thought about my legacy and wonder if I will finish life Paul?

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

That is my prayer, is it yours too?

Blessings